Cambridge A Level · 9702 · Paper 4 · A Level structured questions

Physics 9702/42 May/June 2025 past paper

Cambridge A Level Physics (9702) Paper 4 (A Level structured questions), variant 2, May/June 2025: the question paper and its official mark scheme, 10 questions worth 100 marks, with the grade thresholds. Free to open, no account needed.

Questions: 10
Marks: 100
Grade A from: 60

Open the question paper Mark scheme

File names: 9702_s25_qp_42 · 9702_s25_ms_42

Grade thresholds for 9702/42 May/June 2025

The minimum raw marks Cambridge set for each grade on this component (out of 100). Thresholds change every session and variant, so always compare your score with the paper you actually sat.

A	B	C	D	E
60	50	41	32	22

Topics in this paper

Which syllabus chapters 9702/42 May/June 2025 tested, by marks. Each chapter links to every past-paper question on it.

Chapter	Questions	Marks
Temperature	1	13
Magnetic fields	1	12
Electric fields	1	11
Motion in a circle	1	10
Capacitance	1	10
Alternating currents	1	10
Oscillations	1	9
Nuclear physics	1	9
Ideal gases	1	8
Quantum physics	1	8

Questions in 9702/42 May/June 2025

Question 1Motion in a circle · 10 marks
(a) Define the radian. (b) The rear wheel and the pedals of a bicycle are connected by a chain that passes around two cogs (toothed wheels), as shown in Fig. 1.1. X chain pedal pedal large cog, radius 0.15 m …
Question 2Magnetic fields · 12 marks
(a) (i) State what is represented by a gravitational field line. (ii) The Earth may be considered as a uniform sphere, as shown in Fig. 2.1. Earth Fig. 2.1 On Fig. 2.1, draw field lines to represent the Earth’s gravitational …
Question 3Temperature · 13 marks
(a) Define specific heat capacity. (b) A block of aluminium has a volume of …
Question 4Ideal gases · 8 marks
(a) The equation of state for an ideal gas may be written as pVA = NBT where p is the pressure of the gas, V is the volume of the gas, A is the Avogadro constant, B is another constant …
Question 5Oscillations · 9 marks
(a) State what is meant by simple harmonic motion. (b) A block is suspended by a spring. The block oscillates vertically with simple harmonic motion. The velocity v of the block varies with time t according to …
Question 6Electric fields · 11 marks
Two parallel metal plates X and Y are separated by a distance of 0.041 m, as shown in Fig. …
Question 7Capacitance · 10 marks
Fig. 7.1 shows a circuit containing a capacitor of capacitance C and a resistor of resistance …
Question 8Alternating currents · 10 marks
Fig. 8.1 shows a circuit that produces rectification of an alternating input voltage. VIN VOUT R Fig. 8.1 The input voltage VIN is sinusoidal. The rectified output voltage VOUT is applied across resistor R. The variation of VIN with time …
Question 9Quantum physics · 8 marks
(a) State what is meant by the photoelectric effect. (b) The photoelectric effect is investigated in two stages using the circuit shown in Fig. …
Question 10Nuclear physics · 9 marks
(a) Radioactive decay is a spontaneous process. State the meaning, in this context, of the term spontaneous. (b) Two radioactive isotopes X and Y each decay to form a stable isotope. A sample initially contains only atoms of isotope X. …

Other Physics papers from May/June 2025

Questions students ask

Where can I get the 9702/42 May/June 2025 mark scheme?

Open the mark scheme above - it is the official Cambridge scheme for this exact paper (9702_s25_ms_42), and on a wide screen it sits beside the question you are reading.

What was the grade threshold for an A in 9702/42 May/June 2025?

60 marks out of 100, a C needed 41.

Which topics came up in 9702/42 May/June 2025?

Mostly Temperature, Magnetic fields, Electric fields. The full list is in the table above.

Do I need an account to open 9702/42 May/June 2025?

No. Every paper opens for free without signing in. A free account also saves your pen marks and records your score against the grade thresholds.