LC Physics exam-day guide
LC Physics · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Admission details and examination number
Know your examination number and candidate details before you travel. Whether a photo ID is demanded at the door varies by centre and by candidate type (school candidate vs external candidate), so confirm with the provider in advance rather than assuming.
Calculator (non-programmable)
Bring a calculator with no stored text, formulae or programs, fit a fresh battery the week before and carry a spare of the same type. Practise with the exact model you will use, especially for standard form, logs, trig and reciprocal functions used in Physics numericals.
Two pens, two pencils, eraser, sharpener
Write final answers in pen as instructed; use pencil for graphs, circuit sketches and ray diagrams so you can correct them cleanly. A blunt pencil is the most common avoidable loss of marks in the graph and diagram questions.
Ruler, protractor, and a set for drawing
Graph work, ray diagrams, vector addition and scale drawings all need straight edges and accurate angles. A clear 30 cm ruler and a protractor are essential; a compass and set squares help with ray diagrams and force triangles.
Mathematical tables if your centre permits them
Practice varies on whether printed tables are allowed or supplied in a Physics paper. Confirm with the provider what is permitted and what is supplied on the day, and do not rely on bringing in any other printed material.
Plain analogue watch
A non-smart watch lets you keep to a per-question budget without looking up at the hall clock. Smart watches and any wearable with connectivity fall under the same ban as phones.
Phone left at home or switched off and handed up
Decide in advance: the safest option is to leave the phone at home. If you must bring it, switch it fully off before entering the hall and hand it to the supervisor as instructed; possession in the hall is treated as a serious breach of regulations.
Clear pencil case and a clear water bottle
Use a transparent case so supervisors can see contents at a glance, and if you bring water, use a clear bottle with the label removed. Confirm the centre's policy on drinks if you are unsure.
Experiment revision sheet you have already studied
Not something to carry in, but something to lock down: for each mandatory experiment know the apparatus, the labelled diagram, the measurements taken, the formula used, the graph plotted, the sources of error and one precaution. Section A is drawn from this list.
Your own formula and definitions list, memorised
Physics papers expect you to recall definitions, units, and the standard formulae rather than reading them from a supplied sheet; confirm with the provider whether any formulae are printed in the paper. Learn definitions word-for-word against the marking scheme wording: force, work, energy, potential difference, resistance, refractive index, critical angle, resonance, and the rest.
Route and arrival plan
Know the hall, the entrance, and the travel time, and aim to be there well before the start time so a delay does not cost you reading time. Confirm your centre's arrival expectation with the provider rather than guessing.
Sleep, food, and a realistic finish time the night before
Stop new-topic study the night before. A three-hour paper rewards a rested candidate far more than one extra past-paper question at midnight.
Plan the day
Switch from learning content to rehearsing the paper. Work one full past paper under timed conditions (three hours, no notes, no phone), then mark it yourself against the published scheme. Sort every lost mark into one of three piles: did not know the physics, knew it but misread the question, or arithmetic/unit slip. The second and third piles are where the fast gains are.
Rebuild your mandatory experiment list from memory: write out apparatus, diagram, measurements, formula, graph, and one precaution for each experiment without looking. Anything you cannot reproduce goes on a short 'still shaky' list for the next two days.
Drill definitions, units and formulae on a blank page: write each quantity, its symbol, its unit, and the formula it appears in. Check the significant figures and unit conventions you habitually get wrong (converting cm to m, mA to A, g to kg, kJ to J, minutes to seconds).
Do a light pass only: skim your diagrams for experiments and circuits, and re-read the front-cover instructions of a past paper so the format and mark allocations are familiar. Pack the bag now: calculator plus spare battery, pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener, ruler, protractor, compass, clear case, water bottle, watch, admission details, and any permitted tables.
Confirm the start time, the hall, and the transport plan. Decide where the phone will be, and set two alarms on a device that is not the phone you are leaving behind.
Eat properly, arrive early, and avoid last-minute cramming of new material in the corridor; instead read your own one-page summary of units, definitions and experiment diagrams. Check you are carrying everything from the pack list before you leave.
Fill in your details, then read the whole paper before writing. Mark which Section A experiment questions and which Section B questions you will attempt, and note the marks per part so you know where the time goes. Choose your questions on evidence, not on habit.
Budget roughly twenty minutes per question across the eight questions, and hold ten minutes back at the end. Start with your strongest question to settle nerves, but do not overspend on it. In every numerical question write the formula, then the substitution with units, then the answer with its unit and a sensible number of significant figures; method marks survive a wrong final answer, a bare number does not.
For experiment questions, name the apparatus, sketch and label the diagram, state what was measured and with what, and finish with the precaution or source of error the question is fishing for. For definitions, give the exact wording and define any symbol you use.
Check that you have answered the required number of questions in each section, that every answer has a unit, that graph axes are labelled with quantities and units, and that no answer is stranded on a rough-work page. Fill any blank part with a relevant formula or labelled diagram.
Rules to check
Identity and admission: carry your examination details and whatever identification your centre requires. Requirements differ for school and external candidates, so confirm with the provider before the day rather than discovering it at the door.
Devices: phones, smart watches and any connected wearable must not be in the exam hall. Switch them off and hand them up, or better, leave them at home. Being found in possession of a device during an examination is treated as a serious breach and can lead to the result being cancelled.
Equipment must be yours: do not plan to borrow a calculator, ruler or table from a neighbour, and do not lend yours. Supervisor discretion to allow borrowing is not something to build your plan around.
Breaks: a three-hour paper normally runs without a scheduled break. If you need to leave the hall, raise your hand and wait for a supervisor; the clock generally keeps running, so confirm the procedure with the provider if you have a medical need that requires accommodation.
Answer the required number only: Section A is a choice of experiment questions and Section B is a choice of longer questions. Working out how many to answer is part of the exam; extra answers beyond the required number are generally not credited, so confirm the convention with your teacher beforehand.
Scoring: marks are printed on the paper, so spend your time in proportion to them, and show your working throughout. A correct formula and a correctly substituted calculation earn credit even when the final arithmetic is wrong; a bare answer earns nothing if it is wrong.
No notes or printed material: revision notes, formula cards, phone screenshots and written annotations on tables are not allowed in the hall. Only bring in what the regulations permit, and leave everything else outside.
Conduct: no communication with other candidates once the paper is distributed, and follow supervisor instructions immediately. If you believe there is an error or ambiguity in a question, note your interpretation in your answer and continue; raise it with the supervisor only if it affects your ability to proceed.