Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics (9702) Past Papers: Grade Thresholds and Examiner Report Notes

This page is a guide to past papers for Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics (9702). It covers five series: March 2024, June 2024, November 2024, March 2025 and June 2025. The grade thresholds are copied from Cambridge’s grade-threshold documents, and the examiner notes are our own summaries of Cambridge’s Principal Examiner Reports for Teachers. We do not host any papers: every paper, mark scheme and report comes from Cambridge’s own website.

Where to get the official papers

• Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics (9702) syllabus page
• 9702 past papers page

Cambridge publishes recent papers, mark schemes, examiner reports and grade thresholds on the syllabus’s past-papers page; older series are available to schools through the School Support Hub.

Use the three documents together. Sit the paper first, under timed conditions. Mark it strictly with the mark scheme, which tells you what earns each mark. Then read the examiner report for that paper, which tells you why answers lost marks. The notes on this page give you the short version of each report.

The 2025 series were set on the current 2025-2027 syllabus. The 2024 series were set on the syllabus in use before it, so check the syllabus version on the paper’s front cover against the current syllabus before you use an older paper. Cambridge states that the 2028-2030 syllabus has no significant changes which affect teaching.

Series index

Series	Papers (components) examined	Examiner report notes	Grade thresholds
November 2025	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
June 2025	11-14, 21-24, 31-35, 37, 38, 41-44, 51-54	Yes	Yes
March 2025	12, 22, 33, 42, 52	Yes	Yes
November 2024	11-13, 21-23, 31, 33-36, 41-43, 51-53	Yes	Yes
June 2024	11-13, 21-23, 31-35, 41-43, 51-53	Yes	Yes
March 2024	12, 22, 33, 42, 52	Yes	Yes
November 2023	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
June 2023	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
March 2023	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
November 2022	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
June 2022	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
March 2022	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
November 2021	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
June 2021	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
March 2021	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
November 2020	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
June 2020	Cancelled by Cambridge because of COVID-19	Not summarised here	Not summarised here
March 2020	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
November 2019	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
June 2019	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page
March 2019	Not summarised here	Not summarised here	Official page

What examiners keep saying

These are the errors that come back across the five series summarised here, grouped by syllabus topic.

• Physical quantities and units. Powers of ten go wrong in prefix, area and unit conversions (cm to m, km h⁻¹, tera and giga), giving answers of an impossible size. Check every conversion and ask whether the answer is sensible. (March 2024, June 2024, November 2024, March 2025, June 2025)
• Physical quantities and units (uncertainties). When a length is squared or cubed, its percentage uncertainty must be multiplied by two or three. For a product or quotient, combine percentage uncertainties, not absolute ones. Treat a value with an uncertainty as a range of possible values. (June 2024, November 2024, March 2025)
• Kinematics and Dynamics. Velocity and momentum are vectors. A change in velocity or momentum found by subtracting speeds, with the reversal of direction ignored, loses the mark every time. (June 2024, November 2024, June 2025)
• Kinematics. Keep one sign convention for displacement, velocity and acceleration in every equation of motion. A projectile moving horizontally has no horizontal acceleration; the vertical acceleration still acts on it. (June 2024, November 2024, June 2025)
• Dynamics. Force is the rate of change of momentum, not “mass times acceleration”. At terminal velocity, weight is balanced by drag plus upthrust; leaving a force out of the balance is a repeated slip. (June 2024, March 2025)
• Forces, density and pressure. A full statement of the principle of moments needs the sums of clockwise and anticlockwise moments, about the same point, for a body in equilibrium. In calculations, use perpendicular distances and weight, not mass, and include the weight of the beam. (November 2024, March 2025, June 2025)
• Deformation of solids. The limit of proportionality and the elastic limit are different points. Read the axis labels: a force-length graph is not a force-extension graph. (June 2024, November 2024, June 2025)
• Superposition. A stationary wave is not a progressive wave. Adjacent nodes are half a wavelength apart, but a node and the next antinode are a quarter of a wavelength apart. Phase differences follow different rules too. Coherence means a constant phase difference, not “in phase”. (March 2024, June 2024, March 2025, June 2025)
• D.C. circuits. E.m.f. and terminal p.d. are not the same; the lost volts across the internal resistance rise with current. In a null method, say that the galvanometer reads zero at balance. (March 2024, June 2024, November 2024, March 2025, June 2025)
• Particle physics. Beta-plus decay emits a positron and a neutrino; beta-minus decay emits an electron and an antineutrino. A beta particle has mass. Name the quark change correctly, and give antiquarks the opposite charge to their quarks. (March 2024, June 2024, November 2024, March 2025, June 2025)
• Ideal gases and Thermodynamics. Work done on a gas that expands is negative. Use kelvin in gas-law ratios and do not write a degree sign with kelvin. Square-root the mean-square speed to get the r.m.s. speed. (March 2024, June 2024, November 2024, March 2025)
• Motion in a circle and Gravitational fields. Centripetal force is the resultant of the forces already acting, not an extra force on the diagram. Gravitational potential is per unit mass and negative; keep the minus sign. (June 2024, November 2024, March 2025, June 2025)
• Capacitance and Alternating currents. Explain exponential discharge: the rate of loss of charge is proportional to the charge left. Find an energy change as a difference of two energies, not from a p.d. difference. For rectified supplies, the power-time graph is a squared sine, and diodes in a full-wave rectifier must point the right way. (March 2024, June 2024, June 2025)
• Nuclear physics. Binding energy per nucleon is not total binding energy and is not the mass defect. Convert the mass defect to kilograms before using E = mc². Keep fission (one large nucleus splits) and fusion (light nuclei join) apart. (June 2024, November 2024, March 2025, June 2025)
• Practical skills and planning. Read intercepts only from a graph whose x-axis starts at zero, not from a false origin. Give logarithms to the right number of decimal places, and do not mix lg and ln. A micrometer measures a diameter, not a radius or an area. (March 2024, June 2024, November 2024, March 2025, June 2025)

