Short answer: the PHSI191 final is a three-hour, 55-question multi-choice paper, and past papers have been remarkably consistent in what they assess. Train fluent problem-solving rather than formula memorisation, and understand plussage so you spend your semester in the right places.
Past papers repeat more than you expect
Like CHEM191, PHSI191 looks intimidating because of lecture volume, but the exams have historically assessed the same core problem types in the same proportions, reworded each year. Once you have worked a few past papers, the skeleton becomes obvious: a kinematics or energy problem, something on fluids, a thermodynamics question, a circuit, an optics question, a radiation calculation.
That does not mean memorise past answers. The wording changes, so memorised answers do not transfer. It means use past papers as a map of what actually matters.
Formulas are necessary, not sufficient
Knowing a formula is the easy half. Knowing when it applies is what the exam tests, and confidently applying the wrong equation is the classic multi-choice trap.
So build a rolling deck of "formula plus its conditions" and test a few each day rather than cramming the sheet the night before. Spread retrieval holds far more for the same effort than one long session (Cepeda et al., 2006).
Practise closed-book on purpose
Working problems with the equation sheet in front of you feels efficient and robs you of the retrieval that builds skill. Attempt each problem fully closed-book, then use the sheet only to confirm. It feels worse and works better, which is the general pattern in learning research (Bjork & Bjork, 2011).
Mix the modules
The exam interleaves topics, so your practice should too. Alternate a mechanics problem, a fluids problem and an optics problem rather than finishing one module at a time. You want to rehearse identifying which physics a question needs when nothing tells you.
Use plussage deliberately
PHSI191 carries plussage: if your final exam percentage beats your progress test percentage, the final replaces it. In practice the progress test becomes an attempt you can only gain from.
The strategic consequence matters. The PHSI progress test tends to land near a HUBS progress test, and you will not prepare fully for both. If PHSI has plussage and the other paper does not, protect the mark you cannot recover. A bad PHSI progress test is rescuable by a strong final. A bad mark in a paper without plussage is locked in.
Check your own course outline each year, since these arrangements are set by the department and can change. There is a fuller explanation in how plussage works at Otago.
Do not lose the cheap marks
The lab assessment tests are a small percentage each and are among the easiest marks in the paper. Missing one because you forgot is a painful way to lose ground that has nothing to do with physics.
You can practise PHSI191 questions across every module free on Cutline.
