How to get an A at AS and an A* in Edexcel International A Level Physics

Keep the six-unit course connected

The Pearson course has three AS units and three A2 units. AS includes mechanics and materials, waves and electricity, and practical skills. A2 adds further mechanics, fields, particles, thermal and other advanced topics, with a second practical-skills unit. Check your exact entries and specification before choosing papers.

Organise revision around connections. Energy ideas help in mechanics, electricity and fields; graph gradients appear throughout the course. At A2, keep returning to AS foundations instead of assuming that an earlier examination means those ideas can be forgotten. Later questions can require earlier knowledge.

Explain the model before substituting

For each problem, identify the object or system and draw the relevant forces, paths or circuit. Decide which quantities stay constant and which change. Write the governing relationship symbolically before entering numbers. This makes rearrangement easier and reveals whether you actually have enough information.

After calculating, check dimensions and scale. A small laboratory component should not produce an implausibly enormous current without explanation. When an answer is wrong, ask whether the error came from the physical model, a prefix conversion or the arithmetic. Repeating calculations cannot repair a mistaken model.

Use precise causal explanations

An explanation should connect a change to a principle and then to an observable consequence. Avoid sentences such as “the particles have more energy so everything increases.” Name the relevant energy, force, speed or rate and explain the mechanism.

Build comparison tables only when they sharpen a distinction: electric versus gravitational fields, transverse versus longitudinal waves, or random versus systematic error. Then test yourself with unfamiliar contexts. At A2, practise linking several ideas in one answer, for example field force, acceleration and the subsequent path of a charged particle.

Treat practical work as reasoning practice

For an experiment, identify the independent variable, measured dependent variable, control variables and a realistic procedure. Explain how repeated readings, suitable apparatus and an appropriate range improve the investigation. “Use better equipment” is too vague unless you identify what improves and why.

Practise graph work on actual axes: label quantities and units, choose sensible scales, find gradients using a large triangle and interpret intercepts. Discuss uncertainty using the quantities in the question. Written practical units still benefit from real laboratory experience; ask your teacher for safe opportunities to connect the written method with observations.

Common mistakes—and how to fix them

Your four-week revision plan

Use this as a focused revision cycle alongside your lessons. If you are still learning the course, give unfamiliar topics more time before attempting full papers.

1. Week 1

   Diagnose principles

   • Attempt short questions across your entered units.
   • List three physical models you cannot yet explain.
2. Week 2

   Repair calculation habits

   • Draw a diagram before each mechanics or field calculation.
   • Practise unit conversions and graph interpretation.
3. Week 3

   Apply to experiments

   • Write complete methods with controlled variables.
   • Answer unfamiliar explanation questions without notes.
4. Week 4

   Rehearse complete units

   • Complete timed theory and practical-skills papers.
   • Retest errors with a fresh scenario rather than copying corrections.

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