Exam technique the reports repeat:

• Learn definitions word for word. Write them as explicit ratios (“per unit charge”, “per unit mass”), and define every symbol you use.
• Write the equation, with its subject, before you substitute. Keep intermediate values unrounded and round only the final answer to the data’s significant figures.
• Answer the question on the paper, not a remembered one. Each report notes answers copied from old mark schemes that did not fit the question set.
• Give both halves of “state and explain”. For “show that”, start from a physical principle and show every step; do not work backwards from the given value.
• Draw with care. Use a sharp pencil and a 30 cm ruler for lines, scales and sketches. In practicals, use the widest range and record readings to the instrument’s resolution.
• Make limitations specific. Name the quantity that was hard to measure and why, then give a matching improvement. Default answers such as friction or air conditioning earn little.

June 2025

AS papers tested kinematics and projectile energy, moments, momentum as a vector, interference, polarisation and the grating, internal resistance, null methods and quark models. A Level papers covered fields, thermal physics, oscillations, capacitor discharge, rectification, and quantum and nuclear physics. The report rewarded full, correct definitions with standard symbols, clear working and a direct answer to the question. It marked down ignored vector directions, slips with powers of ten and signs, early rounding, bare statements with no reasons, careless curves and answers lifted from older papers.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11-14: Newton’s third law pairs drawn on the same body; momentum change found without the change of direction; elastic limit mixed up with the limit of proportionality.
• Papers 21-24: the principle of moments stated without “sum”, “perpendicular” or “same point”; coherence described as waves in phase; neutrinos left out of decay equations.
• Papers 41 and 43: the minus sign dropped from gravitational potential; latent heat explained by bond breaking instead of potential energy; diodes in a full-wave rectifier pointed the wrong way.
• Paper 42: field lines said to show the direction of motion; the ± sign missing from the SHM velocity equation; power-time graphs drawn as |sin| shapes.
• Papers 31-38: awkward scales with a power-of-ten change along an axis; intercepts read from a false origin; percentage difference not compared with the stated criterion.
• Papers 51-54: meters in series in unworkable circuits; values truncated instead of rounded; intercept uncertainty found by adding fractional uncertainties.

Grade thresholds – June 2025

Full A Level, all papers in this series

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E
AC	14, 24, 37, 44, 54	260	202	177	152	126	100	74
AX	11, 21, 31, 41, 51	260	201	177	153	128	103	79
AY	12, 22, 33, 42, 52	260	203	178	153	128	103	78
AZ	13, 23, 35, 43, 53	260	205	178	151	125	99	74
HC	14, 24, 38, 44, 54	260	202	176	150	124	98	73
HX	11, 21, 32, 41, 51	260	203	177	151	126	102	78
HY	12, 22, 34, 42, 52	260	203	177	151	126	101	77

AS Level only

Option	Components	Max	a	b	c	d	e
S1	11, 21, 31	130	94	85	73	62	51
S2	11, 21, 32	130	94	83	72	61	50
S3	12, 22, 33	130	97	85	72	59	46
S4	12, 22, 34	130	96	83	70	57	45
S5	13, 23, 35	130	95	83	70	58	46
SA	14, 24, 37	130	92	79	67	55	44
SB	14, 24, 38	130	91	77	65	54	43

Not shown: 24 further route(s) in the official table (staged entries that carry AS marks from an earlier series, or other special routes). See the official document.

