Two students with identical physics knowledge can score a grade apart on the same 0625 paper. The difference is technique: reading the command word, matching answer length to marks, and showing working the way the mark scheme rewards. This page is the playbook, question type by question type.
What do the command words actually require?
Cambridge command words are precise instructions, not decoration. Misread them and you answer a question that was never asked.
- State / Give / Name: one short fact, no reasoning. One line.
- Describe: say what happens, in order, without saying why.
- Explain: say why, using physics. Cause and effect must both appear.
- Calculate: full numerical working plus an answer with a unit.
- Determine: calculate using values you must extract from a graph or table.
- Suggest: apply your knowledge to an unfamiliar context; sensible reasoning scores.
- Compare: write about both things. One-sided answers cap at half marks.
The most expensive confusion is describe versus explain. “The ice melts faster” describes. “The metal block conducts thermal energy to the ice at a higher rate than wood, so the ice melts faster” explains. If the command word is explain and your answer contains no “because” or “so”, rewrite it.
How much should you write for each question?
Match the marks. The number in brackets is the number of distinct physics points required. A 2-mark explain question needs two creditable statements; a 4-mark question needs four. Writing six sentences for two marks wastes time you need later: Paper 4 runs at roughly one minute per mark. Writing one sentence for four marks guarantees a cap.
For long-answer questions, write one point per line rather than a flowing paragraph. Mark schemes award B1 marks for separate statements. Examiners can only tick what they can find, and a list is easy to find things in.
The four-line method for every calculation
Calculations carry method marks (M1) and answer marks (A1). Protect the method marks with four labelled lines, every time:
- Equation: write it in symbols before any numbers.
- Convert: change all values to SI units on their own line.
- Substitute and rearrange: numbers into the equation, then solve.
- Answer: value, unit, sensible significant figures (match the question’s data, usually 2 or 3).
This layout means a calculator slip still earns the M1 marks, and an examiner can apply “error carried forward” to later parts. A bare answer with no working risks everything on one keystroke. The full method, with worked examples per topic, is in our calculation questions guide.
Watch the value of . The 0625 standard is , but some papers state . The question always tells you which. Read it.
”I run out of time”: fixing pace, not knowledge
Running out of time is rarely a speed problem; it is a sequencing problem. Answer in paper order but flag and skip any question that stalls you for more than 90 seconds. Return after the final question. Students who refuse to skip lose easy marks at the back of the paper to a hard question in the middle. On multiple-choice papers (45 minutes, 40 questions), that discipline matters even more: every question is worth the same one mark, so no single item deserves three minutes.
Timed practice is the only cure. From six weeks out, do at least one timed section per week. Want it marked live against the real mark scheme? Book a free 1-hour taught trial. You see exactly which sentence earned which mark. 1-to-1, online, RM80/hr after the trial. WhatsApp us to book.
Read the question twice: once for physics, once for traps
Before writing, underline three things: the command word, the quantity asked for, and the units required in the answer. Common traps include questions that give a diameter when the equation needs a radius, masses in grams, and “state two” questions answered with one elaborated point. A five-second underline pass costs less than any one of those mistakes.
Last habit: never leave a blank. A multiple-choice guess has a 25% expected value. On theory papers, a relevant equation or a correctly labelled diagram can earn an M1 or B1 even when you cannot finish. Blanks earn exactly nothing, every time. Pair this playbook with the common exam mistakes list and audit your own past papers against it this week.
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