# Topic Questions: 161 understand what is meant by a black body radiator and be able to interpret radiation curves for such a radiator — WPH15 Astrophysics and Cosmology

> 16 WPH15 Astrophysics and Cosmology topic questions (33 marks) on 161 understand what is meant by a black body… — 12 papers, 2021–2026. Open the exact…

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Edexcel IAL · Physics · WPH15 · Astrophysics and Cosmology

16 WPH15 Astrophysics and Cosmology topic questions are tagged to this syllabus point across 12 papers (2021–2026). Only the parts whose knowledge graph matches this syllabus statement are counted, and the table shows which parts of each question are involved.

- 16 topic questions
- 12 papers
- 33 tagged marks
- 5.3% of topic questions
- 4.6% of topic marks
- 2021–2026
- Syllabus 2018–current
- [All WPH15 Astrophysics and Cosmology topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/astrophysics-and-cosmology/)
- [All paper codes](https://www.examsci.com/topics/)

Core finding

**This Astrophysics and Cosmology syllabus point appears in 12 WPH15 papers across 2021–2026, contributing 16 topic questions and 33 marks.** The most recent appearance is WPH15/01 January 2026. That equals 5.3% of the 303 topic questions and 4.6% of the 725 marks tagged to Astrophysics and Cosmology. 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.

| Paper | Question | Type | Parts | Marks | Difficulty | Practice |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [**WPH15/01** January 2026 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2026-january-wph15-01/#q-18) | **Q18** Exoplanets and Stellar Characteristics of Trappist-1 - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q18 | FRQ | 1 of 6 parts ((a)(iii)) | 2 of 14 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=33df4133-3f97-49c4-8770-848b232eb7b1&question_id=065e9f95-d8d2-45bf-994f-5caa08dae9a0&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+January+2026) |
| [**WPH15/02** January 2026 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2026-january-wph15-02/#q-21) | **Q21** Stellar Radiation Curves and Wien's Law - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q21 | FRQ | 3 of 4 parts ((a)(i), (a)(ii), (a)(iii)) | 3 of 5 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=f63db731-6514-40da-90c9-5232288471cb&question_id=e673f89c-a70d-4f75-8084-ebb518973238&source_detail=WPH15%2F02+January+2026) |
| [**WPH15/01** October 2025 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2025-october-wph15-01/#q-7) | **Q7** Astrophysics - Black Body Radiators - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2025 Q7 | MCQ | MCQ · 1 part | 1 | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=a7fbae2d-76be-4ac0-9bd4-df3ed119c92f&question_id=d753daa2-a730-4e11-838d-b5c1f5ffbcf8&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+October+2025) |
| [**WPH15/02** October 2025 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2025-october-wph15-02/#q-7) | **Q7** Black Body Radiation Curves - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2025 Q7 | MCQ | MCQ · 1 part | 1 | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=e7442241-a09d-4872-a697-6e37dca804e8&question_id=9da9d0c2-d308-4ef3-b187-b58b5e096f25&source_detail=WPH15%2F02+October+2025) |
| [**WPH15/01** June 2025 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2025-june-wph15-01/#q-8) | **Q8** Black Body Radiation - Edexcel IAL Physics June 2025 Q8 | MCQ | MCQ · 1 part | 1 | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=2e30fb2a-dfff-4c32-b30f-fefebd92c451&question_id=2c3ec176-30f3-48f8-a86e-1e6ab6c75c9c&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+June+2025) |
| [**WPH15/01** January 2025 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2025-january-wph15-01/#q-18) | **Q18** Solar Absorption Lines and Doppler Effect - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2025 Q18 | FRQ | 1 of 2 parts ((a)) | 3 of 8 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40c335c3-e98a-43c8-b5d1-d1abedfaca1a&question_id=c7f8a050-cd4e-46f1-85cf-5ef534f5d45f&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+January+2025) |
| [**WPH15/01** January 2025 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2025-january-wph15-01/#q-19) | **Q19** Argon Bulb Gas Laws and Filament Black Body - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2025 Q19 | FRQ | 1 of 4 parts ((c)(ii)) | 1 of 10 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=40c335c3-e98a-43c8-b5d1-d1abedfaca1a&question_id=5a7c1ffc-256e-4695-bb6d-9ce796d371d1&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+January+2025) |
| [**WPH15/01** January 2024 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2024-january-wph15-01/#q-9) | **Q9** Astrophysics and Cosmology - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2024 Q9 | MCQ | MCQ · 1 part | 1 | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=81ae8d95-9845-43d2-85aa-56edeba0f606&question_id=aa2f1ead-d5b2-4292-8b54-777b0a040bde&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+January+2024) |
| [**WPH15/01** October 2022 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2022-october-wph15-01/#q-16) | **Q16** Stellar Characteristics of Gliese-876 - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2022 Q16 | FRQ | 2 parts ((a), (b)) | 8 | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=11a7a1e1-92c0-4c27-923f-84fabaf236e5&question_id=54ed7bc5-a49e-4f31-bb2a-bfede028ee1f&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+October+2022) |
| [**WPH15/01** June 2022 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2022-june-wph15-01/#q-18) | **Q18** Wolf 359 Parallax, Surface Temperature and Luminosity - Edexcel IAL Physics Jun 2022 Q18 | FRQ | 1 of 4 parts ((b)(i)) | 3 of 10 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=9a093fb4-7c1b-4987-9e36-33b3e20c2b25&question_id=df468d2a-17d3-45b3-ad51-45d46434d063&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+June+2022) |
| [**WPH15/01** January 2022 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2022-january-wph15-01/#q-15) | **Q15** Procyon Black Body Radiation - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2022 Q15 | FRQ | 1 part | 5 | Hard | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=ba0935d7-8bd2-4880-a14a-07ef68b24285&question_id=5051a761-4d96-4a0f-8dc2-146c6bc92bf0&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+January+2022) |
| [**WPH15/01** October 2021 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2021-october-wph15-01/#q-20) | **Q20** Evolution of the Sun - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2021 Unit 5 Q20 | FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((b)(iii)) | 3 of 12 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=85f00adf-61bf-4290-b7e1-556838a91d6f&question_id=f1867e3f-b3a0-422e-8984-81e95541254e&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+October+2021) |
| [**WPH15/01** June 2021 · Edexcel IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/2021-june-wph15-01/#q-10) | **Q10** Stellar Intensity Curve Analysis - Edexcel IAL Physics Jun 2021 Q10 | MCQ | MCQ · 1 part | 1 | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=ab093dfb-339d-4a8a-9997-6d539dfdc6b8&question_id=b9643ad4-c2b5-434c-811e-168540e2e68a&source_detail=WPH15%2F01+June+2021) |

