NCEA Level 1 Physics, Earth and Space Science formula sheet

Formula sheet

The card below opens today's Level 1 Physics, Earth and Space Science paper with the sheet in the drawer. The contents follow in our own layout. They come from the 2025 resource sheet for 92047, the latest NZQA has published. The other Level 1 standard in the exam, 92046, is about the Sun and the Earth-Moon system and works from the information in the paper, with no formulae.

Energy and electricity (92047)

The sheet also gives g = 10 N kg⁻¹, which is a rounder value than the 9.8 and 9.81 used at Levels 2 and 3.

What the letters mean

The sheet does not name the symbols or give units. These are the ones the formulae use:

What is not on the sheet

• Values for c and L. The specific heat capacity of water and the latent heat of a substance come with the question.
• Speed and acceleration formulae. Nothing for speed = distance ÷ time or for forces beyond W = Fd.
• Efficiency and the energy transfers between types. NZQA's 2026 specification says the paper has three questions, on mechanical energy, thermal energy and electrical energy, and answers combine description, diagrams, graphs and calculations.
• Rearranging. Every line has one quantity alone.
• Units. A calculation needs the right unit to earn the mark.

NZQA's specification says an approved calculator is needed. It does not say a ruler or protractor is, as it does at Levels 2 and 3.

How to use the sheet in the exam

1. Say which kind of energy the question is about: kinetic, gravitational potential, thermal, work or electrical.
2. Find the line with the quantities you have.
3. Substitute with units and rearrange if needed.
4. Write a sentence about what the answer means, because 92047 asks for descriptions as well as calculations.

Thermal energy and power

A 2200 W jug heats 1.2 kg of water from 15 °C to the boil at 100 °C. The question gives the specific heat capacity of water as 4180 J/kg °C. The thermal line gives the energy, and the energy-and-power line gives the time if no energy is lost:

That is a little over 3 minutes. The temperature change is 100 − 15 = 85 °C, not 100.

Gravitational potential energy

A 52 kg climber scrambles up a rock face 6.0 m high. With g = 10 N kg⁻¹ from the sheet:

The work done against gravity is the same: the climber's weight is 520 N, and W = Fd = 520 × 6.0 = 3120 J. Practise power and energy in our Electricity course, then press Mark to check your answer there:

The Level 1 sheet and the others

The Level 2 Physics sheet has around 40 lines, adds linear motion, waves and electricity, and uses g = 9.8. For how Level 1 works, see the NCEA Level 1 Physics, Earth and Space Science guide.

Exam answers

The answers and a worked mark scheme come with today's paper once it is marked. Sit the paper with the sheet open beside you, mark it, and the worked answers show which line each question wanted. We do not publish official or past paper answers. Every question on the daily paper is our own.

Use the sheet with today's paper

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on the NCEA Level 1 Physics, Earth and Space Science track. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full NCEA exam, and it is not written by NZQA. Open the sheet from the paper itself and practise choosing the line.

Common mistakes with the Level 1 Physics sheet

• Using 100 as the temperature change. It is final minus start.
• Using 9.8 instead of 10. Use the g on the sheet.
• Forgetting to square the speed in kinetic energy.
• Mixing up c and L. c is for a temperature change, L is for a change of state.

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