Recommendations for IB Physics revision books

AI Thread Summary
A Year 12 Physics student in the UK is seeking recommendations for concise and effective revision resources for IB Higher Level Physics. They currently have two textbooks: a mathematical one by KA Tsokos and an outdated IBID Press book. The student is particularly interested in finding a slimmer revision guide and resources for mock past paper questions. Suggestions from other forum members include the "IB Prepared- Physics HL" guide published by the IB, which has received positive feedback. Additionally, the IB Study Guide by Tim Kirk is recommended as a helpful resource for exam preparation. While Tsokos' book is noted for its clarity in explaining concepts, it is not considered the best for exam prep. Members also mention sourcing past papers from schools and online searches. Overall, the discussion emphasizes the importance of finding suitable revision materials to effectively prepare for the IB Physics exams.
mlitherland
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I'm a Year 12 (UK) Physics student, currently in the first year of my IB course. I have been assigned some Easter revision work, and just wondered if anyone who has experience of IB Physics has any recommendations as to which books they have used in the past. I have been given two hefty textbooks, one very mathematical tome by KA Tsokos and the other a little outdated (IBID Press, 1999). A slimmer, concise yet detailed revision guide is really what I'm looking for, alongside some resource which can give me 'mock' past paper style questions. They should be suitable for IB Higher Level Physics, which is what I plan to take.
Thanks in advance for any help I receive
 
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This is the book that my school had.

I also used the notes of one Chris Hamper when I was in an IB Diploma program. I left it in favour of A-Levels, in case you're wondering, and as such cannot really give you an opinion on these resources. I only properly started learning year 12-13 physics when I started A-Levels.

Looking up "IB physics revision notes" on Google.com returns some potentially useful results.

Good luck!
 
thanks for the advice, much appreciated (and yes, the attraction of A levels does seem to multiply after a half-year of IB!)
i've done a bit more research myself, and have found a potentially useful book: "IB Prepared- Physics HL". It seems the IB publish this series of guides themselves. Has anyone else ever used these, and if so, are they any good?!


link below
http://store.ibo.org/product_info.php?cPath=23_220&products_id=1577
 
mlitherland said:
thanks for the advice, much appreciated (and yes, the attraction of A levels does seem to multiply after a half-year of IB!)
i've done a bit more research myself, and have found a potentially useful book: "IB Prepared- Physics HL". It seems the IB publish this series of guides themselves. Has anyone else ever used these, and if so, are they any good?!


link below
http://store.ibo.org/product_info.php?cPath=23_220&products_id=1577

You've got less than 1.5 years left, so stick with it! I only went back to A-Levels because my IB school didn't have a wide enough range of subjects and the teaching quality was quite average. Not worth the money being spent. Would be too expensive to go elsewhere. After all of that "drama", I couldn't be bothered and just did whatever I had to to be able to get into uni. Baaaad decisions. But anyway, water under the bridge.
 
If you have an iPad, I've found this.
Topics 1 and 9 are free and you have to purchase the rest individually. I've bought about half of them and I can highly recommend them.
 
I also used the IB Study Guide by Tim Kirk that Mepris mentioned. I thought it was very helpful- it was my most used physics textbook throughout my 2 years of IB physics and pretty much the only book I used for preparing for the exams. It also seem to fit quite well with what you said you were looking for- a slim, concise revision guide.

Tsokos' book is a good book too, in that it explains conceps quite clearly and thoroughly. It's a great book for actually learning the material. But as an exam preparation tool, it's not the best, contrary to Tim Kirk's study guide.

I got most of my pastpapers from my school as well as by searching online. Don't really remember the sites, so can't really help you on that.

Good luck!
 
The book is fascinating. If your education includes a typical math degree curriculum, with Lebesgue integration, functional analysis, etc, it teaches QFT with only a passing acquaintance of ordinary QM you would get at HS. However, I would read Lenny Susskind's book on QM first. Purchased a copy straight away, but it will not arrive until the end of December; however, Scribd has a PDF I am now studying. The first part introduces distribution theory (and other related concepts), which...
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