Overview
IB Physics changed. The current syllabus — first taught in 2023, with first examinations in May 2025 — reorganises the whole course around five themes instead of a list of numbered topics, removes the old options entirely, and streamlines assessment to two exam papers rather than three. If you learned from older notes, past-paper packs, or a sibling who sat the exam a few years ago, some of the structure you are picturing no longer exists. Here is what actually changed, what stayed the same, and how to revise for the version you will actually sit.
The headline changes at a glance
For the IB Diploma Programme, the physics itself has not been rewritten from scratch — mechanics is still mechanics — but how it is organised and assessed has shifted meaningfully.
| Area | Old syllabus | New (2025) syllabus |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Numbered topic list (topic by topic) | Five themes, A–E, grouping related ideas |
| Options | Optional topics chosen per school | No options — one common body of content |
| Exam papers | Three papers (options on a separate paper) | Two papers |
| Focus | Topics taught largely in isolation | Concepts that recur across contexts, with skills and nature of science integrated |
For the exact timings, mark allocations and paper weightings, always check the current official IB subject guide or ask your teacher — those details are the ones most likely to be misremembered from older material.
The five themes, A–E
The biggest visible change is the move to a theme-based structure. Content is now organised under five themes, each pulling together ideas that used to sit in separate topics:
- Theme A — Space, time and motion: kinematics, forces, momentum, work and energy; the mechanics backbone of the course.
- Theme B — The particulate nature of matter: thermal physics, gases, and the behaviour of matter at the particle level.
- Theme C — Wave behaviour: oscillations, wave properties, superposition and related phenomena.
- Theme D — Fields: gravitational, electric and magnetic fields, potential, and motion within fields.
- Theme E — Nuclear and quantum physics: atomic and nuclear structure, radioactivity, mass–energy, and quantum ideas.
The point of themes is connection. Instead of meeting "energy" once and never again, you see the same core ideas — energy, fields, forces, uncertainty — resurface across different contexts. That is deliberate: the syllabus wants you to transfer a concept from one situation to another, which is exactly what harder exam questions test.
Options removed — what it means
For the IB Diploma Programme, under the old syllabus, schools picked an optional topic (astrophysics, relativity, and so on) that was assessed on its own paper. That is gone. The new course is a single common body of content with no options, so every candidate studies the same material.
What this means for you in practice:
- No optional-topic decision to make with your teacher, and no risk of prepping the "wrong" option.
- Some content that lived in old options has been absorbed into the core and higher level material rather than removed from physics altogether.
- Old option-paper past questions are of limited use for the current exam — useful physics practice, but not a model of what you will sit.
Streamlined assessment — two papers
For the IB Diploma Programme, assessment was reduced from three papers to two, because the separate options paper no longer exists.
- Paper 1 contains a multiple-choice section and a data-based section (analysing given data, graphs and experimental information).
- Paper 2 is short-answer and extended-response questions across the themes.
The internal assessment — a scientific investigation you design and carry out — remains part of your final grade alongside the exams. For the precise duration of each paper, the number of marks, and how the components are weighted, check the current specification or your teacher, since these are the numbers that shift between syllabus versions and are easy to get wrong from memory.
What stayed the same
It is easy to over-read the changes. A lot of what makes IB Physics *IB Physics* is unchanged:
- The internal assessment is still an individual scientific investigation, marked against criteria — real marks you can bank before study leave.
- SL and HL still share a common core, with HL adding additional higher level (AHL) content — for example rigid body mechanics, special relativity, thermodynamics, electromagnetic induction and quantum physics. If you are weighing the two, see IB Physics SL vs HL.
- The underlying physics — Newton's laws, fields, waves, energy conservation — has not changed.
- Skills, experimental tools and the nature of science run through the whole course, now more explicitly integrated.
What this means for your revision
For the IB Diploma Programme, the structural change should change *how* you revise, not just *what*.
- Learn connected themes, not isolated topics. When you study fields, connect gravitational and electric fields deliberately — the maths and the reasoning rhyme. Themes reward students who see the pattern.
- Expect concepts to recur across contexts. A question may test energy in a thermal setting, then again in a nuclear one. Practise pulling the same principle into unfamiliar situations.
- Use current-syllabus material. Prioritise resources built for the 2025 syllabus. Older topic-numbered notes and option papers can mislead you about structure and emphasis.
How to study the new syllabus
For the IB Diploma Programme, a simple loop works well against a theme-based course:
- Map the theme. Before drilling questions, sketch how the sub-topics inside a theme connect. A one-page concept map per theme beats a linear checklist.
- Practise across contexts. Do questions that force you to apply one idea (say, conservation of energy) in several settings, not just the one you first met it in.
- Mark honestly and log leaks. Score against the scheme, note recurring errors, and drill your worst three next week. For the mark-by-mark technique that separates 6s from 7s, read how to get a 7 in IB Physics.
When you use past papers, favour 2025-syllabus sessions and treat older ones as topic practice only. The IB Physics SL past papers guide explains how to get value from both.
How MarkScheme helps
Our free courses are built on the 2025 syllabus and its five-theme structure, so you are never revising against an outdated map. The [IB Physics SL course](/ib/courses/physics-sl) and [HL course](/ib/courses/physics-hl) organise every lesson under the current themes, with AHL content flagged for HL students. When you have written a full answer or an IA draft, [get an answer marked](/mark) against the criteria to see exactly which marks you earned. For everything else, the [IB guides hub](/guides/ib) collects the subject strategy in one place.
Frequently asked questions
This section covers Frequently asked questions — what IB examiners reward most often in past papers and coursework.
When are the first exams for the new IB Physics syllabus?
The first examinations are in May 2025. The syllabus was first taught from 2023, so the 2025 cohort is the first to sit the fully revised exams.
Are there still options in IB Physics?
No. The old optional topics have been removed. Every student now studies the same common body of content, with HL students adding the additional higher level (AHL) material on top of the shared core.
How many exam papers are there now?
Two. Paper 1 has a multiple-choice section and a data-based section; Paper 2 is short- and extended-response. The old third paper — which assessed the options — no longer exists. Check the current specification for exact timings and weightings.
What are the five themes?
A Space, time and motion; B The particulate nature of matter; C Wave behaviour; D Fields; E Nuclear and quantum physics. Related ideas are grouped so concepts recur across contexts.
Does the internal assessment still count?
Yes. The IA is still an individual scientific investigation marked against criteria, and it contributes to your final grade alongside the two exam papers.