# 9702/43 October/November 2021 > 9702/43 October/November 2021: 12 questions, 100 marks. Difficulty 0.32, deviation 0.12, algebraic 0.24, text density 0.35. CIE IAL Physics 9702 P4. - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-october-november-9702-43/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-october-november-9702-43/index.md --- CIE IAL · Physics · 2021 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 the mark scheme require Pro access. - CIE IAL - 9702 P4 - 12 questions - 100 marks - Pro paper - [Open in Interactive Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5) - [All 9702 P4 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) Core finding **9702/43 October/November 2021 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 0.32 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.12 and a mark split of 50.0% Easy, 50.0% Medium and 0.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.24; text density and modelling average 0.35. All five measures use 55 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 55 parts carrying 100 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 55 parts, algebraic tags 55 and text-density tags 55. 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**: 50.0 / 50.0 / 0.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard - **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.24 — 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** | 50.0% Easy / 50.0% 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** | 0.35 | 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 | [7.2 Centripetal acceleration and centripetal force](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=6e4036c3-36e0-466f-a61c-1f7144514716&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q2** FRQ | [8.4 Gravitational potential](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-potential/) | 9 | 0.34 Medium | 0.34 Medium | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=6f2558bd-05ea-4246-9f34-4b33704ce599&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **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/) | 13 | 0.35 Medium | 0.24 Low | 0.35 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=47f36bc0-6a4b-4120-a125-f23582182d7b&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q4** FRQ | [13.1 Simple harmonic oscillations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/simple-harmonic-oscillations/) | 11 | 0.34 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.34 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=a06ccafa-d114-4d05-b5ce-71da63304ce2&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q5** FRQ | [16.3 Digital communication](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 8 | 0.36 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=748b707d-00a1-4748-8d6f-a19f41a0e849&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q6** FRQ | [18.1 Capacitors and capacitance](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/capacitors-and-capacitance/) | 5 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.30 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=9c492531-8c35-4626-8227-a3be2fc2e46b&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q7** FRQ | [21.1 The ideal operational amplifier](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 9 | 0.31 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.31 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=2eb96770-5d4f-4727-9291-961ac450c917&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q8** FRQ | [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/) | 6 | 0.37 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.37 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=5833ba34-abde-4870-9bd4-2a90afb48255&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q9** FRQ | [24.1 Characteristics of alternating currents](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/) | 9 | 0.39 Medium | 0.28 Low | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=2b2069d5-7ccd-41df-9afc-002655747f3f&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q10** FRQ | [25.2 Photoelectric emission of electrons](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) | 9 | 0.26 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.26 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=0680da48-44bf-42bb-a4d8-8c727aa3e61a&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q11** 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/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.31 Low | 0.31 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=59dc2e2a-de2b-4943-9ab1-d758f9d4ff65&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | | **Q12** FRQ | [26.4 Radioactive decay](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/radioactive-decay/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.31 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5&question_id=eea0e9bd-4362-47f9-ad6b-d1ac01149403&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2021) | ## Full questions and mark scheme This paper is from 2021. Question text, options and the mark scheme are available with Pro access. The metadata above is public so you can still plan revision by topic and difficulty. [Open this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d15381c7-ed79-4359-b3bf-86bd7c6d32a5) ## Topics in this paper - [7.2 Centripetal acceleration and centripetal force](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) - [7.1 Kinematics of uniform circular motion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/kinematics-of-uniform-circular-motion/) - [8.4 Gravitational potential](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/gravitational-potential/) - [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/) - [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/) - [10.3 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/) - [13.3 Damped and forced oscillations, resonance](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/damped-and-forced-oscillations-resonance/) - [16.3 Digital communication](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/) - [18.1 Capacitors and capacitance](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/capacitors-and-capacitance/) - [18.2 Energy stored in a capacitor](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/energy-stored-in-a-capacitor/) ## Related papers - [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-october-november-9702-41/) — October/November 2021 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Pro - [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-october-november-9702-42/) — October/November 2021 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Pro - [9702/41](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-may-june-9702-41/) — May/June 2021 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Pro - [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-may-june-9702-42/) — May/June 2021 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Pro - [9702/43](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-may-june-9702-43/) — May/June 2021 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Pro - [9702/42](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-march-9702-42/) — March 2021 — 12 questions · 100 marks — Pro ## 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 55 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 50.0% Easy, 50.0% 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. --- Full page with native tables, bar charts and Practice Hub links: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2021-october-november-9702-43/