Physics

Pearson Edexcel A-Level Physics (9PH0) is assessed through three papers: Paper 1 on mechanics, electric circuits and further mechanics; Paper 2 on materials, waves, electricity and magnetism, nuclear and particle physics; and Paper 3 on general and practical principles, which draws synoptically on the whole course and on the sixteen core practicals.

Paper 3 is the distinguishing feature of the Edexcel course and the one students prepare for least well. It presents unfamiliar experimental contexts and asks students to evaluate a method, identify the dominant source of uncertainty or suggest an improvement: skills that cannot be revised from a textbook and have to be built through actual laboratory work and past-paper practice on data analysis.