How I Got an A* in A-Level Physics (Cambridge Student)

Hey guys, welcome back to my channel. My name  is Ray and I'll be studying physical natural   sciences at the University of Cambridge. And as  you can expect from the title, I got an A-star in   A-level physics and I'll be going through how. So  just for context, I did AQA physics and I did the   astrophysics option as well. But I'm sure much  of this advice will be applicable to other exam   boards as well. So I'll be going through the  resources I used one by one whilst giving any

examples when necessary of how I use them. I'll  link to any of the websites I mentioned will be   down in the description below. So number one,  use the specification. A lot of people don't   end up using the specification for subjects  like physics compared to subjects like biology   because they think there isn't much in it, but it  still can be really valuable. So I would suggest   downloading the specification and either printing  it out, or if you don't want to print it out,   upload it to somewhere like Google Drive or  OneNote. And on your computer or tablet, you can   annotate the specification. And as you're going  through the specification and through your course,   just make sure you're covering all the key points  because you don't want to be in the exam situation   where you haven't covered a small area of the  specification and then it ends up being a 3 or   a 4 mark question which can end up costing you  your whole grade. Ask for clarification from your   teachers if there's something you don't understand  from the spec because it's their job to know it   inside out. But of course you can still use it as  well, even if it's their job. For me personally,   I used the specification several times throughout  the year as I was going along like every month   or two. I checked to make sure I had covered  everything up to that point. And then closer   to the exams, I checked it more frequently and  frequently just to make sure. And any points which   I hadn't covered, I'd either go to a textbook,  go to a teacher or search online and see what I

actually have to cover for that point. So number  two, use flashcards. So a lot of people don't end   up using flashcards for physics because they think  it's not too content heavy that it's worth them   using flashcards. But there are still definitely  things you have to memorize. And you can even like   distill concepts down onto flashcards. And rather  than memorizing the other side word for word,   you use it as a trigger for you recalling the  concept and explaining it into your own words. So   if you're doing A2 physics, you can make yourself  explain Lenz's law and or just remember the   definition for Lenz's law from the specification.   But also make sure you understand it when you're   going through the flashcard. So I made my  flashcards loosely based on a method called the   Cornell method. And in that I had two columns,  the smaller column being for questions and the   second column being for answers or definitions and  concepts or whatever you want. So I'll go through   how I made them later, but be sure to make your  own because at least 50% of the learning comes   from making the flashcards. And as you're making  them, you're understanding the concepts better   and better. Whereas if you're using someone else's  flashcards, then you won't understand the concepts   as well, or you won't have it in your own words.   And then you'll just effectively be memorizing,   which won't be so good when it comes to an  application question on your exam. So the reason I   made flashcards on a computer instead of on paper  for physics is because I found it much easier to   be able to edit the flashcards or add images  and stuff like that, because you can just find   a Feynman diagram or some other image off Google  and just drag and drop it into your flashcard. And   if you find a mistake later on, you can just edit  it on your phone or computer. And you don't have   to worry about making it look nice or pretty or  something. And you can get down to revising more   using the flashcards and reviewing them more  rather than making them look nice. Ultimately,   it saved me a lot of time and I'd highly recommend  trying it out. So then I copied my flashcards over   to an app called Anki onto my computer and then  synced it onto my phone. If you don't know what   Anki is, I'd highly suggest googling it or finding  videos online because the small amount of time it   takes you to get used to Anki and learn how  to use it will pay off massively in terms of   revision because it'd make sure your revision is  more effective and based on solely the areas which   you need to work on. I've used Anki for the past  four years now almost. So I plan on making a video   series soon on how to use it and how to get the  most out of it. If it's out, it should be linked   up somewhere by now. Otherwise, just wait. So I  went through my flashcards every day on both my   phone and my computer for months. It's really not  as much as it seems because some days you might   only have 20 or 30 flashcards to go through and  other days only 5 or 10. But when you're starting   out, you're going to have to go through a lot  because Anki needs to know which ones you're   struggling on and which ones you're not. So  the ones which you're struggling on come up   more frequently than the other ones and it makes  sure your revision time is the most effective. If   you were doing it on paper, you'd just be going  through all of them in a pile, like one after the   other, even the ones you're stronger on. Whereas  with Anki, you're going through the weaker ones   more frequently than the stronger ones. So it's  really personalized to your revision. The best   part with it is that you can be as strict as you  want on how you remember the card. So if it's a   definition which you're memorizing from a mark  scheme, because some exam boards can be a bit   picky, you can say, if I don't get this word  for word, I'm not going to mark it as right.    Whereas if it's for a concept, you might give  yourself some leeway in explaining it in terms   of your own words, just so you can remember it  again. The most important thing to remember is to   not worry too much if it's taking you too long to  recall what's on the other side of the flashcard,   especially when you're starting out. Because the  more effort you're putting into remembering what's   on the other side or the definition and concept,  the stronger your synapse connections become in   your brain and the easier it'll be to remember  what's on the other side the next time and the   time after and so on. It just becomes easier over  time. It's all part of a learning process. But   when you're doing it, just make sure to verbalize  the answer to yourself, like whisper the answer   quietly to yourself. because it stops you from  kidding yourself that you've got it right. Because   at least when I was doing flashcards four years  ago, I'd say the answer in my head and then flip   over and say, oh, that was right, even though  it wasn't really right. So I'd highly recommend   doing that and it makes sure your revision is as  effective as it could be. So now I'll be going

