For IB students sitting exams in May 2028 (started DP1 in August 2026).
The best May 2028 IB physics study advice is to combine concise, syllabus-mapped notes with weekly problem-solving from the beginning of DP1. Learn each idea, retrieve it without notes, apply it to unfamiliar questions, and keep a written record of every error you need to correct.
Physics rarely becomes difficult because of one impossible concept. The greater danger is accumulation. A half-understood graph in September becomes a shaky mechanics calculation in January, then an avoidable mistake under exam pressure. Starting early gives you something more valuable than extra hours: time for ideas to become connected.
This advice follows the current IB Physics course, first taught in August or September 2023 and first assessed in 2025. The IB currently lists that course on its official Physics curriculum page, but the exact May 2028 examination timetable and session-specific instructions have not yet been published. Your coordinator should confirm any later IB updates, approved calculator rules, examination times, and administrative requirements.
Your May 2028 study plan at a glance
- Make one concise concept sheet for each syllabus subtopic.
- Practise calculations and explanations every week, not only before tests.
- Include multiple-choice, data-based, short-answer, and extended-response work.
- Review errors after each practice session and repeat the underlying skill.
- Use materials explicitly aligned with the course first assessed in 2025.
- Train with the data booklet and your permitted calculator.
- Give scientific investigation work regular time instead of treating it as a final-month project.
- Increase timed mixed practice gradually during DP2.
The RevisionDojo IB Physics resource hub brings syllabus-mapped practice and explanations into one place, which helps prevent revision from becoming a collection of disconnected files.
Know the course you are preparing for
The current syllabus is organized through five broad themes: space, time and motion; the particulate nature of matter; wave behaviour; fields; and nuclear and quantum physics. Conceptual understanding, mathematical modelling, data analysis, practical work, and technology are integrated across those themes.
Under the present assessment model, Paper 1 contains Paper 1A multiple-choice questions and Paper 1B data-based questions. Paper 2 contains short-answer and extended-response questions. External assessment contributes 80% of the subject result, while the internally assessed scientific investigation contributes 20%.
At SL, the recommended teaching time is 150 hours. At HL, it is 240 hours. Both levels study the same organizing themes, but HL includes additional syllabus content and expects greater mathematical and conceptual depth. The current structure gives SL 1 hour 30 minutes for Paper 1 and 1 hour 30 minutes for Paper 2. HL receives 2 hours for Paper 1 and 2 hours 30 minutes for Paper 2.
These details describe the current guide, not a guarantee about every administrative detail in May 2028. The IB has not yet published the exact May 2028 Physics dates, final session instructions, or grade boundaries. Grade boundaries are determined after assessment, so any number presented years in advance would be speculation.
How to make Physics notes that remain useful
A complete notebook can feel reassuring while doing very little for recall. The goal is not to preserve every sentence from class. It is to create a compact model of what you must understand and reproduce.
For each subtopic, build a one-page sheet containing:
- the central physical idea in your own words
- essential equations and the meaning of every symbol
- assumptions or conditions behind each relationship
- one labelled diagram or graph
- unit relationships and relevant conversions
- one representative worked example
- one common misconception or error
For example, do not record only . Note that acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, identify the vector directions, and state that the equation describes the resultant force. Then include a free-body diagram and a question in which the forces do not balance.
This distinction matters because recognizing an equation is not the same as selecting it independently. After making a sheet, close it and reconstruct its main ideas from memory. Check what was missing, correct it, and revisit it several days later. Syllabus-aligned Physics Study Notes and self-study resources can help clarify a concept, while Flashcards are better reserved for definitions, units, relationships, assumptions, and recurring qualitative explanations.
What to practise, and how often
In DP1, aim for two or three focused Physics sessions each week outside lessons. A productive session may last 30-45 minutes and should usually contain questions, not just reading. After learning a subtopic, complete a small set of questions within 48 hours, revisit it one week later, and return again through mixed practice.
A sustainable weekly pattern looks like this:
| Session | Main purpose | Suggested activity |
|---|---|---|
| First | Secure the concept | Retrieve definitions, equations, diagrams, and assumptions without notes |
| Second | Apply the concept | Complete 6-10 syllabus-matched questions and mark them carefully |
| Third | Build transfer | Mix the topic with earlier material and correct your error log |
By DP2, add regular timed sets. Begin with 20-30 minutes so timing does not hide conceptual weaknesses. Later, use full Mock Exams and IB Physics Predicted Papers as rehearsals for decision-making, stamina, and pacing. Predicted material is practice, not privileged knowledge of the final examination.
