# 9709 P4 Forces and equilibrium Topic Questions > CIE IAL 9709 P4: every Forces and equilibrium topic question from 49 papers (2020–2026), grouped by syllabus point. 139 questions, 639 marks, with direct… - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/index.md --- CIE IAL · Mathematics · 9709 P4 · A Level Every 9709 P4 Forces and equilibrium topic question from the 2020–2027 syllabus, drawn from 49 papers (2020–2026) and grouped by syllabus point. Each row opens a page listing the exact question numbers, marks and a direct link into the paper. These are questions by topic, not full papers, so you can revise one topic at a time. - 9709 P4 - 5 subtopics - 139 topic questions - 49 papers - 639 tagged marks - [Back to Forces and equilibrium](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/) - [All paper codes](https://www.examsci.com/topics/) Core finding **understand the vector nature of force, and find and use components… is the most frequently assessed subtopic in Forces and equilibrium, with 30 topic questions and 142 marks across 19 papers.** use the principle that, when a particle is in equilibrium… follows with 27 topic questions and 124 marks. The topic contains 5 subtopics, 139 topic questions and 639 marks in total. Rows count only the parts tagged to that subtopic, keep the same colour in both charts and repeat paper count, tagged marks and year range in the native table. ## Topic question count and mark distribution Subtopics are on the vertical axis and sorted from highest to lowest. Only the parts whose knowledge graph matches a subtopic are counted for it, and percentages are each row's share of the tagged total in that chart. A part tagged to several subtopics is counted in each bar, so the bars are not a partition of the topic total. ### Questions by subtopic question items - [• understand the vector nature of force, and find and use components and resultants](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-vector-nature-of-force-and-find-and-use-components-and-resultants/) (19 papers) — 30 · 27.0% - [• use the principle that, when a particle is in equilibrium, the vector sum of the forces acting is zero, or equivalently, that the sum of the components in any direction is zero](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/use-the-principle-that-when-a-particle-is-in-equilibrium-the-vector-sum-of-the-forces/) (18 papers) — 27 · 24.3% - [• understand the concepts of limiting friction and limiting equilibrium, recall the definition of coefficient of friction, and use the relationship $F=\mu R$ or $F\leqslant\mu R$, as appropriate](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-concepts-of-limiting-friction-and-limiting-equilibrium-recall-the/) (19 papers) — 24 · 21.6% - [• understand that a contact force between two surfaces can be represented by two components, the normal component and the frictional component](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-that-a-contact-force-between-two-surfaces-can-be-represented-by-two/) (17 papers) — 21 · 18.9% - [• identify the forces acting in a given situation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/identify-the-forces-acting-in-a-given-situation/) (7 papers) — 9 · 8.1% ### Marks by subtopic marks - [• understand the vector nature of force, and find and use components and resultants](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-vector-nature-of-force-and-find-and-use-components-and-resultants/) (19 papers) — 142 · 26.8% - [• use the principle that, when a particle is in equilibrium, the vector sum of the forces acting is zero, or equivalently, that the sum of the components in any direction is zero](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/use-the-principle-that-when-a-particle-is-in-equilibrium-the-vector-sum-of-the-forces/) (18 papers) — 124 · 23.4% - [• understand the concepts of limiting friction and limiting equilibrium, recall the definition of coefficient of friction, and use the relationship $F=\mu R$ or $F\leqslant\mu R$, as appropriate](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-concepts-of-limiting-friction-and-limiting-equilibrium-recall-the/) (19 papers) — 118 · 22.3% - [• understand that a contact force between two surfaces can be represented by two components, the normal component and the frictional component](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-that-a-contact-force-between-two-surfaces-can-be-represented-by-two/) (17 papers) — 110 · 20.8% - [• identify the forces acting in a given situation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/identify-the-forces-acting-in-a-given-situation/) (7 papers) — 36 · 6.8% ## Subtopic comparison matrix Curriculum order is by syllabus number, then alphabetically. Every row links to the matching past-paper question list. | Subtopic | Topic questions | Papers | Marks | Years | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **[• identify the forces acting in a given situation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/identify-the-forces-acting-in-a-given-situation/)** | 9 | 7 | 36 | 2020–2025 