# WPH12/01 October 2019 > WPH12/01 October 2019: 19 questions, 80 marks. Difficulty 0.38, deviation 0.14, algebraic 0.23, text density 0.38. Edexcel IAL Physics U2. - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2019-october-wph12-01/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2019-october-wph12-01/index.md --- Edexcel IAL · Physics · 2019 October This Physics Unit 2 (WPH12) paper contains 19 questions worth 80 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 - U2 - 19 questions - 80 marks - Free paper - [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5) - [All U2 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/) Core finding **WPH12/01 October 2019 is a past paper for Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 2 (WPH12), with 19 questions worth 80 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.38 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.14 and a mark split of 33.8% Easy, 60.0% Medium and 6.2% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.23; text density and modelling average 0.38. All five measures use 37 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 37 parts carrying 80 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 37 parts, algebraic tags 37 and text-density tags 37. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings. - **Difficulty Measure**: 0.38 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium - **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.14 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed - **Difficulty Ratio**: 33.8 / 60.0 / 6.2 — % Easy / Medium / Hard - **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.23 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Low - **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.38 — 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** | 0.38 | 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** | 33.8% Easy / 60.0% Medium / 6.2% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks | | **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.23 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 | | **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.38 | 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** MCQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=e7202314-1ac0-4d4c-a966-de4593e394d9&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q2** MCQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=c098e19b-05af-47c7-9978-546c75c0ece0&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q3** MCQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=ce4827f5-86b3-4683-8dcb-e78bfdb622fc&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q4** MCQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=8a5a410c-8a3c-45c1-ab8e-61ddc90ffb3c&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q5** MCQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=d2d75350-6921-4568-b74a-9157f145af22&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q6** MCQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=b40b659f-1f01-4e40-8d33-f775d5a6109a&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q7** MCQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=7b436029-0a88-4c40-a177-7e5607e9ffc3&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q8** MCQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=77aac564-f6bd-4129-8484-a3a6dbdaa32e&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q9** MCQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=47e49643-ae12-4a4c-9a71-5287211e02b7&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q10** MCQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=aca09069-d2c8-4025-89e8-6240d2ffbf18&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q11** FRQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 3 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=8079d1fe-398c-4b0a-97c3-779244a94375&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q12** FRQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 4 | 0.39 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.39 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=364fadcc-fa1f-4322-812b-2ab720711bfa&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q13** FRQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=24462840-476e-439d-926b-7fb552a57980&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q14** FRQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 9 | 0.45 Medium | 0.28 Low | 0.65 High | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=b812404d-106e-4bdb-942f-4cd71306594d&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q15** FRQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 6 | 0.33 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=e2b573ee-d4ce-4bb2-a5bd-e67d05cd505f&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q16** FRQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 9 | 0.45 Medium | 0.34 Medium | 0.34 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=8327190b-598b-4500-b6d8-35ed0577d43d&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q17** FRQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 8 | 0.39 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=75ee4c73-52ff-4486-8bdb-cdee5bfd3cd5&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q18** FRQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 11 | 0.36 Medium | 0.27 Low | 0.29 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=ef9f7afa-f080-4f14-830c-e582349ff64d&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | | **Q19** FRQ | [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) | 13 | 0.39 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.35 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=169c81d3-9078-4e0c-8ece-200d01be50e5&question_id=d9bf725f-2234-4ac1-904e-ced58d8d0387&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+October+2019) | ## Topics in this paper - [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) - [U2 Waves and Particle Nature of Light](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/waves-and-particle-nature-of-light/) ## Related papers - [WPH12/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2019-june-wph12-01/) — June 2019 — 19 questions · 80 marks — Free - [WPH12/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2020-october-wph12-01/) — October 2020 — 18 questions · 80 marks — Free - [WPH12/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2020-january-wph12-01/) — January 2020 — 18 questions · 80 marks — Free - [WPH12/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2021-october-wph12-01/) — October 2021 — 18 questions · 80 marks — Pro - [WPH12/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2021-june-wph12-01/) — June 2021 — 18 questions · 80 marks — Pro - [WPH12/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2021-january-wph12-01/) — January 2021 — 21 questions · 80 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 0.38 from 37 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 33.8% Easy, 60.0% Medium and 6.3% 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/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2019-october-wph12-01/