National 5 Physics: the shorter 2027 exam, the assignment and practice questions

The National 5 Physics exam in 2027

So the course is marked out of 138, with the assignment worth about 20%. These figures are from the course specification valid from session 2026 to 2027, and the date is from the 2027 timetable. Until 2026 the paper had 135 marks over 2 hours 30 minutes. Qualifications Scotland made it shorter after a survey of learners and teachers. The course content hasn't changed, so you still need all of it.

The assignment: you research a topic, carry out an experiment and write a report. The whole task should take no more than 8 hours, with at most 1 hour 30 minutes for writing the report under supervision. Qualifications Scotland marks it.

What National 5 Physics covers

• Dynamics: vectors and scalars, velocity time graphs, acceleration, Newton's laws, energy and projectile motion.
• Space: space exploration and cosmology.
• Electricity: charge, Ohm's law, practical circuits and electrical power.
• Properties of matter: specific heat capacity, specific latent heat, and gas laws with the kinetic model.
• Waves: wave parameters and behaviours, the electromagnetic spectrum and refraction of light.
• Radiation: nuclear radiation, activity, half-life and dose.

National 5 Physics grade boundaries

In 2026, on the old format, out of 125 (the 135-mark paper scaled to 100, plus the assignment scaled to 25), an A needed 83, a B 68, a C 54 and a D 39. Of the 13,821 candidates, 31.9% got an A (course report 2026). The report says Section 1 and a few written questions were more demanding than expected, so the boundaries were lowered. The 2027 course is out of 138, so those numbers won't carry over. As a guide, the grading system aims for a C at about 50% and an A at about 70%.

National 5 Physics practice questions

We wrote these for this guide. Write the relationship, substitute, then give the answer with its unit: each step can earn a mark.

1. Velocity time graphs

Question: a car accelerates steadily from rest to 18 m/s in 8 s. Find its acceleration and the distance it covers. In the graph, x is time in seconds and y is velocity in m/s.

Answer: a = (v − u) ÷ t = 18 ÷ 8 = 2.25 m/s², the gradient of the line. For the distance, find the area of the triangle under the line: ½ × 8 × 18 = 72 m. The 2026 course report says many candidates multiplied the final speed by the time, which gives 144 m: use the average speed, 9 m/s, instead. Try reading a graph yourself in our Laws of Motion course and press Mark.

2. Parallel circuits

Question: resistors of 6 Ω and 3 Ω are connected in parallel across a 12 V supply. Find the total resistance and the current from the supply. Answer: 1 ÷ R_T = 1 ÷ 6 + 1 ÷ 3 = 1 ÷ 2, so R_T = 2 Ω. Then I = V ÷ R = 12 ÷ 2 = 6 A. The total is always smaller than the smallest resistor, which is a quick check. Build it in the Circuit Builder.

3. Specific heat capacity

Question: how much energy heats 0.5 kg of water from 20 °C to 80 °C? The specific heat capacity of water is 4180 J/kg °C (it's on the data sheet). Answer: E_h = cmΔT = 4180 × 0.5 × 60 = 125 400 J. ΔT is the change, 60 °C, not either temperature.

4. Half-life

Question: a source's activity falls from 640 kBq to 40 kBq in 12 hours. Find its half-life. Answer: halve until you reach 40: 640, 320, 160, 80, 40. That's 4 half-lives in 12 hours, so the half-life is 3 hours. See the curve in the Half-Life Calculator.

Common National 5 Physics mistakes

From the 2026 course report:

• Vague explanations. Answers that ask you to explain or justify often lacked precise physics terms. Name the principle you're using.
• Final speed times time for distance, instead of average speed times time.
• Newton's third law muddles: a rocket rises because the exhaust gases push up on the rocket, not because the gases push on the Earth.
• Unclear handwriting and spelling that left markers unsure whether an answer was right.

Use a daily paper as a short timed prelim

Today's National 5 Physics paper covers circuits and electrical power, the electromagnetic spectrum and waves, radioactive decay and half-life, specific heat capacity and the particle model, Newton's laws and space. It also includes momentum, the motor effect and stopping distances, which aren't in National 5, and it has no objective test section. Use it alongside the official past papers, remembering that papers before 2027 are longer. For when prelims happen, see our prelims guide.

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