Embedded Files
How to revise GCSE Physics: a step-by-step method
How to revise GCSE Physics: a step-by-step method
Knowing that you need to revise GCSE Physics is one thing. Knowing how to revise is another.
There are hundreds of revision resources available, but having lots of resources does not necessarily mean that you are revising effectively. You can spend hours reading through a textbook, watching videos and making colourful notes without actually remembering very much.
The most important thing to remember is this: You need to do something with the knowledge.
Reading your notes is easy. Actually trying to remember, explain and apply what you have learned is much harder — but that is where the real revision happens.
In this article I am going to take you through a step-by-step method that you can use whenever you revise a GCSE Physics topic.
Contents
Timings: 45 minutes of revision, then take a break
Timings: 45 minutes of revision, then take a break
When revising you should make sure to take breaks. I recommend working for around 45 minutes before taking a proper 15-minute break.
When you take your break, actually take a break. Get up from your desk. Go for a walk, do some exercise, get something to eat or drink, or watch something funny.
After your break, you can come back and start another 45-minute revision session. The important thing is that your 45 minutes should be active revision.
Let's look at how to do some active revision...
1. Make your revision notes
1. Make your revision notes
First, choose a topic you want to revise for GCSE Physics. Use your textbook and your school notes to make a set of revision notes.
But don't simply copy the textbook.
Read the information, identify the important points and then write them down in your own words. Actually writing things down forces you to think about what you are reading rather than simply moving your eyes across a page.
Your notes might include:
• important definitions (don't rephrase these)
• equations
• key facts
• diagrams
• examples
• things you know you often forget
You don't need to make your notes look perfect. They are there to help you learn, not to win a handwriting competition!
Try it now!
Choose a GCSE Physics topic to revise, such as radioactive decay.
Use your textbook and school notes to write down the key points you need to know about that topic.
Don't copy the whole textbook. Try to put the information into your own words.
2. Summarise your notes
2. Summarise your notes
Now comes the trickier part.
Look at the revision notes you have just made and try to reduce them to just three simple sentences.
Three sentences!
This forces you to decide what the most important information is.
Your three sentences will not contain everything you need to know. They are not supposed to. Instead, they should act as memory triggers, helping you remember more information than is actually written down.
If you have properly understood the topic, a few words should be enough to remind you of the bigger ideas.
Try it now!
Take the revision notes you made in the previous section.
Can you summarise the whole topic into three simple sentences?
3. Apply your knowledge
3. Apply your knowledge
Now it is time to find some exam questions. There are lots of websites where you can find GCSE Physics exam questions and past papers. PhysicsandMathsTutor.com is a great resource for finding questions from different topics and exam boards.
Don't jump straight into a timed exam. Instead, gradually make the questions more difficult by taking away the support you give yourself.
First attempt: use your notes
Complete an exam question while looking at your revision notes. Don't worry about the time. Your aim is to practise applying your knowledge and understanding what the question is asking you to do.
Second attempt: no notes
Now try a similar question without looking at your notes. Still don't worry about the time. You are beginning to rely on your memory rather than your notes.
Third attempt: no notes and timed
Finally, try another similar question without your notes and under exam conditions. As a rough guide, allow about one minute per mark. You are gradually removing the support until you can answer the questions independently and within the time available in the exam.
And don't forget about the mark scheme. Mark schemes are an excellent revision resource. Don't just check whether your final answer is correct. Read the mark scheme carefully and compare it with your answer.
Be honest when marking your work. If you missed a marking point, you missed it. That's not a problem — you have just found something that you need to improve. Try to work out why you lost the mark. Did you not know the Physics? Did you know it but fail to explain it properly? Did you make a calculation mistake? Did you misunderstand the question?
Each mistake gives you something to work on.
Try it now!
Find three similar exam questions on the topic you have been revising.
Complete the first question with your notes and no time limit.
Complete the second without your notes and with no time limit.
Finally, complete the third without your notes and with a time limit.
Mark all three carefully using the mark scheme.
Looking for something different?
If you want to practise GCSE Physics while doing something a bit different, take a look at Atomic Pathways. It is an interactive Physics adventure where you use your GCSE knowledge to solve problems and make decisions as you work through an abandoned nuclear research facility.
4. Teach somebody else
4. Teach somebody else
By this stage you should be becoming more confident with your chosen topic.
One of the best tests of whether you really understand something is whether you can teach it to somebody else.
Teaching someone else forces you to explain the ideas clearly rather than simply recognising them when you see them in your notes.
Find someone to teach. It could be:
• a parent
• a brother or sister
• a friend
• a classmate
• an imaginary person!
Try to break the topic down into simple ideas that a complete beginner could understand. Could you explain it without constantly looking at your notes? Could you answer questions about it? What happens when they ask you something you hadn't thought about?
This is closely related to the Feynman Technique, which I discussed in my article 5 Fun Ways to Revise GCSE Physics. The basic idea is simple: if you can explain something clearly and simply, it is a good sign that you actually understand it.
Try it now!
Find someone and teach them your chosen Physics topic. Try to explain it as simply as possible.
Did they ask you a question you couldn't answer? Did you struggle to explain something? That's okay!
