# 9702/42 March 2018 > 9702/42 March 2018: 13 questions, 100 marks. Difficulty 0.37, deviation 0.15, algebraic 0.25, text density 0.40. CIE IAL Physics 9702 P4. - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-march-9702-42/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-march-9702-42/index.md --- CIE IAL · Physics · 2018 March 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=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb) - [All 9702 P4 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) Core finding **9702/42 March 2018 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 0.37 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.15 and a mark split of 38.0% Easy, 54.0% Medium and 8.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.25; text density and modelling average 0.40. All five measures use 49 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 49 parts carrying 100 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 49 parts, algebraic tags 49 and text-density tags 49. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings. - **Difficulty Measure**: 0.37 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium - **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.15 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed - **Difficulty Ratio**: 38.0 / 54.0 / 8.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard - **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.25 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low - **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.40 — 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** | 0.37 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 | | **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.15 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) | | **Difficulty Ratio** | 38.0% Easy / 54.0% Medium / 8.0% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks | | **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.25 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 | | **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.40 | 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 | [8.1 Gravitational field](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-field/) | 9 | 0.37 Medium | 0.28 Low | 0.42 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=73b89ce2-c1d2-4e90-8bd9-0fcf006fcced&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q2** FRQ | [10.1 Equation of state](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/equation-of-state/) | 10 | 0.28 Easy | 0.28 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=19e35d26-0c45-4c5d-8d7b-b5e46ab645a6&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q3** FRQ | [13.1 Simple harmonic oscillations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/simple-harmonic-oscillations/) | 8 | 0.39 Medium | 0.26 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=deb61fbb-bd4c-4107-a9d1-aa94b0833b6f&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q4** FRQ | [13.3 Damped and forced oscillations, resonance](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/damped-and-forced-oscillations-resonance/) | 5 | 0.30 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.35 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=28908cd2-9a54-445a-bc14-42779345d172&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q5** FRQ | [14.6 Production and use of ultrasound in diagnosis](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 10 | 0.40 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.40 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=0f7b6171-dc8e-45d6-8062-d68177143d64&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q6** FRQ | [16.3 Digital communication](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 6 | 0.37 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=aab4719f-fea2-4b8e-af2c-c7374b8eec0c&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q7** FRQ | [17.5 Electric potential](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/electric-potential/) | 9 | 0.49 Medium | 0.26 Low | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=6eb7144f-db50-4bd0-87f9-3d2a34c7f3bc&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q8** FRQ | [21.1 The ideal operational amplifier](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 7 | 0.38 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=4f257e60-c4e2-4e8b-8a63-e0279d23d833&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **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 | 0.34 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=df3ea5c8-117b-4b38-b239-31c6a027d7fa&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q10** FRQ | [23.1 Laws of electromagnetic induction](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 8 | 0.26 Easy | 0.26 Low | 0.33 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=e97b4500-6697-4e3a-a685-dcc58a8b6538&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q11** FRQ | [25.5 Band theory](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 7 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=0f819e0f-4598-4cad-9ae7-d80a93971ef7&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **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/) | 6 | 0.28 Easy | 0.28 Low | 0.28 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=d70855f4-6101-4122-b356-434cd26d5568&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | | **Q13** FRQ | [26.4 Radioactive decay](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/radioactive-decay/) | 8 | 0.50 Medium | 0.39 Medium | 0.47 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=0c42a88f-7f97-4407-b5e7-db80212407fb&question_id=be9b74bf-d8f4-4393-99bf-d0d7494bf669&source_detail=9702%2F42+March+2018) | ## Topics in this paper - [8.1 Gravitational field](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-field/) - [8.3 Gravitational field of a point mass](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-field-of-a-point-mass/) - [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/) - [10.1 Equation of state](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/equation-of-state/) - [10.3 Kinetic energy of a molecule](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) - [12.2 Internal energy and the first law of thermodynamics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) - [13.1 Simple harmonic oscillations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/simple-harmonic-oscillations/) - [22.2 Force on a current-carrying conductor](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/force-on-a-current-carrying-conductor/) - [24.1 Characteristics of alternating currents](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/) - [26.3 Mass defect and nuclear binding energy](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/) - [13.3 Damped and forced oscillations, resonance](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/damped-and-forced-oscillations-resonance/) ## Related papers - [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-october-november-9702-41/) — October/November 2018 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-october-november-9702-42/) — October/November 2018 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/43](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-october-november-9702-43/) — October/November 2018 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-may-june-9702-41/) — May/June 2018 — 13 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-may-june-9702-42/) — May/June 2018 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free - [9702/43](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2018-may-june-9702-43/) — May/June 2018 — 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 0.37 from 49 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 0.15, 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 38.0% Easy, 54.0% Medium and 8.0% 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-4/2018-march-9702-42/