Ask any secondary or JC student how they are preparing for their ‘O’ or ‘A’ Level Physics exams and they’ll surely bring up the Ten Year Series. A compilation of previous official examination scripts, the Ten Year Series has always been the ultimate go-to solution for students to get familiar with the types of questions that may come out in their upcoming exams. Often used by schools as the benchmark for what has to be covered and taught in classes so as to effectively guide students to achieve excellent grades in their final examinations, this series of past exam papers compiled in yearly and topical formats might seem like the holy grail. But is practising the Physics Ten Year Series truly sufficient to score well in your exams? Do the detailed answers with explanations and hints included for reference sufficiently act as your personal Physics tutor?
The Benefits of Practising with Physics Ten Year Series Questions
Ever heard of the saying, “Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster”? That is exactly what the Physics Ten Year Series allows you to do — know your enemy, the exams. One of the best resources on the market to make full use of, it is a tool that every student has to leverage before sitting for their ‘O’ or ‘A’ Level exams. In fact, it is highly unlikely to see a student sit for these major examinations without having done any of these practice papers. This is because there is no doubt that there are several benefits of doing Physics past year exam papers. Some of the benefits associated with doing the Physics Ten Year Series include:
1. Simulates Exam Conditions
When used at least three months before the ‘O’ or ‘A’ Level examinations and done in the form of a test, the Physics Ten Year Series allows students to gain a better understanding of their level of competency. Having already taken the time to understand various concepts throughout the academic year, using one of the papers from the Ten Year Series as a test paper will allow students to get familiar with the exam conditions and push for effective time management. Forcing one to stay focused, doing this will also help inculcate the habit of staying composed and performing well under pressure on the day of the actual exam.
2. Exposure to More Variety of Questions
If students have already gained a good understanding of the different concepts and topics, working on the Physics Ten Year Series will allow them to gain more exposure to a variety of questions. How so? For example, in school tests, teachers may try to set tests and exams of the same standard as the Ten Year Series but frequently make changes to the commonly asked questions to thoroughly test comprehension. Let’s face it, we’ve all heard teachers say that the school papers are pitched at a standard higher than the past year’s papers. Therefore, just like standard assessment books, or working on piles and piles of test papers from other schools, the Physics Ten Year Series allows students to see if they have built up on their foundation and have mastered the basics properly.
3. Gain Confidence in Different Concepts
Be it the Physics Ten Year Series or compilation for any other subject matter, one thing is made clear with this book — questions and styles are often repeated over the years. Add to that most students may turn to assessment books that are filled with questions that are more likely out of syllabus, and it is clear to see why the Ten Year Series is used to gauge how much you’ve learnt over the course of the year. And by drilling the topical Physics Ten Year Series, students will be able to expose themselves to all the questions related to a specific topic that have appeared in past ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations. This exposes one’s weaknesses and strengths, supporting proper and more hyper-focused revisions thereafter.
Mastery Practice by Physics Academy
Throw a person who does not know how to swim into a pool — what do you think will happen? Whether the task is for them to complete multiple laps or float, the truth of the matter is that they might be barely able to do any of these things simply because they are simply not equipped with the basic knowledge of how to swim. This goes to show that taking baby steps and learning all the basics is important when attempting to gain mastery of something. And this is exactly what we factor in at our Physics tuition centre in Singapore. At Physics Academy, our Physics tutors know that in order for a student to be able to arrive at an accurate answer during their Physics exam, it is important to understand all the underlying principles and concepts that lead to the eventual result. This is why students who enrol in our Physics tuition classes have access to our proprietary Mastery Practices. Arranged by concepts and by levels of difficulty, this compilation of top school challenging examination questions will provide students an opportunity to start revising from scratch and progress slowly regardless of their current results.
So, how do you effectively leverage our Mastery Practices to ace your Physics exams?
1. Baby Steps
All the questions in our Mastery Practices are crafted by our in-house master Physics tutors. And since these questions are arranged according to their level of difficulty, it is best to start with the Easy to Medium questions before attempting the Advanced questions. Our Mastery Practices are also filled with both MCQ and structured questions. Again, take baby steps when navigating this compilation and complete all the MCQ questions before proceeding to the structured questions. If you find yourself re-checking previously done questions or are still unsure about how to answer a new question of a similar concept, then it’s highly recommended you seek the help of your Physics tutor for clarification.
2. Do Not Ignore Advanced Questions
And while it is important to take baby steps, you’ll also need to ensure you attempt all the questions in these practices. The main purpose of attempting the Advanced questions is to strengthen your conceptual understanding and find new ways to solve the same or similar questions. This so-called “struggle” to move up in terms of difficulty will help you formulate a deeper understanding of the various principles ingrained within each concept.
Ace Your Exams at Our Physics Tuition Centre
Practice makes perfect but not all practices are created equal. At the Physics Academy, we design practice papers for students enrolled in our Physics tuition classes so that they can dive head-first into practices that will set them on the right path to distinctions.
To ensure you can breeze through the steep learning curve of our Mastery Practices and gain more knowledge from sources outside of the Physics Ten Year Series, hire a private Physics tutor or enrol at Physics Academy for reliable ‘O’ Levels or ‘A’ Levels Physics tuition. Alternatively, contact us if you wish to attend a free trial class to get a feel of what our Secondary or JC Physics tuition and Physics tutors have to offer.