Cambridge IGCSE Physics (0625) examines physics, but it marks discipline. Every November, candidates who understand circuits and forces perfectly well hand back marks through missing units, wrong significant figures and answers that ignore the command word. The syllabus does not change between series; neither do the places the marks leak.
Where the marks sit, paper by paper
| Paper | Format | Technique that earns marks |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple choice (Paper 1/2) | 40 items | Eliminate two options first; never leave a blank |
| Theory (Paper 3/4) | Structured questions | Answer the command word: state is one line, explain is a mechanism |
| Practical or Alternative to Practical (Paper 5/6) | Experiment skills | Read scales to half the smallest division; plot with a sharp pencil |
Three habits separate grades in the theory paper. Units on every numerical answer: a correct 4.5 without its newtons is a lost mark, every time. Significant figures: give answers to the same precision as the data, usually two or three figures, and never copy a nine-digit calculator display. Definitions word-perfect: speed, velocity, acceleration, density, pressure, work, power and the difference between mass and weight are one-mark questions the prepared candidate banks in seconds.
The equation list is the syllabus in miniature
Write every required equation on one card: the motion equations, density, pressure, moments, work, power, efficiency, the wave equation, Ohm's law and electrical power. Practise rearranging each of them cold, because the paper rarely asks for a quantity in the form the equation stores it. In the practical paper, the mark scheme rewards the boring virtues: tabulated readings with units in the header, repeated measurements averaged, and a graph line drawn thin, straight or smoothly curved through the scatter, never dot-to-dot.
The same November-series discipline is covered for the other sciences in our Chemistry 0620 technique guide and Biology 0610 technique guide. Candidates planning beyond IGCSE toward A Level sciences can preview the step up with the A Level Physics (9702) revision pack, which shows exactly where 0625's topics deepen.
The last fortnight
Sit one full past paper per week under time, then spend a session on nothing but the mark scheme, reading how examiners phrase acceptable answers. Physics rewards candidates who write like the mark scheme: short, precise, mechanism first. Length is not marked; correctness is.
IGCSE Revision Materials
Notes and topical questions for the core IGCSE subjects, timed to the Oct/Nov series.
⏳ Only 59 days to the national assessments on 26 October. Start now.
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