Leaving Cert Physics: the new 2027 exam, the investigation and practice questions

The Leaving Cert Physics exam in 2027

The weightings are in the NCCA specification, introduced to schools in September 2025, and the marks and question choice are in the Assessment Arrangements 2027. As a new subject, Physics doesn't get the extra choice older subjects have. The SEC sets and marks both parts, and its sample papers are linked from the arrangements.

The SEC hasn't published 2027 exam dates yet (as of 7 November 2026). In 2026 the written exams ran from 3 to 23 June, with results on Friday 21 August (Department of Education and Youth).

The Physics in Practice Investigation

The SEC issues a brief during fifth year, and the 2027 brief is available. The specification expects the investigation to take up to 20 hours. You research an issue linked to the brief, plan and carry out an experiment to gather primary data, analyse it, and present an evidence-based response in a report submitted in sixth year. Record everything in a log as you go, including what went wrong and how you'd improve it.

What Leaving Cert Physics covers

• The Nature of Science (the unifying strand): how physics builds and tests models.
• Forces and Motion: motion in a straight line, forces, stretching and compressing, work and energy, gravitational fields and uniform circular motion.
• Wave Motion and Energy Transfer: heat and temperature change, travelling waves, electromagnetic and sound energy, superposition and wave effects such as Young's slits.
• Electric and Magnetic Fields: charge, electric fields, circuits, magnetic fields, the force on a current-carrying conductor, and induction and the generator.
• Modern Physics: the electron, photoelectric emission and X-rays, models of the atom, radioactivity and half-life, mass energy equivalence and nuclear energy.

Grades run from H1 to H8 and O1 to O8, in 10% bands, with CAO points from 100 for an H1 (CAO grading scale).

Leaving Cert Physics practice questions

We wrote these Higher level questions for this guide. Write the equation, substitute, and give the unit.

1. Motion in a straight line

Question: a cyclist moving at 5 m/s accelerates at 2 m/s² for 6 s. Find the final velocity and the distance covered. Answer: v = u + at = 5 + 2 × 6 = 17 m/s. s = ut + ½at² = 30 + 36 = 66 m. Check it with the SUVAT Calculator.

2. Uniform circular motion

Question: a 0.20 kg ball on a string moves in a circle of radius 0.50 m at 4.0 m/s. Find the centripetal force. Answer: F = mv² ÷ r = 0.20 × 16 ÷ 0.50 = 6.4 N, directed towards the centre.

3. Heat transfer

Question: how much energy raises 2.0 kg of water by 25 K? (c = 4180 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹.) Answer: E = mcΔθ = 2.0 × 4180 × 25 = 209 000 J.

4. Photoelectric emission

Question: why does dim ultraviolet light release electrons from zinc when bright red light doesn't? Answer: light arrives as photons with energy E = hf. A red photon has less energy than zinc's work function, however many arrive, while an ultraviolet photon has enough to free an electron on its own. Brightness only changes how many photons arrive. Try a photon energy question in our Light and Energy course and press Mark.

5. Half-life

Question: a sample contains 8 g of an isotope with a half-life of 5 days. How much is left after 15 days? Answer: 15 days is 3 half-lives: 8 → 4 → 2 → 1 g. See the curve in the Half-Life Calculator.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the investigation late. It's 40% of the grade: start early and keep your log.
• Centripetal force pointing outwards. It acts towards the centre.
• Brighter light, more energetic electrons. No: frequency sets the photon energy, intensity sets the number.
• Missing units and unconverted values, such as grams for kilograms.

Use a daily paper as a short timed mock

Our daily papers can only practise part of the written exam, which is 60% of your grade, and none of the investigation. Mechanics and Waves covers motion, forces, energy, waves and the photoelectric effect; Electricity and Modern Physics covers fields, capacitors, induction, circular motion and nuclear physics; and Physics (Ordinary Level) suits Ordinary level. A few topics, such as simple harmonic motion and the gas laws, aren't in the new specification, so skip those. For when mocks happen, see our Leaving Cert mocks guide.

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