A Level Physics Edexcel Past Papers

AQA A level physics spec at a glance

The AQA A Level Physics course is a challenging qualification made up of three exam papers, 8 core modules and 5 optional modules. The following outlines the course content and exam structure.

Mandatory Modules

1 Measurements and their errors

2 Particles and radiation

3 Waves

4 Mechanics and materials

5 Electricity

6 Further mechanics and thermal physics

7 Fields and their consequences

8 Nuclear physics

Optional Modules

9 Astrophysics

10 Medical physics

11 Engineering physics

12 Turning points in physics

13 Electronics

AS Level Physics Exam Structure:

Paper 1

• Sections 1 – 5
• 1 hour 30 minutes
• 70 marks
• 50% of AS qualification
• The 70 marks are a mixture of short and long answer questions split by topic.

Paper 2

• Sections 1 – 5
• 1 hour 30 minutes
• 70 marks
• 50% of AS qualification
• Questions: Section A is out of 20 marks of short and long answer questions on practical skills and data analysis. Section B is out of 20 marks of short and long answer questions from across all areas of AS content. Section C has 30 multiple choice questions to finish the paper.

A-Level Physics Exam Structure:

Paper 1

• Sections 1 to 5 and 6.1 (Periodic motion)
• 2 hours
• 85 marks
• 34% of the A-level qualification
• The paper is made up of 60 marks of short and long answer questions and 25 multiple choice questions on content.

Paper 2

• Sections 6.2 (Thermal Physics), 7 and 8
• Assumed knowledge from sections 1 to 6.1
• written exam: 2 hours
• 85 marks
• 34% of A-level qualification
• Questions
• 60 marks of short and long answer questions and 25 multiple choice questions on content.

Paper 3

• Section A Compulsory section: Practical skills and data analysis
• Section B: Students enter for one of sections 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13
• 2 hours
• 80 marks
• 32% of the A-level qualification
• The exam is 45 marks of short and long answer questions on practical experiments and data analysis.
• The exam is composed of 35 marks of short and long answer questions on optional topic.