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

March 2025

A single variant of each paper. The AS questions tested resolving vectors, kinematics with unit changes, projectile energy, uncertainties, moments, force as rate of change of momentum, stationary waves, drift speed and conservation laws in decay. The A Level paper covered circular motion, fields, gas work and kinetic theory, capacitors, crossed fields, induction, photons, radioactivity and astronomy. Good scripts wrote the subject of each equation, used exact technical terms and stuck to the question. Weak scripts made power-of-ten errors, treated uncertainty as a single number, quoted one significant figure, set out working unclearly and repeated answers to old questions.

Where marks were lost

• Paper 12: speeds not converted to m s⁻¹; sine and cosine swapped when resolving; e.m.f. treated as terminal p.d.
• Paper 22: the percentage uncertainty of a cubed length not tripled; force defined as mass times acceleration; the node-to-antinode distance taken as half a wavelength; mass and energy given as the quantities conserved in decay instead of nucleon and proton number.
• Paper 33: milliamp readings not converted to amps; uncertainty worked out for each reading instead of for their difference.
• Paper 42: centripetal force drawn as an extra force; work done on an expanding gas given a positive sign; mean-square speed given as the r.m.s. speed; the wrong capacitance used in a time constant.
• Paper 52: a voltmeter placed across the supply; logarithms to the wrong decimal places; absolute uncertainties not added for a difference.

Grade thresholds – March 2025

Full A Level, all papers in this series

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E
AY	12, 22, 33, 42, 52	260	208	186	164	138	112	87

AS Level only

Option	Components	Max	a	b	c	d	e
S3	12, 22, 33	130	99	90	78	66	54

Not shown: 5 further route(s) in the official table (staged entries that carry AS marks from an earlier series, or other special routes). See the official document.

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

November 2024

AS papers centred on mechanics (momentum as a vector, moments and work), deformation graphs, waves and d.c. circuits. A Level papers tested induction, thermodynamics, fields, capacitance, and nuclear physics and cosmology. Loose definitions cost marks all through the series: a unit written where a quantity was needed, a missing ratio or change, or two similar terms swapped. Good scripts wrote the equation before substituting, kept values unrounded, read the axes and answered for the exact quantity asked. Weak scripts left gaps, answered old questions from memory, drew lines freehand and gave general practical limitations. Papers 11, 41 and 51 had too few candidates for a report.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 12 and 13: momentum change found from a difference in speeds; moments taken with non-perpendicular distances, or with mass instead of weight; a force-length graph read as force-extension.
• Paper 21: absolute uncertainties added instead of percentages; parallax error called systematic; work defined without displacement in the direction of the force.
• Paper 22: potential difference defined as an energy rather than energy per unit charge; the limit of proportionality confused with the elastic limit; a beta-plus particle called a proton or given zero mass.
• Paper 42: Lenz’s law stated as a rule about size; specific latent heat defined as an energy; mass defect discussed where binding energy per nucleon was asked.
• Paper 43: separation not squared in the law of gravitation; field strengths from opposite charges not added.
• Papers 31-36 and 52-53: intercepts read at a false origin; temperature rather than temperature change chosen as the dependent variable; units given to dimensionless quantities.

Grade thresholds – November 2024

Full A Level, all papers in this series

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E
AX	11, 21, 31, 41, 51	260	211	188	165	138	112	86
AY	12, 22, 33, 42, 52	260	215	191	167	139	111	84
AZ	13, 23, 35, 43, 53	260	213	190	167	139	111	83
HY	12, 22, 34, 42, 52	260	214	191	168	140	113	86
HZ	13, 23, 36, 43, 53	260	213	190	167	139	112	85

AS Level only

Option	Components	Max	a	b	c	d	e
S1	11, 21, 31	130	97	83	72	61	50
S3	12, 22, 33	130	97	83	71	59	48
S4	12, 22, 34	130	97	84	72	61	50
S5	13, 23, 35	130	99	85	72	59	47
S6	13, 23, 36	130	99	85	73	61	49

Not shown: 13 further route(s) in the official table (staged entries that carry AS marks from an earlier series, or other special routes). See the official document.

