IGCSE Past  Papers Physics

IGCSE Past Papers Physics are the board exam papers of IGCSE Physics from the  Cambridge Board that students and teachers after a particular topic has been taught or as a part of the board exam preparation or  revision before mocks.

Here we shall address  many concerns that students / parents or  tutors have while solving past papers. In addition, we shall also guide you regarding the common wrong ways of using past exam papers  during revision of concepts. So let us begin:

 When should you begin solving  Past  Papers for Physics?

Once you are taught a particular concept , you may start solving questions based on the concept.

Let me give you an example. Suppose, you are being taught the unit : Motion, Forces and Energy. And you have just finished learning the first objective of this lesson that says: Describe the use of rulers and measuring cylinders to find a length or a volume

Once you have learnt the concept. Its time for you to  Begin solving IGCSE Past Papers for Multiple Choice / Extended or Core Theory and Alternative to Practical’s.

How many years of topic questions should we solve for every topic?

You need to  technically solve as many Past Exam Papers that you can  for Physics. This is because every paper has new type of questions to offer. And solving a large number of questions develops more confidence, enhances critical and logical thinking and improves your speed. It also equips you with the correct scientific vocabulary needed to master physics to score well.

Look at the following questions from IGCSE Past Papers Physics. The questions are from 2002 to 2023 on the  objective: Describe the use of rulers and measuring cylinders to find a length or a volume.

Is it true that questions from  very old  examination years are all out-dated?

Go through the following questions on Measuring Volume

0625_s02_qp_1.pdf -Q1- Measuring Volume   

0625_s06_qp_1.pdf-Q1-Measuring-Volume

0625_s10_qp_11.pdf-Q1-Measuring-Volume

0625_w19_qp_11.pdf-Q1-Measuring-Volume

Go through the following questions on Measuring Length

0625_s02_qp_1.pdf- Q2-Measuring-Length

0625_s14_qp_12.pdf-Q1-Measuring-Length

Now look at the Syllabus Objective given below for 2023 to 2028 exams:

'Describe the use of rulers and measuring cylinders to find a length or a volume'

The above set of questions is relevant even today.

But having said that, there are many  concepts that get deleted or  modified.  So you need to make sure you have your syllabus copy every time you learn a concept.

Example of topics removed from 2023 exams and Beyond:

digital electronics

gas laws

measurement of temperature

 pressure (removal of learning objectives concerning barometers and manometers)

 thermal capacity.

Main topics and sub-topics added:

•  absolute scale of temperature
•  electromagnetic spectrum (addition of learning objectives concerning communications)
•  use of the kilowatt-hour – space physics

Do you always cram the definitions / bullet points present in the mark schemes of IGCSE Past Papers Physics, in the Theory Paper?

Definitions / Laws / Diagrams / Processes  and such similar questions that test your basic concepts need to be answered by referring to  the  syllabus.The following image will explain why .

Prior to 2023 :The IGCSE Physics  Syllabus only expected you to define speed without actually giving you the wordings:

The 2023 IGCSE Physics Syllabus Clearly states the objective as: Define speed as distance travelled per unit time.

So it makes sense to say that if  CAIE has taken efforts to state the definition, it will expect students to use the specific vocabulary during exams.

So, simply learning definitions given in old or ever say last years past papers isn’t recommended. If definitions have changed during syllabus updates, you need to consider them while solving past papers.

Every Board Exam Past Paper of Physics  has a new set of questions, so why do we need to solve past papers?

The advantages of solving past papers of physics are many:

• Past Papers  help you understand how examiners build questions around different concepts
• Past Exam Paper Solutions  tell you how questions are interconnected.
• Board Exam Papers  teach you the correct vocabulary required for every concept of Physics.
• Every year there are direct concept related questions, that stay the same over many years, with the exception that the contents of the answer may vary to a small extent if there have  been syllabus changes.
• They teach you time management skills

Why am I not able to score well in my IGCSE Physics Progression Tests or Mock Tests and my teacher keeps telling my parents  : Your child has the potential and he can perform better. He needs more practise and needs to put in more efforts.