through what I used to make my flashcards. So the  first thing I'd use to make my flashcards were my   class notes and they were like the backbone,  the fundamentals or the starting point of my   flashcards. So every weekend what I'd do, I'd  just type up my class notes onto my computer and   slowly turn them into flashcards whilst adding to  them and making sure they're complete using other   resources, as I'll go on to mention. So then  I'd go on to CGP revision guides to add onto   my flashcards and they just, I use them to make  sure that I had covered everything up to that   point. And if there were any diagrams that I liked  from the books, I'd take a picture using my phone   and then move it onto my computer rather than  like drawing nice diagrams out myself. They're   not quite as good as the videos, which I'll talk  about later. So the next thing I'd go on to use is   a website called physbot and physbot has really  good images, explanations and notes to help you   add onto your flashcards. And as you're reading  it, just make sure you're understanding it all and   then you can either rewrite it in your own words  or use some of the words and phrases they've been   using. And for any equations which you want, you  can just copy and paste it onto your flashcards

from there. So the main thing I used was YouTube  because I don't learn as well from books as other   people do. And just seeing someone go through the  concepts makes it stick so much better. Unlike   subjects like chemistry and biology where you  want to find videos more related to your spec,   for physics, it's more about understanding and  you can find videos from almost any YouTuber   who doesn't make A-level specific content. So  some of the ones I ended up using were Khan   Academy and someone called Doc Schuster and just  their videos relevant to the small topics. So if   you didn't understand Young's Double Slit, you  can just search that onto YouTube and you'd find   a video by Khan Academy and the guy would go  through and explain Young's Double Slit slowly   and in a way for you to understand. And I think  the level of videos that they end up making are   better than some of the ones that A-level  YouTubers end up making. But that doesn't   mean you can't use those ones as well. As for  those who stick closely to the A-level content,

