Ten IP Math & Physics Misconceptions: Debunked
Download printable cheat-sheet (CC-BY 4.0)10 Jul 2025, 00:00 Z
Join our Telegram study groupQ: What does Ten IP Math & Physics Misconceptions: Debunked cover?
A: From "vectors are just arrows" to "current gets used up", we bust ten myths that repeatedly trip Integrated-Programme students - plus quick.
TL;DR Misconceptions arise whenever lessons move too fast to let students test assumptions.
This post spotlights ten of the most stubborn myths we meet in Eclat classrooms, shows how each one hurts grades, and supplies rapid-fire antidotes you can try after dinner.
1 Why misconceptions matter more in the IP track
- Compressed timeline - IP pulls selected A-Level ideas down to Sec 3-4, so shaky basics snowball faster.
- Inter-topic questions - a false belief in one topic (e.g. "gravity only acts downwards") wrecks multi-step proofs combining energy, vectors and calculus.
- Inquiry assessments - design-and-data tasks mark reasoning, not recall; a hidden misconception bleeds marks across Method, Discussion and ACE bands.
See our earlier deep dives on these pressures in Why Sec 3 IP Students Struggle and Underperforming in IP.
2 Top-10 misconceptions & two-minute fixes
| # | Misconception | Why it's wrong | Quick fix |
| 1 | "Vectors are just numbers with arrows." | Vectors obey different algebra: \(\vec a + \vec b \neq \vec b + \vec a\). Direction changes signs and affects dot / cross products. | Make students write components before magnitude: \((3,4)\) then \(\sqrt{3^2+4^2}\). |
| 2 |
