Past-paper analysis
IB Physics SL past paper analysis
We tagged 198 questions worth 570 marks from 18 papers of the redesigned course, first examined in 2025. This page shows what each theme and topic is worth and which paper carries the marks. 51.9% of all marks sit in questions that join two or more topics.
- 198 questions
- 570 marks
- 18 papers
- New 2025 course
Written by Ejaz Ahmad. Published 18 October 2026. See how we analyse papers.
Marks by theme and topic
A · Space, time & motion (27.6%) and B · Particulate matter (23.3%) take the largest shares of marks. A.2 Forces & momentum (14.65%), B.1 Thermal energy transfers (10.56%) and D.2 Electric & magnetic fields (7.34%) lead the table. The top five topics together carry 46% of all marks, and even the smallest of the 19 topics, E.4 Fission, holds 1.32%.
Share of marks by theme
| Theme | % of all marks |
|---|---|
| A · Space, time & motion | 27.6% |
| B · Particulate matter | 23.3% |
| E · Nuclear & quantum | 17.5% |
| C · Wave behaviour | 17% |
| D · Fields | 14.6% |
Share of all 570 marks.
Share of marks by topic
| Topic | % of all marks |
|---|---|
| A.2 Forces & momentum | 14.65% |
| B.1 Thermal energy transfers | 10.56% |
| D.2 Electric & magnetic fields | 7.34% |
| A.1 Kinematics | 6.81% |
| E.3 Radioactive decay | 6.67% |
| B.5 Current & circuits | 6.14% |
| A.3 Work, energy & power | 6.11% |
| C.3 Wave phenomena | 5.09% |
| E.5 Fusion & stars | 5% |
| B.3 Gas laws | 4.74% |
| E.1 Structure of the atom | 4.5% |
| D.1 Gravitational fields | 3.77% |
| C.1 Simple harmonic motion | 3.77% |
| C.2 Wave model | 3.68% |
| D.3 Motion in EM fields | 3.54% |
| C.5 Doppler effect | 2.46% |
| C.4 Standing waves & resonance | 2.02% |
| B.2 Greenhouse effect | 1.84% |
| E.4 Fission | 1.32% |
Share of all 570 marks. Marks from multi-topic questions are split equally between their tags.
Paper 1A, Paper 1B and Paper 2
Marks attributed to each theme on each paper. Paper 2 (extended response) carries about 53% of the marks, Paper 1A (multiple choice) about 26% and Paper 1B (data / experimental) about 21%. Paper 1A is multiple choice, Paper 1B is data-based and experimental, Paper 2 is extended response.
Marks attributed to each theme, by paper
| Theme | Paper 1A (multiple choice) | Paper 1B (data / experimental) | Paper 2 (extended response) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A · Motion | 34 | 51.6 | 71.5 |
| B · Matter | 37 | 30 | 65.7 |
| C · Waves | 26 | 17.3 | 53.7 |
| D · Fields | 24 | 10 | 49.5 |
| E · Nuclear & quantum | 29 | 11 | 59.7 |
Marks after multi-topic questions are split among their tags.
How hard the questions are
Most questions are mid-level: 127 of 198 sit in the medium band.
Questions by difficulty rating
| Rating | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Accessible | 46 | 23.2% |
| Medium | 127 | 64.1% |
| Hard | 25 | 12.6% |
Rated by our team when each of the 198 questions was tagged.
What this means for your revision
- Start with the top five topics (A.2 Forces & momentum, B.1 Thermal energy transfers, D.2 Electric & magnetic fields, A.1 Kinematics and E.3 Radioactive decay). Together they carry 46% of marks.
- Expect mixed questions: 51.9% of marks sit in questions tagged with two or more topics. Practise linking topics, not only revising them one at a time.
- Bank the shorter marks on Paper 1A (multiple choice) and Paper 1B (data / experimental), then spend your long-answer time on Paper 2 (extended response), where most marks sit.
- Do not drop the small topics. The smallest, E.4 Fission, still holds 1.32% of marks.
Past frequency shows where marks have gone so far. It does not promise what a future paper will contain.
Guidebook
IB Physics SL and HL guidebook
Full course coverage by Photon, with exam-style practice that follows these weightings.
Free cheatsheets
Revise the top topics
Start with A.2 Forces & momentum: every IB Physics SL topic has a free cheatsheet with the formulas, methods and common traps.
Course page
IB Physics SL resources
Cheatsheets, guidebook details and revision resources for this course.
Method
We counted the 18 papers from the new course: the 2025 specimen, May 2025 and November 2025. Papers from the old course are left out because its topics and paper structure were different. Each question is read and tagged by topic. When a question carries more than one tag, its marks are split equally between them, so nothing is counted twice and the shares add up to 100%.
Tagging involves judgement, and these are counts of past marks, not a forecast. Read the full method.