# 9702/11 May/June 2017

> 9702/11 May/June 2017: 40 questions, 40 marks. Difficulty 0.26, deviation 0.11, algebraic 0.24, text density 0.31. CIE IAL Physics 9702 P1.

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CIE IAL · Physics · 2017 May/June

This Physics 9702 Paper 1 (Multiple Choice) paper contains 40 questions worth 40 marks. The profile below reports five mark-weighted difficulty and complexity measures, and every question row repeats them. Full question text and mark scheme open in the Interactive Practice Hub.

- CIE IAL
- 9702 P1
- 40 questions
- 40 marks
- Free paper
- [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305)
- [All 9702 P1 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/)

Core finding

**9702/11 May/June 2017 is a past paper for CIE IAL Physics 9702 Paper 1 (Multiple Choice), with 40 questions worth 40 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.26 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.11 and a mark split of 75.0% Easy, 25.0% Medium and 0.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.24; text density and modelling average 0.31. All five measures use 40 part-level tags, not candidate results. Every question row below repeats them and opens the Interactive Practice Hub for that question.

## Difficulty & complexity profile

All five measures are mark-weighted and calculated from 40 parts carrying 40 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 40 parts, algebraic tags 40 and text-density tags 40. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings.

- **Difficulty Measure**: 0.26 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Easy
- **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.11 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed
- **Difficulty Ratio**: 75.0 / 25.0 / 0.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard
- **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.24 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low
- **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.31 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low

Scale: Easy 0.20 · Medium 0.45 · Hard 0.75, and Low 0.20 · Medium 0.45 · High 0.75 for the two complexity measures. [How each band is defined and how the values are calculated →](https://www.examsci.com/guides/difficulty-and-complexity-measures/)

### Definitions and calculation

| Measure | Paper value | Formula |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Difficulty Measure** | 0.26 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.11 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) |
| **Difficulty Ratio** | 75.0% Easy / 25.0% Medium / 0.0% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks |
| **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.24 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.31 | Σ(t_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with t = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |

w_i equals the part marks, except for a Hard part worth 4 or more marks, where w_i = marks^0.75 to offset the accessible starter steps inside long structured questions.

## Question list

Each measure is recalculated from the parts of that question and uses the same weights as the paper profile.

| Question | Topic | Marks | Difficulty Measure | Algebraic Complexity Measure | Text Density and Modelling Measure | Practice |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Q1** FRQ | [1.1 Physical quantities](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/physical-quantities/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=2fbf5359-7687-45a9-abd8-e55a7002324a&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q2** FRQ | [1.4 Scalars and vectors](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/scalars-and-vectors/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=2927452e-e81c-4f66-b903-d2f1fc2545f4&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q3** FRQ | [1.2 SI units](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/si-units/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=b3e8f70d-566e-45d0-83c5-c74525046ba7&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q4** FRQ | [3.1 Equations of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/equations-of-motion/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=cfb7ea87-5967-4b41-a5c4-d73e8227d75b&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q5** FRQ | [3.1 Equations of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/equations-of-motion/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=66db6268-077d-4e82-aa7d-c10d7577c789&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q6** FRQ | [3.1 Equations of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/equations-of-motion/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=a5e31182-5309-470a-9d1f-160c532355d9&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q7** FRQ | [4.1 Momentum and Newton’s laws of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/momentum-and-newton-s-laws-of-motion/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=059dcaab-584c-4497-b43d-21c3ac9bcce4&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q8** FRQ | [4.2 Non-uniform motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/non-uniform-motion/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=6427b90c-657e-4c07-9401-4b9660d01f36&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q9** FRQ | [2.2 Errors and uncertainties](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/errors-and-uncertainties/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=400dcbdf-69f4-456f-810d-ca7ee89befb3&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q10** FRQ | [4.1 Momentum and Newton’s laws of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/momentum-and-newton-s-laws-of-motion/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=a7b9216b-7705-47c6-b76a-fc46addcefab&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q11** FRQ | [17.1 Concept of an electric field](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=6899528d-d2a7-486c-af35-d291a7928944&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q12** FRQ | [5.2 Turning effects of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/turning-effects-of-forces/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=3946b84b-0f4c-49d7-b9af-ee8906c21e97&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q13** FRQ | [5.3 Equilibrium of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/equilibrium-of-forces/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=14e6329f-9d16-49db-a1b2-e04faff61624&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q14** FRQ | [5.4 Density and pressure](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/density-and-pressure/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=beda2c04-a499-4817-a5ef-22d58af2232e&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q15** FRQ | [6.1 Energy conversion and conservation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=988c449b-1bc0-4a45-be0e-f47e47ea0bd3&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q16** FRQ | [6.2 Work and efficiency](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=cb80a18b-cafe-4d1c-a354-e57de37c6e04&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q17** FRQ | [6.3 Potential energy and kinetic energy](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=7136e701-ede1-4191-8d00-3e37f21ffbe7&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q18** FRQ | [6.4 Power](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=9f94397c-efaf-48e9-9eb4-f56c203b85e6&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q19** FRQ | [6.2 Work and efficiency](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=54fa2e59-9d32-42df-929b-ec73af26f17e&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q20** FRQ | [9.1 Stress and strain](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/stress-and-strain/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=99dfc2b6-fa46-490a-8d60-ac451230d5b5&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q21** FRQ | [9.2 Elastic and plastic behaviour](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/elastic-and-plastic-behaviour/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=e92842c0-66dc-4ea1-b242-4062d6aa48c4&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q22** FRQ | [14.1 Progressive waves](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/progressive-waves/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=bcb2f96d-582c-4681-9709-187d6f3ea084&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q23** FRQ | [14.1 Progressive waves](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/progressive-waves/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=718808a7-fa06-4b04-ae3d-5844bd41bdff&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q24** FRQ | [14.3 Determination of frequency and wavelength of sound waves](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=7007ef8a-e817-4991-afa5-f16deedd2d13&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q25** FRQ | [14.4 Doppler effect](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=99f738e2-8c62-433a-9b6f-e8c608b21824&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q26** FRQ | [14.5 Electromagnetic spectrum](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/electromagnetic-spectrum/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=9a453abc-7f8d-4d20-a798-cb567c3f9411&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q27** FRQ | [15.1 Stationary waves](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/stationary-waves/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=2648b378-4c89-4a7d-8b57-0fc24864bebd&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q28** FRQ | [15.4 Diffraction gratings](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=7f0440c8-7cbc-43fe-be8c-b41dba9fc0de&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q29** FRQ | [15.3 Interference, two-source interference](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=14d9546d-dd6b-454e-93f9-a0e63770c231&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q30** FRQ | [17.1 Concept of an electric field](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=88270be9-01ba-4777-91e4-2853603aedef&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q31** FRQ | [5.3 Equilibrium of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/equilibrium-of-forces/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=bd9b9bc3-4b72-4693-b876-63df9eb53f8a&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q32** FRQ | [19.1 Electric current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/electric-current/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=e43abe88-acd3-41d0-869e-8d430c4bda7e&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q33** FRQ | [19.2 Potential difference and power](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/potential-difference-and-power/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=f0530736-f8e7-461b-913a-2dcd6c1037e7&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q34** FRQ | [19.3 Resistance and resistivity](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/resistance-and-resistivity/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=e711dbda-f8b9-4e41-9692-e825d7241ad7&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q35** FRQ | [20.1 Practical circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/practical-circuits/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=855110dc-60e4-4cab-a2e4-a4a4080b6333&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q36** FRQ | [20.3 Potential dividers](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/potential-dividers/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=853f8b84-9d8c-4c06-86a8-1b5f55e415b5&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q37** FRQ | [20.2 Kirchhoff’s laws](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/kirchhoff-s-laws/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=a37e6b74-a28c-47c0-af8d-5f0a647c56b0&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q38** FRQ | [26.1 Atoms, nuclei and radiation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/atoms-nuclei-and-radiation/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=2552ac56-3d5c-4f63-a482-601c50868f72&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q39** FRQ | [26.1 Atoms, nuclei and radiation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/atoms-nuclei-and-radiation/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=884ebfda-e44d-4cfd-86c6-29a12fb85aac&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |
| **Q40** FRQ | [26.2 Fundamental particles](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/fundamental-particles/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=eec90bf9-fb65-4955-8e38-ac482ab29305&question_id=57a75ef3-1ce3-49b9-aa05-f3c9e53dc9b1&source_detail=9702%2F11+May%2FJune+2017) |