Not all practice serves the same purpose. Multiple-choice questions train rapid discrimination between plausible models. Data-based work trains graph interpretation, uncertainties, trends, and evaluation. Extended responses train coherent reasoning across several steps. The guide to using IB Physics topic questions explains how to move from isolated subtopics toward mixed application.
Choose materials that match IB Physics 2028 preparation
Older resources can still contain sound physics, but their organization and question formats may not match the current guide. Use them only when you can map the content confidently. Your core practice should come from materials labelled for the syllabus first assessed in 2025, including official specimen material, teacher-provided IB resources, and the current RevisionDojo Physics Questionbank.
Practise with the current Physics data booklet rather than memorizing every printed relationship. You should know where equations are located, what their symbols mean, and when they apply. The official 2025 specimen Paper 1A states that a calculator and clean Physics data booklet are required. However, May 2028 calculator regulations and session instructions must be checked once the IB publishes them.
RevisionDojo connects Questionbank practice with Study Notes, Flashcards, AI Chat, and Grading tools. AI Chat can unpack a step you do not understand, but your final check should still be the accepted physical reasoning and marking guidance. Tutors can be helpful when repeated errors reveal a persistent conceptual gap rather than an isolated slip.
Keep an error log that changes what you do
Marking a question and writing the correct answer beside it is not enough. Classify the reason the mark was lost:
- missing knowledge
- wrong equation or model
- weak algebra
- unit or prefix error
- graph misreading
- incomplete explanation
- rounding or significant-figure issue
- failure to answer the command term
- time pressure
Then attach a response. A unit error calls for conversion drills. A weak explanation calls for rewriting the answer as a short chain of cause and effect. A model-selection error calls for several related questions with different surface details.
The most valuable mistakes are often repeated ones. They show that the problem is not carelessness in the abstract. It is a specific habit that can be retrained. RevisionDojo’s AI Grading tools can provide another layer of feedback, while the topic-by-topic Physics revision guide can help you locate the underlying syllabus area.
Common habits that lose Physics marks
Students often substitute numbers too early. Keeping an equation symbolic for another line makes the logic visible and can reduce calculator mistakes. Write the relationship, rearrange it, substitute values with units, and then evaluate.
Other common problems include drawing unclear free-body diagrams, confusing scalar and vector quantities, ignoring prefixes, giving a numerical answer without a unit, and describing a graph without using its evidence. In explanations, vague statements such as “energy is lost” are usually weaker than identifying the transfer pathway and destination.
Do not treat Paper 1B as ordinary calculation practice. Regularly interpret gradients, intercepts, uncertainties, anomalies, and relationships between variables. Likewise, do not assume that memorized wording will solve Paper 2. The examiner needs a relevant physical argument, not every fact you know about the topic.
A strong answer is economical. It includes each necessary step but does not bury the reasoning. The practical strategies in How to Get a 7 in IB Physics are useful even if your personal target is different, because the underlying habits are about precision rather than prediction.
Adjust the plan for HL and SL
SL students need depth, not a simplified revision method. Build strong conceptual models, practise all current SL content, and become fluent in interpreting unfamiliar data. Since the examination still rewards multi-step reasoning, relying on equation recognition will leave important gaps.
HL students need the same foundation plus additional content, more mathematical confidence, and greater endurance. Allocate extra weekly time to HL-only material, but keep revisiting foundational mechanics, waves, fields, and energy ideas because advanced questions often depend on them. Include longer mixed sets earlier in DP2 so the 2-hour Paper 1 and 2-hour 30-minute Paper 2 formats do not feel unfamiliar.
For both levels, the scientific investigation should develop alongside normal study. Use the Coursework Library to understand the range of viable approaches and presentation choices, never to copy an investigation. Follow your teacher’s deadlines, preserve authentic records, and use feedback within the IB’s academic integrity requirements.
Build readiness instead of chasing certainty
No resource can tell you exactly what will appear in May 2028. That uncertainty is not a flaw in preparation. It is the reason good preparation focuses on transferable models, careful calculations, data interpretation, and clear explanations.
RevisionDojo works best as a connected system: Study Notes establish clarity, Flashcards support retrieval, Questionbank practice exposes weaknesses, AI Chat and Grading tools help you examine them, and Predicted Papers or Mock Exams test whether the whole process holds together under time pressure. The point is not to use every feature every day. It is to choose the right tool for the weakness in front of you.
Your specific next step is to open the RevisionDojo IB Physics Questionbank, select the subtopic you studied most recently, complete 10 questions without notes, and record the reason for every mark you lose.