IGCSE Physics Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical): Question Patterns and How to Prepare (0625 / 0972)
In one line
Cambridge IGCSE Physics Paper 6 is the Alternative to Practical paper for 0625 and 0972 candidates.
Key points
- It lasts 1 hour, carries 40 marks, and contributes 20% of the final IGCSE Physics grade.
- The recurring score areas are graph plotting, gradients, circuits, optics, mechanics, thermal measurements, planning, and specific evaluation language.
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- Quick Paper 6 Map
- 1 Who should use this guide
- 2 Paper 6 at a glance
- 3 The recurring Physics Paper 6 question types
Q: What does IGCSE Physics Paper 6 test if there is no apparatus in the exam?
A: Paper 6 tests the same practical skills as Paper 5, but through written questions about apparatus diagrams, measurements, graphs, planning, and evaluation. You still need practical understanding; you just show it on paper.
TL;DR
Cambridge IGCSE Physics Paper 6 is the Alternative to Practical paper for 0625 and 0972 candidates. It lasts 1 hour, carries 40 marks, and contributes 20% of the final IGCSE Physics grade. The recurring score areas are graph plotting, gradients, circuits, optics, mechanics, thermal measurements, planning, and specific evaluation language.
Quick Paper 6 Map
| Read time | What to take away |
| 1 second | Paper 6 tests Physics lab thinking in written form. |
| 10 seconds | Expect diagrams, instrument readings, tables, graphs, gradients, planning, and evaluation. |
| 100 seconds | The paper rewards precise practical judgement: choose the right apparatus, record units, show graph work clearly, and name specific sources of uncertainty. |
| Concrete example | If asked for a spring experiment, state the load range, measure extension from a fixed reference point, plot load against extension, and comment on repeat readings. |
| Best next step | Practise one Paper 6 graph question and check scale, plotted points, best-fit line, and gradient units. |
1 Who should use this guide
Use this guide if you are taking Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 or Cambridge IGCSE Physics (9-1) 0972 and your centre has entered you for Paper 6 instead of Paper 5.
Singapore private candidates should confirm with their exam centre whether Paper 5 is available, because Paper 5 requires a supervised laboratory exam. Paper 6 does not require apparatus during the exam, but it assumes you understand how apparatus behaves.
2 Paper 6 at a glance
| Feature | Cambridge IGCSE Physics Paper 6 |
| Paper name | Alternative to Practical |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Marks | 40 |
| Weighting | 20% of the final grade |
| Skill focus | AO3 practical skills |
| Lab work in exam | No apparatus handled by the candidate |
Paper 6 and Paper 5 assess the same practical skill family. The difference is format: Paper 5 asks you to perform experiments, while Paper 6 asks you to interpret, plan, and evaluate experiments from written information.
3 The recurring Physics Paper 6 question types
Graphs and gradients
Graph questions are the centre of Paper 6. You may need to choose scales, plot points, draw a best-fit line or curve, calculate a gradient, or use an intercept. The marks are usually lost through presentation errors:
- Axis labels missing units
- Scale too compressed
- Dot-to-dot lines instead of a best-fit line or smooth curve
- Gradient triangle too small
- Gradient answer missing units
For physics, do not treat a graph as decoration. The graph is often the method for extracting the final physical quantity.
Electricity and circuits
Circuit questions may ask you to interpret an ammeter or voltmeter reading, identify a correct circuit layout, explain the effect of resistance, or propose how to vary current or potential difference.
Score by being explicit:
- Ammeter in series
- Voltmeter in parallel
- Rheostat or variable resistor used to vary current
- Repeat readings over a useful range, not just once
- Keep the power supply setting and component arrangement clear
The related O-Level guide on connecting an ammeter and voltmeter is useful because the circuit habits transfer directly.
Mechanics and timing experiments
Mechanics contexts often involve pendulums, springs, masses, ramps, or timing motion. Watch for:
- Measuring length from the correct point
- Timing multiple oscillations and dividing by the number of oscillations
- Avoiding reaction-time error by taking repeated readings
- Controlling release height, mass, or angle
- Plotting the correct transformed relationship if the question asks for it
Paper 6 answers must explain how the measurement is made, not just name the quantity.
Optics
Optics questions often use ray boxes, glass blocks, lenses, pins, screens, or protractors. The common marks are for careful diagram interpretation:
- Draw normal lines accurately
- Measure angles from the normal, not from the surface
- State focal length measurement method clearly
- Keep object, lens, and screen aligned
- Repeat with different distances when checking a relationship
Thermal physics
Thermal contexts may involve cooling curves, heating water, insulation, or specific heat capacity. The practical skill is usually not the formula alone; it is how you control heat loss and record temperature change.
Good evaluation phrases are specific:
- Use a lid to reduce heat loss by convection and evaporation
- Stir before reading the thermometer so the temperature is more uniform
- Start the stopwatch when heating begins
- Read the thermometer at eye level to avoid parallax
4 How Paper 6 differs from Paper 5
| Skill | Paper 5 Practical Test | Paper 6 Alternative to Practical |
| Measurements | You take readings with real apparatus | You read diagrams, photographs, or tables |
| Graphs | You plot your own data | You plot or process supplied data |
| Planning | You may adapt a practical method | You write or complete the method |
| Evaluation | You evaluate what happened in the lab | You evaluate a described procedure |
Paper 6 rewards students who can imagine the experiment realistically. If you have never handled a stopwatch, ammeter, voltmeter, ray box, spring, or thermometer, your evaluation answers tend to become vague.
5 Preparation plan
- Work through two recent Paper 6 papers untimed and mark them strictly.
- Build a one-page checklist for graph presentation: labels, units, scale, plotted points, best-fit line, gradient triangle, units.
- Drill one apparatus family per week: circuits, optics, mechanics, thermal.
- Rewrite every evaluation answer until it names the specific error, effect on data, and improvement.
- Finish with timed one-hour Paper 6 practice.
6 Related resources
References
- Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Physics (0625) 2026-2028 syllabus.
- Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Physics (9-1) (0972).