## Related topic questions in Astrophysics and Cosmology

- [154 understand that a gravitational field (force field) is defined as a region where a mass experiences a force](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/astrophysics-and-cosmology/154-understand-that-a-gravitational-field-force-field-is-defined-as-a-region-where-a/) — 5 question items · 4 papers — 13 marks · 2021–2026
- [155 understand that gravitational field strength is defined as $g=\frac{F}{m}$ and be able to use this equation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/astrophysics-and-cosmology/155-understand-that-gravitational-field-strength-is-defined-as-g-frac-f-m-and-be-able/) — 5 question items · 5 papers — 12 marks · 2020–2026
- [156 be able to use the equation $F=\frac{Gm_{1}m_{2}}{r^{2}}$ (Newton's law of universal gravitation)](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/astrophysics-and-cosmology/156-be-able-to-use-the-equation-f-frac-gm-1-m-2-r-2-newton-s-law-of-universal/) — 24 question items · 15 papers — 62 marks · 2020–2026
- [157 be able to derive and use the equation $g=\frac{Gm}{r^{2}}$ for the gravitational field due to a point mass](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/astrophysics-and-cosmology/157-be-able-to-derive-and-use-the-equation-g-frac-gm-r-2-for-the-gravitational-field/) — 23 question items · 18 papers — 50 marks · 2020–2026
- [158 be able to use the equation $V_{grav}=\frac{-Gm}{r}$ for a radial gravitational field](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/astrophysics-and-cosmology/158-be-able-to-use-the-equation-v-grav-frac-gm-r-for-a-radial-gravitational-field/) — 29 question items · 19 papers — 61 marks · 2020–2026
- [159 be able to compare electric fields with gravitational fields](https://www.examsci.com/topics/edexcel-ial/physics/physics-unit-5-wph15/astrophysics-and-cosmology/159-be-able-to-compare-electric-fields-with-gravitational-fields/) — 5 question items · 5 papers — 11 marks · 2020–2025

## Topic question rules and edge cases

**How many topic questions cover this syllabus point?**

13 question stems cover this subtopic across 12 papers, but only 16 tagged parts and 33 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 2021–2026. 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.

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