# WPH12/01 January 2020 > WPH12/01 January 2020: 18 questions, 80 marks. Difficulty 0.39, deviation 0.18, algebraic 0.26, text density 0.38. Edexcel IAL Physics U2. - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2020-january-wph12-01/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2020-january-wph12-01/index.md --- Edexcel IAL · Physics · 2020 January This Physics Unit 2 (WPH12) paper contains 18 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 - 18 questions - 80 marks - Free paper - [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c) - [All U2 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/) Core finding **WPH12/01 January 2020 is a past paper for Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 2 (WPH12), with 18 questions worth 80 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.39 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.18 and a mark split of 37.5% Easy, 47.5% Medium and 15.0% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.26; 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**: 0.39 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium - **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.18 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed - **Difficulty Ratio**: 37.5 / 47.5 / 15.0 — % Easy / Medium / Hard - **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.26 — 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** | 0.39 | Σ(d_i × w_i) / Σw_i, with d = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 | | **Difficulty Deviation** | 0.18 | √(Σw_i(d_i − μ)^2 / Σw_i) | | **Difficulty Ratio** | 37.5% Easy / 47.5% Medium / 15.0% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks | | **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.26 | 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 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=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=0397c354-9247-41a8-94d3-2f37efac6a7b&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q2** 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=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=1100c682-6007-43dc-9b66-46e6a4bda932&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q3** 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=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=5fe7db71-a5d0-4e42-be5c-a5a665586303&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q4** 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=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=88c72e96-8f79-4611-b97f-c72070863914&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q5** 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=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=1ff716d0-9971-4e60-85a6-8a859cb5d99f&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **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=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=055d45e3-8c52-4aeb-b5fc-d0f72d647a78&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q7** 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 | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=fcb971df-fb2a-45b3-94db-2087017b3217&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q8** 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=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=a673c4e1-d0cd-411a-919a-11b3977a5077&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **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 | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=6ec6eb88-a909-4f0c-8e20-e554c9cd5e9e&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **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 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=ffe63bb7-f9eb-49db-8e4a-8f4fa1391834&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **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/) | 7 | 0.31 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.34 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=a97f6e11-8568-43fd-897d-a23e102dbcef&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **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/) | 6 | 0.37 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=b367acac-489d-4638-aa2f-f5cabd0715f0&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q13** 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/) | 6 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=83564af0-b77f-469b-8524-f7e6b94f6b9c&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q14** 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/) | 10 | 0.38 Medium | 0.30 Low | 0.42 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=1292485b-59a7-4bcf-bc61-b0d5fae15364&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q15** 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/) | 10 | 0.68 Hard | 0.40 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=f767d7e6-4418-47aa-bdbd-e8fb6d7a3ee3&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **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/) | 5 | 0.35 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.35 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=34219adb-7650-4e5e-b721-9f519f45eb42&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **Q17** FRQ | [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) | 10 | 0.46 Medium | 0.30 Low | 0.38 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=489ea7ea-e6d4-4c4a-ae25-d8870cb29025&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | | **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/) | 16 | 0.31 Easy | 0.25 Low | 0.36 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=68c06fc7-b8d0-47b8-8712-5b4ad068842c&question_id=93d60990-8454-4751-ad67-10ec67936456&source_detail=WPH12%2F01+January+2020) | ## Topics in this paper - [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/) - [U2 Electric Circuits](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/electric-circuits/) ## Related papers - [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-wph12/2021-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 - [WPH12/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2019-october-wph12-01/) — October 2019 — 19 questions · 80 marks — Free - [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 ## 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 0.39 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 0.18, 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 37.5% Easy, 47.5% Medium and 15.0% 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/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-2-wph12/2020-january-wph12-01/