OCR A Level Physics B (H557) Past Papers 2026

Fundamentals of Physics

Duration: 2h 15m

Scientific Literacy in Physics

Duration: 2h 15m

Practical Skills in Physics

Duration: 1h 30m

Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC)

Duration: Pass/fail — assessed throughout the course by the centre

Explanatory answers: building a physics argument rather than describing the applied context

Identified as the most pervasive weakness across H557/02 2023 and 2024. Examiners note responses 'were focused on the context of the question without considering the underlying physics' — a pattern unique to Advancing Physics because every question is embedded in a real-world scenario.

H557/01, H557/02

Simple harmonic motion: negative sign in the acceleration equation and condition for SHM

H557/02 2024 Q3(b)(i): 'only the best answers stated that force is proportional to the negative of the displacement and only the very best linked this proportionality to the condition for simple harmonic motion that acceleration is proportional to the negative of the displacement from the equilibrium position.'

H557/01, H557/02

Electromagnetic induction: distinguishing maximum flux from maximum rate of change of flux

H557/03 2023 Q4(a)(ii): 'Candidates found it difficult to explain the concept of electromagnetic induction, and only a few candidates were able to explain clearly. Some candidates did gain some credit for stating Faraday's Law but then didn't manage to separate the idea of maximum change of flux as opposed to the maximum flux.'

H557/03

Exponential decay testing: demonstrating the constant-ratio or constant-half-life property clearly

H557/01 2023 Q37(a)(iii): 'Most candidates read some values from the graph and attempted calculations to show a constant half-life — this is an acceptable alternative to showing a constant ratio property — but they were not clear about the process or the values obtained.' Only the best candidates communicated the method unambiguously.

H557/01

P-V graph for an ideal gas: drawing an asymptotic hyperbola, not a linear or y-intercept curve

H557/02 2023 Q3(a): 'A significant proportion of the candidates did not gain both marks. Many candidates drew linear relationships for the P-V graph. A number of responses did not gain the mark for the P-V graph due to inaccurate drawing; sometimes drawing an exponential curve with a y intercept or drawing curves that go back on themselves instead of approaching the axes asymptotically.'

H557/02

Practical: distinguishing precision (instrument resolution) from uncertainty (range due to all sources)

H557/03 2024 Q3(d): 'Many stated that the uncertainty of the measurements of both u and v would be 0.01 m. This is the precision of the rule, not the uncertainty of the value, which depends on a number of other factors.' Examiners across both 2023 and 2024 cite this confusion repeatedly.

H557/03

Nuclear physics: beta-minus decay notation; neutron-chain reaction description with required precision

H557/02 2024 Q6(a)(i): many wrote 'neutrino' rather than 'anti-neutrino'. Q6(c)(i): 'many responses suggested that the three neutrons released could cause three other fission events but did not go on to describe this as a process that could be repeated. The language used to describe fission events was often imprecise.'

H557/02

Wave-particle duality: phasor model and precise statements about what each model can and cannot explain

H557/02 2024 Q4(c): 'it was common to read that "diffraction is explained by the wave model", which is not sufficiently clear as it does not state that the particle model cannot explain diffraction.' Similarly, responses failed to state precisely what the wave model cannot account for in the photoelectric effect.

H557/02