Exam guide

1. Paper structure, and what changed in 2023

What the revised syllabus added or removed, from the papers and the June 2023 examiner report:

• New: Space physics. It has appeared in every session since 2023: 1 to 3 MCQs per paper, and almost always the last question of Paper 2 (7 to 10 marks).
• New or much more prominent: momentum and impulse (including conservation in collisions and F = Δp/Δt), pressure acting at right angles to a surface, kelvin temperatures, and diffraction. These are new or more prominent according to the 2023 report.
• Removed or downgraded:
  • Lens formula: the report says it is not needed.
  • Cathode-ray oscilloscope, thermionic emission and logic gates: their last appearance in the sample was 2022.
  • Lens and pressure calculations now carry much less weight (see §4).
• New skill: a 6-mark practical planning question on every P3 and P4. The report called planning "relatively new" for candidates.
• Paired practicals: P3 and P4 from the same session now share their experiments. The variant-2 P4 (2025 ON P42) used a different set of experiments from variant 1, so experiments differ by variant but not between P3 and P4 within a variant.

Two oddities in the 2026 files:

• Component 31 is missing from the June 2026 grade thresholds. No route includes it, and there is no 2026 mark scheme 31.
• There is an unexplained "Component 50" (90 marks, with its own route). The 4024 thresholds list identical figures for it, so it looks like a board-wide entry route rather than a physics paper. That is an inference only.

2. Topic weights

2a. Theory (P1 + P2 combined, variant 1, marks)

Session totals are 130 marks for 2022 (40 + 90, because all Section B questions are counted) and 120 marks from 2023 onwards.

Share by paper, before and after the syllabus change:

*The 2022 P2 figures include all three optional questions. In both 2022 sessions one of the optional questions was a 15-mark mechanics question, which inflates the mechanics share.

2b. Top subtopics (P1 + P2, all nine sessions)

2c. Practical papers (P3 + P4, variant 1)

The physics content in P3/P4 is mostly electricity: a circuit or resistance experiment appeared in 8 of 9 sessions. Thermal experiments (cooling or heating curves, specific heat capacity) and optics experiments (lens, mirror, refracting block) are the next most common.

3. Bankers: tested in every session

Theory: a subtopic was tested in all 9 sessions (P1 + P2)

• Mechanics: measurement and quantities; motion graphs; forces and Newton's laws; moments; springs; pressure; energy, work, power and efficiency.
• Thermal: kinetic particle model; thermal properties (specific heat capacity, latent heat); thermal energy transfer.
• Waves: light (reflection, refraction, TIR); lenses and dispersion; sound.
• Electricity: circuits; electromagnetic effects.
• Nuclear: radioactivity.

Paper 2 (2023 onwards): content that came up in every one of the 7 sessions, or 6 of the 7

1. An energy calculation chain, for example GPE → KE → thermal with mcΔθ, efficiency of a motor lifting a load, or W = Fd and P = E/t. This came up in 7 of 7 sessions.
2. A particle-model explanation: gas pressure from molecular collisions, the effect of temperature, evaporative cooling, or expansion. This came up in 7 of 7 sessions.
3. Thermal transfer: conduction (electrons and lattice vibration), convection currents, or radiation. This came up in 7 of 7 sessions.
4. A full nuclear question: nuclide notation, an alpha or beta decay equation, half-life, background correction, ionisation and safety, or fission and its chain reaction. This came up in every session.
5. A full space question, usually the last one: planet data tables, orbital speed v = 2πr/T, the star life cycle, red-shift, or light-years. This came up in every session from 2023.
6. Waves: v = fλ, transverse vs longitudinal, and diffraction sketches. This came up in 6 of 7 sessions.
7. Electromagnetism: motor, generator or transformer, including a.c. traces, the turns ratio and the field pattern. This came up in 6 of 7 sessions.
8. Specific heat capacity or latent heat calculations, and kelvin conversions. These came up in 6 of 7 sessions.
9. Circuits: series/parallel resistance, the filament-lamp I–V curve and its explanation, and thermistor or LDR behaviour. These came up in 6 of 7 sessions.

