Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625: papers, Core and Extended, dates and grades

IGCSE Physics papers

You sit three papers. Which multiple choice and theory paper depends on whether your school enters you for Core or Extended, and everyone sits one practical paper.

The multiple choice papers have 40 four-option questions, and the theory papers are short-answer and structured questions. Paper 5 is a hands-on practical test and Paper 6 is a written paper on the same experimental skills; your school chooses which. Calculators can be used in all papers. This is from the 2026 to 2028 syllabus (version 2, December 2025), which Cambridge says has no significant changes affecting teaching.

Core or Extended?

Cambridge says to enter Core if you have studied the Core content or are expected to get grade D or below, and Extended if you have studied the Core and Supplement content and are expected to get C or above. Core caps you at grade C; Extended opens A* and A. The Supplement content adds more depth and more equations in every topic.

IGCSE Physics exam dates 2027

The June 2027 series runs from 26 April to 11 June 2027. Cambridge publishes a timetable for each zone, so check yours with your exams officer. IGCSE Physics is also sat in November, and in March in India. Results for the November 2026 series come out on 14 January 2027. From 2027 Cambridge is moving June AS and A Level results earlier, but says all other results dates stay the same.

IGCSE Physics grade thresholds

Your three papers are weighted into a total out of 200. In June 2026, Cambridge set these thresholds for the most common paper combinations:

Other versions of the papers, sat in other time zones, had different thresholds (for 22, 42, 62 the A* was 161 and the C was 80), and thresholds change every series. Use them as a guide when you mark a past paper, not a promise.

What IGCSE Physics covers

• 1 Motion, forces and energy: speed and acceleration graphs, mass, weight and density, forces, momentum, energy, work and power, pressure.
• 2 Thermal physics: the kinetic particle model, thermal expansion, specific heat capacity, and conduction, convection and radiation.
• 3 Waves: wave properties, light (reflection, refraction, lenses), the electromagnetic spectrum and sound.
• 4 Electricity and magnetism: charge, current, voltage and resistance, circuits, electrical safety, electromagnetic effects.
• 5 Nuclear physics: the nuclear atom, radioactivity and half-life.
• 6 Space physics: the Earth and the Solar System, stars and the Universe.

The syllabus asks you to "recall and use" equations such as v = s/t and ρ = m/V, so learn them as you go.

Worked examples

Core: acceleration and distance from a speed-time graph

A car speeds up steadily from 4 m/s to 16 m/s in 6 s. Its acceleration is the gradient of the speed-time graph, and the distance travelled is the area beneath it:

Core: density of an irregular object

A stone of mass 150 g raises the water in a measuring cylinder by 60 cm³, so its volume is 60 cm³ and its density is 150 ÷ 60 = 2.5 g/cm³.

Extended: resistors in parallel

A 6 Ω and a 3 Ω resistor are in parallel across a 6 V supply. The combined resistance comes from 1/R = 1/6 + 1/3 = 1/2, so R = 2 Ω, and the total current is I = V/R = 6 ÷ 2 = 3 A. The combined resistance is less than either resistor on its own, as it always is in parallel.

Core: half-life

A source has a count rate of 800 counts per minute and a half-life of 3 hours, ignoring background. After 9 hours, three half-lives have passed, so the count rate is 800 ÷ 2³ = 100 counts per minute.

Practise using F = ma in our Laws of Motion course, then press Mark to check your answer in the course:

Use the daily paper as a short timed mock

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper for IGCSE Physics (Core) and IGCSE Physics (Extended). Each is a short timed mock: 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, with a suggested 30 to 40 minutes, marked when you finish. It is not a full Cambridge paper, and the questions are original, not past papers.

• What it covers well: motion and forces, momentum, energy, work and power, specific heat capacity, waves and the electromagnetic spectrum, circuits and mains electricity, electromagnetism, radioactivity and half-life, and space physics.
• What it does not cover: the experimental skills of Paper 5 and Paper 6, and the multiple choice format of Papers 1 and 2. Light and lenses get less attention than on the real papers.

For full papers under exam conditions, use Cambridge past papers from your teacher, and read our IGCSE mocks guide for when mocks happen and how to revise for them.

Common mistakes in IGCSE Physics

• Mixing up mass and weight. Mass is in kg; weight is a force in N, W = mg.
• Forgetting units or converting badly. Change g to kg and minutes to seconds before you substitute.
• Reading the wrong part of a graph. Gradient of speed-time is acceleration; area under it is distance.
• Rushing Paper 6. Tables need units in the headings, and graphs need sensible scales and a best-fit line.

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