How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Physics

[frog1944]

Hi,

How many hours a week should I be aiming for to achieve a band 6 in physics? What is the minimum?

Thanks

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi,

How many hours a week should I be aiming for to achieve a band 6 in physics? What is the minimum?

Thanks

Hey frog! It is pretty much impossible for me to quote a number, everyone is different. There is certainly no minimum either! Some people need just a few hours a fortnight to really understand the content - Some need a dozen! It is completely up to you to work as hard as you personally need to, to be able to understand and apply the content in an exam scenario

[frog1944]

Hey frog! It is pretty much impossible for me to quote a number, everyone is different. There is certainly no minimum either! Some people need just a few hours a fortnight to really understand the content - Some need a dozen! It is completely up to you to work as hard as you personally need to, to be able to understand and apply the content in an exam scenario

Ok, I understand. Is there anyway to "guarantee" you will go well in the physics exam? Or not really?

[jamonwindeyer]

Ok, I understand. Is there anyway to "guarantee" you will go well in the physics exam? Or not really?

You can never 100% know for sure - Stuff happens! But the more practice you do, and the more experience you have applying your knowledge in an exam scenario, the closer you get to 100% like, if you practice heaps and put a lot of work in to understand your content, then you can be 99% sure you are going to perform well in your HSC

[johnk21]

Hi Jamon,
I just wanted you to shed some of your godly advice on me about physics  .
My current problem is that I cannot seem to get full or close to full marks on long responses. I am always currently around the 60-75% within my long response answers, and this is what is basically distinguishing me from getting into the top 3 (i am currently 6th out of around 70).
I have started to highlight key terms and right out a plan, and i have seen a lot of improvement, but i just wanted some of your advice. My physic trial is tommorow .
Thanks

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi Jamon,
I just wanted you to shed some of your godly advice on me about physics  .
My current problem is that I cannot seem to get full or close to full marks on long responses. I am always currently around the 60-75% within my long response answers, and this is what is basically distinguishing me from getting into the top 3 (i am currently 6th out of around 70).
I have started to highlight key terms and right out a plan, and i have seen a lot of improvement, but i just wanted some of your advice. My physic trial is tommorow .
Thanks

Hey John! You are doing the two things I'd definitely recommend doing - Ensuring you understand exactly what is going on (pay special attention to the verb used, this is a helpful guide on them) and planning your approach accordingly. From here it is just practice!! Make sure you are looking at exemplar/sample responses, checking your answers, making special notes of the things you missed. By the time the HSC rolls around, you should be able to write a dot point list of what you'd include in your answer as soon as you see the question - This comes from having done enough questions and knowing the syllabus to such an extent that you know what needs to be included

That's the HSC, this is Trials - Do the best you can here and then build from it! You are still smashing it with that rank

[arunasva]

Hey Jamon and peeps in general.

CSSA paper had a question on the work energy theorem, it could only be solved with

qv = .5mv^2


However that cannot be derived from any of the formulae in the formula sheet, it was pretty out of syllabus ?

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey Jamon and peeps in general.

CSSA paper had a question on the work energy theorem, it could only be solved with

qv = .5mv^2


However that cannot be derived from any of the formulae in the formula sheet, it was pretty out of syllabus ?

I heard about this question (I think at least) - It was definitely a unique and interesting one! However, definitely assessable - I had a 10 minute brainstorm with my brother who sat the paper about the reasoning behind how you could crack it. I'm not sure of the exact question/wording though, if you give me the gist of the question I can try and step through it for you, if it would be helpful?

[girl101]

Hi,

Thanks so much this was so helpful. I am currently in yr 11 and i am a average physics student but next year I want to be achieving a band 6. DO you have to be naturally good at physics to excel in it?

Is it possible even if you are not the fastest learner and take time to learn concepts to get band 6 with hard work and practice , or is it not worth the time?

Please suggest how many hours a week I should be studying physics, I know you have mentioned above but I just wanted more detail. Also importantly in these September holidays before yr 12 what should I be doing + the Dec holidays as I have heard most band 6 students finish the whole syllabus?

Would appreciate if you could answer as soon as possible?

[Maraos]

Hi,

Thanks so much this was so helpful. I am currently in yr 11 and i am a average physics student but next year I want to be achieving a band 6. DO you have to be naturally good at physics to excel in it?

Is it possible even if you are not the fastest learner and take time to learn concepts to get band 6 with hard work and practice , or is it not worth the time?

Please suggest how many hours a week I should be studying physics, I know you have mentioned above but I just wanted more detail. Also importantly in these September holidays before yr 12 what should I be doing + the Dec holidays as I have heard most band 6 students finish the whole syllabus?

Would appreciate if you could answer as soon as possible?

Hello
Firstly, welcome to ATAR notes!
To answer your first question ( 'do you have to be naturally good at physics to excel in it?')
I would argue NO you do not have to be 'naturally good' at physics. The physics syllabus in my opinion is relatively simple, HSC physics is rather limited in the amount of mathematics and 'true physics' that is involved. With a good study ethic and if you put the time into the subject you can definitely excel in the subject. In the end the HSC comes down to exam technique and honestly (this goes for almost all hsc subjects) natural talent will only take you so far, in the end the band 6 students may not be the most 'naturally talented' students they are in most cases hardworkers who are consistent throughout the entire year.

