In a SERIES circuit containing a battery and two bulbs, the current through each bulb is:
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Practise IGCSE 0625 questions in the style of recent Extended past papers, organised by syllabus subtopic. Each set comes with an examiner-style mark scheme and a downloadable worksheet.
Everything students ask about Cambridge IGCSE 0625 Electric circuits Topical Past Papers.
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These Electric circuits Topical Past Paper Questions are written in the style of recent Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 Extended papers and grouped by the Electricity and magnetism (P4.3) section of the 2025–2027 syllabus. Use them to revise the exact skills examiners test in this part of the course.
Each question is graded Easy → Medium → Hard, plus an A★ Challenge for top-grade preparation. Tap a question to mark your own answer, then unlock the examiner-style mark scheme with model solutions and examiner tips. A printable Topical Past Papers worksheet is included so you can practise offline.
Apply the rules for series and parallel circuits to current, voltage and resistance. Calculate combined resistance in series (Rₜ = R₁ + R₂) and parallel (1/Rₜ = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂). Describe potential dividers and the action of LDRs and thermistors in input sensing circuits.
In a SERIES circuit containing a battery and two bulbs, the current through each bulb is:
Two resistors of 4 Ω and 6 Ω are connected to a 12 V battery.
Calculate the combined resistance when the resistors are connected in SERIES.
[1 mark]Calculate the current drawn from the battery in this series arrangement.
[1 mark]Two resistors of 4 Ω and 6 Ω are connected in PARALLEL. The combined resistance is:
A 9 V battery is connected to two resistors in SERIES: R₁ = 2 Ω and R₂ = 4 Ω.
Calculate the current in the circuit.
[1 mark]Calculate the voltage (potential difference) across R₂.
[1 mark]Show that the sum of voltages across R₁ and R₂ equals the battery voltage.
[1 mark]Which statement about LDRs (light-dependent resistors) is correct?
A POTENTIAL DIVIDER is built from a 12 V supply, a fixed resistor R = 2000 Ω, and a thermistor in series. The output voltage Vₒᵤₜ is taken across the thermistor.
When the thermistor is at room temperature its resistance is 2000 Ω. Calculate Vₒᵤₜ.
[2 marks]When the thermistor is heated, its resistance drops to 500 Ω. Calculate the new Vₒᵤₜ.
[1 mark]Explain how this circuit could be used as a temperature sensor that triggers a cooling fan when it gets too hot.
[1 mark]A 6 V battery is connected to three resistors: R₁ = 3 Ω is in series with a parallel combination of R₂ = 6 Ω and R₃ = 12 Ω.
Calculate the combined resistance of the parallel pair (R₂ and R₃).
[1 mark]Calculate the total resistance of the whole circuit, then the current drawn from the battery.
[2 marks]Four identical 12 Ω resistors are connected as TWO parallel pairs, and those two pairs are then connected in SERIES across a 9 V battery. What is the current drawn from the battery?