# 9702/42 October/November 2019

> 9702/42 October/November 2019: 12 questions, 100 marks. Difficulty 0.34, deviation 0.14, algebraic 0.27, text density 0.37. CIE IAL Physics 9702 P4.

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CIE IAL · Physics · 2019 October/November

This Physics 9702 Paper 4 (A Level Structured) paper contains 12 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
- 12 questions
- 100 marks
- Free paper
- [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289)
- [All 9702 P4 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/)

Core finding

**9702/42 October/November 2019 is a past paper for CIE IAL Physics 9702 Paper 4 (A Level Structured), with 12 questions worth 100 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.34 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.14 and a mark split of 47.0% Easy, 49.0% Medium and 4.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.27; text density and modelling average 0.37. All five measures use 48 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 48 parts carrying 100 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 48 parts, algebraic tags 48 and text-density tags 48. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings.

- **Difficulty Measure**: 0.34 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium
- **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.14 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed
- **Difficulty Ratio**: 47.0 / 49.0 / 4.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard
- **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.27 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low
- **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.37 — 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** | 0.34 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.14 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) |
| **Difficulty Ratio** | 47.0% Easy / 49.0% Medium / 4.0% 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** | 0.37 | 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 | [8.2 Gravitational force between point masses](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-force-between-point-masses/) | 8 | 0.33 Medium | 0.33 Medium | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=89091f94-cc82-4252-a162-b8b02318c84e&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q2** FRQ | [10.2 Kinetic theory of gases](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/kinetic-theory-of-gases/) | 11 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.31 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=8738212e-aebb-4cf9-9756-adaf7cc626a8&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q3** FRQ | [12.1 Specific heat capacity and specific latent heat](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/specific-heat-capacity-and-specific-latent-heat/) | 10 | 0.43 Medium | 0.35 Medium | 0.40 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=e6f1e71d-e042-49ee-bf41-f33d0abcf575&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **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/) | 10 | 0.30 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.35 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=ddffb69b-e973-4a08-ab0f-d2a68b526f17&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q5** FRQ | [14.6 Production and use of ultrasound in diagnosis](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 10 | 0.33 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.35 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=26c8a6ea-2f95-4ee4-b4c8-ae1b489caa2d&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q6** FRQ | [16.2 Modulation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 4 | 0.39 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=55aa0dba-b5f1-40db-b473-5899882903de&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q7** 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/) | 5 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=383d7488-b896-4b67-9eca-df0558ce3c86&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q8** FRQ | [22.3 Force on a moving charge](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/force-on-a-moving-charge/) | 8 | 0.29 Easy | 0.26 Low | 0.42 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=b2faf7f3-f5ce-4d97-8176-e27134913afa&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q9** FRQ | [17.5 Electric potential](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/electric-potential/) | 8 | 0.33 Medium | 0.33 Medium | 0.33 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=589bcfc8-2760-4180-a1ec-368ccf4c5183&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q10** FRQ | [25.5 Band theory](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 11 | 0.45 Medium | 0.29 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=85cbbf65-4cc2-403b-a1c3-3cb22b26f9ad&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q11** FRQ | [23.1 Laws of electromagnetic induction](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.31 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=a96d3056-3fa8-46fd-8eb1-b6ff38c084fd&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |
| **Q12** FRQ | [26.4 Radioactive decay](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/radioactive-decay/) | 8 | 0.36 Medium | 0.36 Medium | 0.36 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=b3122400-2cd3-4ced-8ab1-d67cc4e54289&question_id=7473a3bd-be1d-4b47-91f2-0f0ecb0039f5&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2019) |

## Topics in this paper

- [8.2 Gravitational force between point masses](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-force-between-point-masses/)
- [7.2 Centripetal acceleration and centripetal force](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/)
- [10.2 Kinetic theory of gases](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/kinetic-theory-of-gases/)
- [10.1 Equation of state](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/equation-of-state/)
- [12.1 Specific heat capacity and specific latent heat](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/specific-heat-capacity-and-specific-latent-heat/)
- [12.2 Internal energy and the first law of thermodynamics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/)
- [11.1 Thermal equilibrium](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/thermal-equilibrium/)
- [13.3 Damped and forced oscillations, resonance](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/damped-and-forced-oscillations-resonance/)
- [13.1 Simple harmonic oscillations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/simple-harmonic-oscillations/)
- [14.6 Production and use of ultrasound in diagnosis](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/)
- [16.2 Modulation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/)
- [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/)

## Related papers

- [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2019-october-november-9702-41/) — October/November 2019 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free
- [9702/43](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2019-october-november-9702-43/) — October/November 2019 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free
- [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2019-may-june-9702-41/) — May/June 2019 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free
- [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2019-may-june-9702-42/) — May/June 2019 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free
- [9702/43](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2019-may-june-9702-43/) — May/June 2019 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Free
- [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2019-march-9702-42/) — March 2019 — 12 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 0.34 from 48 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 0.14, 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, 49.0% Medium and 4.0% 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-4/2019-october-november-9702-42/