The short version for GCSE physics required practicals: get your list from your teacher, write a quick summary on paper after each practical, learn the variables and the method, and practise the kind of written questions that come up about them.
Start with your own list
The required practicals aren't the same for everyone. The list depends on your exam board and on whether you're taking physics on its own or as part of combined science. So the first step is simple: your teacher can give you your list. Ask for it, stick it in the front of your physics folder, and tick each one off as you do it in class.
Keep the list somewhere you'll see it. Some people put it on the wall above their desk, others keep a photo of it on their phone. Either way, it turns a vague feeling of "there are loads of practicals" into a clear, finite set you can work through one at a time.
Having the list in front of you also helps you spot any you've missed, for example if you were off school that week. If that's happened, ask your teacher how you can catch up on the method and results.
How practicals are tested
You won't be marked on doing the practical in the room. Your practical skills are tested through written questions in your exams. That means you need to be able to explain a practical on paper: what you did, why you did it that way, and what the results show.
That's good news for revision, because it means you can revise practicals the same way you revise anything else. You need words, diagrams and tables, not equipment.
Revise GCSE physics required practicals as you go
The best time to revise a practical is the evening after you've done it. It's fresh, you remember what went wrong, and it only takes a few minutes.
After each practical, write a one-page summary on paper with these headings:
- The aim. One sentence on what you were trying to find out.
- The variables. What you changed (the independent variable), what you measured (the dependent variable), and what you kept the same (the control variables). This is the bit people mix up most often, so be precise.
- The method. A short numbered list of the steps, in order. Include what equipment you used and how you took each measurement.
- A results table. Sketch the table headings with the units. You don't need your actual numbers, just the layout.
- The graph. Which variable goes on which axis, and what shape you'd expect the line or curve to be.
- What could go wrong. Note any sources of error, how you'd make the results more accurate or repeatable, and the main safety points.
That's it. One page, done while it's fresh, and you've got a revision sheet you'll thank yourself for later.
A note on safety
Never try to repeat a lab practical at home. The equipment, the setup and the supervision in a school lab are there for a reason. Your revision happens on paper: the method, the variables and the results. If you want to see it again, ask your teacher whether there's a demonstration or a video they recommend.
Physics practical revision that sticks
Once you've got your summary sheets, use them actively rather than just reading them.
- Cover and recall. Cover the method and try to write the steps from memory. Then check what you missed.
- Quiz the variables. Ask yourself, or a friend, "what's the independent variable?" for each practical. Get quick at it.
- Explain it out loud. Pretend you're explaining the practical to someone who's never seen it. If you can explain why each step matters, you really understand it.
- Practise written questions. Ask your teacher for practice questions on practicals, or look for them in past papers from your own exam board. Practise describing a method, suggesting an improvement and reading results from a table or graph.
- Log your mistakes. If you keep getting the same thing wrong, write it down. Our guide to keeping a GCSE error log works just as well for practicals as for anything else.
What about equations?
Practicals often involve calculations, like working out a value from your results. If you're not sure which equations you need to learn and which you'll be given in the exam, check with your teacher what you'll be given. Don't assume, and don't skip learning them until you know for sure. Our guide to the physics formula sheet is a good place to start once you know which paper you're sitting.
Keep it little and often
You don't need to revise every practical this week. Do the summary after each one in class, then come back to older ones for a few minutes now and then. By the time your mocks come round, you'll have a full set of one-page sheets instead of a pile of half-remembered lessons.
If you've already done practicals in other sciences, the same approach works there too. Our guide to chemistry required practicals uses the same idea.
The short version
- Get your list of required practicals from your teacher.
- Practical skills are tested through written exam questions.
- Write a one-page summary on paper after each practical.
- Learn the aim, variables, method, results table, graph and sources of error.
- Never repeat lab practicals at home. Revise them on paper.
- Check with your teacher which equations you'll be given.
- Come back to older practicals little and often.
A practical you revised the evening after you did it is a practical you won't have to relearn later. Start with the next one.
GCSE Boss is an iPhone revision app mapped to 5 UK exam boards and 174 specifications, with 9,000+ spec points, so you can revise the line that is actually on your syllabus once you know which paper you are sitting. Have a look at gcseboss.com.
GCSE Boss is an independent revision app and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any exam board. We map their published specifications so students can revise exactly what is in their syllabus.