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Cambridge O Level

Physics 5054

Motion, energy, thermal physics, waves, electricity and magnetism, and atomic physics with multiple choice, theory and practical work.

Syllabus version: 2026–2028 syllabusChecked against the Cambridge syllabusExam year 2027 is covered by the 2026–2028 syllabus.
Subject review complete (21 Oct 2026). All 40 Physics questions were re-solved and checked against the syllabus and Cambridge mark-scheme conventions, and their auto-marking was tested with correct and incorrect answers: 29 approved as written, 11 corrected.

Weighting by paper. Some papers are alternatives (for example Core or Extended, or practical or alternative to practical), so the figures add up to more than 100%.

  • Paper 1 Multiple Choice30%
  • Paper 2 Theory50%
  • Paper 3 Practical Test20%
  • Paper 4 Alternative to Practical20%
Original questions40
Topics covered6/6
Papers4
Mock papers3

What is assessed

4 components. Question formats: multiple choice, short answer, structured, practical, alternative to practical.

Paper 1 Multiple Choice
1 h40 marksWeighting 30%

Forty compulsory four-option multiple-choice items drawn from the whole syllabus, testing AO1 and AO2.

What the paper looks like

Forty one-mark, four-option items (A–D) in roughly syllabus order, all compulsory, one hour. Expect short calculations (density, moments, pressure in liquids, efficiency, resistance, half-life), reading tables, graphs and diagrams, and recall of definitions and facts. Several items list numbered statements and ask which are correct. Distractors follow common slips such as using wasted instead of useful energy or forgetting the double journey of an echo. Calculator allowed; g = 9.8 m / s² is printed on the cover.

Multiple choiceCalculator allowed; the paper states the weight of 1.0 kg as 9.8 N (g = 9.8 m / s²)
Checked against the Cambridge syllabus
Paper 2 Theory
1 h 45 min80 marksWeighting 50%

Compulsory short-answer and structured questions answered on the question paper, covering the whole syllabus and testing AO1 and AO2.

What the paper looks like

About eight to ten compulsory structured questions on the question paper, totalling 80 marks in 1 hour 45 minutes, typically 6–13 marks each and set in a context. Parts move from recall (state, define) through calculations worth 2–3 marks (equation, substitution, answer with unit) to explanations of 2–4 marks. Expect graphs to read or sketch, diagrams to complete (circuits, field lines, ray diagrams, forces) and data tables, for example planetary data. Show all working; the unit is printed on most answer lines.

Short answerStructuredCalculator allowed; the paper states the weight of 1.0 kg as 9.8 N (g = 9.8 m / s²)
Checked against the Cambridge syllabus
Paper 3 Practical Test
1 h 30 min40 marksWeighting 20%

Compulsory experiments done in the laboratory plus a planning question, testing the experimental skills in Section 4 (AO3); taken instead of Paper 4.

What the paper looks like

Usually three experiments (about 10, 10 and 14 marks) done with apparatus set out from the confidential instructions, plus a planning question of about 6 marks, in 1 hour 30 minutes. You take readings to the precision of the instrument, record them in tables with quantity / unit headings, process data, plot a graph and find a gradient, state conclusions, and suggest sources of error and improvements.

PracticalLaboratory apparatus set out from the confidential instructions; calculator allowed
Checked against the Cambridge syllabusNo questions for this paper yet
Paper 4 Alternative to Practical
1 h40 marksWeighting 20%

Compulsory written questions on experimental work (readings, tables, graphs, evaluation and a planning question) with no experiments done, testing AO3; taken instead of Paper 3.

What the paper looks like

Four compulsory written questions in one hour (about 10, 10, 14 and 6 marks) based on experiments shown in diagrams and tables. You read scales from drawings (rules, thermometers, meters, measuring cylinders), complete tables, calculate with correct significant figures and units, plot graphs, judge whether results agree within about 10%, explain precautions in the context of the experiment, and plan an investigation including a table and how to reach a conclusion.

Alternative to practicalCalculator allowed; no apparatus needed
Checked against the Cambridge syllabus

