CIE IAL · Physics · 9702 P2 · A Level

9702 P2 Atoms, nuclei and radiation Topic Questions

Every 9702 P2 Atoms, nuclei and radiation topic question from the 2025–2027 syllabus, drawn from 10 papers (2025–2026) 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.

9702 P2 12 subtopics 30 topic questions 10 papers 58 tagged marks

Back to Atoms, nuclei and radiation All paper codes

Core finding

6 understand that nucleon number and charge are conserved in nuclear… is the most frequently assessed subtopic in Atoms, nuclei and radiation, with 7 topic questions and 16 marks across 6 papers. 9 state that (electron) antineutrinos are produced during …… follows with 6 topic questions and 11 marks. The topic contains 12 subtopics, 30 topic questions and 58 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

6 understand that nucleon number and charge are conserved in nuclear processes 6 papers

714.9%

11 represent

α

- and

β

-decay by a radioactive decay equation of the form

_{92}^{238} U \to_{90}^{234} T h +_{2}^{4} α

6 papers

612.8%

9 state that (electron) antineutrinos are produced during

β^{-}

decay and (electron) neutrinos are produced during

β^{+}

decay 6 papers

612.8%

5 understand and use the notation

_{Z}^{A} X

for the representation of nuclides 5 papers

510.6%

1 infer from the results of the

α

-particle scattering experiment the existence and small size of the nucleus 2 papers

48.5%

12 use the unified atomic mass unit (u) as a unit of mass 4 papers

48.5%

2 describe a simple model for the nuclear atom to include protons, neutrons and orbital electrons 3 papers

48.5%

3 distinguish between nucleon number and proton number 4 papers

48.5%

10 understand that

α

-particles have discrete energies but that

β

-particles have a continuous range of energies because (anti)neutrinos are emitted in

β

-decay 2 papers

24.3%

7 describe the composition, mass and charge of

α

β

- and

γ

-radiations (both

β^{-}

(electrons) and

β^{+}

(positrons) are included) 2 papers

24.3%

8 understand that an antiparticle has the same mass but opposite charge to the corresponding particle, and that a positron is the antiparticle of an electron 2 papers

24.3%

4 understand that isotopes are forms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei 1 papers

12.1%

Marks by subtopic

marks

6 understand that nucleon number and charge are conserved in nuclear processes 6 papers

1616.7%

11 represent

α

- and

β

-decay by a radioactive decay equation of the form

_{92}^{238} U \to_{90}^{234} T h +_{2}^{4} α

6 papers

1414.6%

9 state that (electron) antineutrinos are produced during

β^{-}

decay and (electron) neutrinos are produced during

β^{+}

decay 6 papers

1111.5%

12 use the unified atomic mass unit (u) as a unit of mass 4 papers

1010.4%

3 distinguish between nucleon number and proton number 4 papers

99.4%

5 understand and use the notation

_{Z}^{A} X

for the representation of nuclides 5 papers

99.4%

2 describe a simple model for the nuclear atom to include protons, neutrons and orbital electrons 3 papers

77.3%

1 infer from the results of the

α

-particle scattering experiment the existence and small size of the nucleus 2 papers

66.3%

10 understand that

α

-particles have discrete energies but that

β

-particles have a continuous range of energies because (anti)neutrinos are emitted in

β

-decay 2 papers

44.2%

7 describe the composition, mass and charge of

α

β

- and

γ

-radiations (both

β^{-}

(electrons) and

β^{+}

(positrons) are included) 2 papers

44.2%

8 understand that an antiparticle has the same mass but opposite charge to the corresponding particle, and that a positron is the antiparticle of an electron 2 papers

44.2%

4 understand that isotopes are forms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei 1 papers

22.1%

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
1 infer from the results of the $α$ -particle scattering experiment the existence and small size of the nucleus	4	2	6	2025–2026	Open topic questions
2 describe a simple model for the nuclear atom to include protons, neutrons and orbital electrons	4	3	7	2025	Open topic questions
3 distinguish between nucleon number and proton number	4	4	9	2025–2026	Open topic questions
4 understand that isotopes are forms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei	1	1	2	2026	Open topic questions
5 understand and use the notation $_{Z}^{A} X$ for the representation of nuclides	5	5	9	2025–2026	Open topic questions
6 understand that nucleon number and charge are conserved in nuclear processes	7	6	16	2025–2026	Open topic questions
7 describe the composition, mass and charge of $α$ -, $β$ - and $γ$ -radiations (both $β^{-}$ (electrons) and $β^{+}$ (positrons) are included)	2	2	4	2025	Open topic questions
8 understand that an antiparticle has the same mass but opposite charge to the corresponding particle, and that a positron is the antiparticle of an electron	2	2	4	2025	Open topic questions
9 state that (electron) antineutrinos are produced during $β^{-}$ decay and (electron) neutrinos are produced during $β^{+}$ decay	6	6	11	2025–2026	Open topic questions
10 understand that $α$ -particles have discrete energies but that $β$ -particles have a continuous range of energies because (anti)neutrinos are emitted in $β$ -decay	2	2	4	2025–2026	Open topic questions
11 represent $α$ - and $β$ -decay by a radioactive decay equation of the form $_{92}^{238} U \to_{90}^{234} T h +_{2}^{4} α$	6	6	14	2025–2026	Open topic questions
12 use the unified atomic mass unit (u) as a unit of mass	4	4	10	2025–2026	Open topic questions

Browse every topic question

1 infer from the results of the $α$ -particle scattering experiment the existence and small size of the nucleus 4 question items · 2 papers 6 marks · 2025–2026 2 describe a simple model for the nuclear atom to include protons, neutrons and orbital electrons 4 question items · 3 papers 7 marks · 2025 3 distinguish between nucleon number and proton number 4 question items · 4 papers 9 marks · 2025–2026 4 understand that isotopes are forms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei 1 question items · 1 papers 2 marks · 2026 5 understand and use the notation $_{Z}^{A} X$ for the representation of nuclides 5 question items · 5 papers 9 marks · 2025–2026 6 understand that nucleon number and charge are conserved in nuclear processes 7 question items · 6 papers 16 marks · 2025–2026 7 describe the composition, mass and charge of $α$ -, $β$ - and $γ$ -radiations (both $β^{-}$ (electrons) and $β^{+}$ (positrons) are included) 2 question items · 2 papers 4 marks · 2025 8 understand that an antiparticle has the same mass but opposite charge to the corresponding particle, and that a positron is the antiparticle of an electron 2 question items · 2 papers 4 marks · 2025 9 state that (electron) antineutrinos are produced during $β^{-}$ decay and (electron) neutrinos are produced during $β^{+}$ decay 6 question items · 6 papers 11 marks · 2025–2026 10 understand that $α$ -particles have discrete energies but that $β$ -particles have a continuous range of energies because (anti)neutrinos are emitted in $β$ -decay 2 question items · 2 papers 4 marks · 2025–2026 11 represent $α$ - and $β$ -decay by a radioactive decay equation of the form $_{92}^{238} U \to_{90}^{234} T h +_{2}^{4} α$ 6 question items · 6 papers 14 marks · 2025–2026 12 use the unified atomic mass unit (u) as a unit of mass 4 question items · 4 papers 10 marks · 2025–2026

Topic question rules and edge cases

How many subtopics does Atoms, nuclei and radiation contain?: This page lists 12 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.

9702 P2 Atoms, nuclei and radiation Topic Questions

Topic question count and mark distribution

Questions by subtopic

Marks by subtopic

Subtopic comparison matrix

Browse every topic question

Other topics in 9702 P2

Topic question rules and edge cases