International A-Level (IAL) - Free Past Papers & Mark Schemes
Prepare for your Physics exams with past papers covering mechanics, waves, electricity, fields, and nuclear physics. Download free A-Level Physics question papers and mark schemes from Edexcel. All papers are available instantly with no sign-up required.
Understanding the exam structure helps you target your revision effectively. Here is a breakdown of each paper:
Covers rectilinear motion, forces, energy, materials, and Newton's laws. Includes data analysis and practical application questions.
Covers wave properties, superposition, electrical circuits, and DC electricity. Tests both calculation and conceptual understanding.
Assesses experimental design, data analysis, error handling, and practical techniques from Units 1 and 2.
Advanced topics including circular motion, electric and magnetic fields, capacitors, and nuclear and particle physics.
Covers thermodynamics, nuclear decay, oscillations, gravitational fields, astrophysics, and cosmology at the highest level.
Physics exams test your ability to apply principles to unfamiliar situations, not just recall facts. Begin your revision by ensuring you understand the core concepts behind each equation rather than just memorising formulae. For example, understanding why F = ma links force to acceleration helps you apply it correctly in complex multi-body problems.
Practise converting between units and checking dimensional consistency in your answers. The mark schemes are explicit about why it matters: a missing or incorrect unit normally loses the final calculation mark, and using g = 10 loses one mark. Always write units alongside your calculations.
Units 3 and 6 are written practical papers, 1 hour 20 minutes and 50 marks each, assessing the experimental techniques developed while studying the theory units: Units 1 and 2 for Unit 3, Units 4 and 5 for Unit 6. Familiarise yourself with standard laboratory techniques and sources of error, and know the difference between systematic and random errors and how each affects a conclusion.
For calculations, state the relevant physics principle, write the equation, substitute values with units, and clearly state your final answer. A correct answer with no working scores full marks, except in a "show that" question, so in a "show that" question show every step.
The following topics are covered across the Physics A-Level syllabus:
Six units. Unit 1 (Mechanics and Materials) and Unit 2 (Waves and Electricity) are written papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, each with at least 32 marks targeting mathematics at Level 2 or above. Unit 3 (Practical Skills in Physics I) is a written practical paper of 1 hour 20 minutes and 50 marks. Unit 4 (Further Mechanics, Fields and Particles) and Unit 5 (Thermodynamics, Radiation, Oscillations and Cosmology) follow, with Unit 6 (Practical Skills in Physics II), again 1 hour 20 minutes and 50 marks. The Unit 1 paper, for example, may include multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculation and extended-writing questions.
The mark schemes' own notes say: a correct answer with no working scores full marks, except in a "show that" question. "Use of" a formula is credited for substituting physically correct values, even with a power-of-ten slip, and "recall of" a formula when it is written or implied by substitution. A missing or incorrect unit normally loses the final calculation mark, and using g = 10 loses one mark. Credit for a wrong value carried into a later part is marked "ecf", error carried forward.
Units 3 and 6 test experimental skills in a written paper. Study past practical papers and examiner reports to understand common experimental setups. Know how to identify independent, dependent, and control variables. Practise plotting graphs from data tables, drawing lines of best fit, calculating gradients, and estimating percentage uncertainties. For Unit 6 the specification adds log graphs: you should gain experience of using them to determine the relationship between two variables.