Practical skills — AS & A Level Physics (9702) questions by topic
Expect hands-on investigations here: measuring a flywheel's diameter, wiring opposing d.c. supplies with a voltmeter, cooling a heated metal cylinder wrapped in insulation, and timing a pendulum, marked from 1 to 22 marks, the widest range in this A Level Physics set.
Find, describe and draw lead the command words, alongside calculate and explain: describe a source of uncertainty precisely, not just name it. 86 real questions from 2023 to 2025 papers sit below. Reading the marker feedback after instant marking shows exactly which terminology or significant-figure precision an examiner would credit, rather than leaving the level of detail required a guess.
What examiners look for
- A recurring criticism is answers referring to only one of two expected variables, when strong answers reference significant figures in both.
- Examiners note some candidates divide their average value by the wrong factor, such as the number of turns, when timing a single event.
- A common mistake is using unrealistically small absolute uncertainties, often the full precision of a 30 cm ruler rather than a sensible reading error.
- Reports flag inconsistent units across parts of the same calculation, and forgetting to square a term such as T in an expression.
- Strong answers rearrange the equation into straight-line form using the white space on the question paper, and state a clear comparison against a given percentage before drawing a conclusion.
May–June 2025, Paper 31
In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillation of masses on springs. You have been provided with masses and springs. Set up the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1: a double…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the behaviour of paper on water. You have been provided with two sheets of tracing paper. On one sheet, draw two identical rectangles as…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 32
In this experiment, you will investigate a light-dependent resistor (LDR). Connect the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1: a 1.5 V battery with switch S, connected to a fixed resistor and…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the elastic properties of rubber cord. You are provided with a wire with a clip and two slotted masses attached, as shown in Fig. 2.1. The…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 33
In this experiment, you will investigate an electrical circuit. Set up the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1: a 1.5 V d.c. supply connected directly to a voltmeter V. Record the voltmeter…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a chain of paper clips. You have been provided with two spheres of modelling clay. The diameter of the smaller sphere…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 34
In this experiment, you will investigate the properties of a pendulum. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1: a stand on a bench with two bosses holding rods horizontally.…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the motion of steel balls falling through water in a tube. You have been provided with a wide tube attached to a wooden strip. Measure and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 35
In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a magnet. You have been provided with a small magnet attached to a string, a bar magnet, a plotting compass and a…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the behaviour of suspended cardboard sheets. You have been provided with two cardboard sheets labelled A and B. The thickness of sheet A…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 37
In this experiment, you will investigate an electrical circuit. Set up the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1: a 1.5 V d.c. supply connected directly to a voltmeter V. Record the voltmeter…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a chain of paper clips. You have been provided with two spheres of modelling clay. The diameter of the smaller sphere…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 38
In this experiment, you will investigate the properties of a pendulum. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1: a stand on a bench with two bosses holding rods horizontally.…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the motion of steel balls falling through water in a tube. You have been provided with a wide tube attached to a wooden strip. Measure and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 51
Fig. 1.1 shows a thin coil of cross-sectional area A and length l connected to a resistor of resistance S and two terminals. An alternating voltage is applied to the terminals.…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 52
A thin solid disc of radius r and thickness z is attached to a thin axle. String is wrapped around the axle, as shown in Fig. 1.1. A block of mass m is attached to the string. The…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 53
A graph is plotted of 1/I on the y-axis against 1/n on the x-axis. Determine expressions for the gradient and y-intercept.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 54
A ball is dropped on to an inclined thin metal sheet, as shown in Fig. 1.1. Fig. 1.1 (not to scale): a ball is shown above an inclined thin metal sheet resting on a horizontal…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 31
In this experiment, you will investigate an electrical circuit. You have been provided with a metre rule with a wire attached, six identical resistors (four connected in series…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a rod. The length of the rod is L, as shown in Fig. 2.1. Measure and record L.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 32
In this experiment, you will investigate an electrical circuit. Connect the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1: a 12 V d.c. supply connected via switch S to a capacitor C, a resistor R and…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the equilibrium of a wooden rod. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 2.1: a wooden rod held horizontally by a nail through one end…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 33
In this experiment, you will investigate a balanced metre rule. You have been provided with a metre rule and some masses. Place the masses on the rule as shown in Fig. 1.1. Place…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the properties of a rubber band. Set up the apparatus as shown in Fig. 2.1, with a rubber band looped over two horizontal clamp rods held…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 34
In this experiment, you will investigate the equilibrium position of a pulley system. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1 with the rods of the stands approximately 50 cm…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the effect of air resistance on a spinning card. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 2.1, with the washer and plastic tube over the…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 35
