# 9702/42 May/June 2016 > 9702/42 May/June 2016: 13 questions, 100 marks. Difficulty 0.36, deviation 0.17, algebraic 0.26, text density 0.33. CIE IAL Physics 9702 P4. - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-may-june-9702-42/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-may-june-9702-42/index.md --- CIE IAL · Physics · 2016 May/June This Physics 9702 Paper 4 (A Level Structured) paper contains 13 questions worth 100 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 P4 - 13 questions - 100 marks - Free paper - [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918) - [All 9702 P4 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) Core finding **9702/42 May/June 2016 is a past paper for CIE IAL Physics 9702 Paper 4 (A Level Structured), with 13 questions worth 100 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.36 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.17 and a mark split of 47.0% Easy, 42.0% Medium and 11.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.26; text density and modelling average 0.33. All five measures use 53 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 53 parts carrying 100 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 53 parts, algebraic tags 53 and text-density tags 53. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings. - **Difficulty Measure**: 0.36 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium - **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.17 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed - **Difficulty Ratio**: 47.0 / 42.0 / 11.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard - **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.26 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low - **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.33 — 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** | 0.36 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 | | **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.17 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) | | **Difficulty Ratio** | 47.0% Easy / 42.0% Medium / 11.0% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks | | **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.26 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 | | **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.33 | 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 | [7.2 Centripetal acceleration and centripetal force](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 10 | 0.44 Medium | 0.35 Medium | 0.40 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=767b2f97-9380-46b6-8491-142167a4d52f&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q2** FRQ | [1.3 The Avogadro constant](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 9 | 0.28 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.37 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=8a570b86-636b-48c8-8401-7d53aa5edb7e&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q3** FRQ | [11.1 Thermal equilibrium](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/thermal-equilibrium/) | 5 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=11478fba-2634-4c89-bd41-750b7f26ddd4&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q4** FRQ | [13.1 Simple harmonic oscillations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/simple-harmonic-oscillations/) | 9 | 0.34 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.34 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=18637f03-d384-41d1-83f6-7bf3cb421830&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q5** FRQ | [16.2 Modulation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 8 | 0.33 Medium | 0.33 Medium | 0.33 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=12e6255b-0d4e-4148-b87e-4e69cff1b3be&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q6** FRQ | [17.3 Electric forces between point charges](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 6 | 0.33 Medium | 0.33 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=1a897307-cbe9-4982-ab38-a6ab7e858e96&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q7** FRQ | [18.2 Energy stored in a capacitor](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/energy-stored-in-a-capacitor/) | 8 | 0.29 Easy | 0.26 Low | 0.26 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=e58dca3b-e052-4183-9eb8-809dfcb6d79d&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q8** FRQ | [21.2 Operational amplifier circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 9 | 0.46 Medium | 0.37 Medium | 0.31 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=2a890a67-9cfb-4167-8e9c-38ffd454602d&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q9** FRQ | [22.3 Force on a moving charge](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/force-on-a-moving-charge/) | 7 | 0.38 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=8ac3144a-6fd0-4338-9046-e9d46c964a6b&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q10** FRQ | [22.4 Magnetic fields due to currents](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/magnetic-fields-due-to-currents/) | 6 | 0.63 Hard | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=82e5ee35-0abc-47fc-89f0-bdba92e138d7&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q11** FRQ | [24.4 Rectification](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.31 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=4d8d74ac-5e93-4d18-b729-99074029c6f5&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q12** FRQ | [25.6 Production and use of X-rays](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/production-and-use-of-x-rays/) | 8 | 0.36 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.29 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=61d93296-c7a4-4b8c-8d69-101994a7b6e1&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | | **Q13** FRQ | [26.4 Radioactive decay](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/radioactive-decay/) | 8 | 0.33 Medium | 0.33 Medium | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40f7ef39-2674-4e8d-b61c-8fbc3522b918&question_id=d6e1e125-579d-4bc3-83d8-0989704c7d4e&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2016) | ## Topics in this paper - [7.2 Centripetal acceleration and centripetal force](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) - [8.2 Gravitational force between point masses](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-force-between-point-masses/) - [7.1 Kinematics of uniform circular motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/kinematics-of-uniform-circular-motion/) - [1.3 The Avogadro constant](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) - [10.1 Equation of state](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/equation-of-state/) - [11.1 Thermal equilibrium](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/thermal-equilibrium/) - [11.3 Practical thermometers](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) - [11.2 Temperature scales](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/temperature-scales/) - [13.1 Simple harmonic oscillations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/simple-harmonic-oscillations/) - [13.2 Energy in simple harmonic motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/energy-in-simple-harmonic-motion/) - [13.3 Damped and forced oscillations, resonance](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/damped-and-forced-oscillations-resonance/) - [16.2 Modulation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) ## Related papers - [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-october-november-9702-41/) — October/November 2016 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-october-november-9702-42/) — October/November 2016 — 14 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/43](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-october-november-9702-43/) — October/November 2016 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-may-june-9702-41/) — May/June 2016 — 13 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/43](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-may-june-9702-43/) — May/June 2016 — 13 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2016-march-9702-42/) — March 2016 — 13 questions · 100 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 0.36 from 53 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 0.17, 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 47.0% Easy, 42.0% Medium and 11.0% 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-4/2016-may-june-9702-42/