Some confusion despite ‘lovely’ physics papers

THE third week of the 2011 state exams kicked off with a Leaving Certificate physics exam in which formulae and other values were not featured in the papers.

While students should have been prepared for this, as it meant the data was in formulae and tables booklets available from exam superintendents, some said it still caused confusion.

Despite this, Michael Gillespie of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) thought the papers for students at both levels were lovely. He felt the amount of arithmetic problem-solving required of ordinary-level students was reasonable, and that the exam fairly tested knowledge and understanding of the course.