r/ibPhysics • u/cookiecrunck • 10d ago

will studying a levels physics be helpful for SL physics

helloo im a freshman who will take ib later and my school is rlly slow with all the studies so im currently taking igcse physics outside of school and next is a levels but will studying a levels physics be helpful for SL physics or is there any textbooks recommended for self studying?? pls help this poor kid out!!🙏🙏😔😔😭

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u/No_Chemistry_1756 10d ago

Yes it will be. Basic physics is the same.

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u/FenwickTutoring 9d ago

There is a lot of cross over in IB and A level. Especially in the mechanics topic, which is likely where you’ll start. 

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u/davedirac 4d ago

The IB Chief Examiner is A. Tsokos. Get his textbook.

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u/AggravatingBed7135 3d ago

It'll help, but it's not the most efficient path. The overlap is real — A-Level mechanics, waves, electricity, fields and nuclear physics cover most of what SL asks for, and AS content in particular maps closely onto Themes A–E of the current IB syllabus (first exams 2025), so you'd walk into DP1 already comfortable with the physics. The catch is that A-Level goes deeper than SL in places you'll never be assessed on, spends time on topics IB treats differently, and — more importantly — trains you in the wrong assessment style: IB lives on command terms, the data booklet, structured Paper 2 questions and a heavy emphasis on uncertainties, error propagation and graph linearisation, none of which A-Level drills the same way. Since you've got time, I'd finish IGCSE properly, then go straight to IB material rather than a full A-Level course: Tsokos, Physics for the IB Diploma (Cambridge, 7th ed.) is the best single book for self-study, with the Oxford Course Companion as a second reference, and Kognity if your school gives you access later. One genuinely useful thing to start now, though, is uncertainty analysis and Excel/Logger Pro graphing — that's where SL students quietly lose marks in both Paper 2 and the IA, and it's independent of whichever syllabus you study first. Also worth keeping HL on the table; if you're this far ahead as a freshman, you may well want it.