How to revise physics and chemistry for the baccalaureate?
If only physics-chemistry could be as stylish as in Breaking Bad… Because in reality, we can easily drown in lengthy formulas, definitions and application exercises. As D-Day approaches, are you wondering how best to revise the physics-chemistry baccalaureate ? 🗣️ To answer all your questions, we interviewed David, a physics-chemistry teacher in a high school near Caen. (We would have liked to ask Walter White, but he was not available!)
#1 What are teachers’ expectations?
Beyond making exact calculations, the essential element is indeed reasoning . “ The assessee must guide us through their reasoning in a clear and fluid manner. The proofreader will be more lenient if there is a calculation error as long as the rest of the development is consistent. ” he continues. It’s all a question of method: that’s good to know!
Know the basics
We asked David what he expects in terms of knowledge, in a physics-chemistry exam at the baccalaureate: “ Obviously, everything that has been seen during the year must be mastered. That’s a lot so if I have to summarize what is essential or not, I would say:
– In chemistry, it is essential to understand the basics of atomic structure and bonding. Without them, you will have difficulty solving problems related to chemical reactions and molecular structures.
– For physics, master basic concepts such as forces, energy and momentum.
– Of course, come prepared by knowing the common units of measurement by heart: the second, the meter, the kilogram… ”
You will find all these bases in your course notes if you have taken them carefully throughout the year. Otherwise, go look in your textbooks or on the internet to fill in the gaps 🕳️
#2 Should you learn by heart?
“ This is a question that I am asked very often by my students. Is it enough to learn your course and its formulas by heart to pass the physics-chemistry test at the baccalaureate? The answer is yes, but not only that. ” David explains to us. “ There is a considerable number of formulas and theoretical notions in this subject. (As seen previously, Editor’s note) Knowing them all is obviously essential. The most important thing is knowing how to put them into practice… and often, that’s where things get stuck (laughs). ” continues the professor.
👉 So how can you learn these formulas on your fingertips to be able to use them better later? “I highly recommend making worksheets. This is a great way to highlight key concepts and equations. The ultimate is really not to be satisfied with your course – even less if you don’t understand it. There is much more to be gleaned from the manuals and problem statements.” Your revision sheets must therefore contain:
We recommend that you create your own sheets, but if you lack inspiration, you can always find some from others! David recommends in particular the YouTube channels of his colleagues Thierry Collet,
😉 From there, you have to use your favorite revision method to review your files properly. All our tips for learning by heart are in this article!
💡 A word from Oxford : need a hand choosing the right product? You have knocked on the right door! Your filing will be optimal with our REVISION 2.0 sheets. They are sturdy and their rounded corners do not bend: you can keep them all year round without fear of tearing them!
😉 They also exist in several colors: you can associate a color with a chapter to help you organize yourself. This same framework will also be recognized by scribzee, which is there not only to digitize your files but also to store them in folders directly on your phone!
#3 Should we put it into practice?
Yes, yes and yes ! Once you have mastered the theory, it’s time to practice . Be careful, you might not like it… “ You have to do and redo the exercises seen in class to properly integrate the methodology and reasoning to follow .” David explains to us. Once you have mastered the exercises seen in class, it is time to tackle new statements, just to push even further. Yes, when there is no more, there is still some 😆 “ The goal of the baccalaureate is to verify the students’ ability to restore their knowledge and their reasoning in a new context. Don’t rest on what you’ve learned and try to get out of your comfort zone as much as possible. ”
Once you have completed your exercises, you can focus on correcting them. Mistakes can happen, it doesn’t matter! You are not graded… at least not today 😉 “I always recommend that my students make error notebooks to list their frequent mistakes, their misunderstandings and their concepts that need to be reworked. It’s a good way to see your progress from revision session to revision session.” David explains to us. You can also classify the exercises by giving them one or more stars according to their level of difficulty and your success rate for each of them.
💡 A word from Oxford : this is one of the features offered by the scribzee app, thanks to which you can assign a progress status for your digitized revision sheets. “I understood”, “I didn’t understand anything” or “I understand a little and I’m panicking”, these statuses are 100% customizable, will help you prioritize your revisions and not waste time 😜
