Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625/52 is the May/June 2026 Paper 5 (Practical Test), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour 15 minutes, is worth 40 marks and is sat by Core and Extended candidates whose school enters them for the practical test rather than Paper 6. It had four compulsory questions: three experiments worth 11 marks each and a 7-mark plan. This guide goes through the paper question by question and shows what the official mark scheme gave marks for. 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.

Paper 5 and Paper 6 share their contexts. The same four investigations appear on 0625/62 (Alternative to Practical), where the readings are printed for you. Work through both for double the practice on the same skills.

0625/52 at a glance

Question	Topic	Marks	Main command word
1	Density of a wooden block: dimensions and mass, then displaced water; 10% comparison	11	Measure, calculate
2	White and black cards heated by a lamp: temperature rise, rate, fair test	11	Record, calculate
3	Resistor X in series with R: graph of 1/V against R, gradient, intercept, RX	11	Record, plot
4	Plan: time for a metal ball to fall between two lines in oil	7	Plan
	Total	40

Question-by-question walkthrough

Question 1: density of a wooden block (11 marks)

Method 1 used the block’s dimensions and mass; method 2 floated the block in one beaker and matched the water level in a second beaker using water from a measuring cylinder.

• Length, width and height (2 marks): one mark for recording all three, one for recording every value to the nearest millimetre in centimetres.
• Volume V_B = l × w × h (1 mark): any correct calculation, to more than one significant figure.
• Mass to the nearest gram (1 mark) and density ρ₁ = M ÷ V_B (1 mark), again to more than one significant figure.
• Initial volume V₁ (1 mark): the mark scheme expected 80 cm³, accepting anything within 2 cm³ of it (80.0 also fine).
• V₂ and the displaced volume V = V₁ − V₂ (1 mark): V₂ must be recorded and the subtraction correct. One significant figure was accepted here.
• Second density ρ₂ = kV ÷ V_B, with k = 1.0 g/cm³ (1 mark).
• Are the two densities equal within 10%? (2 marks): one mark for a statement that matches your own values, one for a calculation that uses both values, either showing the difference is less than 10% of one of them or that their ratio is at least 0.9. A correct calculation with the wrong statement still gets the second mark, and if your two values are identical, saying so scores both marks with no calculation.
• A technique for matching the water levels (1 mark): lower your head and look at both surfaces at eye level. Adding water a little at a time with a pipette, using a ruler and set square, or measuring the water height in both beakers with a ruler were also accepted. “Pour slowly”, “put the beakers close together” and references to the meniscus were ignored.

Question 2: white and black cards (11 marks)

Two thermometers had a white and a black card on their bulbs, level with a lamp filament. The white card was set 1.0 cm from the lamp and the black card 2.0 cm away. You read both thermometers, switched the lamp on for 4.0 minutes, then read them again.

• Starting temperatures (1 mark): both recorded and sensible, which the scheme defined as below 35 °C. Readings ending in .0 or .5 were accepted.
• Temperatures after 4.0 min (2 marks): one mark for recording both, one for the black card ending up hotter than the white card.
• Temperature increase of each card (1 mark).
• Rate = temperature increase ÷ time (3 marks): one for both rates correct, one for both to 2 significant figures, and one for the unit °C/min (°C/s also accepted). Writing “C°/min” was not accepted, and abbreviations had to be “min” or “minute”, not “m” or “mins”.
• Conclusion (2 marks): the black card’s temperature rose faster, or black is a better absorber, plus a second mark for quoting your values or rates in the comparison. Error carried forward applied from your rates.
• Why the test was not fair (1 mark): the two cards were different distances from the lamp. Different starting temperatures were ignored.
• Why the conclusion still stands (1 mark): the black card was further from the lamp yet still warmed more, so a fair test would only widen the gap.

Question 3: finding an unknown resistance (11 marks)

Resistor X was in series with a resistor R. You measured the potential difference V across X with R = 10, 15, 18, 22 and 33 Ω.

• First reading at R = 10 Ω (1 mark): V less than 4 V and recorded to at least 1 decimal place.
• The other four readings (2 marks): one for all present, one for V decreasing as R increases.
• 1/V values (2 marks): one for correct calculations, one for all values to 2 significant figures.
• Graph of 1/V against R from the origin (3 marks): suitable scales filling at least half the grid horizontally (no awkward scales such as 3, 7 or 9 per division), plots accurate to half a small square with no large “blobs”, and a thin, continuous best-fit line judged on all the plots.
• Gradient G (1 mark): show on the graph which values you used and calculate Δy/Δx. The scheme did not check the actual value.
• Intercept c on the y-axis (1 mark): correct to half a small square. One significant figure was accepted and any unit was ignored.
• R_X = c ÷ G to the nearest ohm (1 mark): an accuracy mark for 18 ± 3 Ω.

