Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625/22 is the May/June 2026 Paper 2 (Extended Multiple Choice), variant 2. It has 40 questions worth one mark each, lasts 45 minutes and is sat by every Extended candidate. The questions cover the whole syllabus, and eleven of them needed a calculation, from moments and specific heat capacity to half-life with a background count. This guide gives the official answer for every question, the topic it tested and the working for each calculation. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all six 0625 papers from this series, see IGCSE Physics 0625 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

0625/22 at a glance

Syllabus area	Questions	Number of questions
Motion, forces and energy	1–9	9
Thermal physics	10–16	7
Waves	17–24	8
Electricity and magnetism	25–33	9
Nuclear physics	34–38	5
Space physics	39–40	2
Total		40

Each correct answer scores one mark, so the total is 40. The paper gives the weight of 1.0 kg as 9.8 N.

Answer key and topic for every question

Question	What it tested	Answer
1	Apparatus to find the volume of a cylinder	B
2	Sections of a speed-time graph with constant acceleration	B
3	Which unit is a unit of weight	D
4	Full condition for equilibrium	C
5	Counterbalance weight from moments on a rod	A
6	Final speed of a model car from force and time	D
7	Energy wasted by a cyclist rolling downhill	C
8	Energy resource that does not come from the Sun	B
9	Variables that set pressure at depth	B
10	Particle spacing and speed in liquid and gas	D
11	Gas particles and pressure as a syringe is compressed	D
12	Graph of pressure against volume at constant temperature	C
13	Mass of water from energy and temperature rise	C
14	Where energetic molecules leave an evaporating liquid	A
15	Mass-time graphs for boiling and evaporating water	A
16	Changes that increase radiation emitted by a surface	D
17	Wavelength from a displacement-time graph and wave speed	D
18	Wavelength of red light in glass	A
19	Nature of a plane mirror image	B
20	Angle always equal to the angle of reflection	B
21	Short sight: image position and correcting lens	D
22	Correct statement about digital signals	D
23	Wave property that increases with loudness	A
24	Pressure and particle spacing in a rarefaction	C
25	Magnetic field pattern around a bar magnet	A
26	Why a scrapyard crane uses an electromagnet	D
27	I–V graph of a filament lamp	B
28	Equation for energy transferred in a resistor	A
29	Unknown resistor in a parallel pair	C
30	Cause of an overheating extension lead	D
31	Field around a wire carrying current into the page	A
32	Deflection of an electron beam in a magnetic field	C
33	Secondary current in an ideal transformer	B
34	Diagram showing a negative ion	D
35	Alpha, beta and gamma between charged plates	A
36	Nucleon and proton numbers in alpha decay of radon	C
37	Half-life with a background count	B
38	How a lead apron protects a radiographer	C
39	Expression for the Moon’s orbital period	B
40	Distance to Proxima Centauri in kilometres	B

What the paper tested, topic by topic

Motion, forces and energy (Questions 1–9)

Three of the nine were calculations, and they were the most demanding part of the section.

• Moments (Question 5): the rod balances on a pivot with the model plane (3.5 N) 15 cm on one side. On the other side are the rod’s own weight (0.50 N), acting 5.0 cm from the pivot, and the counterbalance, 20 cm from the pivot. Clockwise moment = anticlockwise moment: 3.5 × 15 = W × 20 + 0.50 × 5.0, so 52.5 = 20W + 2.5 and W = 2.5 N. Leaving out the rod’s weight is the trap.
• Force and motion (Question 6): a = F ÷ m = 2.0 ÷ 0.50 = 4.0 m/s², and v = at = 4.0 × 3.0 = 12 m/s. You can get the same answer from impulse: Ft = 6.0 N s = mv.
• Energy (Question 7): the gravitational potential energy lost is mgh = 80 × 9.8 × 50 = 39 200 J. The kinetic energy gained is ½mv² = ½ × 80 × 20² = 16 000 J. The difference, 23 200 J, was wasted, which is between 20 kJ and 30 kJ.
• Speed-time graph (Question 2): constant, non-zero acceleration means a straight sloping line. That includes the section where the object slows down (RS) as well as the one where it speeds up (PQ). The flat section at constant speed has zero acceleration.
• Equilibrium (Question 4): a complete description needs both no resultant force and no resultant turning effect. Options B and D each give only half.
• Pressure at depth (Question 9): Δp = ρgΔh, so only depth and the water’s density matter. The whale’s mass and surface area do not.
• Recall: the kilonewton is the unit of weight (Question 3), and geothermal energy comes from inside the Earth, not from the Sun (Question 8).