Write down anything you struggled with and go back to your notes to learn it again. Then try explaining it one more time.
5. Create your own exam questions
5. Create your own exam questions
Do you really know the topic you have been revising? Here's another way to find out. Write your own exam questions. After all, it is difficult to write a good exam question if you don't understand the answer yourself.
Start with simple questions and gradually make them more challenging. As you create each question, write a mark scheme as well. For longer-answer questions, use bullet points in your mark scheme and imagine that each bullet point is worth one mark. This is also useful exam practice. Physics examiners are generally looking for specific marking points, rather than long paragraphs of writing.
You could start with:
1–2 marks: Define a key term.
3–4 marks: Complete a simple calculation using one equation.
3–4 marks: Explain a scientific process or concept.
5–6 marks: Complete a multi-step calculation using two or three equations.
6 marks: Write a required practical question.
For AQA GCSE Physics, 6 marks is the highest mark available for a single question.
Try to write your questions in the style of a real GCSE exam. Don't try to catch people out or make the wording deliberately confusing. Instead, look at questions you have seen in real exam papers and use them as a model.
Once you have written some questions, give them to a friend or classmate. Can they understand exactly what you are asking? Do they agree with your mark scheme? Were there any parts of your question that were unclear?
Use their feedback to improve both your questions and your answers.
Try it now!
Write an exam question, including a mark scheme, for the topic you have been revising.
Give your question to a friend or classmate and ask them to complete it.
Then compare their answer with your mark scheme.
6. Review and retrieve
6. Review and retrieve
By now you should be feeling much more confident about your topic. You might think you are finished and ready to move on to something else. Not quite.
If you learn something once and then never come back to it, you are relying on your memory to keep it there forever. Instead, come back to the topic regularly. I recommend returning to it every 3–4 days while you are actively revising.
But remember what we said at the beginning of this article - Don't just read your notes again. First, try to remember what you learned.
Put your notes to one side and write down everything you can remember about the topic. You could use your three-sentence summary as a starting point, or simply do a quick brain dump onto a piece of paper. Only after you have tried to remember the information should you look back at your notes.
What did you remember? What did you forget? What did you get wrong? Anything you couldn't remember is something you now know you need to work on.
Write it down.
It doesn't need to be neat. It can be on a scrap piece of paper. The important thing is that you do something with the information rather than simply reading it again.
Try it now!
Set yourself a reminder for three days from now.
Come back to your three-sentence summary and, without looking at your full notes, write down everything you can remember about the topic.
Then check your notes. How much did you remember?
7. What NOT to do when revising
7. What NOT to do when revising
There are so many resources and tools available to make revision quicker, but quicker doesn't necessarily mean better. Here are some things I recommend you don't do.
Don't just read your work. Reading your notes can be useful, but it shouldn't be the main thing you do during revision. Make notes. Summarise. Test yourself. Complete exam questions. Teach someone. Write questions. Do something with the knowledge.
Don't ask AI to make your revision notes for you. AI can produce notes, summaries and flashcards very quickly. But if you simply ask AI to make your revision materials and then read them, you have skipped the important part of the learning process. You need to think about the information yourself.
If you want to use AI, use it to help you practise. Ask it questions, get it to quiz you or ask it to explain something you don't understand — but don't outsource all of the thinking.
Don't leave revision until the night before. You can certainly revise the night before an exam. What you shouldn't do is start revising the night before an exam. Trying to learn an entire GCSE Physics course in one evening is not a good revision strategy. Start early and return to topics regularly.
Don't have your phone next to you. Your phone is one of the easiest ways to distract yourself. Put it somewhere else while you are revising. You can check it during your 15-minute break.
Don't spend all your time making revision resources. Making revision notes, flashcards and posters can be useful. But remember why you are making them. The purpose is to learn the Physics, not to create the world's most beautiful set of revision notes.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
So, how should you revise GCSE Physics?
There isn't one magic resource or one perfect revision technique that works for everyone. Different people learn in different ways, so you need to find out what works specifically for you.
However, if you are not sure where to start, the above steps gives you a useful structure:
Most importantly, remember: Don't just read. Do something.
The more you make yourself recall, explain and apply the Physics, the more you are actually revising rather than simply spending time looking at revision materials.
There is no single right way to revise GCSE Physics. Try different approaches, pay attention to what helps you remember and understand the most, and build a revision routine that works for you.
Now choose a topic and get started!
Where next?
Finding the maths tricky in GCSE Physics? Take a look at How to rearrange equations for GCSE Physics.
Ready for a Different Kind of GCSE Physics Revision?
Ready for a Different Kind of GCSE Physics Revision?
Step inside an abandoned nuclear research facility in Atomic Pathways, the first adventure in An Interactive Physics Journey.
Use your GCSE Physics knowledge to solve problems, make decisions and survive the adventure. Every choice matters - and your mistakes will cost you Health Points!
Can you reach the end and earn the rank of Statistically Improbable Nuclear Physicist?
“It works incredibly well once you get into the story. It's also nice to see the information that goes beyond the usual GCSE specification, and it will certainly help students who engage with it.”
Lewis - Physics Online
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse