A2 Physics Paper 5 Black Book
Cambridge A Level Physics 9702 Paper 5, Question 1
Experimental Design & Procedural
Mastery
Edition 1
What This Guide Covers:
¥ Master the 4-part structure of experimental design questions
¥ Define variables and identify appropriate control methods
¥ Draw functionally accurate apparatus diagrams with labels
¥ Write clear step-by-step procedures for data collection
¥ Linearize complex equations (exponential, power law, inverse)
¥ Determine physical constants from gradient and y-intercept
¥ Provide specific, justified safety precautions
¥ Apply precision-enhancing measurement techniques
¥ 10 topic areas with fully worked past paper examples
¥ Complete mark scheme alignment and examiner insights
Argha Saha
,Paper 5, Question 1: Planning 1
Abstract
This guide provides an exhaustive treatment of Paper 5, Question 1 (Planning &
Experimental Design) for Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics (9702).
It synthesizes the structural framework, marking criteria, and over a decade of
past paper patterns to enable students to consistently achieve full marks. The
document covers the theoretical reasoning behind experimental design, the exact
marking rubric, and worked solutions from diverse topic areas.
Author’s Note
Hello fellow physics enthusiast!
This guide is the result of countless hours spent analyzing past papers, marking
schemes, and examiner reports, combined with my own journey through teaching A-
Level Physics and studying astrophysics at university. I wanted to create something that
I wish I had when I was preparing for my exams: a comprehensive, no-nonsense guide
that actually helps you understand what examiners are looking for.
Modern AI tools like Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 2.5, Gemini 3.0, and
Nanobanana Pro have been invaluable collaborators in this project. They’ve helped me
organize information, cross-check facts against multiple sources, polish my explanations,
and create the diagrams you’ll see throughout (for question 1 that is, thanks especially
to Nanobanana Pro for those!). Think of them as tireless research assistants who never
get tired of double-checking details.
My goal? To give you what I believe is one of the most complete and practical guides
to Paper 5 out ther, something that genuinely prepares you to walk into that exam room
with confidence and aim for full marks.
Found something that doesn’t quite make sense? Spotted an error? Have suggestions
for how we can make this even better? I’d genuinely love to hear from you. Drop us an
email at:
•
•
Your feedback helps us improve this guide for everyone. We’re all in this together,
and I’m here to help you succeed.
Best of luck with your studies and HAVE FUN, you’ve got this!
Argha Saha
Sciencetadium
, Table of Contents
Author’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 Introduction: Why Question 1 Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1 What the Examiner Looks For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 The Four-Part Structure of Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.1 2a. Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.2 2b. Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.3 2c. Control Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.1 3a. Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.2 3b. Identification of Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3 Component 4: Additional Details (Safety & Technique) . . . . . . . . 9
3.1 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1.1 Electricity-Based Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.2 Mechanical Experiments (Springs, Pendula, Oscillations) . . . . . 10
3.1.3 Thermal Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.4 Optical Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 Technique: Procedural Refinements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.1 Measurement Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.2 Apparatus Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.3 Data Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4 Putting It All Together: Marking Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5 Deep Dive 1: Magnetic Fields & Electromagnetic Induction . . . . . 13
5.1 Core Concept: Faraday’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.2 Why This Matters for Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.3 Past Paper Example: November 2017, Variant 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.4 Key Teaching Points: Why Logarithms? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6 Deep Dive 2: Mechanical Oscillations & Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.1 Core Concept: Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3 Past Paper Example: inspired by June 2020, Variant 52 . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2
, Paper 5, Question 1: Planning 3
6.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
√ √
6.4 Key Teaching Point: Why 1/ A and not A? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
7 Deep Dive 3: Electrical Circuits & Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.1 Core Concepts: Ohm’s Law & Resistivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.3 Past Paper Example: Derived from common resitance experiments . . . . 21
7.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
8 Deep Dive 4: Thermal Physics & Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.1 Core Concept: Specific Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.3 Past Paper Example: Derived from Common Thermal Experiments . . . 25
8.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
8.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
8.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
9 Deep Dive 5: Optics & Wave Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.1 Core Concepts: Diffraction & Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.3 Past Paper Example: Derived from Common Two-Slit Interference exper-
iments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
9.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
9.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
10 Deep Dive 6: Young’s Modulus & Oscillations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.1 Core Concept: Elasticity and Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.2 Why This Matters for Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.3 Past Paper Example: May/June 2009, Paper 5 - Modified . . . . . . . . 33
10.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
10.3.4 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
10.3.5 Technique: Procedural Refinements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
11 Deep Dive 7: Capacitor Discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.1 Core Concept: Exponential Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.2 Why This Matters for Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.3 Past Paper Example: Feb/March 2020, Paper 52 - modified from question 2 36
11.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Sciencetadium
Cambridge A Level Physics 9702 Paper 5, Question 1
Experimental Design & Procedural
Mastery
Edition 1
What This Guide Covers:
¥ Master the 4-part structure of experimental design questions
¥ Define variables and identify appropriate control methods
¥ Draw functionally accurate apparatus diagrams with labels
¥ Write clear step-by-step procedures for data collection
¥ Linearize complex equations (exponential, power law, inverse)
¥ Determine physical constants from gradient and y-intercept
¥ Provide specific, justified safety precautions
¥ Apply precision-enhancing measurement techniques
¥ 10 topic areas with fully worked past paper examples
¥ Complete mark scheme alignment and examiner insights
Argha Saha
,Paper 5, Question 1: Planning 1
Abstract
This guide provides an exhaustive treatment of Paper 5, Question 1 (Planning &
Experimental Design) for Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics (9702).
