Edexcel GCSE Physics required practicals: A complete guide

If you've landed here after searching "Edexcel GCSE Physics required practicals", a quick heads-up: Edexcel doesn't call them required practicals. On the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0) specification they're called core practicals, and there are 8 of them, not 10 like AQA. That's a common mix-up, so if you've seen a list of 10 somewhere, you've probably been looking at AQA material by mistake.

This guide covers all 8 Edexcel GCSE Physics core practicals, where each one sits on the specification, how practical skills are examined across Paper 1 and Paper 2, and how to revise them. If you're on the Triple Science route at Higher tier, this is the full list. Combined Science students cover a reduced set, flagged in the article.

One thing worth flagging upfront: Edexcel provides an equation sheet in every paper, but it doesn't include everything. Equations such as density, F = ma, v = fλ and V = IR must be learned by heart. You will need to know how to apply them, and the core practicals are where many of those applications turn up.

Edexcel numbers each core practical against a specification point. You'll see them written as 2.19, 4.17, 5.9 and so on. The "P" suffix on 5.19P marks Physics-only separate-science content.

For every core practical you need to know the method, variables, main risks and expected results. Here's what each one looks like in practice.

A trolley is set up on a ramp with light gates (or a ticker-tape timer) and connected over a pulley to a hanging mass. You either keep the mass constant and vary the trolley's mass to test how acceleration changes with mass, or keep the trolley's mass constant and vary the hanging mass to test how acceleration changes with resultant force. Acceleration is calculated from the two velocities and the time between light gates.

The result should match F = ma: acceleration is directly proportional to resultant force, and inversely proportional to mass. Common exam questions ask you to identify sources of error (friction between trolley and ramp, air resistance) and to suggest improvements (compensate for friction by raising the ramp slightly).

This practical splits into two parts. For waves in a solid, Edexcel's method uses a metal rod clamped at its centre and struck with a hammer – you record the frequency of the sound with a frequency app or oscilloscope, take the wavelength as twice the length of the rod, and apply v = fλ. For waves in a fluid, you use a ripple tank with a strobe light to measure the wavelength of water waves of known frequency.

Exam questions commonly ask you to describe the apparatus choice, explain why a strobe light appears to "freeze" the ripples, and calculate wave speed from your data.

A glass block is placed on paper and its outline drawn. A ray of light from a ray box is directed into the block at a measured angle of incidence. You mark where the ray enters and exits the block, draw in the refracted ray, and measure the angle of refraction. Repeat for several angles of incidence.

As light passes from air into glass, it slows down and bends towards the normal. On exit it speeds up and bends away from the normal. Markschemes reward accurate ray tracing (sharp pencil, clear ruled lines) and consistent measurement from the normal. Exam questions often ask you to explain why the ray bends or predict the ray path for a given incident angle.

A Leslie cube (a hollow metal container with four differently-finished surfaces – matt black, matt white, shiny silver, shiny black) is filled with hot water. An infrared detector is placed the same distance from each face in turn, and the amount of infrared radiation emitted is measured.

Matt black surfaces emit (and absorb) infrared radiation best; shiny silver surfaces are the worst emitters and absorbers. Exam questions commonly ask you to identify why a distance control is critical, why the water temperature must be the same for each face, and how your results connect to real-world applications (radiators painted black, insulation foil, solar collectors).

This is a two-part practical. Part a: build a circuit with a power supply, variable resistor, ammeter in series, and voltmeter in parallel across the component being tested (resistor, then filament lamp). Vary the voltage, record current, and plot I against V. A fixed resistor gives a straight line through the origin (obeys Ohm's law); a filament lamp curves because resistance increases as the filament heats up.

Part b: compare brightness or voltage distribution in series versus parallel circuits. In series, bulbs share the voltage from the supply and brightness drops as more are added. In parallel, each bulb gets the full supply voltage and brightness stays about the same. Exam questions often give you a mixed circuit and ask you to calculate currents and voltages at various points.

For regular solids you measure the dimensions with a ruler or vernier caliper, calculate the volume, and measure the mass on a balance. Density = mass / volume. For irregular solids you use a displacement can: the solid is lowered into a full can and the overflow is collected in a measuring cylinder; the volume of water displaced equals the volume of the solid. For liquids you measure the mass of an empty measuring cylinder, then the mass with a known volume of liquid, and subtract.

Exam questions often ask about precision of instruments (vernier calipers over rulers for small objects, measuring cylinders at eye level), sources of error, and conversions between units (g/cm³ and kg/m³).