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/identify-the-forces-acting-in-a-given-situation/) | | **[• understand that a contact force between two surfaces can be represented by two components, the normal component and the frictional component](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-that-a-contact-force-between-two-surfaces-can-be-represented-by-two/)** | 21 | 17 | 110 | 2020–2025 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-that-a-contact-force-between-two-surfaces-can-be-represented-by-two/) | | **[• understand the concepts of limiting friction and limiting equilibrium, recall the definition of coefficient of friction, and use the relationship $F=\mu R$ or $F\leqslant\mu R$, as appropriate](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-concepts-of-limiting-friction-and-limiting-equilibrium-recall-the/)** | 24 | 19 | 118 | 2020–2025 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-concepts-of-limiting-friction-and-limiting-equilibrium-recall-the/) | | **[• understand the vector nature of force, and find and use components and resultants](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-vector-nature-of-force-and-find-and-use-components-and-resultants/)** | 30 | 19 | 142 | 2020–2025 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-vector-nature-of-force-and-find-and-use-components-and-resultants/) | | **[• use the principle that, when a particle is in equilibrium, the vector sum of the forces acting is zero, or equivalently, that the sum of the components in any direction is zero](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/use-the-principle-that-when-a-particle-is-in-equilibrium-the-vector-sum-of-the-forces/)** | 27 | 18 | 124 | 2020–2025 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/use-the-principle-that-when-a-particle-is-in-equilibrium-the-vector-sum-of-the-forces/) | ## Browse every topic question - [• identify the forces acting in a given situation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/identify-the-forces-acting-in-a-given-situation/) — 9 question items · 7 papers — 36 marks · 2020–2025 - [• understand that a contact force between two surfaces can be represented by two components, the normal component and the frictional component](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-that-a-contact-force-between-two-surfaces-can-be-represented-by-two/) — 21 question items · 17 papers — 110 marks · 2020–2025 - [• understand the concepts of limiting friction and limiting equilibrium, recall the definition of coefficient of friction, and use the relationship $F=\mu R$ or $F\leqslant\mu R$, as appropriate](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-concepts-of-limiting-friction-and-limiting-equilibrium-recall-the/) — 24 question items · 19 papers — 118 marks · 2020–2025 - [• understand the vector nature of force, and find and use components and resultants](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/understand-the-vector-nature-of-force-and-find-and-use-components-and-resultants/) — 30 question items · 19 papers — 142 marks · 2020–2025 - [• use the principle that, when a particle is in equilibrium, the vector sum of the forces acting is zero, or equivalently, that the sum of the components in any direction is zero](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/use-the-principle-that-when-a-particle-is-in-equilibrium-the-vector-sum-of-the-forces/) — 27 question items · 18 papers — 124 marks · 2020–2025 ## Other topics in 9709 P4 - [Energy, work and power 198 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/energy-work-and-power/) - [Kinematics of motion in a straight line 279 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/kinematics-of-motion-in-a-straight-line/) - [Momentum 69 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/momentum/) - [Newton’s laws of motion 190 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/newton-s-laws-of-motion/) ## Topic question rules and edge cases **How many subtopics does Forces and equilibrium contain?** This page lists 5 subtopics tagged to the current syllabus. They are ordered by syllabus number, then alphabetically, and each row opens a page of matching past-paper questions. **How are the subtopic question and mark totals calculated?** A multiple-choice question contributes one item and its marks to every subtopic it is tagged with. A structured question contributes one item per tagged part, and that part’s marks; untagged parts of the same question are not counted here. A part tagged to several subtopics therefore appears under each of them. **Why do some subtopics have no numbered prefix?** Practical-skills statements and some syllabus bullets are unnumbered. Numbered statements come first; unnumbered statements and ties are sorted alphabetically. **Is the LaTeX rendered without JavaScript?** Yes. Subtopics that contain formulas are converted to static KaTeX HTML during the build, and the KaTeX stylesheet is served from the same site. --- Full page with native tables, bar charts and Practice Hub links: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p4/forces-and-equilibrium/