Cambridge O Level Physics Tutors Online

Cambridge O Level Physics is syllabus 5054. This page works from the syllabus for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Exams are available in the June and November series.

All candidates take three components, and all candidates are eligible for grades A* to E. There is no Core and Extended tier.

Paper 1 is Multiple Choice. It lasts 1 hour, carries 40 marks and is worth 30%. It contains 40 four-option multiple-choice questions, all compulsory, and tests assessment objectives AO1 and AO2.

Paper 2 is Theory. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, carries 80 marks and is worth 50%. It contains compulsory short-answer and structured questions, and it also tests AO1 and AO2 only.

The third component is the practical assessment. Candidates take either Paper 3, the Practical Test, lasting 1 hour 30 minutes, or Paper 4, the Alternative to Practical, lasting 1 hour. Both carry 40 marks, both are worth 20%, and both are externally assessed.

The difference is physical rather than academic. Candidates taking the Practical Test must do experiments in a laboratory as part of the test. Candidates taking the Alternative to Practical must not. Both require the same experimental skills to be developed and learned, both require an understanding of the same experimental contexts, and both test the same assessment objective, AO3.

The content is organised into only six topics, which is fewer than most O Level sciences. The topics are motion, forces and energy; thermal physics; waves; electricity and magnetism; nuclear physics; and space physics.

Six headings can look thin at first glance, so it is worth knowing that each one contains a detailed sub-topic tree. Motion, forces and energy covers physical quantities and measurement techniques, motion, mass and weight, density, forces including balanced and unbalanced forces, friction, elastic deformation, circular motion, the turning effect of forces and centre of gravity, momentum, energy, work and power including energy resources and efficiency, and pressure.

Thermal physics covers the kinetic particle model of matter including states of matter and the particle model, thermal properties and temperature including thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases, specific heat capacity, and melting, boiling and evaporation, and the transfer of thermal energy including conduction, convection, radiation and the consequences of thermal energy transfer.

Waves covers the general properties of waves, light including reflection, refraction, thin lenses and dispersion, the electromagnetic spectrum, and sound.

Electricity and magnetism covers simple magnetism and magnetic fields, electrical quantities including charge, current, electromotive force and potential difference, and resistance, electric circuits including circuit diagrams and circuit components, series and parallel circuits and the action and use of circuit components, practical electricity including uses of electricity and electrical safety, electromagnetic effects including electromagnetic induction, the a.c. generator, the magnetic effect of a current, forces on a current-carrying conductor, the d.c. motor and the transformer, and the uses of an oscilloscope.

Nuclear physics covers the nuclear model of the atom including the atom and the nucleus, and radioactivity including the detection of radioactivity, the three types of emission, radioactive decay, fission and fusion, half-life and safety precautions.

Space physics covers Earth and the Solar System including the Earth and the Solar System, and stars and the Universe including the Sun as a star, stars and the Universe.

That last topic is worth noting because it is not universal across O Level physics courses. A candidate who has been taught the traditional mechanics, waves and electricity sequence may find that astronomy content has never been covered at all, and it is examinable in both written papers.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1 is knowledge with understanding, covering scientific phenomena, facts, laws, definitions, concepts and theories; scientific vocabulary, terminology and conventions including symbols, quantities and units; scientific instruments and apparatus including techniques of operation and aspects of safety; and scientific and technological applications with their social, economic and environmental implications. AO2 is handling information and problem solving. AO3 is experimental skills and investigations.

Overall, AO1 is worth 50 per cent, AO2 is worth 30 per cent and AO3 is worth 20 per cent of the qualification. Per component, Paper 1 is 63 per cent AO1 and 37 per cent AO2. Paper 2 is 63 per cent AO1 and 37 per cent AO2, exactly the same split. Papers 3 and 4 are 100 per cent AO3.

So half the qualification is knowledge with understanding and the practical paper is the only place where experimental skill is tested. A candidate who can quote the formula for resistance but has never built the circuit and taken the readings will lose that 20 per cent in full.

The syllabus publishes the experimental contexts the practical paper can draw on. These are physics specific and worth treating as a revision list. Candidates may be asked about measurement of physical quantities such as length, volume or force; measurement of small distances or short intervals of time; determining a derived quantity such as the extension per unit load for a spring, the value of a known resistance or the acceleration of an object; testing and identifying the relationship between two variables such as between the potential difference across a wire and its length; comparing measured quantities such as angles of reflection; comparing derived quantities such as density; cooling and heating including measurement of temperature; experiments using springs and balances; timing motion or oscillations; electric circuits including the connection and reconnection of those circuits and the measurement of current and potential difference; optics experiments using equipment such as optics pins, mirrors, prisms, lenses, glass or Perspex blocks, both rectangular and semi-circular, including the use of transparent, translucent and opaque substances to investigate the transmission of light; and procedures using simple apparatus in situations where the method may not be familiar to the candidate.

Two items on that list are easy to overlook. Reconnecting a circuit is named explicitly, so a candidate may be asked to change a series circuit into a parallel one or to move a component rather than simply take readings from a circuit already set up. And optics practicals are named in detail, including the shapes of the blocks, so reflection and refraction work is very likely to appear in some form.

Beyond the experiments, the syllabus lists the skills being tested. Candidates may be asked to identify apparatus from diagrams or descriptions, draw, complete or label diagrams of apparatus, use or explain the use of common techniques, select the most appropriate apparatus or method and justify the choice, explain hazards and identify safety precautions, and explain techniques used to ensure the accuracy of observations and data.

Planning is examined too. Candidates may be asked to identify the independent and dependent variable, describe how and explain why variables should be controlled, suggest an appropriate number and range of values for the independent variable, suggest the most appropriate apparatus or technique and justify it, describe experimental procedures, identify risks and suggest appropriate safety precautions, and describe how results are recorded and processed.

The qualification is graded A*, A, B, C, D or E.