Thermal physics (Questions 10–16)

• Specific heat capacity (Question 13): m = E ÷ (cΔθ) = 900 000 ÷ (4200 × 25) = 8.6 kg. The temperature rise is 45 − 20 = 25 °C, and the energy must be in joules: leaving it in kilojoules gives the 0.0086 kg distractor.
• Particles (Questions 10 and 11): in the liquid, the particles are closer together and slower than in the hotter gas, so both quantities are smaller in the liquid. Pushing the syringe plunger in makes the particles hit the walls more often, so the pressure increases.
• Boyle’s law graph (Question 12): at constant temperature, pV is constant, so pressure falls as volume rises along a curve, not a straight line.
• Evaporation and boiling (Questions 14 and 15): evaporation happens only at the surface of the liquid. Question 15 compared the mass of water left over time when one sample boiled and the other evaporated in a draught.
• Radiation (Question 16): only making the surface hotter increases the radiation emitted. A white surface is a poorer emitter than a black one, and a smaller area emits less.

Waves (Questions 17–24)

• Wavelength from a graph (Question 17): a displacement-time graph gives the period, not the wavelength. One complete wave on the time axis takes 8.0 s, so λ = vT = 2.0 × 8.0 = 16 m. Reading 8.0 straight off the time axis as a wavelength gives the wrong answer C.
• Refraction (Question 18): the frequency does not change when light enters glass, so the wavelength falls in proportion to the speed: 620 × (2.1 ÷ 3.0) = 434 nm, so 430 nm.
• Mirrors (Questions 19 and 20): a plane mirror image is upright and virtual. The angle of reflection always equals the angle between the incident ray and the normal, not the mirror.
• Short sight (Question 21): the eye focuses distant objects in front of the retina, and a diverging lens corrects it.
• Signals and sound (Questions 22–24): digital signals take only two values, 1 or 0. A louder sound at the same pitch has a bigger amplitude, while the frequency stays the same. In a rarefaction the pressure is lower and the particles are further apart than in still air.

Electricity and magnetism (Questions 25–33)

• Parallel resistors (Question 29): 1/R = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂, so 1/24 = 1/40 + 1/Y. Then 1/Y = 1/24 − 1/40 = 2/120 = 1/60, and Y = 60 Ω. The combined resistance of a parallel pair is always less than either resistor, which rules out 16 Ω straight away.
• Transformer (Question 33): for a 100% efficient transformer, IₚVₚ = IₛVₛ. The secondary voltage is 240 × 900 ÷ 4500 = 48 V, so the secondary current is (240 × 1.5) ÷ 48 = 7.5 A. Using the turns ratio the wrong way round gives 0.30 A.
• Energy (Question 28): E = IVt.
• Magnetic fields (Questions 25, 31 and 32): these depended on diagrams: the field lines around a bar magnet, the circular field around a wire carrying current into the page (given by the right-hand grip rule), and an electron beam between magnetic poles. For the beam, remember that conventional current flows the opposite way to the electrons before you apply Fleming’s left-hand rule.
• Electromagnets and graphs (Questions 26 and 27): a crane uses an electromagnet because it can be switched on and off. The filament lamp’s I–V graph curves, because its resistance rises as it heats up.
• Mains safety (Question 30): plugging several appliances into one socket draws a large current through the extension cable, which can overheat it.

Nuclear physics (Questions 34–38)

• Alpha decay (Question 36): the nucleon number and proton number must balance. The radon nucleon number is 214 + 4 = 218 and the polonium proton number is 86 − 2 = 84.
• Half-life with background (Question 37): the count from the source alone is 200 − 20 = 180 counts per minute. After one half-life (8.0 days) it is 90 counts per minute. Halving 200 without removing the background gives 100, and adding the background back on gives 110, which is what the detector would read.
• Charged plates (Question 35): plate X is negative and plate Y positive. Alpha particles are positive, so they bend towards X; beta particles are negative, so they bend towards Y; gamma rays have no charge and go straight through.
• Ions and safety (Questions 34 and 38): a negative ion has more electrons than protons. A lead apron works by absorbing some of the radiation; it does not reflect it, increase distance or cut exposure time.

