Physics HL

Revision Summary

Electricity and Magnetism

Where does it appear? How much does it count?

(Calculations for the tables below were made based on past exams from May 2016 until May 2022)

 

Approximate number of marks

Approximate percentage of your final IBDP Physics grade

Paper 1

4-5 marks 

(out of 40)

1.9 %

Paper 2

9-12 marks

(out of 90)

4.2 %

Overall percentage of your IB Physics grade based on Topic 5

6.1 %

What to study?

Sub-topic 5.1 – Electric fields

  • Charges and electric fields
  • Coulomb’s law + related equation (see Data Booklet)
  • Work done in an electric field (both in joules and electronvolts)
  • Drift speed + related equation (see Data Booklet)
  • Electric field strength + related equation (see Data Booklet)

 

Sub-topic 5.2 – Heating effects of electric currents

  • Circuit diagrams and circuit symbols (for circuit symbols, see page 4 of the Data Booklet)
  • Ohm’s law + related equation (see Data Booklet)
  • Resistance in series and parallel circuits + related equations (see Data Booklet)
  • Electrical power + related equation (see Data Booklet)
  • Kirchhoff’s circuit laws + related equations (see Data Booklet)
  • Resistivity + related equation (see Data Booklet)

 

Sub-topic 5.3 – Electric cells

  • Primary and secondary cells
  • Internal resistance of a cell + related equation (see Data Booklet)

 

Sub-topic 5.4 – Magnetic effects of electric currents

  • Magnetic field due to a current (right-hand corkscrew rule)
  • Current flowing in a magnetic field (Fleming’s left-hand rule) 
  • Magnetic force + related equations (see Data Booklet)

Topic Specific PaperPlainz Resources

Video Concept Explanations

Electricity and Magnetism

Electric Fields
Heating Effect of Electric Currents
Electric Cells
Magnetic Effects of Electric Currents
HL Questionbank

Electricity and Magnetism

HL Past Exam Video Solutions by Topic

Electricity and Magnetism

← Topic 4

Topic 6 →