Which topic comes up most in IGCSE Physics 0625?

Motion, forces and energy. It carries 30.6% of the Paper 2 and Paper 4 marks in our bank, followed by Electricity and magnetism (24.4%).

How many chapters do you need for most of the marks?

4 of the 6 chapters carry 80% of the marks between them. Space physics carries the fewest, at 3.0%.

Which subtopics are asked most?

Light (3.2, 8.0%), Electrical quantities (4.2, 7.7%) and Electromagnetic effects (4.5, 7.6%).

How were these numbers counted?

From every question in the Zainora Physics bank: 4,772 multiple-choice questions from 128 Paper 2s, 2002–2026, and 6,122 theory marks from 81 theory papers, 2015–2026, each part filed under the chapter it tests. The two papers are weighted as Cambridge weights them, 30% and 50% of the grade.

Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 · counted from the past papers

Which topics come up most in Physics?

We counted every question in the Zainora Physics bank, 4,772 multiple-choice questions and 6,122 theory marks, and filed each one under the chapter it tests. 4 of the 6 chapters carry 80% of the marks.

Practise Physics by topic Physics papers and tools

What the numbers say

Motion, forces and energy carries the most marks in Physics 0625: 30.6% of the Paper 2 and Paper 4 marks, ahead of Electricity and magnetism (24.4%) and Waves (18.2%).
2 of the 6 chapters hold half the marks, and 4 hold 80%. Space physics is the lightest at 3.0%: revise it last, but do not drop it, because Cambridge can set anything on the syllabus.
Motion, forces and energy, Waves, Electricity and magnetism and Nuclear physics came up in every one of the 81 theory papers we have, 2015–2026.
Electricity and magnetism is worth more on Paper 2 than on Paper 4 (26.1% of the multiple-choice questions against 23.3% of the theory marks), so practise it as quick multiple-choice questions.
Space physics is the other way round: 3.8% of the theory marks but 1.6% of the multiple-choice questions. Learn to write it out in full.
Thermal physics has the longest theory answers, 2.3 marks a part on average, so its questions need method and working, not a one-line answer.
Space physics is rising: 7.9% of the marks in the 2022–2026 papers, against 3.0% across all years.
Motion, forces and energy is asked less than it used to be: 28.0% in 2022–2026, against 30.6% across all years.

Every chapter, most marks first

Paper 2 30% · Paper 4 50%

The bar is the chapter's share of the marks, with the multiple-choice and theory papers weighted the way Cambridge weights them in your grade. "In 81 of 81 papers" means the chapter was asked at least once in that many papers.

#Chapter · share of the marksPaper 2Theory
1
Motion, forces and energy
Ch. 1Asked less · 28.0% since 2022
30.6%
Paper 2
1,443 questions · 30.2%in 128 of 128 papers
Theory
1,889 marks · 30.9%in 81 of 81 papers
Practise
2
Electricity and magnetism
Ch. 4
24.4%
Paper 2
1,247 questions · 26.1%in 128 of 128 papers
Theory
1,425 marks · 23.3%in 81 of 81 papers
Practise
3
Waves
Ch. 3
18.2%
Paper 2
853 questions · 17.9%in 128 of 128 papers
Theory
1,126 marks · 18.4%in 81 of 81 papers
Practise
4
Thermal physics
Ch. 2
13.8%
Paper 2
696 questions · 14.6%in 128 of 128 papers
Theory
813 marks · 13.3%in 78 of 81 papers
Practise
5
Nuclear physics
Ch. 5
10.1%
Paper 2
455 questions · 9.5%in 128 of 128 papers
Theory
638 marks · 10.4%in 81 of 81 papers
Practise
6
Space physics
Ch. 6Rising · 7.9% since 2022
3.0%
Paper 2
78 questions · 1.6%in 26 of 128 papers
Theory
231 marks · 3.8%in 28 of 81 papers
Practise

The ten biggest syllabus points

Inside the chapters, these are the parts of the syllabus Cambridge asks about most.

1
3.2Light
Waves · 305 MCQs · 549 theory marks
8.0%
2
4.2Electrical quantities
Electricity and magnetism · 328 MCQs · 496 theory marks
7.7%
3
4.5Electromagnetic effects
Electricity and magnetism · 323 MCQs · 494 theory marks
7.6%
4
5.2Radioactivity
Nuclear physics · 301 MCQs · 495 theory marks
7.4%
5
1.7Energy, work and power
Motion, forces and energy · 296 MCQs · 462 theory marks
7.0%
6
4.3Electric circuits
Electricity and magnetism · 340 MCQs · 347 theory marks
6.2%
7
1.2Motion
Motion, forces and energy · 233 MCQs · 414 theory marks
6.1%
8
1.5Forces
Motion, forces and energy · 279 MCQs · 357 theory marks
5.8%
9
2.2Thermal properties and temperature
Thermal physics · 262 MCQs · 324 theory marks
5.4%
10
2.1Kinetic particle model of matter
Thermal physics · 199 MCQs · 299 theory marks
4.6%

What came up each year

Each cell is the chapter's share of that year's theory marks, in percent, across every session and variant we have. A chapter that is dark in every column is asked every year.

