What Do the MYP Physics Command Terms Mean?

Command terms are the exact verbs the IB uses to tell you how deeply to answer a question — words like state, describe, explain and evaluate each demand a different level of detail. Get the verb wrong and you can write a technically correct answer that still scores low.

Describe asks for a detailed account of what happens — the facts, features or steps — with no reasoning required. Explain demands you go further and give the reason why, using physics concepts like force, energy or resistance to justify the observation. Mixing the two up is the most common way students lose Criterion A marks.

Analyse means breaking data or a situation into its parts to find patterns, trends or relationships — for example, working out how current changes with voltage from a results table. It's assessed mainly under Criterion C (Processing and Evaluating) and needs interpretation, not just listing numbers.

Evaluate asks you to weigh up evidence, methods or claims and reach a supported judgement — for instance, judging how reliable an experiment's results are given its limitations. In MYP Physics this sits under Criterion C, and top marks need both strengths and weaknesses discussed, not just one side.

State wants a short, precise fact — a definition, a value, a law — with zero explanation attached. Identify asks you to pick out or name a specific thing from given information, such as naming the independent variable in an experiment. Both are low-level command terms mapped mostly to Criterion A.

The MYP Sciences guide lists around 25 command terms shared across Biology, Chemistry and Physics, though only a dozen or so appear regularly in Years 4-5 assessments. Knowing the handful that show up most — describe, explain, analyse, evaluate, discuss and justify — matters far more than memorising the full glossary.

Because MYP teachers mark against the command term, not just factual accuracy — if the question says explain and you only describe, you're capped low regardless of correct content. I see this constantly with students who know the physics cold but answer the wrong verb.

Read the command term first, then shape your answer around what it demands — describe needs a detailed account, explain needs reasoning, evaluate needs a judgement backed by evidence. Planning around the verb before you write stops you drifting into the wrong type of answer under time pressure.

Yes — the IB uses one shared command term glossary across all MYP sciences, so analyse, explain and evaluate mean exactly the same thing whether you're in a Physics, Chemistry or Biology assessment. What changes is the content you apply the verb to, not the skill the verb is testing.

Some overlap, but DP Physics uses more numerous and demanding command terms — the current DP guide adds verbs like derive, deduce and comment on that rarely appear before Years 4-5 of MYP. Getting comfortable with MYP verbs like explain and evaluate now builds the exact skill DP examiners expect at a higher level two years later.

You don't need a physics background to help — just ask your child to underline the command term in every practice question before they answer, then check whether their opening sentence matches it. An explain answer should start with "because" or "this happens as a result of." It's a five-minute habit that fixes the most common mark loss.

The full glossary is published in the IB's MYP: Sciences guide and the MYP: From Principles into Practice document, both of which your school's Physics teacher has access to. Revision notes and topical worksheets that map each term to worked example answers are also worth practising against.