The numbers, from the official format
- Paper 1 lasts 1 hour 15 minutes
- Paper 2 lasts 2 hours 30 minutes
How a 1-to-1 lesson helps
A one-to-one teacher can watch you tackle this exact question type and correct the technique on the spot, the fastest way to stop losing the same marks. Message us with your form and where you struggle.
Minutes per mark: the core arithmetic
Pace yourself with a simple minutes-per-mark figure worked from the real durations.
- Paper 1: 75 min ÷ 40 marks ≈ 1.9 min per mark, and with 40 items that is about 1.9 min per question.
- Paper 2: 150 min ÷ 100 marks = 1.5 min per mark.
- Paper 3: 45 min ÷ 15 marks = 3 min per mark (including the 5 min of planning).
These figures are a guide, not a stopwatch. They tell you when you are overspending: if a 3-mark part is eating ten minutes, move on and come back.
Because there is no formula sheet, a moment spent recalling the formula is normal, so build that into your pace rather than panicking over it.
A working plan for Paper 2
Paper 2 has three sections and 150 minutes, so split the time by where the marks are.
- Section A (60 marks): about 80 to 90 minutes, since these are all compulsory.
- Section B (20 marks): about 25 to 30 minutes for the one question you choose.
- Section C (20 marks): about 25 to 30 minutes for the single question.
- Keep roughly 10 to 15 minutes to review, check units and complete any blanks.
Within each question, do the accessible parts first. The 5:3:2 spread means the easier marks are the largest group, so bank those before wrestling with the hardest sub-parts.
Pacing habits that save marks
Good timing is a habit you rehearse before the day, not a decision you make once.
- Wear an analogue watch without smart features and glance at it at set checkpoints.
- Note the time you start each Paper 2 question so you notice overspending early.
- If a part stalls you, leave a gap and return; a hard sub-part is not worth several easy marks elsewhere.
- In Paper 1, fill in every answer since there is no penalty for a wrong guess.
Leave a buffer at the end of every paper to transfer answers cleanly, add missing units, and confirm nothing was skipped. That final check often recovers marks that speed alone would lose.
Source: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia: Format Pentaksiran mulai 2021, Fizik (4531) (LP, KPM)