MYP Physics Criterion A: Knowing & Understanding — Full FAQ

You score well by explicitly doing all three strands: state scientific knowledge accurately, apply it to explain phenomena or solve problems, and analyse/interpret data or information using scientific reasoning. Examiners give top marks (7-8) when your explanation uses correct terminology, connects concept to context, and reasons from evidence rather than describing it.

The three strands are: (i) explain scientific knowledge, (ii) apply scientific knowledge to solve problems in familiar and unfamiliar situations, and (iii) analyse and evaluate information to make scientifically supported judgements. According to the MYP: Sciences guide, all three strands must be addressed across a task for a student to reach the top achievement band (7-8).

Criterion A assesses whether you understand and can apply physics concepts — the science itself. Criterion C assesses communication: how clearly you structure your answer, use scientific conventions, and reference sources. You can have flawless physics under Criterion A and still lose marks under Criterion C for messy layout or missing units and citations.

Expect "state," "describe," "explain," "analyse," and "evaluate" — each demanding a different depth of response. "State" wants a fact with no justification; "explain" wants reasoning with cause and effect; "analyse" and "evaluate" want you to interpret data or weigh evidence, which is where most students under-perform relative to the mark scheme.

In MYP Sciences, each criterion is marked out of 8, and a 7-8 requires you to demonstrate in-depth understanding, apply knowledge effectively to both familiar and unfamiliar situations, and analyse information with sound scientific reasoning — consistently, not just once in the task. A single strong paragraph surrounded by weaker ones typically lands you at 5-6.

Criterion A isn't a percentage of questions right — it's a best-fit judgement against descriptors for each achievement band (1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8). A student who answers fewer questions but demonstrates deep analytical reasoning on those can outscore a student who answers everything correctly but only at a recall level.

Correct answers alone usually cap you at 5-6 because that band only requires "substantial" knowledge and application to familiar contexts. To reach 7-8 you need to apply concepts to unfamiliar situations and analyse data with reasoning — not just restate facts or solve a standard problem the way it was taught in class.

Practise applying concepts to unfamiliar scenarios rather than just memorising definitions — that's the exact skill the 7-8 band tests. In fifteen years of marking this criterion, the students who jump from 5 to 7 are the ones who start every answer with the correct law or formula, then explicitly link it to the specific context in the question.

A strong answer states the concept, applies it to the specific scenario, then reasons through the outcome with correct terminology. For example, explaining why a satellite stays in orbit should state Newton's law of gravitation, apply it as the centripetal force, then reason quantitatively about the balance between gravitational pull and orbital speed — not just say "gravity keeps it there."

Revise by working through unfamiliar-context questions, not just re-reading notes — Criterion A specifically rewards applying knowledge to situations you haven't seen before. Build a habit of writing full explanations (state, apply, reason) rather than short-answer bullet points, since that's the structure examiners are trained to look for in the 7-8 band.

Both — but the top band (7-8) specifically requires applying knowledge in unfamiliar situations, not just the examples covered in class. According to the MYP: Sciences guide, this is deliberate: it tests transferable understanding of physics concepts rather than memorised recall of a specific taught example.

Criterion A is one of four criteria (A-D) in MYP Sciences, each marked out of 8, giving a total out of 32 across the year. Schools convert that total into the final 1-7 MYP grade using grade boundary tables the school sets, which is why a strong Criterion A alone doesn't guarantee a high overall grade if B, C or D are weaker.

This usually means your child understands the concept verbally or in conversation but isn't writing it down the way the rubric requires — stating the law explicitly, applying it to the exact scenario given, and reasoning through the outcome. It's a writing-and-structure gap as much as a content gap, and it's very fixable with targeted practice on past task responses.