## Topics in this paper

- [1.1 Physical quantities](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/physical-quantities/)
- [1.4 Scalars and vectors](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/scalars-and-vectors/)
- [1.2 SI units](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/si-units/)
- [3.1 Equations of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/equations-of-motion/)
- [4.1 Momentum and Newton’s laws of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/momentum-and-newton-s-laws-of-motion/)
- [4.2 Non-uniform motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/non-uniform-motion/)
- [2.2 Errors and uncertainties](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/errors-and-uncertainties/)
- [17.1 Concept of an electric field](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/)
- [17.2 Uniform electric fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/)
- [5.2 Turning effects of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/turning-effects-of-forces/)
- [5.3 Equilibrium of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/equilibrium-of-forces/)
- [5.4 Density and pressure](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/density-and-pressure/)

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## Paper FAQ

**How are the difficulty and complexity measures calculated?**

Each part is weighted by its official marks. Difficulty uses Easy 0.20, Medium 0.45 and Hard 0.75; algebraic complexity and text density and modelling use Low 0.20, Medium 0.45 and High 0.75. A Hard part worth 4 or more marks is down-weighted to marks^0.75, so the accessible starter steps inside a long structured question do not inflate the difficulty result. This paper's Difficulty Measure is 0.26 from 40 parts.

**What does the Difficulty Deviation show?**

It is the mark-weighted standard deviation of the part difficulty values around the paper mean. A value of 0 would mean every tagged part has the same difficulty; this paper's deviation is 0.11, so its parts are more mixed than a single-level paper.

**Is the Difficulty Ratio based on question counts or marks?**

It is based on official marks, not question counts. This paper's shares are 75.0% Easy, 25.0% Medium and 0.0% Hard; the three shares sum to 100% before rounding.

**Are these official difficulty ratings?**

No. They are derived from the platform's part-level difficulty and static-question-profile tags. They are not exam-board grade boundaries and are not calculated from candidate outcomes. Use them to compare the demand profile of papers, not to predict a grade.

**Why does each question row show its own measures?**

Each row recalculates the same mark-weighted formula from that question's parts. A single-part MCQ therefore shows the tag value directly, while a multi-part structured question blends the tags of its parts using the same Hard-part decay as the paper profile.

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Full page with native tables, bar charts and Practice Hub links: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-1/2017-may-june-9702-11/