Assessment overview

From the 2026–2028 syllabus. Checked against the Cambridge syllabus

All candidates
Paper 1Paper 2Paper 3Paper 4
Paper 1 + Paper 2 + either Paper 3 (Practical Test) or Paper 4 (Alternative to Practical); grades A* to E.
Assessment objectiveO Level weighting
AO1 Knowledge with understanding50%
AO2 Handling information and problem-solving30%
AO3 Experimental skills and investigations20%
Changes in this syllabus version
  • Subject content, papers, timings, marks and weightings are the same as in the 2023–2025 syllabus; only wording and layout were refreshed.
  • Papers 1 and 2 are each weighted 63% AO1 and 37% AO2; Papers 3 and 4 assess AO3 only.
  • Version 2 of the syllabus (published December 2025) only updated a weblink; Cambridge states there are no significant changes which affect teaching, and the specimen papers were not changed.
Command words used in Physics papers (15)
Calculate
Work out a value from the facts, figures or information given; show your working.
Comment
Give an informed opinion.
Compare
Point out similarities and/or differences.
Deduce
Reach a conclusion from the information provided.
Define
Give the precise meaning of a term.
Describe
State the main points or characteristics of something.
Determine
Find an answer using the information available (often from a graph or data).
Explain
Give reasons or purposes and make relationships clear, saying why and/or how, supported by evidence.
Give
Produce an answer from a source or from memory.
Identify
Name, select or recognise.
Justify
Support a case or a choice with evidence or argument.
Predict
Say what is likely to happen, based on the information given.
Sketch
Draw a simple freehand diagram or graph showing the key features, with sensible proportions.
State
Express clearly and briefly; no explanation needed.
Suggest
Apply your knowledge to a situation where several valid answers are possible, putting forward ideas.
Examiner guidance from recent reports (14)
Motion, forces and energy. Begin every calculation by writing the equation in symbols, then substitute, then give the answer with its unit. Use g = 9.8 m / s² (the weight of 1.0 kg is 9.8 N), not 10.
Motion, forces and energy. Watch the prefixes and units in the data: minutes to seconds, cm³ to m³, kW to W. Many lost marks come from a correct method used with an unconverted value.
Motion, forces and energy. On a curved distance–time graph the speed at one instant is the gradient of a tangent drawn at that point; dividing the distance by the time there gives the average speed instead.
Motion, forces and energy. For an object moving at constant velocity the resultant force is zero, so any one force (for example drag) is equal and opposite to the resultant of the others. Do not draw the resultant in the direction of motion.
Motion, forces and energy. Name stores precisely: write gravitational potential energy, elastic energy or internal (thermal) energy rather than just ‘potential’ or ‘heat’. In efficiency questions check whether the data gives the useful or the wasted energy.
Thermal physics. Do not mix up specific heat capacity (energy per kg per °C of temperature rise) with latent heat (energy to change state at constant temperature). Use the temperature change, not the final temperature, in c = ΔE / (mΔθ).
Thermal physics. Explain gas pressure step by step: particles hit the wall, each collision exerts a force, pressure is total force per unit area; hotter means faster particles and more frequent, harder collisions.
Waves. Give specific uses: ‘scanning a fetus’ or ‘sonar to find sea depth’ for ultrasound rather than ‘used in hospitals’. Keep ultrasound uses separate from uses of electromagnetic waves.
Waves. When describing transverse and longitudinal waves, compare the direction of the vibration with the direction of energy transfer; a labelled diagram helps. Remember that a longer wavelength diffracts more at a gap of fixed width.
Electricity and magnetism. In parallel circuits add the branch currents or use the combined resistance formula; never just add parallel resistances. Choose a fuse rated just above the total normal current, not the current of one component.
Electricity and magnetism. A motor works because a current in a magnetic field feels a force (use the left-hand rule on each side of the coil); a generator works by induction. Keep the two principles distinct.
Electricity and magnetism. The I–V graph for a filament lamp curves towards the voltage axis because the filament gets hotter and its resistance rises; a straight line through the origin is only for an ohmic resistor at constant temperature.
Nuclear physics. Distinguish nucleons (protons + neutrons) from neutrons. Always subtract background before halving a count rate, and add it back if asked what the counter will actually read.
Space physics. Surface gravitational field strength depends on the planet’s mass (and size), not on its distance from the Sun. For the Sun’s life cycle give the stages in order: red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf (not supernova).

Topic map

Practice types

Free sample questions

An analogue micrometer is closed on a steel rod. On the sleeve (main) scale, the 6 mm mark and the…
An analogue micrometer is closed on a steel rod. On the sleeve (main) scale, the 6 mm mark and the half-millimetre mark just after it are both visible. On the thimble, which has 50 divisions of 0.01 mm, division 23 lines up with the datum line. There is no zero error. What is the diameter of the rod?
  1. 6.23 mm
  2. 6.73 mm
  3. 7.23 mm
  4. 29.5 mm

Answer: B. 6.73 mm

Sleeve reading = 6.5 mm (the half-millimetre mark is showing). Thimble reading = 23 × 0.01 = 0.23 mm. Diameter = 6.5 + 0.23 = 6.73 mm. 6.23 mm ignores the half-millimetre mark; 29.5 mm wrongly adds the thimble number as millimetres.

A cyclist starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to 6.0 m / s in 4.0 s. She then travels at a constant…
A cyclist starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to 6.0 m / s in 4.0 s. She then travels at a constant 6.0 m / s for a further 10 s. What is the total distance travelled?
  1. 42 m
  2. 60 m
  3. 72 m
  4. 84 m

Answer: C. 72 m

Distance = area under the speed–time graph. Triangle: ½ × 4.0 × 6.0 = 12 m. Rectangle: 10 × 6.0 = 60 m. Total = 72 m. 84 m treats the whole 14 s as constant speed; 60 m ignores the accelerating stage; 42 m treats the whole journey as one triangle.

FAQs

Are these official 5054 past-paper questions?

No. They are original questions written to match the Physics syllabus topics. Official past papers are available to schools through Cambridge.

Why choose an exam year?

Cambridge updates syllabuses periodically. Your exam year selects the matching configuration so topics and components follow the right version.

Is a calculator allowed?

In this configuration a scientific calculator is permitted for the listed papers. Check your syllabus for the exact rule.