# WPH14/01 October 2020 > WPH14/01 October 2020: 18 questions, 90 marks. Difficulty 0.47, deviation 0.16, algebraic 0.35, text density 0.48. Edexcel IAL Physics U4. - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2020-october-wph14-01/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2020-october-wph14-01/index.md --- Edexcel IAL · Physics · 2020 October This Physics Unit 4 (WPH14) paper contains 18 questions worth 90 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 - U4 - 18 questions - 90 marks - Free paper - [Practise this paper](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd) - [All U4 papers](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/) Core finding **WPH14/01 October 2020 is a past paper for Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 4 (WPH14), with 18 questions worth 90 marks.** Its mark-weighted Difficulty Measure is 0.47 on a 0.20–0.75 scale, with a Difficulty Deviation of 0.16 and a mark split of 14.4% Easy, 58.9% Medium and 26.7% Hard. Algebraic complexity averages 0.35; text density and modelling average 0.48. All five measures use 35 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 35 parts carrying 90 part marks. Difficulty tags cover 35 parts, algebraic tags 35 and text-density tags 35. Tags are internal metadata, not official exam-board ratings. - **Difficulty Measure**: 0.47 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium - **Difficulty Deviation**: 0.16 — 0 = uniform; higher = more mixed - **Difficulty Ratio**: 14.4 / 58.9 / 26.7 — % Easy / Medium / Hard - **Algebraic Complexity Measure**: 0.35 — 0.20–0.75 · nearer Medium - **Text Density and Modelling Measure**: 0.48 — 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** | 0.47 | 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** | 14.4% Easy / 58.9% Medium / 26.7% Hard | marks in band / all tagged marks | | **Algebraic Complexity Measure** | 0.35 | Σ(c_i × marks_i) / Σmarks_i, with c = 0.20 / 0.45 / 0.75 | | **Text Density and Modelling Measure** | 0.48 | 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 | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=ed8965b8-5336-4688-9e60-0fd28d1984e7&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q2** MCQ | [U4 Nuclear and Particle Physics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/nuclear-and-particle-physics/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=47474cc8-a7c9-41b5-b585-3228e46e45f3&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q3** MCQ | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=047e8ccb-1ae4-491c-96b8-53c192173629&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q4** MCQ | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=70e89fa2-bd13-4c7d-85ce-a16b65abb4fa&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q5** MCQ | [U4 Further Mechanics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/further-mechanics/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=79ddbdcb-d936-4e9d-ab5e-8335561172b1&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q6** MCQ | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=42620550-a24a-4238-ae6e-4ffb33118f8f&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q7** MCQ | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=f2e7f721-35c2-4a5f-8f92-f52fb32fa5cd&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q8** MCQ | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=78a3c967-f0fc-4068-a164-a29a94282fae&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q9** MCQ | [U4 Further Mechanics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/further-mechanics/) | 1 | 0.20 Easy | 0.20 Low | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=5bcabb59-be73-4ef9-9bc8-ec28e4a5b37c&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q10** MCQ | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 1 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=e937383b-4a7b-4888-8cd8-44011ac0d524&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q11** FRQ | [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) | 4 | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | 0.45 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=98649249-8554-44a3-9125-816734fe6276&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q12** FRQ | [U4 Nuclear and Particle Physics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/nuclear-and-particle-physics/) | 5 | 0.40 Medium | 0.40 Medium | 0.20 Low | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=010a32c0-082f-4960-ab59-2df5ee6568c2&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q13** FRQ | [U4 Nuclear and Particle Physics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/nuclear-and-particle-physics/) | 4 | 0.45 Medium | 0.20 Low | 0.75 High | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=c5e5208f-7cbb-46b8-a139-02121f927e10&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q14** FRQ | [U4 Nuclear and Particle Physics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/nuclear-and-particle-physics/) | 9 | 0.39 Medium | 0.28 Low | 0.58 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=d3c69880-634f-40ab-9847-f4aeaf934f73&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q15** FRQ | [U4 Further Mechanics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/further-mechanics/) | 16 | 0.52 Medium | 0.36 Medium | 0.66 High | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=513ffce5-1726-48b5-8102-c24a69df16c6&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q16** FRQ | [U4 Further Mechanics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/further-mechanics/) | 14 | 0.59 Medium | 0.43 Medium | 0.49 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=439b8cf5-08d3-4568-8dde-fe0346c77358&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q17** FRQ | [U4 Nuclear and Particle Physics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/nuclear-and-particle-physics/) | 14 | 0.48 Medium | 0.44 Medium | 0.46 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=cc7d506a-bea1-4118-9d91-340447866eef&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | | **Q18** FRQ | [U4 Nuclear and Particle Physics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/nuclear-and-particle-physics/) | 14 | 0.48 Medium | 0.33 Medium | 0.41 Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=fd185779-00c6-4239-82cf-edc1f6fde6bd&question_id=08c7908c-e5ec-43cf-b229-4fb2964fccda&source_detail=WPH14%2F01+October+2020) | ## Topics in this paper - [U4 Electric and Magnetic Fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/electric-and-magnetic-fields/) - [U4 Nuclear and Particle Physics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/nuclear-and-particle-physics/) - [U4 Further Mechanics](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/further-mechanics/) ## Related papers - [WPH14/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2020-january-wph14-01/) — January 2020 — 19 questions · 90 marks — Free - [WPH14/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2021-october-wph14-01/) — October 2021 — 18 questions · 90 marks — Pro - [WPH14/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2021-june-wph14-01/) — June 2021 — 18 questions · 90 marks — Pro - [WPH14/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2021-january-wph14-01/) — January 2021 — 19 questions · 90 marks — Pro - [WPH14/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2022-october-wph14-01/) — October 2022 — 18 questions · 90 marks — Pro - [WPH14/01](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-4-wph14/2022-june-wph14-01/) — June 2022 — 18 questions · 90 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 0.47 from 35 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 14.4% Easy, 58.9% Medium and 26.7% 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-4-wph14/2020-october-wph14-01/