In this experiment, you will investigate the motion of a loaded metre rule. Set up the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1. Two springs hang from the rod of a clamp held in a boss on a…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the optical properties of glass jars. You have been provided with two glass jars A and B, each containing water. Each jar has a lid. The…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 51
Fig. 1.1 shows a small solid metal cylinder of mass m, length L and diameter d. The cylinder is heated to a uniform temperature. The cylinder is then removed from the heat source…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 52
A spring is attached to a strong cylindrical magnet of length L and cross-sectional area A. The magnet is placed on thin card on top of a magnetic sheet on the bench, as shown in…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 53
Fig. 1.1 shows a small solid metal cylinder of mass m, length L and diameter d. The cylinder is heated to a uniform temperature. The cylinder is then removed from the heat source…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 11
The density of the material of a rectangular block is determined by measuring the mass and linear dimensions of the block. The list shows the results obtained, together with their…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 12
A solid bar has a square cross-section. Its length is measured as 50.0 +/- 0.2 cm and its width is measured as 2.00 +/- 0.01 cm. These values are used to calculate the volume of…
Answer this question and get it marked →What could describe the time-base of a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO)? A the frequency per division on the screen B the number of divisions on the screen per unit frequency C the…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 31
In this experiment, you will investigate the equilibrium position of a wooden strip. Some of the apparatus has been set up for you. Set up the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1: a…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate oscillations. You have been provided with a board of width w and thickness x, as shown in Fig. 2.1. Measure and record w and x.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 33
In this experiment, you will determine the resistivity of a metal. Set up the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1: a 1.5 V cell connected via a switch and a resistor R, with a voltmeter V…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the movement of a ball. You are provided with two table tennis balls A and B, each attached to a string. The mass of A and its string is…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 51
A thin cylindrical bar magnet of length L and cross-sectional area A is attached to a block. An identical magnet is attached to a trolley, as shown in Fig. 1.1. The trolley is…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student investigates an electrical circuit. A power supply of electromotive force (e.m.f.) Es and negligible internal resistance is connected in series to three resistors, each…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 52
Fig. 1.1 shows a coil made from resistance wire. The coil is placed in cooking oil of mass m. The total length of the resistance wire in the oil is L. A potential difference V is…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student investigates the refraction of white light entering a transparent rectangular block. A narrow beam of light enters the block at the midpoint of one of the shorter sides.…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 53
A graph is plotted of 1/I on the y-axis against R on the x-axis. Determine expressions for the gradient and y-intercept.
Answer this question and get it marked →February–March 2023, Paper 12
A hollow cylinder, which is open at both ends, has a radius of (3.0 +/- 0.1) cm and a length of (15.0 +/- 0.1) cm. What is the value, with its absolute uncertainty, of the surface…
Answer this question and get it marked →February–March 2023, Paper 22
A microphone and cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO) are used to analyse a sound wave of frequency 5000 Hz. The trace that is displayed on the screen of the CRO is shown in Fig. 5.1,…
Answer this question and get it marked →February–March 2023, Paper 33
In this experiment, you will investigate the equilibrium of a wooden rod. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1 with the nail held securely in the cork, and check that the…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the properties of sugar solution. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 2.1. The distance from the screen to the centre of the lens is…
Answer this question and get it marked →February–March 2023, Paper 52
An electric pump is placed in a container of liquid. A model wind turbine is connected to the pump by a cable, as shown in Fig. 1.1. The turbine is placed in moving air. As the…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 11
In an experiment, a student uses a microphone and a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO) to analyse a sound wave. The diagram shows the trace on the screen of the CRO; the trace shows…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 12
Two measurements for a solid sphere are shown: mass = (32.5 +/- 0.1) g; diameter = (1.87 +/- 0.04) cm. These values are used to determine the density of the sphere. What is the…
Answer this question and get it marked →A microphone detects a sound wave. The microphone is connected to a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO). The shape of the trace on the screen of the CRO is shown (a sinusoidal trace…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 31
In this experiment, you will investigate a balanced metre rule. You have been provided with three springs and a metre rule with masses attached to its centre. The unstretched…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a wooden strip and a pendulum. You have been provided with a wooden strip with two holes G and H. Place the wooden…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 32
In this experiment, you will investigate the equilibrium position of a metre rule. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1: a stand carries a boss and clamp from which a…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the properties of a flywheel. You are provided with a slotted mass fixed to a length of plastic tube, as shown in Fig. 2.1. Measure and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 33
