How IGCSE Physics (0625) is really marked
0625 is examined across Papers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, each in three variants, totalling 3,116 questions in our bank. Papers 1 and 2 (multiple choice, around 200 questions each) are entirely points-marked, while Papers 3 and 4 (the longer structured papers, 192 to 214 questions each at 400 marks) carry the heaviest calculation load, each splitting roughly two-thirds points to one-third calculation.
Across the whole syllabus, 431 of the 3,116 questions in our bank are calculation-style against 2,685 points-marked, so working and final answer both matter on a meaningful minority of questions, concentrated in Papers 3, 4 and 6. Papers 5 and 6 (the practical papers) are almost entirely points-marked but reward very specific practical skills: correct precision when recording readings, starting graph axes at the origin when instructed, and drawing lines of best fit that reflect the data rather than forcing a particular shape.
Because 0625 tests physics in isolation rather than alongside other sciences, marks tend to be lost less to confusing similar-sounding terms from another subject and more to specific numerical and graphical technique: misreading a scale, rounding at the wrong point, or describing a practical improvement too vaguely to be credited.
Where candidates actually lose marks
- Many candidates do not give length and extension values to the nearest millimetre, losing marks for insufficient precision in recorded readings. (try the question)
- When drawing a graph, candidates lose marks for not starting both axes at the origin as instructed, or for drawing a line that does not match the plotted points, or a series of straight segments joining each point to the next instead of a smooth best-fit line. (try the question)
- Many candidates have not seen the type of image produced in this experimental setup and do not realise it appears upside down. (try the question)
- A common circuit-diagram error is drawing the thermistor symbol, or a diagram that mixes thermistor and variable resistor symbols, instead of the correct single symbol. (try the question)
- Most candidates suggest repeating the timing and averaging as an improvement, but the more effective suggestion of timing a larger number of oscillations is seen much less often. (try the question)
- On graphs, candidates lose marks for choosing awkward scales such as multiples of 3 or 7, for plots that do not span at least half the grid, for forcing a best-fit line through the origin when it should not pass through it, and for not circling anomalous points that were excluded from the line. (try the question)
- The term 'reproducible' is not known by many candidates, who describe how to improve accuracy instead; a common incorrect suggestion is to repeat using a different angle of incidence, which would actually give a different result rather than testing reproducibility. (try the question)
- Candidates find it difficult to express a numerical relationship in words, often incorrectly stating 'directly/inversely proportional', or describing the relationship for the wrong component in the circuit. (try the question)
- Few candidates can correctly name and draw the symbol for a variable resistor or rheostat; a common incorrect choice is a thermistor, and many who correctly name a variable resistor still draw the thermistor symbol. (try the question)
- A significant number of candidates fail to achieve the required agreement between two measured heights within 10%, probably because they did not move the screen to the position giving the clearest focus. (try the question)
Command words in IGCSE Physics
| Command word | Times in our bank | What it demands |
|---|---|---|
| Identify | 1103 | Give the specific correct term, component or feature from a diagram or description, without further explanation. |
| Calculate | 529 | Show working using the correct equation and give a final numerical answer with the correct unit and appropriate significant figures. |
| State | 383 | Give a fact, law or value concisely and precisely, without needing to justify it. |
| Explain | 206 | Give the physical reason or mechanism behind an observation, not simply a restatement of what happens. |
| Describe | 189 | Give an accurate account of what happens or what is observed, in the correct sequence. |
| Measure | 116 | Read a value from apparatus or a diagram to the precision the instrument allows, such as the nearest millimetre on a ruled scale. |
| Draw | 113 | Produce an accurate diagram, symbol or graph line, following any stated conventions such as starting axes at the origin. |
| Suggest | 103 | Apply physics knowledge to propose a plausible answer to an unfamiliar or practical scenario, with more than one answer sometimes accepted. |
How to revise with past papers
Because Papers 5 and 6 test very specific practical conventions, working through past practical papers is worth doing even if you are confident in the theory, since marks here are lost to habits like rounding a reading too early, plotting a graph without starting at the origin when instructed, or drawing a best-fit line that ignores an anomalous point instead of circling and excluding it.
For the calculation-heavy sections of Papers 3, 4 and 6, practise reading measured values to the correct precision (usually the smallest division of the instrument) before calculating anything further, since rounding a raw reading too early — rather than the final calculation itself — is an easy way to lose accuracy marks.
When a question asks you to suggest an improvement or identify a source of error, past-paper practice should focus on being specific: naming the exact quantity affected and the exact reason, rather than giving a general statement about accuracy, since vague answers are consistently the type not credited.
Practise real 0625 questions with AI marking →FAQs
How much of 0625 is calculation-based?
431 of the 3,116 questions in our bank are calculation-style, against 2,685 points-marked, so calculation is a meaningful minority, concentrated mainly in Papers 3, 4 and 6.
What precision should I record readings to in the practical papers?
To the precision the instrument allows — for a ruler this is usually the nearest millimetre. Rounding to the nearest centimetre, or rounding a time value too early, both lose marks.
Which command word is most common in 0625?
Identify, appearing 1,103 times in our bank, ahead of Calculate at 529.
Why do my graph answers keep losing marks even though the shape looks right?
Graph marks in 0625 are awarded for specific technique: starting axes at the origin when instructed, using a sensible scale that spans at least half the grid, plotting with crosses rather than blobs, drawing a genuine best-fit line rather than joining points with straight segments, and circling any excluded anomalous points.