For specific heat capacity of water: a known mass of water is heated with an immersion heater at measured power for a measured time. Temperature rise is recorded. Using Q = mcΔT and Q = Pt (power × time), you can rearrange to find c. Insulation reduces heat loss and improves accuracy.

For the temperature-time graph of melting ice: a thermometer sits in a beaker of crushed ice while it's heated gently. Temperature is recorded every 30 seconds. The graph plateaus at 0°C while ice melts (because energy goes into breaking intermolecular bonds while the temperature stays constant) before rising again once all the ice has melted. The plateau is a classic exam point.

A spring is suspended from a clamp stand with a pointer and a vertical ruler. Masses are added in known increments, and the extension (length with mass minus original length) is recorded for each. Force is calculated from F = mg (using g ≈ 9.8 N/kg). A graph of force against extension gives a straight line through the origin while the spring obeys Hooke's law (F = kx, where k is the spring constant).

Beyond the limit of proportionality the line curves, and if the spring is stretched past its elastic limit it won't return to its original length. Exam questions often ask you to identify the limit of proportionality on a graph, calculate the spring constant from the gradient, or work out the elastic potential energy stored using E = ½kx².

There's no separate practical exam. Core practicals are examined through two written papers, Paper 1 (1PH0/1H), covering Topics 1 to 7 and Paper 2 (1PH0/2H), covering Topic 1 and Topics 8 to 15, each 1 hour 45 minutes and worth 100 marks. Topic 1 ("Key concepts of physics") is common to both papers, so Topic 1 practical-style questions can appear on either.

AO3 ("analyse information and ideas to interpret, evaluate, develop and improve experimental procedures") is worth 20% of the overall GCSE. AO1 and AO2 are 40% each. The exact per-paper AO3 split is set out in the Pearson 1PH0 specification.

Edexcel provides an equation sheet in every paper, so you don't need to memorise every equation. You do need to know how to apply them. Physics also has at least a 30% mathematical skills requirement across the qualification, the highest of the three sciences, and much of that maths lives in the core practicals (densities, specific heat capacity, Hooke's law, speed/frequency/wavelength).

This is the biggest difference between Edexcel and AQA Physics: AQA has 10 required practicals, Edexcel has 8 core practicals. If you've seen a list of 10 physics practicals somewhere, it's AQA – not Edexcel. Make sure you're revising from Edexcel-specific materials.

Content overlap is substantial. Both specifications cover density, Hooke's law, specific heat capacity, I-V characteristics, series and parallel circuits, acceleration, and waves. AQA additionally has resistance and thermal insulation practicals; its infrared radiation practical is the equivalent of Edexcel's 5.19P (surface type and thermal radiation). AQA also includes extra separate-science practicals.

When using cross-board resources, map by technique rather than by number. A Hooke's law method from an AQA resource transfers directly to Edexcel 15.6, but the numbering doesn't match.

No. Edexcel Combined Science (1SC0) drops Topic 7 (Astronomy) and Topic 11 (Static electricity) from Physics entirely, and reduces separate-science content. Neither of those topics houses a core practical in the eight-practical list, so the topic drops don't change the practical count directly. What does change the count is the P suffix: 5.19P (thermal radiation and surface type) carries the "P" marker that signals Physics-only separate-science content, which Combined students don't study. The seven remaining physics core practicals (2.19, 4.17, 5.9, 10.17, 14.3, 14.11 and 15.6) are on the Combined route. Check with your teacher if you're not sure which pathway you're on.

The approach is similar to Biology and Chemistry: active recall, past-paper practice, and plenty of maths. Physics has an extra layer because so many of the practicals turn into calculations.

For each core practical, flashcard four things – method as bulleted steps, variables, main risks and mitigation, and expected result with explanation. Write each method out from memory, then compare against your notes. Flag anything you missed.

Practise the calculations separately. Make yourself a short set of worked examples: density from mass and volume, acceleration from light-gate timings, extension from F = kx, specific heat capacity from Q = mcΔT. These show up repeatedly, and markschemes pay out method marks for showing working. Then work through past-paper practical-skills questions by topic – the "suggest an improvement" and "evaluate the student's conclusion" styles recycle reliably year to year.

Cognito's Edexcel GCSE Physics course walks through every core practical in short video form, with method, variables and expected results laid out clearly. If you're on Combined Science, the Edexcel Combined Science course covers the physics core practicals you need. For broader equation prep, we've got a guide on the physics equations you need to memorise that pairs well with practical revision.