OCR
OCR A level Physics revision.
Ilmino organises A level Physics around the OCR A level Physics H556 specification, so every topic, every required piece of practical work and every mark scheme a student sees belongs to the board they are actually sitting.
OCR publishes two A level Physics specifications. Ilmino follows Physics A (H556); the alternative is Physics B, Advancing Physics (H557), which examines the same core physics in a different order.
The exam, in short
How OCR examines A level Physics.
- Specification
- A level Physics A (H556)
- Papers
- Three written papers, plus the practical endorsement, which is reported separately from the A level grade.
- Tiers
- Single tier. There is no Foundation or Higher entry at A level.
- First exam series
- Summer 2017
Spec aligned
Every topic on the OCR specification.
The question bank is grouped by this board's specification, not by a generic topic list, so a student works through the same headings their teacher and their revision guide use.
Measurements and their errors
- SI units and significant figures
- Uncertainty and error analysis
- Practical apparatus and techniques
Particles and radiation
- Particles, antiparticles and quarks
- Photons and wave-particle duality
- Nuclear radiation
Waves
- Progressive and stationary waves
- Interference and diffraction
- Refractive index
Mechanics and materials
- Motion and projectiles
- Newton's laws and momentum
- Work, energy and power
- Stress, strain and the Young modulus
Electricity
- Current, resistance and resistivity
- Circuits and internal resistance
- Potential dividers
Further mechanics and thermal physics
- Circular motion
- Simple harmonic motion
- Thermal energy transfer and gas laws
Fields
- Gravitational fields
- Electric fields
- Capacitance
- Magnetic fields and electromagnetic induction
Nuclear physics and options
- Radioactive decay and half-life
- Nuclear fission and fusion
- An optional topic, such as astrophysics or medical physics
Marking
How marking follows OCR.
Ilmino stores an examiner-style mark scheme for every question, written per board. An answer is marked against the wording OCR credits, not against a general idea of what is right.
- Each mark is awarded or withheld on its own, with the mark-scheme point it maps to shown beside the answer.
- Command words are read the way OCR uses them, so describe, explain, evaluate and calculate are each held to their own standard.
- The phrase an examiner is looking for has to appear. A right idea in the wrong words loses the mark here, exactly as it would in the exam.
- Handwritten working is photographed and marked line by line, so method marks survive an arithmetic slip.
- When a mark is lost, Lumi explains which mark-scheme point was missed and what would have earned it.
Other boards for A level Physics
Sitting a different board? The whole bank switches with your choice, and progress carries across because it is stored by skill.
OCR in other subjects
Questions
OCR A level Physics on Ilmino
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AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR are trademarks of their owners and do not endorse Ilmino.
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