Question 4: planning the falling-ball experiment (7 marks)

You had a cylinder of oil, a choice of metal balls and a ruler, and had to plan how one variable affects the time t for a ball to fall between two marked lines. The mark scheme used seven marking points:

1. Variable chosen: stated clearly, not just implied. Accepted: the ball’s mass, diameter, size, weight, volume, material or density; the release height; the oil temperature. “Type of ball” and anything about the type, density or volume of oil were ignored.
2. Apparatus: a stopwatch or timer, plus whatever you need to measure your chosen variable.
3. Method: release the ball and time it between the two lines, and repeat for new values of the variable. Both parts were needed.
4. Control variable: stated explicitly, for example release height if mass changes, or the same ball if height changes. Oil volume, type or density, and the distance between the lines, were ignored.
5. Results table: columns for the independent variable and t, with correct units in the headings. If weight is your variable, the heading must be in N, not kg.
6. Conclusion: compare the readings to see whether and how t changes, or plot a line graph with named axes. Just “compare the readings” with nothing added was not enough. A bar chart only counted if the ball’s material was the variable.
7. One extra point: a second control variable, at least five sets of readings, or repeating each timing and averaging.

Where the marks are on 0625/52

• Taking and recording readings carried 11 of the 40 marks: the dimensions, mass and water volumes in Question 1, the four temperatures in Question 2 and the five voltmeter readings in Question 3.
• Calculations carried 10 marks: volume and the two densities, temperature increases and rates, 1/V values and R_X. Several of these were marked on significant figures as well as value.
• Graph work carried 5 marks: plotting (3), the gradient (1) and the intercept (1).
• Conclusions and evaluation carried 7 marks: the 10% comparison, the water-level technique, the card conclusion and the two fair-test parts.
• The plan carried 7 marks, the single biggest block on the paper, and it needs no apparatus to practise.

How to self-mark 0625/52 with the mark scheme

1. Know what “ecf” means here. Most calculations are marked on your own readings, so a wrong reading early on does not cost every later mark. Check each step against your numbers, not the expected ones.
2. Check the precision of every reading. Dimensions to the nearest millimetre, mass to the nearest gram, voltmeter readings to at least 1 decimal place.
3. Count significant figures where the question asks for them. Question 2’s rates and Question 3’s 1/V values each had a separate mark for 2 significant figures.
4. Mark the unit separately in Question 2. °C/min scores; C°/min does not.
5. Mark your graph strictly: scale filling at least half the grid, every plot within half a small square, a thin line, and the gradient triangle shown on the graph.
6. Mark the plan against the seven points, ticking only the ones you stated explicitly. Control variables that only appear inside your method do not count.

Sit 0625/52 as a timed mock

The real paper needs the apparatus, so if you have no lab access, do the full timed mock on 0625/62 and use this paper for Question 4 and the analysis steps. In a school lab, a workable plan for 75 minutes is:

Block	Marks	Time
Question 1	11	20 minutes
Question 2 (includes the 4-minute heating)	11	18 minutes
Question 3	11	20 minutes
Question 4	7	12 minutes
Check, especially units and significant figures	–	5 minutes

Use the 4 minutes the lamp is on in Question 2 to draft your Question 4 plan.

Other May/June 2026 0625 papers

• 0625 Paper 12 (Core Multiple Choice)
• 0625 Paper 22 (Extended Multiple Choice)
• 0625 Paper 32 (Core Theory)
• 0625 Paper 42 (Extended Theory)
• 0625 Paper 62 (Alternative to Practical)

Practise and download

• Download 0625/52 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 experiments were on 0625 Paper 52 May/June 2026? +

Four questions: the density of a wooden block found by two methods (11 marks), the temperature rise of a white card and a black card near a lamp (11 marks), a graph of 1/V against R to find the resistance of an unknown resistor X (11 marks), and a plan for timing a metal ball falling through oil (7 marks).

How many marks is 0625/52 and how long is it? +

It is out of 40 marks and lasts 1 hour 15 minutes. Questions 1, 2 and 3 are worth 11 marks each and the planning question, Question 4, is worth 7.

Was 0625/52 the same as 0625/62 in May/June 2026? +

They used the same four contexts and the same planning question. On Paper 5 you take the readings yourself; on Paper 6 the readings are given to you in diagrams and tables. A few mark allocations differ, for example the graph is worth 3 marks on Paper 5 and 4 on Paper 6.

What unit did the mark scheme want for the rate of temperature increase in 0625/52? +

°C/min, with °C/s also accepted. The unit carried its own mark, separate from the mark for the values and the mark for giving both rates to 2 significant figures.

What value of the resistance of X did the 0625/52 mark scheme accept? +

18 Ω plus or minus 3 Ω, so anything from 15 Ω to 21 Ω, given to the nearest ohm. It was a single accuracy mark, worked out from your own gradient and intercept.

Where can I download 0625/52 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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