IGCSE Physics Exam Day Checklist

An exam-day checklist should reduce avoidable decisions, not create a new revision project. Your school or examination centre remains the source of truth for the timetable, paper code, venue, identification and permitted equipment.

Before the examination day

Confirm:

• date and start time
• venue and arrival instructions
• exact component code on the statement of entry
• Core or Extended route
• Paper 5 or Paper 6 entry
• permitted calculator and equipment
• any approved access arrangements
• travel plan and contact procedure for a disruption

Private candidates should check the examination centre’s messages directly rather than assuming that school procedures apply.

Prepare the equipment

Follow the centre’s instructions. A typical personal check may include writing equipment, ruler, eraser and an approved calculator with working batteries, but the official rules take priority.

Do not bring notes or devices that are not permitted. Check the calculator mode and basic functions during preparation, not after the paper begins.

Use the final review for familiar material

Review:

• equations and their conditions
• common unit conversions
• graph and gradient routines
• command words
• practical variables, limitations and improvements
• your personal recurring-error list

Avoid beginning a large new resource. The aim is to make established routines easy to retrieve.

At the start of the paper

Read the front instructions and check the paper code. Scan the structure so you know what is ahead, but do not spend too long predicting difficulty.

For each question:

1. Underline the command word and important conditions.
2. Identify the required quantity or conclusion.
3. Show the equation and conversion for calculations.
4. Write linked statements for explanations.
5. Label graphs and diagrams carefully.
6. Move on when a question is blocking the rest of the paper.

During calculations

Keep working visible. Write the standard equation, convert units, substitute and include the final unit. Check whether the size and sign are physically sensible.

If a later part uses a value you could not calculate, use the value provided in the question where appropriate and continue. One difficult part should not automatically remove access to later marks.

During graph and practical questions

Check:

• headings and units in tables
• consistent precision where required
• axes labels and useful scale
• small accurate plotted points
• appropriate line or curve
• large triangle for a gradient
• specific limitation linked to a specific improvement
• independent, dependent and control variables in planning

If anxiety rises

Pause briefly, place both feet on the floor and return to the next concrete action: read the command word, identify the data or draw the diagram. A routine can reduce the number of decisions made while stressed.

If examination anxiety affects daily functioning before the exam, speak to a parent, teacher, counsellor or healthcare professional. Subject preparation is not a substitute for wellbeing support.

Final review

Check for blank parts, missing units, unlabelled graph axes, unanswered comparison sides and impossible orders of magnitude. Recheck changed answers carefully before erasing a sound method.

After the paper, avoid reconstructing every answer with classmates if it will disrupt preparation for the next examination. Record any practical lesson for the remaining components and then move on.