# 9702/21 October/November 2020

> 9702/21 October/November 2020: 8 questions, 60 marks. Difficulty 0.32, deviation 0.12, algebraic 0.27, text density 0.35. CIE IAL Physics 9702 P2.

- Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-october-november-9702-21/
- Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-october-november-9702-21/index.md

---

CIE IAL · Physics · 2020 October/November

This Physics 9702 Paper 2 (AS Structured) paper contains 8 questions worth 60 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 P2
- 8 questions
- 60 marks
- Free paper
- [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f)
- [All 9702 P2 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/)

Core finding

**9702/21 October/November 2020 is a past paper for CIE IAL Physics 9702 Paper 2 (AS Structured), with 8 questions worth 60 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.32 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.12 and a mark split of 51.7% Easy, 48.3% Medium and 0.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.27; text density and modelling average 0.35. All five measures use 36 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 36 parts carrying 60 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 36 parts, algebraic tags 36 and text-density tags 36. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings.

- **Difficulty Measure**: 0.32 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Easy
- **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.12 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed
- **Difficulty Ratio**: 51.7 / 48.3 / 0.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard
- **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.27 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low
- **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.35 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium

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** | 0.32 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.12 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) |
| **Difficulty Ratio** | 51.7% Easy / 48.3% Medium / 0.0% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks |
| **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.27 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.35 | 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 | [5.2 Turning effects of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/turning-effects-of-forces/) | 9 | 0.37 Medium | 0.37 Medium | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=26c9a670-7edb-4fca-a98d-dcf5b2023448&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |
| **Q2** FRQ | [3.1 Equations of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/equations-of-motion/) | 9 | 0.34 Medium | 0.28 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=c1774c22-a143-4831-8972-35107c636099&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |
| **Q3** FRQ | [4.1 Momentum and Newton’s laws of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/momentum-and-newton-s-laws-of-motion/) | 8 | 0.33 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=f20b9762-6d45-478b-abb1-a8287e5c1e38&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |
| **Q4** FRQ | [9.1 Stress and strain](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/stress-and-strain/) | 9 | 0.37 Medium | 0.26 Low | 0.37 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=47da3a41-d85c-4659-883a-8ddf17aed33a&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |
| **Q5** FRQ | [14.1 Progressive waves](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/progressive-waves/) | 5 | 0.35 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.35 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=7a1448df-273a-490a-9fa0-f92b63d1f503&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |
| **Q6** FRQ | [15.1 Stationary waves](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/stationary-waves/) | 5 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=c7066fca-c0a5-4a6d-a8e7-1e8cadcddbef&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |
| **Q7** FRQ | [19.3 Resistance and resistivity](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/resistance-and-resistivity/) | 8 | 0.26 Easy | 0.26 Low | 0.29 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=b631f7f2-cf81-4ff4-b864-d35753f1cc17&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |
| **Q8** FRQ | [26.2 Fundamental particles](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/fundamental-particles/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.31 Low | 0.31 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=30d7133b-3d1b-46c3-8b7f-bdd4a53ec34f&question_id=98ef290c-6b78-483c-a286-10eb2c2bce8c&source_detail=9702%2F21+October%2FNovember+2020) |

## Topics in this paper

- [5.2 Turning effects of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/turning-effects-of-forces/)
- [1.2 SI units](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/si-units/)
- [4.2 Non-uniform motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/non-uniform-motion/)
- [5.4 Density and pressure](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/density-and-pressure/)
- [1.4 Scalars and vectors](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/scalars-and-vectors/)
- [5.1 Types of force](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/)
- [5.3 Equilibrium of forces](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/equilibrium-of-forces/)
- [3.1 Equations of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/equations-of-motion/)
- [6.3 Potential energy and kinetic energy](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/)
- [4.1 Momentum and Newton’s laws of motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/momentum-and-newton-s-laws-of-motion/)
- [9.1 Stress and strain](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/stress-and-strain/)
- [9.2 Elastic and plastic behaviour](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/elastic-and-plastic-behaviour/)

## Related papers

- [9702/22](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-october-november-9702-22/) — October/November 2020 — 7 questions · 60 marks — Free
- [9702/23](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-october-november-9702-23/) — October/November 2020 — 7 questions · 60 marks — Free
- [9702/21](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-may-june-9702-21/) — May/June 2020 — 6 questions · 60 marks — Free
- [9702/22](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-may-june-9702-22/) — May/June 2020 — 7 questions · 60 marks — Free
- [9702/23](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-may-june-9702-23/) — May/June 2020 — 7 questions · 60 marks — Free
- [9702/22](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-march-9702-22/) — March 2020 — 7 questions · 60 marks — Free

## 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 0.32 from 36 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 0.12, 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 51.7% Easy, 48.3% 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.

---

Full page with native tables, bar charts and Practice Hub links: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-2/2020-october-november-9702-21/