Your child has the potential and he can perform better is a statement every teacher must have used during  her interaction with Parents  during Parent-Teacher Meetings. The next thing that parents do is to scold their child and probably  blame their existing tutors or else hire tutors  or themselves teach or whatever.

What is important here is to understand whether:

• There is a difficulty in understanding the concepts
• Or the child’s application skills are a concern.

If concept clarity is an issue, that can be tackled by experienced teachers / parents with good subject knowledge and a proper understanding of the syllabus.  

If your childs application skills are a concern, you need to start solving topic wise questions. Keep the following in mind while solving questions.

When ever you come across a direct concept related question whil solving past papers of physics, say you are asked to state the differences between evaporation and boiling, You need to write the points on a post it and stick it  on the correct page of your IGCSE Physics Course Book. That way you will always revise using correct vocabulary while revising for board exams or school exams.

Also solving questions from a large number of years is essential. This provides a variety and helps you to score well in your school exams.

Does solving Past Papers of Physics is the only thing to Ace your Exams?

Solving Past Papers of Physics helps in better preparation. Note that each year, there are repeats of earlier questions based on concept. Sometimes a question that was asked 10 years ago , gets asked .

Next Cambridge always try to test even the smallest of concepts. So  concepts  that have never been assessed earlier, can also get assessed.

It is essential to solve Board Exam Papers to be better prepared. Unseen questions will prove to be challenging for all. Probably even teachers might find  unseen questions difficult. Anybody can answer with a mark scheme. So, do not worry and trust your preparation.

With the above in mind, Solve the following  Papers which we have uploaded randomly, to see how you perform. Note the idea is to provide you  with a selected number of question papers, which we thought , you would find challenging as a part of your board exam or Mock Exam preparation.

Happy Learning,

Team,

Smart Exam Resources

Here is a small note for those who are new to Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625:

