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Exam technique·8 min read
The 10 Most Common A-Level Physics Exam Mistakes
The repeatable errors that cost well-prepared students marks across AQA, Edexcel, OCR A and OCR B papers.
Ten mistakes to look for
Students who know the content but underperform are often losing marks through a small, repeatable set of execution errors.
- ✓Ignoring whether the command word asks for a statement, description, explanation or evaluation
- ✓Giving the wrong number of significant figures
- ✓Missing or incorrect units
- ✓Skipping working and losing method marks
- ✓Rounding intermediate values too early
- ✓Confusing quantities such as mass and weight or current and charge
- ✓Running out of time on longer questions
- ✓Failing to connect written questions to required practicals
- ✓Writing vague evaluate or discuss answers
- ✓Misreading graph axes or scales
Turn mistakes into a checklist
Most of these errors are fixable once a student knows to look for them. Record which mistake appears, how many marks it costs and what check would prevent it next time.