# 9702/52 March 2019

> 9702/52 March 2019: 2 questions, 30 marks. Difficulty 0.54, deviation 0.16, algebraic 0.36, text density 0.60. CIE IAL Physics 9702 P5.

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CIE IAL · Physics · 2019 March

This Physics 9702 Paper 5 (Planning & Analysis) paper contains 2 questions worth 30 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 P5
- 2 questions
- 30 marks
- Free paper
- [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d4f94a57-2fdc-4548-89ba-dcd640d72db7)
- [All 9702 P5 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/)

Core finding

**9702/52 March 2019 is a past paper for CIE IAL Physics 9702 Paper 5 (Planning & Analysis), with 2 questions worth 30 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.54 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.16 and a mark split of 3.3% Easy, 46.7% Medium and 50.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.36; text density and modelling average 0.60. All five measures use 9 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 9 parts carrying 30 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 9 parts, algebraic tags 9 and text-density tags 9. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings.

- **Difficulty Measure**: 0.54 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium
- **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.16 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed
- **Difficulty Ratio**: 3.3 / 46.7 / 50.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard
- **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.36 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium
- **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.60 — 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** | 0.54 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.16 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) |
| **Difficulty Ratio** | 3.3% Easy / 46.7% Medium / 50.0% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks |
| **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.36 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.60 | 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 | [Planning - Defining the problem](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/planning-defining-the-problem/) | 15 | 0.75 Hard | 0.45 Medium | 0.75 High | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d4f94a57-2fdc-4548-89ba-dcd640d72db7&question_id=4113c743-0063-42bc-84f2-000231a2985c&source_detail=9702%2F52+March+2019) |
| **Q2** FRQ | [Analysis, conclusions and evaluation - Data analysis](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/analysis-conclusions-and-evaluation-data-analysis/) | 15 | 0.43 Medium | 0.27 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d4f94a57-2fdc-4548-89ba-dcd640d72db7&question_id=00ffb541-5ac2-4c45-bb95-14687651c0c6&source_detail=9702%2F52+March+2019) |

## Topics in this paper

- [Planning - Defining the problem](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/planning-defining-the-problem/)
- [Planning - Methods of data collection](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/planning-methods-of-data-collection/)
- [Planning - Method of analysis](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/planning-method-of-analysis/)
- [Planning - Additional detail including safety considerations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/planning-additional-detail-including-safety-considerations/)
- [Analysis, conclusions and evaluation - Data analysis](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/analysis-conclusions-and-evaluation-data-analysis/)
- [Analysis, conclusions and evaluation - Conclusion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/analysis-conclusions-and-evaluation-conclusion/)
- [Analysis, conclusions and evaluation - Table of results](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/analysis-conclusions-and-evaluation-table-of-results/)
- [Analysis, conclusions and evaluation - Treatment of uncertainties](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/analysis-conclusions-and-evaluation-treatment-of-uncertainties/)
- [Analysis, conclusions and evaluation - Graph](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/analysis-conclusions-and-evaluation-graph/)

## Related papers

- [9702/51](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/2019-october-november-9702-51/) — October/November 2019 — 2 questions · 30 marks — Free
- [9702/52](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/2019-october-november-9702-52/) — October/November 2019 — 2 questions · 30 marks — Free
- [9702/53](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/2019-october-november-9702-53/) — October/November 2019 — 2 questions · 30 marks — Free
- [9702/51](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/2019-may-june-9702-51/) — May/June 2019 — 2 questions · 30 marks — Free
- [9702/52](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/2019-may-june-9702-52/) — May/June 2019 — 2 questions · 30 marks — Free
- [9702/53](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-5/2019-may-june-9702-53/) — May/June 2019 — 2 questions · 30 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 0.54 from 9 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 0.16, 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 3.3% Easy, 46.7% Medium and 50.0% 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-5/2019-march-9702-52/