AQA A-level Physics (7408): papers, options and grade boundaries

AQA A-level Physics papers at a glance

The specification is AQA A-level Physics 7408. It is linear: all papers are sat at the end of the course. The June 2023 paper cover lists a scientific calculator, and AQA issues a data and formulae booklet with the papers. At least 40% of the marks across the assessments require mathematical skills at Level 2 or above, the highest share of the three sciences.

AQA A-level Physics topics

For Paper 3 Section B, your school enters you for one of sections 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13. Check with your teacher which option you study, because the boundaries are reported separately for each.

Practical endorsement and required practicals

A-level grades are based only on the written exams. Your teacher separately assesses practical competence against the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC) across a minimum of 12 practical activities, reported as a pass or not classified. AQA's specification defines 12 required practicals, including the determination of g by free fall, the Young modulus of a material, resistivity of a wire, emf and internal resistance, simple harmonic motion, Boyle's law, and capacitor charge and discharge. The 45 marks of practical and data analysis in Paper 3 Section A can use any of them. Analyse your own results in the Practical Data Lab.

Worked examples in AQA style

Particles and radiation: the photoelectric effect

Light of wavelength 350 nm falls on a metal with a work function of 2.10 eV. Use h = 6.63 × 10⁻³⁴ J s, c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m s⁻¹ and 1 eV = 1.60 × 10⁻¹⁹ J. The photon energy is:

Fields: capacitor discharge

A 330 μF capacitor is charged to 9.0 V, then discharged through an 18 kΩ resistor. The time constant is RC = 18 000 × 330 × 10⁻⁶ = 5.94 s. After 15 s:

Measurements and errors: percentage uncertainty

A resistor has V = 6.0 ± 0.1 V and I = 0.50 ± 0.02 A. Then R = 6.0 ÷ 0.50 = 12 Ω. Add the percentage uncertainties for a quotient:

Write R = 12 ± 0.7 Ω, with the uncertainty to one significant figure and the value to the same decimal place. Practise resistance from a graph in our Electricity course, then press Mark to check your answer in the course:

AQA A-level Physics grade boundaries

These are AQA's subject grade boundaries from its document "Grade boundaries, June 2026 exams: A-level", published on 13 August 2026. Each figure is the lowest total mark, out of 250, that earns that grade. Boundaries are reported for each Paper 3 option.

The options are close, with the A* boundary between 186 and 191 and the A boundary between 157 and 162. Medical physics had the lowest boundaries in 2026 and Astrophysics the highest. Boundaries move every year, so use them as a guide, not a target.

How AQA A-level Physics differs from Edexcel

Pearson Edexcel A level Physics (9PH0) has no options. It is three papers: Advanced Physics I and II, each 1 hour 45 minutes, 90 marks and 30%, and General and Practical Principles in Physics, 2 hours 30 minutes, 120 marks and 40%. It has 16 core practicals, and offers the content in a concept-led or the Salters Horners context-led approach. AQA has 85, 85 and 80 marks and the Paper 3 options. See theEdexcel A-level Physics guideand ourA-level Physics guidefor every board.

Use the daily paper as a short timed mock

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on theA-level Physics: Paper 1andA-level Physics: Paper 2tracks. Each is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full AQA paper, and it is not written by AQA. Track 1 covers particles and antiparticles, measurements and uncertainties, waves, kinematics, work, energy and power, momentum, moments, materials, the photoelectric effect and DC circuits. Track 2 covers circular motion, gravitational fields, thermal physics, simple harmonic motion, electric fields, induction, binding energy, capacitors, radioactivity and magnetic fields. These line up with AQA's Papers 1 and 2. There is no option practice, so revise your Paper 3 option from the specification.

Common mistakes in AQA A-level Physics

• Forgetting to convert units such as eV to J, nm to m and μF to F.
• Rounding too early. Keep 4 significant figures in the working and round at the end.
• Not giving uncertainties to one significant figure. Keep the value to the same decimal place.
• Skipping the multiple choice. There are 25 marks on each of Papers 1 and 2, and a systematic eliminate-and-check approach pays.

Exam answers

The answers and a worked mark scheme come with today's paper once it is marked. We do not publish official or past paper answers. Every question on the daily paper is our own.

Read next

UK · A-levelAQA A-level Physics grade boundaries 2026: every optionAQA's official June 2026 A-level Physics (7408) grade boundaries for the five Paper 3 options, out of 250, compared with 2025.