A Short Guide to Answering Techniques in Physics Nitin Ranjitkar A2D Many students end up with marks much less than what they expected for Paper 4. Strict marking principles have been formulated for examiners to follow. There is a very thin line between gaining or not gaining the mark for a particular question. Not having a proper understanding of how to present and structure your answers clearly could prove detrimental to your final P4 total! A balance between clear presentation and accurate content is key to do well in Paper 4. Please go through this document thoroughly. My goal is to provide everyone with at least some basic ideas and prevent unnecessary loss of marks. ● Understanding the Question To successfully answer a question, first, try to put the question into your own words to understand what it is really asking. Read each question very carefully. Misreading a question can cost you marks. It is always a good idea to read the question carefully, noticing the command words and key instructions. You may want to underline them to help you think about what they mean. ● Command Words Command words will serve as a guide for you to know what is expected from you for this question ● Technical Terms and Keywords Cambridge examiners expect us to be familiar with the technical terms and use them in our answers. You should use the correct Physics terms in your answer. Do not replace them with other terms that are inappropriate, even if their meanings are the same. Alternative ways of writing such technical answers, or absence of keywords may not get credit, even if the answer sounds right and is logically correct. For example, saying “A increases as B increases” would be insufficient if what is meant is “A is proportional to B”. Example1: Question: In this case, the candidate is awarded the first mark for stating that the field lines spread out radially. However, to be awarded the second mark, they needed to say that the field lines “appeared to meet at the centre” instead of “meet at the centre”.The second mark was hence not awarded. The tiniest of details matter! Example2: Question: MS: The underlined word “adjacent” must be present if you want to define the wavelength as distance between two successive wavefronts. A vague answer such as “distance between two peaks of a wave” would obtain no marks. ● Questions that ask for specific number of answers If the question states the number of answers required, then writing extra answers is not allowed. Even if you do so, marks may not be given for the extra answers, and marks may be deducted if any of them is wrong. ● Explanation type questions In questions that require more than one response, the list rule is applicable. The List Rule: The candidate writes two correct answers and then an incorrect answer. Two marks are awarded. In this case, the candidate writes four statements. The fourth one is wrong but since only the first 3 responses are to be considered, the 4th response is ignored. Here, from 4 responses, even though 3 correct responses are written, only the first three responses are considered and hence the candidate only obtains 2 marks Watch closely. Before, I mentioned that only the first three responses will be considered. But in this case, since the third response is a contradiction to the second response, the second and third responses are taken as a single incorrect response. The fourth response is then taken as the third response The List Rule: All possible scenarios ● Calculation type questions When answering questions on calculation, you should show ALL workings. You should not skip any important steps. You must also write the correct unit for the final answer if it is not provided. Always write down the formula of the equation used to solve the question. In some cases, if your final answer is correct, full marks will be given and the workings will not be marked. In other cases, marks can only be given for the final answer if the marks for working are scored, where the correct answer without working scores 0 mark. Whichever case, if your final answer is wrong but some of your working is correct, you may still be given some marks. For a calculation question which requires you to use your answer from the previous question, even if your answer for the previous question is wrong and you use it for this question causing your answer for this question to be wrong, usually you will still get full marks for this question as long as your calculation for this question is correct. This is known as 'error carried forward'. Some Bonus Tips: ❖ Make sure that you have answered everything that a question asks. Sometimes one sentence asks two things, e.g. ‘State and explain’. It is easy to concentrate on the first “stating” and omitting “explain”. ❖ Always show your working. Marks are usually awarded for using correct steps in the method even if you make a mistake somewhere. ❖ If you need to change a word or a number, or even a sign (+ to – for example), it is better to cross out your work and rewrite it. Don’t try to write over the top of your previous work as it will be difficult to read and you may not get the marks. ❖ Look for details of the depth of answer required. For example, a question worth one mark [1] is likely to need a simple phrase or a simple number whereas a question worth three marks [3] is likely to need three separate points or for a calculation question two lines of working before an answer. ❖ When you have calculated an answer, always ask yourself if it is sensible and realistic. If it isn’t, go back and check your working. For instance, the mass of an object is unlikely to be 500,000,000 kilograms.. ❖ Do not prematurely round up figures at an intermediate stage during a calculation – wait until the answer is reached and only then express it to an appropriate number of significant figures. ❖ You should not give more than one answer for a particular mark. If multiple answers are provided that are contradictory, then you cannot be awarded credit for a correct answer. Any explanations that you give should be as clear and precise as possible.
