The Magnetic Attraction of Physics Reading Answers

Jul 28, 2025

The Magnetic Attraction of Physics Reading Answers contain 14 questions and belong to the assessment system of the IELTS General Reading test. The Magnetic Attraction of Physics Reading Answers must be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, question types include: For each question, only ONE of the choices is correct, Do the following statements agree with the information given and Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text.

The Magnetic Attraction of Physics Reading Answers offers a comprehensive overview of how schools are reversing the decline in physics education through inspiring teachers, fun curriculum, and science clubs. To practice similar reading tests, candidates can refer to the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.
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It’s amazing what you can do with a few paperclips and miniature tubs, says Richard West, head of science and physics at St Peter’s School in Wolverhampton. A group of his students has been taking part in the annual “paperclip challenge” at Leicester University, part of the school’s attempts to get pupils interested in physics. These extend to an after-school animal club for year 7s, with a posse of rats, rabbits and geckos to look after. Efforts to “sell physics very hard” to the younger pupils has paid off, and this year the school has a record for students studying A-level physics, and helping to make the science results the best of any subject in the school. “Success breeds success,” West explains. “We’d like more girls doing physics, but we are proud of what we are achieving. Physics is successful in this school, first and foremost because of the people who teach it.” And the animal club? “The animals help pupils love science, so they go on to love physics. What this school is doing goes against the national trend, where the take-up of physics - at school and university level has been in free-fall for the past two decades. It has become a big concern to the scientific and business communities, and to education ministers. Even given the likelihood of new initiatives to boost the take-up of science in tomorrow’s budget, the reality is that physics is seen by many teenagers as difficult. There is a widening gender gap, and attempts to encourage more girls to study physics are having limited success.

Three reports funded by the Gatsby charitable foundation and carried out by the Centre for Education and Employment (CEE) have analysed the trend. They have noted that, amid the general drift downwards, there are schools where the numbers taking physics are holding up at twice the national average. Most are grammar and independent schools, which select their intakes and can attract high-quality teachers. However, there are a sizeable number of comprehensive schools enjoying a healthy take-up. The Buckingham University-based CEE publishes its third study, Bucking The Trend, reporting on visits to such state schools, to discover what they are doing right, and what other schools can learn from them. The report, by Professor Alan Smithers and Pamela Robinson, has a practical aim: to suggest what might be done to reverse the swing away from physics in schools. The first carried the results of a survey which indicated how subject redefinition and teacher shortages was in danger of disappearing as an identifiable subject in schools. The second showed that A-level physics entries have halved since 1982. This has impacted on universities: some of them have stopped teaching physics since 1994. With fewer students studying physics at university, the pool of prospective teachers is also shrinking. For this new report, Smithers and Robinson visited fourteen comprehensive schools with the highest proportions of A-level physics students in the earlier national survey (including the two mentioned above) and the bottom. In “high-physics” schools, they found physics being taught as a recognisable subject from year 9 onwards, and enthusiastic teachers. For this to happen successfully, they say, a number of things have to come together to do it, good leadership, a core of well-qualified teachers, a focused and fun. curriculum, good results, and a critical mass of able students.

The head of science at a “low-physics” school that has recently achieved science specialist status told the researchers: “There is precious little specialist physics at key stage 3, which leaves year 10 with the mind-set that they can’t do physics. When a physicist says to a student ‘you are good at this’, the student will believe them. They have physical insights, comments, when they might not have if they were coming from a non-specialist.” For the decline in physics to be reversed, it is important to get into the schools, the authors of the report say. The top physics school in the study (which is not named) turned itself around by appointing a determined head of physics, who re-structured the curriculum and brought together a core team of staff. In contrast, a school with hardly any pupils doing A-level physics prided itself on its performing arts. Science frequently taken out of science lessons for drama and music rehearsals. The report warns that, because schools find good physics teachers to go round, some schools may be teaching science, rather than physics, simply because they are unable to recruit specialist staff. “It is a chicken-and-egg situation,” says Smithers. “Pupils tend to gravitate to schools where they can teach their subject, rather than the sciences generally. As with the loss of feel for physics, and others specialist teaching, it will find it more possible to attract high-quality physics teachers.” If the revival of school physics, teacher shortage must be addressed. Not only is it difficult to find teachers who are good at teaching, it is hard to retain them.” Robinson adds: “One reason is that they sometimes find themselves the only person in a school staff trained after training, and some schools responsibilities are heaped on their shoulders alone. Improving retention would do much to reduce the shortage of physics teachers.” Several of the successful schools in the CEE study played a part in smoothing the entry of newly qualified into teaching. “We’d like to see each school with a physics specialist,” says West. He returned the good-named of a feasibility study leading, in the long term, to the development of physics colleges.

Questions 27-30

For each question, only ONE of the choices is correct.

