# WMA14/01 October 2020

> WMA14/01 October 2020: 9 questions, 75 marks. Difficulty 0.46, deviation 0.11, algebraic 0.47, text density 0.26. Edexcel IAL Mathematics P4.

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Edexcel IAL · Mathematics · 2020 October

This Pure Mathematics 4 (WMA14) paper contains 9 questions worth 75 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.

- Edexcel IAL
- P4
- 9 questions
- 75 marks
- Free paper
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Core finding

**WMA14/01 October 2020 is a past paper for Edexcel IAL Pure Mathematics 4 (WMA14), with 9 questions worth 75 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.46 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.11 and a mark split of 6.7% Easy, 81.3% Medium and 12.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.47; text density and modelling average 0.26. All five measures use 18 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 18 parts carrying 75 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 18 parts, algebraic tags 18 and text-density tags 18. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings.

- **Difficulty Measure**: 0.46 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium
- **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.11 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed
- **Difficulty Ratio**: 6.7 / 81.3 / 12.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard
- **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.47 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium
- **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.26 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low

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** | 0.46 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.11 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) |
| **Difficulty Ratio** | 6.7% Easy / 81.3% Medium / 12.0% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks |
| **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.47 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 |
| **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.26 | 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 | [1. Proof](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/proof/) | 4 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=fb757616-8d57-49ad-ad6a-718f7da6ba2d&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q2** FRQ | [4. Binomial expansion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/binomial-expansion/) | 8 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=2dca1f51-07d9-4a73-8d39-af3e937d4381&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q3** FRQ | [6. Integration](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/integration/) | 6 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=f90bcbb0-c674-4813-939f-215cccb1afdb&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q4** FRQ | [3. Coordinate geometry in the (x, y) plane](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/coordinate-geometry-in-the-x-y-plane/) | 12 | 0.46 Medium | 0.49 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=4900c0d8-1fbc-4c71-b046-8c872da529d8&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q5** FRQ | [6. Integration](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/integration/) | 7 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.34 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=69bcf3c2-56e0-4807-a15a-0f3464ac3051&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q6** FRQ | [5. Differentiation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/differentiation/) | 7 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=d228c649-09ff-439f-8580-946f1d7436bc&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q7** FRQ | [6. Integration](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/integration/) | 12 | 0.45 Medium | 0.60 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=5c439ae3-130f-4de2-8cc6-94336f74f1c7&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q8** FRQ | [7. Vectors](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/vectors/) | 10 | 0.57 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=0714eed4-8ad9-4e19-b44e-b59c24d226db&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |
| **Q9** FRQ | [5. Differentiation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/differentiation/) | 9 | 0.39 Medium | 0.39 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=5448e252-ff97-44fd-b64d-cd9dd142915c&question_id=0b65d968-e887-40d9-b583-e5fe0ff02591&source_detail=WMA14%2F01+October+2020) |

## Topics in this paper

- [1. Proof](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/proof/)
- [4. Binomial expansion](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/binomial-expansion/)
- [6. Integration](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/integration/)
- [3. Coordinate geometry in the (x, y) plane](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/coordinate-geometry-in-the-x-y-plane/)
- [5. Differentiation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/differentiation/)
- [2. Algebra and functions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/algebra-and-functions/)
- [7. Vectors](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/vectors/)

## Related papers

- [WMA14/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/2021-october-wma14-01/) — October 2021 — 10 questions · 75 marks — Pro
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## 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 0.46 from 18 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 0.11, 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 6.7% Easy, 81.3% Medium and 12.0% 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/edexcel-ial/mathematics/pure-mathematics-4-wma14/2020-october-wma14-01/