Paper 3 / 4 (2023 onwards): the same four-question template every time

• Q1 and Q2 (10 marks each): a measurement or calculation task. One is usually electrical (R = V/I, a potential divider, lamp resistance) and the other thermal or optical.
• Q3 (14 marks): a table (headings with units, consistent s.f.), a graph (scale, plotting, best-fit line or curve), a gradient or intercept, and a comparison "within 10%".
• Q4 (6 marks): an investigation plan. It needs:
  • apparatus;
  • independent and dependent variables, with about five values;
  • control variables;
  • a results table;
  • how the conclusion is drawn.

4. Rarely tested and trends

Rarely tested in theory (P1 + P2):

• Energy resources (0.8%, absent in 4 of 9 sessions).
• Electrical safety (1.4%).
• Magnetism basics (1.6%).
• Springs and deformation since 2023 (about 1 mark per session).
• Turning effect, which is mostly a single MCQ since 2023. The exception is 2025-MJ, which had a 7-mark moments question.
• Electromagnetic spectrum (1.8%; none in 2025 MJ or ON). It came back in 2026 with an X-ray and ultrasound imaging question.
• Electric charge and static. This is usually 1 or 2 MCQs, but 2025-ON had a 10-mark charging question.

These topics are low-frequency, not safe to skip: when one does come up in Paper 2, it can be worth 7 to 10 marks.

Trends, 2022 compared with 2023 onwards (share of P1 + P2 marks):

• Paper 2 is more explanatory than before. Explanation marks rose from 31% to 36% of P2, and calculation marks fell slightly from 31% to 28%. Mechanics no longer dominates Paper 2 (44% → 25%). Thermal physics and space took that share.
• Paper 1 has fewer pure-recall items. Recall marks fell from 74% to 52%. Short explanation and "which diagram" items rose from 0% to 11%, and calculations rose from 20% to 24%.
• The practical papers shifted towards planning and evaluation. On P3 and P4, planning and evaluation rose to about 30%, and P4 grew from 30 to 40 marks.

• There has been no structural change since 2023. The 2026 cover pages match 2023 to 2025.

• P1: within ±3 marks per topic.

• P2: within ±6 marks per topic; electricity was 26 vs 20 marks.

The 2025-ON P42 used different experiments from P41. So theory weightings generalise across variants, but the physics content of a given session's practical does not.

5. Recurring question styles

• Calculations (about 28% of P2):
  • The common equations are F = ma, p = mv, F = Δp/Δt, KE = ½mv², ΔGPE = mgΔh, W = Fd, P = E/t, P = IV, E = IVt, Q = It, V = IR, series and parallel resistance, v = fλ, n = sin i / sin r, sin c = 1/n, E = mcΔθ, E = mL, p = ρgh, pV = constant, the turns ratio, v = 2πr/T, and half-life.
  • A unit mark and 2 or more significant figures are expected.
• Definitions and "state" openers (about 22% of P2): principle of moments, momentum, latent heat, critical angle, frequency, wavelength, principal focus and focal length, half-life, isotope, light-year, and e.m.f.
• Explanations (about 36% of P2):
  • Particle explanations: gas pressure, evaporation, expansion, conduction.
  • Terminal velocity, told as a sequence: drag rises, so the resultant force falls, so the acceleration falls.
  • Why a filament's resistance rises.
  • Why an e.m.f. is induced.
  • Why a star changes stage.
• Drawing (about 9% of P2):
  • Ray diagrams: prisms and dispersion, lenses (often a virtual image), and diffraction through a gap.
  • Field patterns and circuit diagrams.
  • Curve sketches: heating curves, I–V curves, decay curves, and speed–time curves.
• Graph work: distance from the area under v–t, acceleration or force from a gradient (including a gradient of momentum against time), and reading oscilloscope traces using Y-gain and time-base settings.
• Practical:
  • Analogue readings to the instrument's precision (for example, ruler to the nearest mm as 5.0 cm).
  • Averages of repeat readings.
  • Using a given formula to a stated number of significant figures with a unit.
  • Judging "same or different" with the 10% criterion.
  • Precautions specific to the set-up.
  • Controlled variables.
  • The 6-mark plan.