27. Teachers at St. Peter's school have failed to

A. help students to achieve better results in physics.

B. persuade students to enjoy physics more than biology.

C. persuade as many girls as they would like to study physics.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “We’d like more girls doing physics, but we are proud of what we are achieving.”

Keywords: more girls, doing physics

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 9

Explanation: The school has succeeded in improving physics results and enthusiasm overall but admits it hasn’t yet persuaded as many girls as desired to take up the subject.

28. Not enough students are studying physics because

A. there is not enough money to fund courses.

B. it is perceived as too difficult.

C. people do not see the value of studying it.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “...the reality is that physics is seen by many teenagers as difficult.”

Keywords: physics, seen as difficult

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 13

Explanation: The text clearly attributes the low uptake of physics to its perception as a difficult subject among students.

29. The third CEE report

A. says that more schools are teaching physics well.

B. says that it is inevitable that the teaching of physics will decline further.

C. focuses on how the teaching of physics can be widened and improved.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “...has a practical aim: to suggest what might be done to reverse the swing away from physics in schools.”

Keywords: reverse, swing away, physics

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 7

Explanation: The report focuses on what can be done to improve the teaching and uptake of physics, rather than just reporting decline.

30. Physics teachers tend to go to schools where they

A. are paid more money.

B. can teach physics rather than science.

C. can work alone.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “Pupils tend to gravitate to schools where they can teach their subject, rather than the sciences generally.”

Keywords: teach their subject, rather than sciences generally

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 9

Explanation: This indicates that physics teachers prefer schools where they can specifically teach physics, not just general science.

Questions 31-33

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text.

31. Students at St. Peter's school take care of ……………….

Answer: rats, rabbits and geckos

Supporting statement: “…with a posse of rats, rabbits and geckos to look after.”

Keywords: take care of, animals

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 4

Explanation: These are the animals that students at St. Peter’s school are responsible for in their after-school animal club.

32. There is a …………... even though there have been attempts to get more girls to study physics.

Answer: widening gender gap

Supporting statement: “There is a widening gender gap, and attempts to encourage more girls to study physics are having limited success.”

Keywords: widening gender gap, girls

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 13

Explanation: Despite initiatives, the gender disparity in physics enrolment continues.

33. The number of ……………. is decreasing because fewer people are studying physics at university.

Answer: prospective teachers

Supporting statement: “With fewer students studying physics at university, the pool of prospective teachers is also shrinking.”

Keywords: prospective teachers, shrinking

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 10

Explanation: The text directly links the drop in university physics students to a decline in future teachers.

Questions 34-35

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text.

34. The latest CE report looked at ……………. "High physics" schools.

Answer: fourteen comprehensive schools

Supporting statement: “Smithers and Robinson visited fourteen comprehensive schools with the highest proportions of A-level physics students...”

Keywords: fourteen, comprehensive schools

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 12

Explanation: These were the high-performing physics schools analyzed in the latest CEE report.

35. The CEE report suggests that a ………………….. Be done to see if it worth funding a programmer to give specialist training to newly qualified physics teachers.

Answer: feasibility study

Supporting statement: “...returned the good-named of a feasibility study leading, in the long term, to the development of physics colleges.”

Keywords: feasibility study, development

Keyword Location: Final paragraph, last line

Explanation: The suggestion is to conduct a feasibility study to determine the viability of a program for training specialist physics teachers.

Questions 36-40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

Write: TRUE - if the information in the text agrees with the statement.

FALSE - if the information in the text contradicts the statement.

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this.

36. The paperclip challenge is designed to see how creative physics students can be with paperclips.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: - The passage does not contain information on this. Hence, the answer is not Given.

37. Grammar and independent schools can choose their students.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “Most are grammar and independent schools, which select their intakes...”

Keywords: select their intakes

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 3

Explanation: The passage confirms that grammar and independent schools have selection rights over their student intake.

38. A-level physics entries have gone down every year since 1982.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “The second showed that A-level physics entries have halved since 1982.”

Keywords: halved since 1982

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 8

Explanation: While there's been a decrease since 1982, there's no indication that it’s gone down every year since then.

39. Schools that teach performing arts are not good at teaching physics.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “...a school with hardly any pupils doing A-level physics prided itself on its performing arts.”

Keywords: performing arts, few physics pupils

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 6

Explanation: The school is said to emphasize performing arts, but it doesn’t mean it’s bad at teaching physics; the issue is lack of focus/time, not quality.

40. Keeping physics teachers at many schools is also a problem.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “Not only is it difficult to find teachers who are good at teaching, it is hard to retain them.”

Keywords: difficult to retain, teachers

Keyword Location: Final paragraph, line 3

Explanation: The text acknowledges that keeping qualified physics teachers is a major issue in schools.

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