 To answer your second question ('Is it possible even if you are not the fastest learner and take time to learn concepts to get band 6 with hard work and practice , or is it not worth the time? ')
It is 100% possible to get a band 6 in physics. Being a fast learner can be helpful, however if you are not that is not a worry, as long as you work hard on the subject anything is possible

To answer your final question and in-terms of how much study you should be doing now, I would argue that at this stage you don't worry too much about it. By all means start learning ahead. The summer holidays can be very valuable for getting ahead of your classmates, but honestly you don't want to burn out too early. I would say learning at least 2 topics in the syllabus before next year and during the summer holidays would put you ahead of the majority your classmates (and the state). Don't stress now

I hope this information helped, always feel free to come back to ATAR notes if you have any other questions. From personal experience i can tell you this site has definitely made my year 12 journey 100 times easier

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi,

Thanks so much this was so helpful. I am currently in yr 11 and i am a average physics student but next year I want to be achieving a band 6. DO you have to be naturally good at physics to excel in it?

Is it possible even if you are not the fastest learner and take time to learn concepts to get band 6 with hard work and practice , or is it not worth the time?

Please suggest how many hours a week I should be studying physics, I know you have mentioned above but I just wanted more detail. Also importantly in these September holidays before yr 12 what should I be doing + the Dec holidays as I have heard most band 6 students finish the whole syllabus?

Would appreciate if you could answer as soon as possible?

Love the response from Maraos above just wanted to stress:

- Yr 11 performance is no indicator of Yr 12 performance unless you let it be an indicator, you can absolutely improve. And you definitely don't need to be a natural, you just need to be willing to invest the time, even if that is more time for you than it would be for others.

- No one does the whole Physics syllabus in the September holidays. Can't be done - Not effectively anyway. You should definitely not be putting that much pressure on yourself, that's nuts. Do some early reading on the first topic, attend the ATAR Notes Head Start lecture, and that's it. You need to rest too!

[justwannawish]

Hey!

What's the main difference between year 11 and 12 physics in your opinion? Was there a general consensus on the hardest topic or did it vary for most people? What did you guys enjoy/hate?

Personally, most people at my school, including myself. found Moving About to be the hardest topic, while Electricity (as it was really a revision of previous year's) and Cosmic Engine (lots of memorisation but not a lot of skills) were said to be the easiest. Are the year 12 topics a lot different from these  (regarding the amount of calculations, extended responses, and not so much the actual content)?

Thanks

[blasonduo]

Hey!

What's the main difference between year 11 and 12 physics in your opinion? Was there a general consensus on the hardest topic or did it vary for most people? What did you guys enjoy/hate?

Personally, most people at my school, including myself. found Moving About to be the hardest topic, while Electricity (as it was really a revision of previous year's) and Cosmic Engine (lots of memorisation but not a lot of skills) were said to be the easiest. Are the year 12 topics a lot different from these  (regarding the amount of calculations, extended responses, and not so much the actual content)?

Thanks

Hey, this is just my experience, (it could be much different for you!)

Year 11 was more difficult, and yes I agree, moving about was the most difficult.

The general outline of Year 12 is the same, the type of questions and the setting out for calculations are almost identical, especially with key terms such as explain, compare and analyse. The way you set out an 8 marker in year 11 will be the same setting out for an 8 marker it year 12 (just different content!)

The main difference as a whole (that I found anyway) was that Year 11 was just content (ie the cosmic engine) But year 12 more focuses on CONCEPTS, and that was the thing I enjoyed the most about year 12, the concepts.

On the hardest Year 12 topic, I personally found Ideas to Implementation the most difficult and Space to be the easiest (but that might be due to having more/less time on them) However mark's wise, out cohort lost the most marks on the Motors and Generators as it can have many tricky concepts!

Out of everything, the AC induction motor was the content I did not enjoy (Took forever to get it fully understand it)

HOWEVER!!!!!!!

Year 12's content is FAR easier

I've gone from mid 60's in year 11 to low 90's in year 12

This was my outlook on the course, and it could be completely different to someone else though!

[maevecouch]

Are there any concepts I should completely master? Also, I'm fine at the theory section of the exams, but when it comes to the maths, I tend to make silly mistakes. I know the test is tomorrow but any tips on how to combat this isuue? I really want to get a Band 6, and I've been averaging in the 80 percentile for this whole year, so hopefully I improve in the exam.

[jamonwindeyer]

Are there any concepts I should completely master? Also, I'm fine at the theory section of the exams, but when it comes to the maths, I tend to make silly mistakes. I know the test is tomorrow but any tips on how to combat this isuue? I really want to get a Band 6, and I've been averaging in the 80 percentile for this whole year, so hopefully I improve in the exam.

Hey! Here is a guide on smashing those maths questions