Edexcel IAL · Physics · WPH15 · Nuclear Decay
Topic Questions: 139 be able to write and interpret nuclear equations given the relevant particle symbols — WPH15 Nuclear Decay
26 WPH15 Nuclear Decay topic questions are tagged to this syllabus point across 20 papers (2020–2026). Only the parts whose knowledge graph matches this syllabus statement are counted, and the table shows which parts of each question are involved.
Core finding
This Nuclear Decay syllabus point appears in 20 WPH15 papers across 2020–2026, contributing 26 topic questions and 54 marks. The most recent appearance is WPH15/01 January 2026. That equals 14.6% of the 178 topic questions and 11.9% of the 455 marks tagged to Nuclear Decay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPH15/01January 2026 · Edexcel IAL | Q19 Polonium Decay and Lead-210 Radioactive Dating - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q19 |
FRQ | 2 of 5 parts ((a)(ii), (b)(i)) | 4 of 15 on the paper |
Medium | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/02January 2026 · Edexcel IAL | Q18 Helium-3 Nuclear Reactions and Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q18 |
FRQ | 3 of 6 parts ((a)(i), (b)(i), (b)(ii)) | 7 of 16 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2025 · Edexcel IAL | Q17 Nuclear Decay - Radioactive Meltdown - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2025 Q17 |
FRQ | 1 of 3 parts ((a)) | 2 of 8 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/02October 2025 · Edexcel IAL | Q17 Nuclear Meltdown and Isotopes - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2025 Q17 |
FRQ | 1 of 3 parts ((a)) | 2 of 8 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01June 2025 · Edexcel IAL | Q20 Nuclear decay of Plutonium-238 - Edexcel IAL Physics June 2025 Q20 |
FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((a)) | 2 of 15 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01January 2025 · Edexcel IAL | Q21 Promethium Beta Decay and Binding Energy - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2025 Q21 |
FRQ | 1 of 4 parts ((a)(ii)) | 2 of 12 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2024 · Edexcel IAL | Q21 Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 5 Oct 2024 Q21 |
FRQ | 1 of 4 parts ((a)(i)) | 2 of 13 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01June 2024 · Edexcel IAL | Q17 Iodine-131 Decay Equations & Activity - Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 5 Jun 2024 Q17 |
FRQ | 1 of 3 parts ((a)) | 2 of 10 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01January 2024 · Edexcel IAL | Q19 Nuclear Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2024 Q19 |
FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((c)(i)) | 2 of 13 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2023 · Edexcel IAL | Q13 Nuclear Transmutation Reaction Energy - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2023 Q13 |
FRQ | 1 of 2 parts ((a)) | 4 of 6 on the paper |
Medium | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01June 2023 · Edexcel IAL | Q11 Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 5 June 2023 Q11 |
FRQ | 1 of 2 parts ((a)) | 2 of 5 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01January 2023 · Edexcel IAL | Q15 Radioactive Decay of Caesium-137 - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2023 Q15 |
FRQ | 1 of 2 parts ((a)) | 2 of 6 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2022 · Edexcel IAL | Q18 Artificial Radioactivity and Positron Emission - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2022 Q18 |
FRQ | 1 of 3 parts ((a)(i)) | 1 of 9 on the paper |
Medium | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2022 · Edexcel IAL | Q20 Fission and Caesium-137 Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2022 Q20 |
FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((b)(i)) | 2 of 14 on the paper |
Medium | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01June 2022 · Edexcel IAL | Q13 Potassium-40 Radioactive Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Jun 2022 Q13 |
FRQ | 1 of 3 parts ((a)) | 2 of 7 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01January 2022 · Edexcel IAL | Q20 Actinium-225 Radioactive Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2022 Q20 |
FRQ | 1 of 4 parts ((a)) | 2 of 14 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/02January 2022 · Edexcel IAL | Q20 Atomic Energy Lab Experiments - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2022 Q20 |
FRQ | 1 of 4 parts ((a)) | 2 of 12 on the paper |
Medium | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2021 · Edexcel IAL | Q13 Thorium-228 Radioactive Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2021 Unit 5 Q13 |
FRQ | 1 of 2 parts ((a)) | 4 of 8 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2021 · Edexcel IAL | Q19 Cobalt-60 Radioactive Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2021 Unit 5 Q19 |
FRQ | 1 of 4 parts ((a)(i)) | 2 of 9 on the paper |
Medium | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01June 2021 · Edexcel IAL | Q18 Nuclear Fission and Binding Energy of Uranium - Edexcel IAL Physics Jun 2021 Q18 |
FRQ | 1 of 6 parts ((c)) | 2 of 14 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01January 2021 · Edexcel IAL | Q19 Radioactive Decay - potassium-40 beta decay |
FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((a)(i)) | 2 of 14 on the paper |
Medium | Go to Practice Hub |
| WPH15/01October 2020 · Edexcel IAL | Q18 Nuclear Synthesis and Decay of Oganesson - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2020 Q18 |
FRQ | 2 of 5 parts ((a), (b)(i)) | 2 of 12 on the paper |
Easy | Go to Practice Hub |
Related topic questions in Nuclear Decay
133 understand the concept of nuclear binding energy and be able to use the equation in calculations of nuclear mass (including mass deficit) and energy
122 marks · 2020–2026
134 use the atomic mass unit (u) to express small masses and convert between this and SI units
77 marks · 2020–2026
135 understand the processes of nuclear fusion and fission with reference to the binding energy per nucleon curve
42 marks · 2020–2026
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
40 marks · 2020–2026
137 understand that there is background radiation and how to take appropriate account of it in calculations
13 marks · 2020–2026
138 understand the relationships between the nature, penetration, ionising ability and range in different materials of nuclear radiations (alpha, beta and gamma)
53 marks · 2020–2026
Topic question rules and edge cases
- How many topic questions cover this syllabus point?
- 22 question stems cover this subtopic across 20 papers, but only 26 tagged parts and 54 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 2020–2026. 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.