Q: What does International Baccalaureate (IB) Physics Syllabus: 2025/26 Guide cover? A: Your one-page reference to the re-imagined IB Physics curriculum (first examinations May 2025): paper weights, option-free structure.
TL;DR The new IB Physics guide (first teaching 2023, first exams May 2025) collapses the old options, merges the HL & SL routes into a single Paper 1 + Paper 2 + Internal Assessment (IA) model, and shifts all practical skills into one 10-hour investigation worth 20 % of the grade. Parents of Integrated-Programme students: early mastery of data analysis, spreadsheet LINEST and multi-topic synthesis now outweighs memorising niche option facts.
1 What Exactly Changed?
Old (2016-22)
New (first exams 2025)
Paper 1 (MCQ) 30 % + Paper 2 (Extended) 36 % + Paper 3 (Options) 24 % + IA 20 %
Paper 1 (MCQ + data) 30 % + Paper 2 (Extended) 50 % + Options removed - every student sits identical content
HL had 60 h "additional higher level" topics
HL keeps same themes but dives deeper; no separate options
2 Assessment Weights & Format
Component
HL weight
SL weight
Exam focus
Paper 1 - 30 MCQ + data section
30 %
30 %
Fast retrieval, graph literacy
Paper 2 - short + long response
50 %
50 %
Multi-topic synthesis; algebra & units
Internal Assessment - 10 h investigation, ≤ 2 500 words
20 %
20 %
Design -> data -> LINEST gradient ± SE
Note: The IB uses session-specific grade-award boundaries which vary by session and are not published as fixed % values for public audiences; focus on official assessment weights above.
3 Five Concept Cliffs (with Fix-Its)
Cliff
Symptom
One-line remedy
Fields ↔ energy landscape
Treats equipotential as path; sign flip in \(E = -\nabla V\)
Sketch equipotential and field lines on the same grid to grasp gradient direction.
Thermal ↔ molecular link
Quotes \(pV = nRT\) but can't explain microscopic KE
Use Boltzmann story: \(\tfrac32 kT\) per degree freedom; map to macroscopic work.
Spreadsheet uncertainty
Writes "half-range" for every spread; forgets SE
Run =LINEST(y,x,TRUE,TRUE) once; record gradient ± SE and convert to % uncertainty.
IA scope-creep
Picks double-slit diffraction -> 20 h data crunch
Apply 3-question feasibility filter: measurable? controllable? 10 h cap?
Electrostatics, magnetostatics, gravitational fields, field potential maps; HL deepens to electromagnetic induction.
4.5 Nuclear & Quantum
Radioactive decay, interaction models, simple Schrödinger; HL adds de Broglie and photoelectric equation.
5 Internal Assessment (IA) Essentials
10 timed hours: planning, data -> analysis -> write-up.
Criteria A-E (24 marks): Personal engagement, Exploration, Analysis, Evaluation, Communication.
Data depth beats exotic topic choice - e.g., pendulum g with high-speed video scoring ± 0.05 m s^-2 uncertainty often outranks an over-ambitious cloud chamber.
6 Comparison with A-Level & IP Tracks
IB Physics
H2 Physics (SEAB)
IP Year 3/4
One 20 % IA, no practical paper
20 % Paper 4 practical
WA practical posters (10-15 %)
Options removed, no external choice
Mandatory core + planning/data Qs
Concept taster (e.g., fields) two years early
Global 7-point scale \( HL mean ≈ 4.9 \)
Alphabetic \( ≈ 41 \% distinctions \)
GPA or MSG
7 Year-by-Year Prep Timeline (HL route)
Academic window
Priority moves
DP Y1 Term 1
Print guide; catalogue unknown terms; run vector-units sprint.
Term 2
First data-handling MCQ drill (Paper 1 B).
Jun break
Mini-IA feasibility test; pilot 3 runs of chosen experiment.
Y1 T3-T4
Full Paper 1 (50 min) + Paper 2 Section A under timing; error journal.