In this experiment, you will investigate the motion of a pendulum. You have been provided with a cylinder and a pendulum. Use adhesive putty to attach the string to the cylinder…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the equilibrium of a card. You have been provided with a card. The card has one edge of length h and another edge of length x, as shown in…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 34
In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a pendulum. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1 with the nail held securely in the cork. Check that the wooden…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the thermal expansion of plastic. You have been provided with two plastic pipes. Each pipe has a string loop attached at each end, as…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 35
In this experiment, you will investigate an electrical circuit. You have been provided with a metre rule with a wire attached. Set up the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1: a 1.5 V d.c.…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a pendulum. You have been provided with two cylinders A and B. The diameter of cylinder A is D, as shown in Fig. 2.1.…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 51
A wooden cube of mass A is placed on an inclined plane. The cube is attached to a cylinder of mass B using string that passes over a pulley, as shown in Fig. 1.1. The angle…
Answer this question and get it marked →A graph is plotted of T on the y-axis against C on the x-axis. Determine an expression for the gradient.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 52
Two coils, P and Q, are placed close to each other, as shown in Fig. 1.1. A resistor of resistance R is connected in series with coil P. A changing magnetic flux of frequency f in…
Answer this question and get it marked →A graph is plotted of V on the y-axis against theta on the x-axis. Determine expressions for the gradient and y-intercept.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 53
A wooden cube of mass A is placed on an inclined plane. The cube is attached to a cylinder of mass B using string that passes over a pulley, as shown in Fig. 1.1. The angle…
Answer this question and get it marked →A graph is plotted of T on the y-axis against C on the x-axis. Determine an expression for the gradient.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 11
A student determines the acceleration of free fall by using a small metal ball. When switch S is opened, the ball is released from an electromagnet and an electronic timer is…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 12
A student takes measurements to determine the constant acceleration of a model car moving from rest in a straight line. The measured values with their absolute uncertainties are:…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 13
A set of repeated measurements is made of a fixed quantity. An average of these measurements is calculated. What is the effect of averaging on the random error and the systematic…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 31
In this experiment, you will investigate an electric circuit. You have been provided with a wooden strip with wire attached to nails. Set up the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1. A 1.5 V…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the displacement of water from a container. The apparatus has been set up as shown in Fig. 2.1, with a ramp clamped to a stand on a bench…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 33
In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a pendulum. Set up the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1.1: a pendulum made of a sphere of adhesive putty on a string is…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate a wooden strip resting at an angle. You are provided with a wooden strip, as shown in Fig. 2.1 (not to scale), with dimensions x, y and z.…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 34
In this experiment, you will investigate an electrical circuit. Connect the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1. The circuit consists of a 1.5 V d.c. supply and switch connected to a length…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the path of a jet of water. Assemble the apparatus as shown in Fig. 2.1: a transparent plastic water bottle with a small hole near its…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 35
In this experiment, you will determine the resistivity of a metal. Set up the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1, in which a voltmeter V is connected directly across a battery (two cells).…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the movement of a mass hanger. You are provided with a number of paper clips. Use the top-pan balance to determine the mass m of one paper…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 36
In this experiment, you will investigate an electrical circuit. Connect the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1, which contains a 3.0 V d.c. supply and a 1.5 V d.c. supply connected so that…
Answer this question and get it marked →In this experiment, you will investigate the properties of linked rubber bands. You are provided with two elastic strings made from linked rubber bands. The longer one is made…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 51
Two coils, C and D, are placed with their axes on a straight line, as shown in Fig. 1.1. The arrangement shows a resistor of resistance R connected in series with coil C, with…
Answer this question and get it marked →A block of modelling clay of mass M is attached to a string as shown in Fig. 2.1. The block hangs from a string fixed to a support; a pellet travelling horizontally at speed u…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 52
Two identical beakers, each of mass M, are attached to each other using string and suspended from a pulley, as shown in Fig. 1.1 (not to scale). The string passes over a pulley at…
Answer this question and get it marked →A student investigates the discharge of capacitors in the circuit shown in Fig. 2.1. In the circuit, two capacitors of capacitance CA and CB are connected in series with each…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 53
Two coils, C and D, are placed with their axes on a straight line, as shown in Fig. 1.1. The arrangement shows a resistor of resistance R connected in series with coil C, with…
Answer this question and get it marked →A block of modelling clay of mass M is attached to a string as shown in Fig. 2.1. The block hangs from a string fixed to a support; a pellet travelling horizontally at speed u…
Answer this question and get it marked →Other AS & A Level Physics topics
- Forces, density and pressure (120)
- Waves (89)
- Superposition (77)
- D.C. circuits (71)
- Work, energy and power (70)
- Deformation of solids (60)
- Physical quantities and units (54)
- Current of electricity (50)
- Particle physics (46)
- Kinematics (45)
- Nuclear physics (37)
- Dynamics (26)