Edexcel IAL · Physics · WPH15 · Nuclear Decay

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 , , and and and derive and use the corresponding log equations. — WPH15 Nuclear Decay

38 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.

38 topic questions 20 papers 119 tagged marks 21.3% of topic questions 26.2% of topic marks 2020–2026 Syllabus 2018–current

Core finding

This Nuclear Decay syllabus point appears in 20 WPH15 papers across 2020–2026, contributing 38 topic questions and 119 marks. The most recent appearance is WPH15/01 January 2026. That equals 21.3% of the 178 topic questions and 26.2% 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.

PaperQuestionTypePartsMarksDifficultyPractice
WPH15/01January 2026 · Edexcel IAL Q19
Polonium Decay and Lead-210 Radioactive Dating - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2026 Q19
FRQ 1 of 5 parts ((b)(ii)) 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 2 of 6 parts ((c)(i), (c)(ii)) 6
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 2 of 3 parts ((b)(i), (b)(ii)) 6
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 2 of 3 parts ((b)(i), (b)(ii)) 6
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 2 of 5 parts ((b)(ii), (b)(iii)) 7
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)(iii)) 4
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 ((b)) 4
of 13 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01June 2024 · Edexcel IAL Q14
Lead Absorption of Gamma Radiation - Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 5 Jun 2024 Q14
FRQ 1 of 3 parts ((c)) 3
of 6 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 2 of 3 parts ((b)(i), (b)(ii)) 8
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 2 of 5 parts ((c)(ii), (c)(iii)) 6
of 13 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01October 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q19
Decay Calculations of Caesium-137 - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2023 Q19
FRQ 4 parts ((a)(i), (a)(ii), (a)(iii), (b)) 10 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01June 2023 · Edexcel IAL Q16
Edexcel IAL Physics Unit 5 June 2023 Q16
FRQ 1 of 2 parts ((b)) 4
of 8 on the paper
Medium 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 ((b)) 4
of 6 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01October 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q20
Fission and Caesium-137 Decay - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2022 Q20
FRQ 2 of 5 parts ((c)(i), (c)(ii)) 9
of 14 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01June 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q3
Base Units Identification - Edexcel IAL Physics Jun 2022 Q3
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01June 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q9
Bismuth Radioactive Decay Graph - Edexcel IAL Physics Jun 2022 Q9
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Easy 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 ((c)) 3
of 7 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01January 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q4
Tritium Half-Life Calculation - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2022 Q4
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Medium 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 ((d)) 4
of 14 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/02January 2022 · Edexcel IAL Q5
Absorption of Gamma Radiation - Edexcel IAL Physics Jan 2022 Q5
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 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 ((b)) 4
of 12 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01October 2021 · Edexcel IAL Q6
Radioactive Activity Calculation - Edexcel IAL Physics Oct 2021 Unit 5 Q6
MCQ MCQ · 1 part 1 Medium 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 ((b)) 3
of 9 on the paper
Medium Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01June 2021 · Edexcel IAL Q19
Plutonium-238 Pacemaker Analysis - Edexcel IAL Physics Jun 2021 Q19
FRQ 1 of 3 parts ((b)) 5
of 13 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01January 2021 · Edexcel IAL Q15
Radiation Absorption - gamma absorption by iron
FRQ 1 part 6 Hard Go to Practice Hub
WPH15/01January 2021 · Edexcel IAL Q19
Radioactive Decay - potassium-40 beta decay
FRQ 2 of 5 parts ((b)(i), (b)(ii)) 5
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 1 of 5 parts ((c)) 3
of 12 on the paper
Easy Go to Practice Hub

Topic question rules and edge cases

How many topic questions cover this syllabus point?
27 question stems cover this subtopic across 20 papers, but only 38 tagged parts and 119 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.