6. Common mistakes (paraphrased from the 2022 MJ, 2022 ON and 2023 MJ examiner reports)

Calculation habits

• Missing units, or malformed units such as "m/s⁻¹".
• Answers given to only 1 s.f.
• Fractions given where a decimal was expected.
• Working not shown, or the formula not stated first.
• Hours converted to seconds by multiplying by 60 instead of 3600.
• g left out, which makes the answer 10 times too small.
• Prefixes mishandled.

Mechanics

• Using the length of a ramp instead of the vertical height for useful work or GPE.
• Taking moment distances that are not measured from the pivot.
• Statements of the principle of moments that add wrong conditions.
• In collisions, using one body's mass instead of the combined mass, both in F = ma and in momentum conservation.
• Confusing momentum with the moment of a force.
• Believing the pin pushes harder on the board than on the finger (Newton's third law pairs are equal).
• Not explaining terminal velocity as a sequence of changes.

Pressure and particles

• Subtracting atmospheric pressure from ρgh instead of adding it.
• Using F/A where ρgh is needed.
• Thinking the gas "ran out" when manometer levels stop moving.
• Particle explanations that stop before stating that the pressure increases.

Thermal

• Latent heat definitions that leave out the "no temperature change" point.
• Heating curves that start at 0 °C.
• Only strong candidates converting 100 °C to 373 K.
• "Convection" misread as "conventional current".

Waves and optics

• Treating the critical angle as anything other than an angle of incidence in the denser medium, measured from the normal.
• In diffraction sketches, changing the wavelength or not centring the pattern on the gap.
• Vague phrases like "before the focal length" in place of "between the lens and the principal focus".
• In diverging-lens diagrams, drawing a real image.
• Saying X-rays "reflect off bone" and leaving out the detector.

Electricity and magnetism

• Putting the full supply voltage across one series resistor.
• Including a branch whose switch is open.
• Not realising that current divides in inverse proportion to resistance.
• Poor use of Fleming's left-hand rule.
• Confusing electric fields with magnetic fields.
• Reading the peak-to-peak value from an oscilloscope when the peak was asked for.
• A spurious factor of 2 in two-transformer problems.
• Not knowing the thermistor symbol.

Nuclear and space

• Giving the mass remaining instead of the mass decayed.
• Saying alpha and beta particles are "attracted to magnet poles".
• Vague sources of background radiation such as "industry".
• Not working out the proton number from an ion's charge.
• In orbital speed, forgetting the 2π or the conversion from days to seconds.
• Listing Pluto as a planet.
• Naming Venus as the hottest planet without explaining the greenhouse effect.

Practical papers

• Stock phrases ("more accurate", "avoid parallax") that are not tied to the actual apparatus.
• Graph scales built from the data range, giving awkward steps.
• Gradient triangles that are too small.
• Forcing a curve through every point.
• Stating a range without the unit, or without "from ... to ...".
• Claiming results agree or disagree without a numerical criterion such as 10%.
• Unrealistic readings that should have been noticed (for example, about 1 cm where about 99 cm was sensible).
• In plans:
  • copying out the question;
  • no range of values for the independent variable;
  • no control variables;
  • no results table;
  • not explaining how the conclusion is reached.