It synthesizes the structural framework, marking criteria, and over a decade of
past paper patterns to enable students to consistently achieve full marks. The
document covers the theoretical reasoning behind experimental design, the exact
marking rubric, and worked solutions from diverse topic areas.
Author’s Note
Hello fellow physics enthusiast!
This guide is the result of countless hours spent analyzing past papers, marking
schemes, and examiner reports, combined with my own journey through teaching A-
Level Physics and studying astrophysics at university. I wanted to create something that
I wish I had when I was preparing for my exams: a comprehensive, no-nonsense guide
that actually helps you understand what examiners are looking for.
Modern AI tools like Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 2.5, Gemini 3.0, and
Nanobanana Pro have been invaluable collaborators in this project. They’ve helped me
organize information, cross-check facts against multiple sources, polish my explanations,
and create the diagrams you’ll see throughout (for question 1 that is, thanks especially
to Nanobanana Pro for those!). Think of them as tireless research assistants who never
get tired of double-checking details.
My goal? To give you what I believe is one of the most complete and practical guides
to Paper 5 out ther, something that genuinely prepares you to walk into that exam room
with confidence and aim for full marks.
Found something that doesn’t quite make sense? Spotted an error? Have suggestions
for how we can make this even better? I’d genuinely love to hear from you. Drop us an
email at:
•
•
Your feedback helps us improve this guide for everyone. We’re all in this together,
and I’m here to help you succeed.
Best of luck with your studies and HAVE FUN, you’ve got this!
Argha Saha
Sciencetadium
, Table of Contents
Author’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 Introduction: Why Question 1 Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1 What the Examiner Looks For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 The Four-Part Structure of Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.1 2a. Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.2 2b. Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.3 2c. Control Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.1 3a. Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.2 3b. Identification of Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3 Component 4: Additional Details (Safety & Technique) . . . . . . . . 9
3.1 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1.1 Electricity-Based Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.2 Mechanical Experiments (Springs, Pendula, Oscillations) . . . . . 10
3.1.3 Thermal Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.4 Optical Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 Technique: Procedural Refinements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.1 Measurement Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.2 Apparatus Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2.3 Data Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4 Putting It All Together: Marking Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5 Deep Dive 1: Magnetic Fields & Electromagnetic Induction . . . . . 13
5.1 Core Concept: Faraday’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.2 Why This Matters for Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.3 Past Paper Example: November 2017, Variant 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.4 Key Teaching Points: Why Logarithms? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6 Deep Dive 2: Mechanical Oscillations & Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.1 Core Concept: Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3 Past Paper Example: inspired by June 2020, Variant 52 . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2
, Paper 5, Question 1: Planning 3
6.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
√ √
6.4 Key Teaching Point: Why 1/ A and not A? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
7 Deep Dive 3: Electrical Circuits & Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.1 Core Concepts: Ohm’s Law & Resistivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.3 Past Paper Example: Derived from common resitance experiments . . . . 21
7.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
7.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
8 Deep Dive 4: Thermal Physics & Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.1 Core Concept: Specific Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.3 Past Paper Example: Derived from Common Thermal Experiments . . . 25
8.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
8.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
8.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
9 Deep Dive 5: Optics & Wave Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.1 Core Concepts: Diffraction & Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.2 Why Question 1 Tests This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.3 Past Paper Example: Derived from Common Two-Slit Interference exper-
iments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
9.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
9.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
9.3.4 Component 4: Safety & Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
10 Deep Dive 6: Young’s Modulus & Oscillations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.1 Core Concept: Elasticity and Simple Harmonic Motion . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.2 Why This Matters for Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.3 Past Paper Example: May/June 2009, Paper 5 - Modified . . . . . . . . 33
10.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
10.3.4 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
10.3.5 Technique: Procedural Refinements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
11 Deep Dive 7: Capacitor Discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.1 Core Concept: Exponential Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.2 Why This Matters for Question 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.3 Past Paper Example: Feb/March 2020, Paper 52 - modified from question 2 36
11.3.1 Component 1: Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.3.2 Component 2: Method of Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
11.3.3 Component 3: Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Sciencetadium