Space physics (Questions 39–40)

• Orbital period (Question 39): the Moon travels one circumference, 2πr, at speed v, so T = 2πr ÷ v.
• Light-years (Question 40): one light-year is about 9.5 × 10¹⁵ m, which is 9.5 × 10¹² km. So 4.3 × 9.5 × 10¹² ≈ 4.1 × 10¹³ km. Option D is 1000 times too large, which is what you get if you stop at metres and call them kilometres.

Where the marks are on 0625/22

• Motion, forces and energy and electricity and magnetism carried 9 marks each. Waves added 8 and thermal physics 7, so those four areas made up 33 of the 40 marks.
• Nuclear and space physics were worth 7 marks together, and three of those seven (Questions 36, 37 and 40) needed a calculation.
• Eleven questions needed a calculation: 5, 6, 7, 13, 17, 18, 29, 33, 36, 37 and 40. That is more than a quarter of the paper, so a slow calculator routine costs time across every topic.
• Five questions turned on reading or choosing a graph: the speed-time graph (2), the p–V graph (12), the mass-time graphs (15), the displacement-time graph (17) and the I–V graph (27).
• Unit conversions were built into the traps: kJ to J in Question 13, and metres to kilometres in Question 40.

How to self-mark 0625/22

1. Check each answer against the key above or the official mark scheme. Count one mark per correct letter.
2. Tag every wrong answer by topic, using the at-a-glance table, to see which area is costing the most.
3. Tag it by reason too: knowledge (for example, not knowing that a white surface emits less radiation), misread (missing “constant, non-zero” in Question 2 or “due to the source” in Question 37) or calculation (forgetting the rod’s own weight in Question 5, or a unit slip in Question 13 or 40).
4. Redo every calculation you got wrong with the equation written first, then the substitution, then the answer with its unit.
5. Revise knowledge gaps first, then practise the calculation types that went wrong until each takes under two minutes.

Sit 0625/22 as a timed mock

You have 45 minutes for 40 questions, a little over one minute each. Use two passes: answer the recall questions and quick calculations first, mark any that need longer working, then come back to them.

Block	Questions	Time
Motion, forces and energy	1–9	11 minutes
Thermal physics	10–16	7 minutes
Waves	17–24	8 minutes
Electricity and magnetism	25–33	9 minutes
Nuclear and space physics	34–40	6 minutes
Second pass and check the answer sheet	–	4 minutes

The first block is longest because three of its calculations, the counterbalance, the model car and the cyclist, take several steps each.

Other May/June 2026 0625 papers

• 0625 Paper 12 (Core Multiple Choice)
• 0625 Paper 32 (Core Theory)
• 0625 Paper 42 (Extended Theory)
• 0625 Paper 52 (Practical Test)
• 0625 Paper 62 (Alternative to Practical)

Practise and download

• Download 0625/22 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 0625 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free IGCSE Physics quiz

Need help with a 0625 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE Physics tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What topics were on 0625 Paper 22 May/June 2026? +

All six areas of the syllabus. Motion, forces and energy had 9 questions, thermal physics 7, waves 8, electricity and magnetism 9, nuclear physics 5 and space physics 2 (the Moon's orbital period and the distance to Proxima Centauri).

How many marks is 0625/22 and how long is it? +

It has 40 multiple choice questions, one mark each, for a total of 40 marks. You have 45 minutes and you may use a calculator.

Is 0625/22 the Core or Extended paper? +

Extended. Paper 2 is the Extended multiple choice paper, sat alongside Paper 4 (Extended Theory) and either Paper 5 or Paper 6. Core candidates sit Paper 1 instead.

What was the answer to the half-life question on 0625/22? +

B, 90 counts per minute. Subtract the background first: 200 − 20 = 180 counts per minute from the source, which halves to 90 after one half-life of 8.0 days.

How many questions on 0625/22 2026 needed a calculation? +

Eleven: Questions 5, 6, 7, 13, 17, 18, 29, 33, 36, 37 and 40. They covered moments, acceleration, energy, specific heat capacity, waves, parallel resistors, transformers, nuclear equations, half-life and light-years.

Where can I download 0625/22 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 past papers page.

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