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

June 2024

AS papers tested projectiles, drag and terminal velocity, momentum, stress and strain, stationary waves, the diffraction grating, Kirchhoff’s laws and internal resistance. A Level papers covered thermal physics, oscillations, fields, capacitors, induction, rectification, nuclear binding energy and astronomy. Good scripts named the subject of each equation, kept values unrounded, kept to the limits set in the question, and explained graphs rather than describing them. Weak scripts mixed up e.m.f. and terminal p.d., used surface area for cross-sectional area, ignored direction in a velocity change and answered old questions. In the practicals, narrow ranges, awkward scales and general limitations cost the most.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11-13: change in velocity found as a change in speed; terminal p.d. with internal resistance; a parallel resistor thought to increase total resistance.
• Papers 21-23: horizontal projectile motion given an acceleration; drag treated as the resultant force with weight left out; the uncertainty in a squared length not doubled; stationary waves described without reflection and superposition.
• Papers 41 and 43: potential defined without “per unit mass”; capacitor discharge described but not explained; rectified power graphs not squared.
• Paper 42: thermal equilibrium taken to mean no energy transfer at all; an average rate of change of flux used where the steepest gradient was needed; a mass defect not converted to kilograms.
• Papers 31-35: ruler readings not to the nearest millimetre; narrow ranges; limitations not linked to a named quantity.
• Papers 51-53: a ruler chosen to measure a diameter; lg confused with ln; intercept uncertainty found by the fractional method.

Grade thresholds – June 2024

Full A Level, all papers in this series

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E
AX	11, 21, 31, 41, 51	260	201	176	151	126	101	76
AY	12, 22, 33, 42, 52	260	212	183	154	126	99	72
AZ	13, 23, 35, 43, 53	260	205	178	151	126	101	76
HX	11, 21, 32, 41, 51	260	200	177	154	129	104	79
HY	12, 22, 34, 42, 52	260	213	184	155	128	101	74

AS Level only

Option	Components	Max	a	b	c	d	e
S1	11, 21, 31	130	96	86	74	62	50
S2	11, 21, 32	130	97	89	77	65	53
S3	12, 22, 33	130	99	86	72	58	45
S4	12, 22, 34	130	100	87	73	60	47
S5	13, 23, 35	130	98	86	74	62	50

Not shown: 13 further route(s) in the official table (staged entries that carry AS marks from an earlier series, or other special routes). See the official document.

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

March 2024

Precise definitions and careful reading mattered most in this series. The papers covered kinematics and dynamics, stationary waves and interference, circuits with internal resistance, particle physics, thermodynamics, oscillations, fields, and medical and astronomical physics. Good scripts wrote definitions as clear ratios or products, carried unrounded values, said exactly which resistance or energy they meant, and checked each answer was a sensible size. Weak scripts slipped by powers of ten on areas and prefixes, treated stationary waves as progressive, gave vague explanations and reused mark-scheme wording that did not fit. In the practicals, general limitations and unexplained methods scored little.

Where marks were lost

• Paper 12: acceleration defined as acceleration per unit time; a horizontal velocity component taken as the resultant; springs in series added as if in parallel.
• Paper 22: only the vertical component given as a final speed; an oscilloscope time-base setting read as the period; the phase difference on a stationary wave taken as 90°; current changes explained without naming the component whose resistance changes.
• Paper 33: repeat timings not recorded; the largest value of the independent variable left out; an intercept read off a false-origin axis.
• Paper 42: orbital kinetic energy added instead of subtracted when finding escape energy; Celsius used in a gas-law ratio; capacitor energy change worked out from a p.d. difference; threshold wavelength called a minimum.
• Paper 52: constants not made the subject of the gradient or intercept expression; a micrometer said to measure a radius directly; an axis power of ten dropped.

Grade thresholds – March 2024

Full A Level, all papers in this series

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E
AY	12, 22, 33, 42, 52	260	208	187	166	141	116	92

AS Level only

Option	Components	Max	a	b	c	d	e
S3	12, 22, 33	130	103	94	82	70	59

Not shown: 6 further route(s) in the official table (staged entries that carry AS marks from an earlier series, or other special routes). See the official document.

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

How to use this page

1. Find your gaps first. Take the free A Level diagnostic or AS diagnostic (all our diagnostics are listed on the diagnostics page), and tick off the 9702 topic checklist.
2. Sit a full paper under timed conditions. Download it from Cambridge’s past-papers page and check the timings on the exam calendar.
3. Mark it strictly with the mark scheme. Check each command word against our command words guide, because “state”, “explain” and “show that” expect different answers.
4. Read the notes for that series on this page. Compare your lost marks with the “Where marks were lost” bullets and the recurring errors above.
5. Fix one topic at a time. Use the resources on the 9702 Physics hub, for example D.C. circuits revision notes, superposition revision notes or capacitance revision notes, then practise in the 9702 self-check question bank.
6. Re-test after a week. Sit a paper from a different series and check that the same errors have gone. For the June 2026 thresholds of our main syllabuses, see the grade thresholds page.
7. Get help if a topic will not stick. Book a free trial lesson with one of our physics teachers.

About these notes

The grade thresholds on this page are copied from Cambridge’s grade-threshold tables, and the examiner notes are written in our own words from Cambridge’s Principal Examiner Reports for Teachers for March 2024, June 2024, November 2024, March 2025 and June 2025. Thresholds change every series and must never be used to predict future ones. If you spot an error, please report a correction.