plumiForces and Newton’s laws: Edexcel A‑Level Physics questions
Every Edexcel A-Level Physics exam question on Forces and Newton’s laws (specification points 16–20), 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
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Calculations
Q12(a)(i)
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Q12(a)(ii)
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Q12(a)(iii)
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Q12(b)(ii)
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Q10(a)
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Q13(a)(i)
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Q13(b)(i)
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Q14(d)
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Q14(a)(ii)
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Q13(a)(i)
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Q17(b)(i)
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Q17(b)(ii)
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Q12(a)
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All 43 questions on Forces and Newton’s laws, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q3 (1 mark): A ball is tied to the end of a length of string. A person holds the other end of the string. The person spins the ball and string around in a horizontal circle,
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q9 (1 mark): Which of the following is a free-body force diagram for the ball at its maximum height? A B C D A B C D
- June 2025, Paper 3, Q12(a)(i) (2 marks): The student omitted t1 when calculating the mean time. He justified this by stating that t1 is an anomalous result. Another student stated that the correct mean
- June 2025, Paper 3, Q12(a)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the percentage uncertainty in the mean time tmean . (3) Percentage uncertainty in tmean =
- June 2025, Paper 3, Q12(a)(iii) (1 mark): The student used the mean time to calculate the velocity of the metal cylinder as it moved past the light gate. State the extra measurement the student must hav
- June 2025, Paper 3, Q12(b)(ii) (3 marks): Explain why a light gate and data logger were used in this experiment rather than a stopwatch. You should refer to your answer to (b)(i). (3)
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q9 (1 mark): A person of mass 70 kg is standing on the floor of a lift, as shown. The lift is accelerating downwards at 1.5 m s−2. Which of the following gives the normal re
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q3 (1 mark): A ball is thrown and follows the path shown. X Air resistance is negligible. Which of the following is a free-body force diagram for the ball at position X? A B
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q10(a) (3 marks): The coin moves 65 cm before coming to rest. There is a mean resistive force of 2.2 × 10 –3 N on the coin as it moves. Calculate the initial speed of the coin. m
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q11 (4 marks): The picture shows a toy car. There is an inflated balloon attached to the car. As the balloon deflates, air is released from the back of the car and the car sta
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q13(a)(i) (3 marks): Complete the free-body force diagram for the car. (3) driving force
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q13(b)(i) (4 marks): Calculate the maximum decelerating force on the van. mass of van = 2400 kg (4) Maximum decelerating force = N
- June 2024, AS Paper 2, Q14(d) (5 marks): The motion of a charged dust particle on the Moon is influenced by nearby charged dust particles as well as by the Moon’s gravity. The lack of an atmosphere on
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q14(a)(ii) (2 marks): Complete the free‑body force diagram for support rod X. (2) weight of cable
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q1 (1 mark): A student throws a ball vertically upwards. Which of the following shows a free‑body force diagram for the ball immediately after it leaves the student’s hand?
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q5 (1 mark): A car is travelling at a constant speed in a straight line along a horizontal road. Which row of the table gives a Newton’s third law pair of forces? Force 1 Fo
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q13(a)(i) (1 mark): Show that the weight of the plank is about 250 N. mass of plank = 25 kg (1)
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q17(b)(i) (3 marks): Calculate the total mass of the people in the lift. weight of lift = 12 kN (3) Mass of people =
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q17(b)(ii) (3 marks): Explain the motion of the lift between 5 s and 29 s. (3)
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q12(a) (3 marks): Complete the free‑body force diagram to show the four forces acting on the bicycle. Treat the bicycle and cyclist as a single object. One force has been added f
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q12(b)(ii) (4 marks): The cyclist travels 7.80 m while coming to rest. Calculate the average resistive force on the cyclist and bicycle. mass of cyclist and bicycle = 28.0 kg (4) Ave
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q1 (1 mark): A skydiver steps out of an aeroplane and falls from rest, towards the ground. Her parachute opens a short time after she reaches terminal velocity. Which of the
- June 2022, AS Paper 1, Q6 (1 mark): Two identical lorries, P and Q, carry different loads inside them so that the total mass of P is greater than the total mass of Q. P and Q start from rest along
- June 2022, AS Paper 1, Q7 (1 mark): A cable is used to pull a mass of 2.5 kg vertically upwards with an acceleration of 4.3 m s–2. Which of the following expressions gives the tension in the cable
- June 2022, AS Paper 1, Q14 (6 marks): * 14 A student is travelling forwards at constant speed on a skateboard. The student jumps forward off the skateboard. Explain how Newton’s laws of motion apply
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q13(b) (4 marks): Explain why the male skater experiences a change in his velocity when he pushes the female skater forwards. You should make reference to Newton’s laws of motion
- November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q17(a)(i) (4 marks): Calculate the mean force from the ground on the gymnast. (4) Mean force from the ground =
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q16(b) (2 marks): Just as the spider starts the jump, it fixes a silk thread to the platform. It is thought that the thread acts as a safety line in case the spider falls. silk t
- October 2020, AS Paper 1, Q3 (1 mark): A suitcase is being dragged along the ground by the handle in the direction shown. direction of motion handle ground Which of the following shows the direction
- June 2019, Paper 3, Q8(c) (2 marks): While a stone is moving towards the target, the curlers vigorously sweep the ice directly in front of the stone. Explain why this may make the stone travel furt
- June 2019, AS Paper 1, Q10 (5 marks): A student carried out an experiment to determine the acceleration of free-fall g using the apparatus shown in the photograph. A ball bearing was released from a
- June 2019, AS Paper 1, Q14(a) (6 marks): Sphere A is pulled to one side as shown and released. Sphere A collides with sphere B and stops and sphere B swings upwards. The time intervals between the phot
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q3 (1 mark): An object is falling at terminal velocity. Which of the following is not a valid conclusion from this statement? A The acceleration of the object is zero. B The
- June 2018, Paper 3, Q10(b) (2 marks): Electromagnetic forces enable the train to levitate above a steel rail. Explain why magnetic levitation is an advantage for a high-speed transport system. (2)
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q12(b) (4 marks): The teacher asked a student to justify the change in velocity of glider 1 using Newton’s laws of motion. The student began his explanation with the statement: “
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q14(b)(iii) (3 marks): Calculate a value for the frictional force acting on the car when the positive acceleration is a maximum. (3) mass of car including fuel at this time = 7790 kg
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q14(c) (6 marks): Discuss, with reference to the graph, the factors that would have been used to predict the motion of the car over the 120 s. (6)
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q11(a) (3 marks): Explain the shape of this graph and include a consideration of force as part of your answer. (3)
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q5 (6 marks): * 5 The following extract comes from a section on forces, on a website written for children. Forces act in pairs. The lift force on a plane pushing If both forc
- June 2016, AS Paper 1, Q10(a) (3 marks): Initially Team A and Team B are stationary. Add labels to the free-body force diagram for the child at the end of the rope for Team A at this instant. (3)
- June 2016, AS Paper 1, Q10(b) (6 marks): Team B wins by pulling Team A over the marker. By considering the forces on the children and on the rope explain, in terms of Newton’s laws, the process by whic
- June 2016, AS Paper 1, Q11(a) (2 marks): The base has a capacity of 85.0 litres. Show that the maximum weight of the base is about 870N. mass of 1.00 litre of water = 1.00 kg mass of base when empty =
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q16(a) (3 marks): Complete the free-body force diagram below to represent the forces acting on the climber. (3) ●
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