IB Physics Paper 1: technique for multiple choice

Multiple choice questions in IB Physics are written with the wrong answers chosen carefully. Each distractor usually corresponds to a specific mistake: a dropped factor of two, a confused sign, a proportionality applied to the wrong variable. Knowing this changes how you approach the paper.

Predict before you look

Cover the options, decide what you expect, then look. If your prediction is among the options, you are almost certainly right. If it is not, you have learned something useful about your reasoning before committing to an answer.

Use proportional reasoning

Many questions can be answered without numbers at all. If a quantity depends on separation as an inverse square, doubling the separation divides the quantity by four, and that is often the whole question:

Manage the clock honestly

• Take the questions you can answer immediately, in order.
• Flag anything that needs more than about ninety seconds and return to it.
• Leave nothing blank at the end. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.