Share of each year's Physics theory marks, by chapter, 2015 to 2026
Chapter	15 (2015)	16 (2016)	17 (2017)	18 (2018)	19 (2019)	20 (2020)	21 (2021)	22 (2022)	23 (2023)	24 (2024)	25 (2025)	26 (2026)
1Motion, forces and energy	35	34	32	32	32	30	31	32	30	27	29	26
2Thermal physics	9	12	16	12	17	14	15	16	13	13	8	14
3Waves	21	22	18	21	19	21	19	17	16	17	16	15
4Electricity and magnetism	25	21	23	25	22	24	24	24	20	21	26	27
5Nuclear physics	9	12	11	10	10	12	12	11	10	11	9	9
6Space physics	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	11	12	12	9

Every chapter, syllabus point by syllabus point

In syllabus order. Open a chapter to see where its marks sit.

1Motion, forces and energy30.6%

Syllabus point	MCQs	Theory marks	Share
1.1Physical quantities and measurement techniques	134	99	2.0%
1.2Motion	233	414	6.1%
1.3Mass and weight	176	55	1.9%
1.4Density	124	121	2.2%
1.5Forces	279	357	5.8%
1.6Momentum	61	209	2.6%
1.7Energy, work and power	296	462	7.0%
1.8Pressure	140	172	2.8%

Practise Motion, forces and energy →

2Thermal physics13.8%

Syllabus point	MCQs	Theory marks	Share
2.1Kinetic particle model of matter	199	299	4.6%
2.2Thermal properties and temperature	262	324	5.4%
2.3Transfer of thermal energy	235	190	3.8%

Practise Thermal physics →

3Waves18.2%

Syllabus point	MCQs	Theory marks	Share
3.1General properties of waves	238	224	4.2%
3.2Light	305	549	8.0%
3.3Electromagnetic spectrum	95	127	2.1%
3.4Sound	215	226	4.0%

Practise Waves →

4Electricity and magnetism24.4%

Syllabus point	MCQs	Theory marks	Share
4.1Simple phenomena of magnetism	164	52	1.8%
4.2Electrical quantities	328	496	7.7%
4.3Electric circuits	340	347	6.2%
4.4Electrical safety	92	36	1.1%
4.5Electromagnetic effects	323	494	7.6%

Practise Electricity and magnetism →

5Nuclear physics10.1%

Syllabus point	MCQs	Theory marks	Share
5.1The nuclear model of the atom	154	143	2.6%
5.2Radioactivity	301	495	7.4%

Practise Nuclear physics →

6Space physics3.0%

Syllabus point	MCQs	Theory marks	Share
6.1Earth and the Solar System	35	108	1.4%
6.2Stars and the Universe	43	123	1.6%

Practise Space physics →

Common questions

Which topic comes up most in IGCSE Physics 0625?: Motion, forces and energy. It carries 30.6% of the Paper 2 and Paper 4 marks in our bank, followed by Electricity and magnetism (24.4%).
How many chapters do you need for most of the marks?: 4 of the 6 chapters carry 80% of the marks between them. Space physics carries the fewest, at 3.0%.
Which subtopics are asked most?: Light (3.2, 8.0%), Electrical quantities (4.2, 7.7%) and Electromagnetic effects (4.5, 7.6%).
How were these numbers counted?: From every question in the Zainora Physics bank: 4,772 multiple-choice questions from 128 Paper 2s, 2002–2026, and 6,122 theory marks from 81 theory papers, 2015–2026, each part filed under the chapter it tests. The two papers are weighted as Cambridge weights them, 30% and 50% of the grade.

How we counted

Paper 2 · Multiple choice: 4,772 questions from 128 papers, 2002–2026. One question is one mark.
Paper 4 · Theory (Paper 3 in 2015): 3,067 parts worth 6,122 marks from 81 papers, 2015–2026. Each part (a), (b)(i) and so on is filed under the chapter it tests, not the chapter its question started in.
Questions on content the current syllabus has dropped are left out: 348 multiple-choice questions and 179 theory parts.
The share weights Paper 2 at 30% and Paper 4 at 50%, as the syllabus does. Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical, 20%) is not counted here. "Since 2022" is the last five years of each paper.
Counted on 1 November 2026 from the same questions you practise in the bank. You may reuse these figures with credit to Zainora (CC BY 4.0).

Which topics come up most in Physics?

What the numbers say

Every chapter, most marks first

Motion, forces and energy

Electricity and magnetism

Waves

Thermal physics

Nuclear physics

Space physics

The ten biggest syllabus points

What came up each year

Every chapter, syllabus point by syllabus point

Common questions

How we counted

Other subjects

Which topics come up most in Physics?

What the numbers say

Every chapter, most marks first

Motion, forces and energy

Electricity and magnetism

Waves

Thermal physics

Nuclear physics

Space physics

The ten biggest syllabus points

What came up each year

Every chapter, syllabus point by syllabus point

Common questions

How we counted

Other subjects