Edexcel IAL · Physics · WPH15 · A Level

WPH15 Nuclear Decay Topic Questions

Every WPH15 Nuclear Decay topic question from the 2018–current syllabus, drawn from 20 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.

WPH15 10 subtopics 178 topic questions 20 papers 455 tagged marks

Back to Nuclear Decay All paper codes

Core finding

133 understand the concept of nuclear binding energy and be able to… is the most frequently assessed subtopic in Nuclear Decay, with 38 topic questions and 122 marks across 20 papers. 142 be able to determine the half-lives of radioactive… follows with 38 topic questions and 119 marks. The topic contains 10 subtopics, 178 topic questions and 455 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

133 understand the concept of nuclear binding energy and be able to use the equation

Δ E = c^{2} Δ m

in calculations of nuclear mass (including mass deficit) and energy 20 papers

3818.2%

142 be able to determine the half-lives of radioactive isotopes graphically and be able to use the equations for radioactive decay activity

A = λ N

\frac{d N}{d t} = - λ N

N = N_{0} e^{- λ t}

and

A = A_{0} e^{- λ t}

and

λ = \frac{l n 2}{t _{\frac{1}{2}}}

and derive and use the corresponding log equations. 20 papers

3818.2%

139 be able to write and interpret nuclear equations given the relevant particle symbols 20 papers

2612.4%

135 understand the processes of nuclear fusion and fission with reference to the binding energy per nucleon curve 15 papers

2311.0%

138 understand the relationships between the nature, penetration, ionising ability and range in different materials of nuclear radiations (alpha, beta and gamma) 18 papers

2311.0%

134 use the atomic mass unit (u) to express small masses and convert between this and SI units 16 papers

188.6%

140 CORE PRACTICAL 15: Investigate the absorption of gamma radiation by lead 11 papers

136.2%

136 understand the mechanism of nuclear fusion and the need for very high densities of matter and very high temperatures to bring about and maintain nuclear fusion 11 papers

125.7%

137 understand that there is background radiation and how to take appropriate account of it in calculations 10 papers

104.8%

141 understand the spontaneous and random nature of nuclear decay 6 papers

83.8%

Marks by subtopic

marks

133 understand the concept of nuclear binding energy and be able to use the equation

Δ E = c^{2} Δ m

in calculations of nuclear mass (including mass deficit) and energy 20 papers

12221.7%

142 be able to determine the half-lives of radioactive isotopes graphically and be able to use the equations for radioactive decay activity

A = λ N

\frac{d N}{d t} = - λ N

N = N_{0} e^{- λ t}

and

A = A_{0} e^{- λ t}

and

λ = \frac{l n 2}{t _{\frac{1}{2}}}

and derive and use the corresponding log equations. 20 papers

11921.2%

134 use the atomic mass unit (u) to express small masses and convert between this and SI units 16 papers

7713.7%

139 be able to write and interpret nuclear equations given the relevant particle symbols 20 papers

549.6%

138 understand the relationships between the nature, penetration, ionising ability and range in different materials of nuclear radiations (alpha, beta and gamma) 18 papers

539.4%

135 understand the processes of nuclear fusion and fission with reference to the binding energy per nucleon curve 15 papers

427.5%

136 understand the mechanism of nuclear fusion and the need for very high densities of matter and very high temperatures to bring about and maintain nuclear fusion 11 papers

407.1%

140 CORE PRACTICAL 15: Investigate the absorption of gamma radiation by lead 11 papers

295.2%

137 understand that there is background radiation and how to take appropriate account of it in calculations 10 papers

132.3%

141 understand the spontaneous and random nature of nuclear decay 6 papers

132.3%

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
133 understand the concept of nuclear binding energy and be able to use the equation $Δ E = c^{2} Δ m$ in calculations of nuclear mass (including mass deficit) and energy	38	20	122	2020–2026	Open topic questions
134 use the atomic mass unit (u) to express small masses and convert between this and SI units	18	16	77	2020–2026	Open topic questions
135 understand the processes of nuclear fusion and fission with reference to the binding energy per nucleon curve	23	15	42	2020–2026	Open topic questions
136 understand the mechanism of nuclear fusion and the need for very high densities of matter and very high temperatures to bring about and maintain nuclear fusion	12	11	40	2020–2026	Open topic questions
137 understand that there is background radiation and how to take appropriate account of it in calculations	10	10	13	2020–2026	Open topic questions
138 understand the relationships between the nature, penetration, ionising ability and range in different materials of nuclear radiations (alpha, beta and gamma)	23	18	53	2020–2026	Open topic questions
139 be able to write and interpret nuclear equations given the relevant particle symbols	26	20	54	2020–2026	Open topic questions
140 CORE PRACTICAL 15: Investigate the absorption of gamma radiation by lead	13	11	29	2020–2026	Open topic questions
141 understand the spontaneous and random nature of nuclear decay	8	6	13	2022–2026	Open topic questions
142 be able to determine the half-lives of radioactive isotopes graphically and be able to use the equations for radioactive decay activity $A = λ N$ , $\frac{d N}{d t} = - λ N$ , $N = N_{0} e^{- λ t}$ and $A = A_{0} e^{- λ t}$ and $λ = \frac{l n 2}{t _{\frac{1}{2}}}$ and derive and use the corresponding log equations.	38	20	119	2020–2026	Open topic questions

Browse every topic question

Topic question rules and edge cases

How many subtopics does Nuclear Decay contain?: This page lists 10 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.