# 9702 P4 Characteristics of alternating currents Topic Questions

> CIE IAL 9702 P4: every Characteristics of alternating cur… topic question from 9 papers (2025–2026), grouped by syllabus point. 21 questions, 41 marks, with…

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CIE IAL · Physics · 9702 P4 · A Level

Every 9702 P4 Characteristics of alternating currents topic question from the 2025–2027 syllabus, drawn from 9 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 P4
- 4 subtopics
- 21 topic questions
- 9 papers
- 41 tagged marks
- [Back to Characteristics of alternating currents](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/)
- [All paper codes](https://www.examsci.com/topics/)

Core finding

**4 distinguish between root-mean-square (r.m.s.) and peak values and… is the most frequently assessed subtopic in Characteristics of alternating currents, with 8 topic questions and 18 marks across 6 papers.** 1 understand and use the terms period, frequency and peak… follows with 7 topic questions and 10 marks. The topic contains 4 subtopics, 21 topic questions and 41 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

- [4 distinguish between root-mean-square (r.m.s.) and peak values and recall and use $I_{r.m.s.} = I_0 / \sqrt{2}$ and $V_{r.m.s.} = V_0 / \sqrt{2}$ for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/4-distinguish-between-root-mean-square-r-m-s-and-peak-values-and-recall-and-use-i-r-m/) (6 papers) — 8 · 30.8%
- [1 understand and use the terms period, frequency and peak value as applied to an alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/1-understand-and-use-the-terms-period-frequency-and-peak-value-as-applied-to-an/) (4 papers) — 7 · 26.9%
- [2 use equations of the form $x = x_0 \sin\omega t$ representing a sinusoidally alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/2-use-equations-of-the-form-x-x-0-sin-omega-t-representing-a-sinusoidally-alternating/) (5 papers) — 7 · 26.9%
- [3 recall and use the fact that the mean power in a resistive load is half the maximum power for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/3-recall-and-use-the-fact-that-the-mean-power-in-a-resistive-load-is-half-the-maximum/) (2 papers) — 4 · 15.4%

### Marks by subtopic

marks

- [4 distinguish between root-mean-square (r.m.s.) and peak values and recall and use $I_{r.m.s.} = I_0 / \sqrt{2}$ and $V_{r.m.s.} = V_0 / \sqrt{2}$ for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/4-distinguish-between-root-mean-square-r-m-s-and-peak-values-and-recall-and-use-i-r-m/) (6 papers) — 18 · 35.3%
- [2 use equations of the form $x = x_0 \sin\omega t$ representing a sinusoidally alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/2-use-equations-of-the-form-x-x-0-sin-omega-t-representing-a-sinusoidally-alternating/) (5 papers) — 13 · 25.5%
- [1 understand and use the terms period, frequency and peak value as applied to an alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/1-understand-and-use-the-terms-period-frequency-and-peak-value-as-applied-to-an/) (4 papers) — 10 · 19.6%
- [3 recall and use the fact that the mean power in a resistive load is half the maximum power for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/3-recall-and-use-the-fact-that-the-mean-power-in-a-resistive-load-is-half-the-maximum/) (2 papers) — 10 · 19.6%

## 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 understand and use the terms period, frequency and peak value as applied to an alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/1-understand-and-use-the-terms-period-frequency-and-peak-value-as-applied-to-an/)** | 7 | 4 | 10 | 2025–2026 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/1-understand-and-use-the-terms-period-frequency-and-peak-value-as-applied-to-an/) |
| **[2 use equations of the form $x = x_0 \sin\omega t$ representing a sinusoidally alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/2-use-equations-of-the-form-x-x-0-sin-omega-t-representing-a-sinusoidally-alternating/)** | 7 | 5 | 13 | 2025–2026 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/2-use-equations-of-the-form-x-x-0-sin-omega-t-representing-a-sinusoidally-alternating/) |
| **[3 recall and use the fact that the mean power in a resistive load is half the maximum power for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/3-recall-and-use-the-fact-that-the-mean-power-in-a-resistive-load-is-half-the-maximum/)** | 4 | 2 | 10 | 2025 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/3-recall-and-use-the-fact-that-the-mean-power-in-a-resistive-load-is-half-the-maximum/) |
| **[4 distinguish between root-mean-square (r.m.s.) and peak values and recall and use $I_{r.m.s.} = I_0 / \sqrt{2}$ and $V_{r.m.s.} = V_0 / \sqrt{2}$ for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/4-distinguish-between-root-mean-square-r-m-s-and-peak-values-and-recall-and-use-i-r-m/)** | 8 | 6 | 18 | 2025–2026 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/4-distinguish-between-root-mean-square-r-m-s-and-peak-values-and-recall-and-use-i-r-m/) |

## Browse every topic question

- [1 understand and use the terms period, frequency and peak value as applied to an alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/1-understand-and-use-the-terms-period-frequency-and-peak-value-as-applied-to-an/) — 7 question items · 4 papers — 10 marks · 2025–2026
- [2 use equations of the form $x = x_0 \sin\omega t$ representing a sinusoidally alternating current or voltage](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/2-use-equations-of-the-form-x-x-0-sin-omega-t-representing-a-sinusoidally-alternating/) — 7 question items · 5 papers — 13 marks · 2025–2026
- [3 recall and use the fact that the mean power in a resistive load is half the maximum power for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/3-recall-and-use-the-fact-that-the-mean-power-in-a-resistive-load-is-half-the-maximum/) — 4 question items · 2 papers — 10 marks · 2025
- [4 distinguish between root-mean-square (r.m.s.) and peak values and recall and use $I_{r.m.s.} = I_0 / \sqrt{2}$ and $V_{r.m.s.} = V_0 / \sqrt{2}$ for a sinusoidal alternating current](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/characteristics-of-alternating-currents/4-distinguish-between-root-mean-square-r-m-s-and-peak-values-and-recall-and-use-i-r-m/) — 8 question items · 6 papers — 18 marks · 2025–2026

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- [Electric potential 26 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/electric-potential/)
- [Electromagnetic induction 18 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/electromagnetic-induction/)

## Topic question rules and edge cases

**How many subtopics does Characteristics of alternating currents contain?**

This page lists 4 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.

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