7. Grade thresholds (minimum raw marks)

7a. Component thresholds, variant 1 (A / C / E)

7b. Overall thresholds, route 11 + 21 + 41 (A* / A / B / C / D / E)

How to read these:

• The route using P3 instead of P4 has similar thresholds; the full set is in the gt files.
• A grade C needs roughly 35 to 41% overall, an A about 62 to 66%, and an A* about 74 to 82%.
• Paper 2 is the hardest component. A C on P21 has needed only 21 to 26 marks out of 80. Paper 1 needs about 43 to 53% for a C, and P4 about 40 to 45%.
• The A* threshold has crept up, from 149 in 2023 to 163 in 2026 out of 200.

8. Revision priorities for Oct/Nov 2026 and 2027 candidates

Tier 1: appears every session and carries the most marks

1. Energy, work, power and efficiency. Multi-step energy chains: GPE → KE → thermal using mcΔθ, and efficiency of motors and heaters. Practise full calculations with units.
2. Electromagnetic effects. The d.c. motor (Fleming's left-hand rule, commutator), the a.c. generator (slip rings, reading output traces), transformers (turns ratio, transmission) and relays.
3. Radioactivity and the nucleus. Nuclide notation, alpha and beta decay equations, half-life from graphs and tables (with background correction), properties and uses of alpha, beta and gamma, safety, and fission with chain reaction, moderator and control rods.
4. Particle model and thermal physics. Gas pressure from collisions, pV = constant, evaporation vs boiling and evaporative cooling, specific heat capacity and latent heat, kelvin, and conduction, convection and radiation explanations.
5. Space physics (since 2023 it is worth about 10 marks per session). Planet data tables and trends, v = 2πr/T with unit conversions, gravity as the centripetal force, the life cycle of stars (including massive stars), light-years, red-shift and the Big Bang. Pluto is not a planet.
6. Circuits and resistance. Series and parallel rules, the filament-lamp I–V curve with its explanation, thermistor and LDR potential dividers, and R ∝ L/A.
7. Waves. v = fλ, transverse vs longitudinal (compressions and rarefactions), diffraction in a ripple tank, and refraction with Snell's law, critical angle and TIR.

Tier 2: regular, worth securing

• Kinematics graphs: gradient, area, terminal velocity sequence.
• Momentum and impulse: conservation with combined mass, F = Δp/Δt.
• Lens ray diagrams: magnifying glass and virtual image. The lens formula is not needed.
• Sound and ultrasound: echo distance, why sound cannot cross a vacuum.
• Pressure: p = F/A, ρgh plus atmospheric pressure.
• Moments: principle of moments, stability.

Tier 3: quick wins with low frequency

• Electromagnetic spectrum order and uses, including X-ray and ultrasound imaging (back in 2026).
• Electrical safety: fuse in the live wire, choosing a fuse rating, earthing, double insulation.
• Static charging by electron transfer.
• Magnetic field patterns.
• Springs: the limit of proportionality.
• Energy resources.

Exam technique (from the examiner reports)

• Write the formula, substitute with units, and give the answer to at least 2 s.f. with its unit.
• Write "explain" answers as a cause-and-effect chain.
• Draw diagrams with a sharp pencil and a ruler.

Practical (P3 or P4, 20% of the grade)

• Drill the fixed template:
  • readings to the instrument's precision;
  • averages;
  • table headings with units;
  • graph scales of 1, 2 or 5;
  • large gradient triangles;
  • the 10% comparison, backed by a number;
  • precautions specific to the apparatus.
• Practise a 6-mark plan every week. It is the newest skill and the one examiners criticise most. It needs:
  • apparatus;
  • the independent variable with five values and the dependent variable;
  • control variables;
  • a results table;
  • how the conclusion is drawn.
• Electrical experiments appear most often: R = V/I, potential dividers, lamp resistance, and resistance against length.

Paper 1 (30%)

• The MCQ paper covers the whole syllabus, so do not leave gaps.
• Common traps:
  • vertical height vs ramp length;
  • peak vs peak-to-peak;
  • mass remaining vs mass decayed;
  • the distance from the pivot in moments;
  • forgetting the number of tyres when calculating pressure.