Second day of specialty tests for the 2023 baccalaureate this Tuesday, March 21. A new burst of physics-chemistry subjects will be unveiled in the afternoon. Discover yesterday’s topics and fixes and still probable topics…
[Mis à jour le 21 mars 2023 à 12h04] The physics-chemistry bac test enters its second act this Tuesday, March 21, 2023. While a first round of subjects was unveiled yesterday for a first group of high school students, a second series of tests is scheduled from 2 p.m. for this specialty which is now anticipated, starting in March.
Physics and chemistry, if it is one of the major specialties among some 536,000 candidates for the baccalaureate this year, is nonetheless one of the most difficult. In the subjects unveiled yesterday, three exercises were offered to candidates for the general baccalaureate.
The first subject invited candidates to study Huygens’ astronomical telescope and in particular to compare his observations of Saturn and its rings with those of Galileo. Then came the study of the movement of the satellite Titan, again based on Huygens’ observations.
The second exercise of the physics-chemistry test focused on the study of banana aroma, with comparison of several protocols for synthesizing this chemical species in the laboratory, but also to determine which synthesis is the most eco-friendly. -responsible.
A third exercise aimed to study a sachet of medicine containing acetylsalicylic acid, the scientific name of aspirin, well known since the beginning of the 20th century as an analgesic (painkiller) and antipyretic (against fever) active ingredient. . Discover the details of the physics and chemistry subjects and answers, for the general baccalaureate but also for the technological baccalaureate, below.
Drink or drive for the techno baccalaureate
For candidates for the STL (Sciences and laboratory technologies) and STI2D (Sciences and technologies of industry and sustainable development) technological baccalaureate, the subjects of physics and chemistry have been combined with those of mathematics. In STL, a first exercise focused on physics, with the movement of a miniature car, in particular the friction forces and the distance traveled before stopping had to be analysed. The second exercise dealt with electric vehicles using a hydrogen fuel cell, which itself requires dihydrogen to operate. A dihydrogen produced by electrolysis of water acidified by the presence of sulfuric acid.
In STI2D, the first exercise focused on a method for measuring the viscosity value of commercial diesel engine oil, while the second dealt with parking assistance or automatic parking systems based on the use ultrasonic sensors.
For both streams, the third exercise posed a series of math problems. Finally, the fourth had a strong fondness for drinks: benzoic acid and sodium benzoate, present in many food products and in particular in certain sweet carbonated drinks, for STLs and keeping a hot drink while hiking for STI2D. Discover the details of the topics offered below.
What are the probable subjects of the physics-chemistry specialty in 2023?
The subjects of the physics-chemistry specialty test may relate to one of the four main themes covered in the Terminale program: “constitution and transformation of matter”, “movement and interactions”, “energy: conversions and transfer or “waves and signals”. If it is advisable to avoid dead ends during revisions, the specialized site Digischoolwho worked in collaboration with professors, believes that the subject of physics-chemistry in 2023 could emphasize:
- Modeling acid-base transformations by hydrogen ion transfers
- The analysis of a chemical system by physical and chemical methods
- The description of a movement
- The link of actions applied to a system to its movement
- The dynamics of an electrical system
Indeed, the first subjects unveiled on Monday March 20 confirm a certain number of these predictions. Will the other themes be discussed this Tuesday? We must not rule out the other possibilities of subjects such as the evolutions and directions of evolution of systems (oxidant-reducer or acid-base), wave phenomena or even the chapter on images and light. All topics listed by the Ministry of Education can indeed fall on the day of the test.
Complicated, the baccalaureate exams in French high schools abroad or in French Polynesia, passed a few days before those in mainland France, can deliver other clues to the physics-chemistry specialty.
Physics-chemistry subjects for the 2023 baccalaureate abroad:
Physics and chemistry subjects for the 2023 baccalaureate in French Polynesia :
Don’t forget that in addition to the courses, certain specific notions or those related to several chapters are essential, as well as formulas, physical or chemical reactions, etc. As well as methodologies to demonstrate scientific reasoning. Moreover, it is advised to always write the literal formulas before carrying out its calculation, it is a detail of presentation which can make gain points easily.
A 3h30 test, before the practical work!
The organization of the physics-chemistry test, like the rest of the specialty tests anticipated from March, is a first, since since the baccalaureate reform started in 2018, the new baccalaureate had never yet been fully organized, Covid obliges.
Monday March 20 like Tuesday March 21, 2023, candidates have 3.5 hours, from 2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., to answer all questions. For the physics-chemistry specialty, the written test is only the first part of the exam, the second is a practical test organized between March 23 and 31.
But the table exam represents 80% of the final grade in physics and chemistry, which has a coefficient of 16 in the bac average. And for this test, several notions must be mobilized in each of the three independent exercises.
After the written physics-chemistry test on March 20 and 21, the practical test will last one hour and will be held for all candidates between March 28 and 31 according to the schedule of the invitation. On the subject side, no exercises common to all candidates but a certain number of assessment situations among those available on the national subject bank of National Education. However, the ministry specifies a few scientific manipulations on which candidates cannot be assessed:
- Create a battery and an electrical circuit integrating an electrolyser
- Use a device to study the buoyancy of Archimedes
- Measure pressure and flow velocity in a gas and in a liquid
- Follow the evolution of the temperature of a system
- Use a photovoltaic cell
- Implement a device to study the Doppler effect in acoustics
At the time of the examination, the candidate draws lots for an evaluation situation “from a subset, renewed every half-day, of at least two predominantly physical evaluation situations and two predominantly physical evaluation situations. chemistry,” according to the ministry. He then has one hour to carry out the requested manipulations.
If the specialty exams are held several months before the written philosophy, French or oral examinations, the results will be published at the same time for all baccalaureate exams, i.e. Tuesday, July 4, 2023. As a reminder, the physics-chemistry exam being made up of two parts, the final mark is obtained by multiplying the mark for the written test by 0.8 and the mark for the practical test by 0.2.