• What are variants in IGCSE?
• Variants are the different versions of a paper. For example: look at the following links that give you three different variants for IGCSE Physics for 2010,  question paper 2.:
•  IGCSE Physics-2010-Paper-21  /  IGCSE Physics 2010-Paper-22  /  IGCSE Physics 2010- Paper-23
• How many sessions is the 0625  IGCSE Physics Exam Conducted in?
• The 0625 IGCSE Physics examination is held over 3 sessions; namely the  May June/ October November and the March
• Which session  of 0625 IGCSE Physics can you appear for?
• You need to discuss with your school which  session you can be enrolled for.
• How many years of IGCSE past papers for physics 0625 are available?
• Well, I shall explain this to you giving you the example of IGCSE Physics
• The March Session IGCSE Physics  Exam was  held for the first time in the year 2015. Only variant 2 papers are available. This means that the March Session is available for a particular time zone only.
• Also , this means that you cannot expect to find March Exam  papers for IGCSE Physics 0625 for any of the years before 2015.
• Now talking of the October and May Session, these sessions are very old and hence one can find past papers for the same  for years below 2000 as well. But most sites give you papers from 2002.
• Also from 2009, multiple variants of each paper for IGCSE 0625 Physics were introduced.What this means is that different exam papers would now be made available to students appearing for exams in different time zones. People usually feel that 2009 had just one time zone, but if you click on any of the papers for 2009 Physics , you will find that one paper in-fact has two exam papers.
• Then post 2010, all variants[ example 11/12/13, 21/22/23 etc] became available and were also tagged distinctly.
• How many  past papers should i solve for IGCSE? or  How many past papers do i do a day?
• So if you are asking this to me, then I assume that you have finished learning all the  IGCSE  topics and are now trying to master the art of solving the entire paper in the given time, with maximum neatness and accuracy.  I have to tell you a couple of things here:
• Make a time table that will work for you, keeping in mind that the time you choose will be a time when you can concentrate on your paper solution, without distraction.
• There are students who wish to solve papers orally. Surprised? Well that's what even you will do, once you feel 99% confident. But this will a latter stage, probably a month before your actual board exams.
• So, try to begin by solving one paper at a time if you are planning to solve a theory paper. Similarly,  two multiple choice papers or  two alternative to practicals paper in a day should also be fine. And before you do any paper solutions, see that you are fully prepared. Avoid the temptation of peeping into the textbook! That's a bad practice and will defeat the  real purpose behind the paper solution.
• So, gradually you may increase the number of theory papers to 3 in a day if you are physically solving them. Also see that you space them properly over the available time of the day. Avoid solving papers one after the other. That will drain you our completely.
• The number of multiple choice and alternative to practical papers that you wish to solve can also be gradually increased.
• So ideally it all depends from student to student. If you find it stressful, then you need to take a break and reframe your time table. 
• Remember , the reason  behind solving IGCSE Past  Papers for Physics is to do efficient time management, to write answers using the correct vocabulary and in the given space, to draw graphs an other diagrams really well, to justify statements etc. And  for all this, it is important that you  do it when you are in the correct  surrounding and in the right state of mind, just like how you would like to be  when appearing for your real boards.
• So treat every paper that you solve, as your own board exam paper, that will help you decide how many papers to solve in a day or so. 
• Should you take coaching for Cambridge IGCSE Physics from a teacher without any experience of teaching the curriculum?
• Ideally not. But you may do so, if you have no other alernative. If you are a teacher , without any relevant experience, do not feel ofended. But this curriculum demands expertise in solving past papers that  majorly test the learners application skills. To be able to help the student acieve the best grades, it is therefore essential that you yourself know how to answer such application based questions using the correct vocabulary and in the Cambridge prescribed way. If you are not familiar with these things then you are simply going to experiment with the student. And this will cost him his grades. 
• An advice to the parents is that do not waste the crucial months trying to learn the syllabus and then try to teach your chid. It is a common assumption that because i have also studied Physics during my school / college days, so I will surely be able to teach. There are very few parents who are ale to succeed in this. This is because, you might have forgotten all that you have learnt and might now be trying to read, understand and master it. Also explaining concepts is another skill. The most important thing is to be able to solve  papers and guide the student on the correct way of solving the past papers.So all this needs a lot of time and effort. So, if you are already employed else where, it is then not possile to do justice to the tast that you have udertaken. 
• So if you feel that you will not be able to teach dedicatedly, then you must go ahead  booking a tutor with appropriate Cambrideg training and  rich experience in teaching the subject. This will help your child score to his maximum potential. Also time will be managed well, the syllabus will also get completed faster and you will then have more time to spend on revising the subject. 
• So, money wise ,  a trained teacher might appear to be expensive, but an untrained and not-an-expert-tutor will cost you your grades.  So , make the correct choice , while you still have time at your disposal.
• Is IGCSE Physics tough?
• No subject on its own is tough. It is the way it is taught, makes it appear to be easy or tough. A good teacher with great teaching strategies can make the toughest topic  very easy. Alos , it is important to  solve past paper questions and check your answers with the mark schemes. In addition selecting the right course book is also very essential.
• Why  dont I have  a consistent performance? Why do i sometimes seem to score well, while at times i struggle to get the minimum grade.
• I shall give you a complete explanation for this question.
• Firstly , all topics are not of the same difficulty level. So  at the beginning of your IGCSE , if you studey  topics such as density, mass , volume, time, it is quite obvious that you will understand them better and even might find solving the application based question very easy. Then gradually, you will learn newer topics such as momentum, Hooke's law, resultant forces, specific heat capacity, light, waves, sound, magnetism, electricty, radioactivity, atiomic physics and so on and so forth. Then you will realise that as the topics get tougher, the scoring gets tougher too.Hence do not worry if you do score consistently well. There will be grade fluctuations as you learn new topics. The important thing that you must unerstand is that all have gone through this phase. The only way to be sure that you perform well, is to  develop clarity of concepts and solve as many past papers as possible. Each time you solve papers, cross check with the mark schemes. Make  your own notes or feret our amazing notes that our teachers have made, taking inputs from past papers as well.  So plan your studies well and you will surely perform to your maximum potential  in your final board exams.
• What is the difference between IGCSE Core and extended?
• The difference lies in the course contents and the grades that you can score  in these exams. The core syllabus contents are very basic for each topic. The extended students on the other hand study challenging concepts and solve application based questions  of a higher difficulty level.The extended students can score any where from an" A star " to" F", while the core students  can score a maxmim of a " C" grade