Edexcel IAL · Physics · WPH12 · Waves and Particle Nature of Light

Topic Questions: 45 know and understand that at the interface between medium 1 and medium 2 where refractive index is — WPH12 Waves and Particle Nature of Light

56 WPH12 Waves and Particle Nature of Light topic questions are tagged to this syllabus point across 22 papers (2019–2026). Only the parts whose knowledge graph matches this syllabus statement are counted, and the table shows which parts of each question are involved.

56 topic questions 22 papers 147 tagged marks 12.0% of topic questions 12.9% of topic marks 2019–2026 Syllabus 2018–current

Core finding

This Waves and Particle Nature of Light syllabus point appears in 22 WPH12 papers across 2019–2026, contributing 56 topic questions and 147 marks. The most recent appearance is WPH12/01 January 2026. That equals 12.0% of the 468 topic questions and 12.9% of the 1,138 marks tagged to Waves and Particle Nature of Light. Only parts tagged to this subtopic are counted, so a four-part question can contribute one item and one part's marks. The table lists every matching question, its tagged parts and marks, with a link back to the paper page. Sessions are newest first, so the statement can be traced back through the full paper history.

Topic questions by session

Newest sessions first. Parts and marks count only the parts tagged to this subtopic; “x of y parts” shows how much of the question is tagged elsewhere. Select the paper cell to open the matching question on the paper page, or use Go to Practice Hub to answer that exact question in the Interactive Practice Hub.

PaperQuestionTypePartsMarksDifficultyPractice
WPH12/01January 2026 · Edexcel IAL Q20
Glycerol Refractometer Experiment - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q20
FRQ 3 parts ((a)(i), (a)(ii), (b)) 8 Hard Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/02January 2026 · Edexcel IAL Q16
Refractive Index and Dipstick Optical Mechanics - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q16
FRQ 2 of 3 parts ((a), (b)) 6
of 10 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/02January 2026 · Edexcel IAL Q18
Oceanic Acoustics Refraction - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q18
FRQ 1 of 3 parts ((a)) 5
of 9 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2025 · Edexcel IAL Q14
Refraction in a Semicircular Glass Block - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2025 Q14
FRQ 3 of 4 parts ((a), (b)(i), (b)(ii)) 4
of 8 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/02October 2025 · Edexcel IAL Q13
Refractive Index dispersion in Glass Block - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2025 Q13
FRQ 2 parts ((a), (b)) 9 Hard Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2025 · Edexcel IAL Q1
Speed of Light in Vegetable Oil - Edexcel IAL Physics May 2025 Q1
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2025 · Edexcel IAL Q12
Snell's Law and Polarisation with Ray Box - Edexcel IAL Physics May 2025 Q12
FRQ 2 of 4 parts ((a)(i), (a)(ii)) 3
of 9 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2025 · Edexcel IAL Q18
Light Propagation and Cladding in Optical Fibres - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2025 Q18
FRQ 1 of 4 parts ((a)) 3
of 13 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2024 · Edexcel IAL Q17
Refraction and Total Internal Reflection - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2024 Q17
FRQ 2 parts ((a), (b)) 8 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2024 · Edexcel IAL Q3
Refractive Index at Boundary - Edexcel IAL Physics June 2024 Q3
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2024 · Edexcel IAL Q18
Camera Prism Optics & Sensor Quantum Detection - Edexcel IAL Physics June 2024 Q18
FRQ 1 of 4 parts ((a)) 2
of 13 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2024 · Edexcel IAL Q1
Refraction and Reflection - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2024 Q1
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2024 · Edexcel IAL Q13
Hydro-beads Refractive Index - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2024 Q13
FRQ 2 of 3 parts ((a), (b)(i)) 4
of 7 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q1
Diffraction Grating Formula Units - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2023 Q1
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q16
Solar Cell Thin Coating and Efficiency - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2023 Q16
FRQ 1 of 3 parts ((b)) 4
of 11 on the paper
Hard Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q18
Snell's Law, Wavefronts and Critical Angle - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2023 Q18
FRQ 2 of 4 parts ((a), (b)) 7
of 14 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q3
Refraction of Monochromatic Light - Edexcel IAL Physics May 2023 Q3
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q13
Refractive Index and Polarisation - Edexcel IAL Physics May 2023 Q13
FRQ 1 of 3 parts ((a)) 3
of 8 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q12
Refractive Index of Glass - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2023 Q12
FRQ 3 parts ((a)(i), (a)(ii), (b)) 6 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q8
Light Interactions with Glass Block - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2022 Q8
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q16
Optical Fibres and Total Internal Reflection - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2022 Q16
FRQ 2 of 4 parts ((a)(i), (b)(i)) 6
of 11 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q11
Refraction and Critical Angle in Glass - Edexcel IAL Physics June 2022 Q11
FRQ 2 parts ((a), (b)) 8 Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q5
Light Refraction in Multiple Media - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2022 Q5
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q16
Wave Properties, Refraction and Polarisation - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2022 Q16
FRQ 3 of 5 parts ((b)(i), (b)(ii), (b)(iii)) 8
of 12 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2021 · Edexcel IAL Q11
Gemstone Refraction and Internal Reflection - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2021 Q11
FRQ 2 of 3 parts ((a), (b)(i)) 7
of 9 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2021 · Edexcel IAL Q13
Refraction and Total Internal Reflection in Glass - Edexcel IAL Physics June 2021 Q13
FRQ 1 of 2 parts ((a)) 5
of 9 on the paper
Hard Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2021 · Edexcel IAL Q15
Refraction of Light in a Cup - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2021 Q15
FRQ 2 parts ((a), (b)) 5 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2020 · Edexcel IAL Q11
Snell's Law and Critical Angle - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2020 Q11
FRQ 1 of 2 parts ((a)) 2
of 4 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2020 · Edexcel IAL Q16
Sound Propagation in Sea Water - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2020 Q16
FRQ 1 of 3 parts ((a)) 5
of 9 on the paper
Hard Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2020 · Edexcel IAL Q8
Refraction of Transverse and Longitudinal Waves - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2020 Q8
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01January 2020 · Edexcel IAL Q15
Water Wave Refraction and Calculations - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2020 Q15
FRQ 2 of 3 parts ((a), (b)(i)) 7
of 10 on the paper
Hard Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2019 · Edexcel IAL Q3
Refractive Index of Water - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2019 Q3
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01October 2019 · Edexcel IAL Q18
Light Polarisation and the Brewster Angle - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2019 Q18
FRQ 3 of 5 parts ((c)(i), (c)(ii), (c)(iii)) 7
of 11 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH12/01June 2019 · Edexcel IAL Q18
Refraction and Total Internal Reflection in Endoscopes - Edexcel IAL Physics May 2019 Q18
FRQ 2 of 3 parts ((b), (c)) 6
of 8 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub

Topic question rules and edge cases

How many topic questions cover this syllabus point?
34 question stems cover this subtopic across 22 papers, but only 56 tagged parts and 147 marks belong to it. Other parts of the same questions are assessed under different statements and are excluded from this page.
Which papers include this subtopic?
The table lists every matching session from 2019–2026. Each row links to the question anchor on the paper page, where the full paper context and practice entry point are available.
Why can one question appear under several subtopics?
The parts of one question can assess different syllabus statements. Each part is counted under its own subtopics, so the same question stem can appear on several subtopic pages while each page lists only the parts and marks tagged to that statement.
Can I practise these questions with AI marking?
Yes. Open a paper from the table and use the Interactive Practice Hub entry point. The page itself is static HTML so search engines and retrieval agents can read the full question list without executing JavaScript.