A Level Physics 9702, topic 23
Nuclear physics: past paper questions
19 Cambridge A Level Physics 9702 questions on Nuclear physics (23) from 19 papers, 2023 to 2026. Open the paper or try a question free.
Practising builds a set from this topic, free with an account. One question opens straight away, with no account.
- Questions
- 19
- Papers
- 19
- Years
- 2023 to 2026
- Total marks
- 191
- Average per question
- 10.1 marks
- Largest question
- 13 marks
By type: Structured 19
How hard the questions are
- Recall0
- Apply6
- Analyse13
- Not banded0
Derived from the command word Cambridge prints in each question, banded by a fixed table beside the syllabus's own definitions. A question printing no command word is unbanded: unknown, not middling.
Command words
- stateRecall17 questions
express in clear terms
- determineApply14 questions
establish an answer using the information available
- explainAnalyse10 questions
set out purposes or reasons/make the relationships between things evident/provide why and/or how and support with relevant evidence
- defineRecall8 questions
give precise meaning
- calculateApply6 questions
work out from given facts, figures or information
- sketchApply6 questions
make a simple freehand drawing showing the key features
- suggestAnalyse5 questions
apply knowledge and understanding to situations where there are a range of valid responses in order to make proposals
- useApply5 questions
- show thatApply4 questions
- labelRecall2 questions
Where the questions come from
By year
- 20263
- 20254
- 20246
- 20236
By session
- May/June10
- Oct/Nov9
By paper
- Paper 419
Questions on this topic
Showing 13 of 19, spread across the years. Open one to write your answer and have it marked.
- Try this questionQuestion 9May/June 2026, paper 41Structured9 marks
Define the mass defect of a nucleus.
- Try this questionQuestion 8Oct/Nov 2025, paper 41Structured11 marks
State what is meant by a photon.
- Try this questionQuestion 9Oct/Nov 2024, paper 41Structured10 marks
Fluorine-18 () decays by beta-plus () emission with a half-life of 110 minutes. State the name of the beta-plus particle.
- Try this questionQuestion 9Oct/Nov 2023, paper 41Structured10 marksHas a diagram
State what is meant by nuclear fusion.
- Try this questionQuestion 10May/June 2026, paper 42Structured11 marks
Define the binding energy of a nucleus.
- Try this questionQuestion 9Oct/Nov 2025, paper 42Structured13 marks
State what is meant by the mass defect of a nucleus.
- Try this questionQuestion 10Oct/Nov 2024, paper 42Structured8 marks
Radioactive decay is both random and spontaneous. State what is meant by random.
- Try this questionQuestion 9Oct/Nov 2023, paper 42Structured12 marksHas a diagram
Fluorine-18 () is a radioactive nuclide that is used as a tracer in positron emission tomography (PET scanning).
- Try this questionQuestion 10May/June 2025, paper 42Structured9 marksHas a diagram
Radioactive decay is a spontaneous process. State the meaning, in this context, of the term spontaneous.
- Try this questionQuestion 9May/June 2024, paper 41Structured8 marksHas a diagram
Define half-life of a radioactive isotope.
- Try this questionQuestion 9May/June 2023, paper 41Structured9 marksHas a diagram
Carbon-11 is radioactive and decays by emission to form boron-11. Carbon-11 has a half-life of 20 minutes. Boron-11 is stable.
- Try this questionQuestion 9May/June 2024, paper 42Structured13 marksHas a diagram
State what is meant by the binding energy of a nucleus.
- Try this questionQuestion 9May/June 2023, paper 42Structured11 marks
Define mass defect.