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Start here: Core, Extended and the papers

Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 · syllabus for 2026–2028 and 2029

📄Two tiers, three papers each

Core (grades C–G): Paper 1 multiple choice (45 min, 40 marks, 30%) + Paper 3 theory (1 h 15 min, 80 marks, 50%)
Extended (grades A*–G): Paper 2 multiple choice (45 min, 40 marks, 30%) + Paper 4 theory (1 h 15 min, 80 marks, 50%)
Everyone: Paper 5 Practical Test (1 h 15 min, 40 marks, 20%) or Paper 6 Alternative to Practical (1 h, 40 marks, 20%)

The Extended papers examine the Core content plus the Supplement. On these pages, Supplement material is marked EXTENDED; everything else is Core, which Extended candidates need too. The multiple-choice papers have 40 four-option questions; the theory papers have compulsory short-answer and structured questions. Core candidates can achieve at most a grade C.

🎯What the marks are for

AO1 knowledge with understanding — 50% of the qualification
AO2 handling information and problem-solving — 30%
AO3 experimental skills and investigations — 20% (Papers 5 and 6 only)

In the multiple-choice and theory papers, about 63% of the marks are AO1 and 37% AO2: data, graphs and unfamiliar situations you must reason about. Practise calculations until they are routine — they are a large share of AO2.

📊What a grade needed in June 2026

Extended, Papers 22 + 42 + 62 (out of 200 weighted marks): A* 161, A 134, B 107, C 80
Core, Papers 12 + 32 + 62 (out of 200): C 114, D 99, E 84

Thresholds change every series, and each time zone has its own papers, so treat these as a guide: an A needed about two thirds of the marks on the Extended route.

📑What is and is not given

  • The papers tell you to take the weight of 1.0 kg as 9.8 N (g = 9.8 m/s2), and give other data (specific heat capacity, speed of light, the Hubble constant) in the question when needed.
  • There is no formula sheet. The syllabus says “recall and use” for each equation: learn every equation on these pages, with its units.
  • Show your working and give units: a missing or wrong unit usually loses the final mark.

💬Command words

State / Give / Identify: a short answer, no explanation
Define: the precise meaning — learn the definitions (speed, density, moment, specific heat capacity, half-life, …)
Describe: the main features or what happens; with a graph, the trend with values
Explain: reasons or causes, supported with physics — “because”
Calculate / Determine: work it out from the information, showing the working
Compare: similarities and/or differences
Deduce: conclude from the information given
Suggest: apply your knowledge to an unfamiliar situation; more than one answer may be right
Predict: say what may happen, from the information
Justify: support a case with evidence or argument; Comment: give an informed opinion
Sketch: a simple freehand drawing with the key features, taking care over proportions

The meanings above are our summaries; the syllabus has the full list.

📅Which syllabus?

These notes follow the 0625 syllabus for 2026, 2027 and 2028 (version 2, December 2025) and were checked word by word against the syllabus for 2029: the subject content is identical (only the page layout differs). Version 2 changed only a weblink. The practical-paper guidance draws on the syllabus’s practical assessment section and on how the June 2026 Papers 5 and 6 were marked.

🧭How to use these notes

  • Work through the topics in order the first time — later topics use forces and energy from topic 1.
  • Cover the answers and do every practice question; then check them against the answer and the method.
  • Core candidates can skip anything marked EXTENDED. Extended candidates cannot skip anything.
  • Everyone should read both practical pages: 20% of your grade comes from Paper 5 or Paper 6.
  • Before the exam, do timed past papers: about 1 minute per multiple-choice question and a mark a minute on the theory paper.