you have Burrows' Physics and Science Shorts and  A-level Science Online. They were all quite good,   especially Science Shorts because he was really  quick and straight to the point and he has videos   going through some past papers as well, which  I'll move on to later. But ultimately, all these   videos and YouTubers helped me contribute to my  flashcards. So after I understood a topic, I'd   end up making a flashcard about it and explain it  in my own words. So when I'm going through it on   Anki, like every day or something or however often  it shows up, then I would explain it in my own   words and I'd be remembering concepts throughout  the year. So I also ended up using the textbook   a bit. I went through it just to make sure I  more or less knew everything, but it does go   into some waffle here and there, which you don't  really need to know. But the best thing about the   textbook is it has a whole section towards your  applied module if you're doing AQA or some other   exam board. So because there wasn't much content  on astrophysics, we had to either Google it or we   could find a whole textbook chapter about it and  that was really useful for the applied module and   applied exam. I'm not quite sure how it works on  other exam boards, but if it's something similar,   I'd suggest going to a textbook for the applied  stuff because you won't find many other resources   online. So the next resource I used was Physics  & Maths Tutor. While I do think the website is a   bit overrated in some ways, it definitely has a  good collection of topic tests and past papers,   which you won't find in many other places unless  your school gives them to you as well. So using

the topic tests throughout year 12 and year 13,  I'd go through them and make sure I understand   what I'm learning as I'm going along because you  don't want to start understanding a lot of the   material like one or two months before the exam  because it really piles up at that point and   you want to be revising it at that point rather  than understanding it for the first time. So then   there's Isaac Physics. While the website can be  a bit annoying at times, it can really help you   improve your maths skills in physics if that's  what you're struggling on the most. For me, that   was fine, so I didn't have to use it as much, but  I know it can be really helpful to some people,   especially if you want to tackle the harder A-star  level calculations for physics. So the final and

most important thing I used were past papers. I  don't think anyone's gotten an A-star in physics   without using at least some past papers because  the content can only get you so far. Personally,   for me, I went through every single one, including  the old spec. While it can be a bit repetitive,   the old spec questions, I just sort of like  flicked through the ones which I thought   were really obvious, but the new spec ones are  really useful. So as I was going through them,   I'd add my score onto a past paper tracker  and then any which had quite low scores,   I'd end up going through again towards closer to  the exam time. So I'd have an overview of how I   was doing across the years and stuff like that. I  would suggest being strict on timing and when you   finish a paper, of course, you're going to have  to learn some stuff from the past paper because   there's no point doing it otherwise. So I would  have a mistakes document or a content, new content   mistakes document. So after the paper, I'd go  through all the questions after having marked it   and see what else I could add to my flashcards. So  if there's any wording I can improve that's better   suited to the mark scheme or if there's any common  mistakes I make, I'd add them all onto a document   and then before exams and before the actual  test and before topic tests and stuff like that,   I'd read through the relevant part of the document  just to make sure I don't make those mistakes   in the exam by reminding myself of the ones I  usually make. This is going to vary from person   to person and I would suggest doing past papers  consistently as exam time approaches because   doing three or four papers throughout the week  is going to be a lot more beneficial than doing   three or four at the weekend. But don't let the  papers pile up throughout the week because you

don't want to mark it a few days later and  look at a question you got wrong and wonder   why you thought that at the time. It's better  to mark the paper as soon as you've done it to   maximize the amount of benefit you're getting  from the paper. After using the mark scheme,   if you're still confused on a few questions, you  can usually search the paper up on YouTube and you   have someone like Science Shorts who goes through  the new spec AQA and Edexcel papers and if there's   nothing like that and you're still stuck on a  question, you can go on to somewhere like the   student room or you can go to your teacher and ask  them for help. But just definitely do it because   you don't want to make the same mistake over and  over again because if you don't deal with it now,   who knows it might come up in the exam. So that's  all for now. I hope it goes well for your exam.    Good luck with physics. While I can't guarantee  you an A-star by following all this advice,   you should have a pretty good shot at getting  one. It all comes down to the amount of effort   and hard work you're willing to put in. So I made  some other how I got an A-star videos for maths,   further maths and chemistry. If you want to see  them, they're linked down below and if you want to   see my physics flashcards, they should be linked  down below as part of a video or something. If you   have any suggestions for any videos I should make,  leave a comment down below. If you like the video,   then please give a thumbs up and subscribe to my  channel. I'm planning on making more videos like   this soon and on studying exam technique and stuff  like that. So stay tuned and thanks for watching.