IB Diploma Programme

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) is a two-year pre-university qualification for students aged roughly 16–19, taught in international and national schools worldwide. Instead of picking three or four subjects A-Level style, DP students study six subjects at once — normally one from each group: literature, a second language, humanities, a science, mathematics, and the arts (or a second science, humanities or language subject instead).

Three subjects (sometimes four) are taken at Higher Level and the rest at Standard Level — same subject, different depth and exam papers. On top sit the DP core: Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay, and CAS (creativity, activity, service).

Each subject is graded 1–7, and Theory of Knowledge plus the Extended Essay together earn up to 3 extra points (CAS is pass/fail), so the famous “perfect IB score” is 45. Final exams happen in May (most of the world) or November (southern hemisphere) at the end of the second year, and they carry most of the grade — which is why structured, syllabus-faithful revision matters so much in the DP.

We are building IB study resources one subject at a time, starting with IB Physics on the 2025 syllabus (first exams 2025). Every topic page follows the same structure: key points, the syllabus mapped subtopic by subtopic, formulae written in the same notation as the official data booklet, fully worked examples, common mistakes and exam tips.

Because SL and HL students sit different papers, every page tags Higher-Level-only material — and pages with HL content have an SL / HL switch, so Standard Level students see only what their exam can ask.

All notes are written by us from the public syllabus structure. Nothing here is copied from IB publications or past papers, and this work is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization.