GCSE PhysicsCombined and separate
Practise GCSE Physics with questions on every topic, from energy and forces to atomic structure and space, and calculations with every step of the working shown.
The questions on this page come from the Show Working app, where Science is on its way. Each has the answer, the reason, and the trusted source we checked it against.
Which energy resource supplies most of the energy for road transport in the UK?
Energy resources are used for transport, electricity generation and heating. In the UK, petrol and diesel made from oil still supply most transport energy, and natural gas is the main fuel burned to heat homes.
01 / TopicsFrom the national content
Energy, forces, forces and motion, waves in matter, light and electromagnetic waves, electricity, magnetism and electromagnetism, particle model of matter, atomic structure and space physics. They follow the Department for Education’s GCSE physics content, which every board in England teaches.
Facts marked separate Physics only don’t come up for Combined Science pupils, and Higher-only facts don’t come up on Foundation. In the app, your board, course and tier decide which you see.
02 / Sample questionsOne from each topic
Physics marks come from knowing the ideas exactly and from calculations: picking the right equation, putting the numbers in, rearranging, and giving the unit. The app practises both, with the reason for every fact and every step of every calculation.
01 / EnergyBoth tiers
Answer: C Oil
Energy resources are used for transport, electricity generation and heating. In the UK, petrol and diesel made from oil still supply most transport energy, and natural gas is the main fuel burned to heat homes.
Checked against DESNZ, UK Energy in Brief 2026, final energy consumption by fuel and sector (page 10), gov.uk
02 / ForcesBoth tiers
Answer: A Magnetic force
A force is a push or a pull caused by an interaction between objects. Contact forces act when objects touch: friction, air resistance, tension and normal contact force. Non-contact forces act at a distance: gravitational, electrostatic and magnetic forces.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.1.2 Contact and non-contact forces
03 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A Braking distances are longer on wet roads
The Highway Code asks for at least a two-second gap on high-speed roads, at least double that on wet roads and up to ten times more on icy roads. Less grip means longer braking distances, so drivers need more room to stop safely.
Checked against The Highway Code, rules 103 to 158 (rule 126, stopping distances; rules 148 to 150, distractions), gov.uk
04 / Waves in matterBoth tiers
Answer: B Its maximum displacement from the rest position
The amplitude is how far a point on the wave moves from its undisturbed (rest) position, at most. It is measured from the middle line to a peak, not from a peak to a trough, which would be twice the amplitude.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.6.1.1 and 4.6.1.2 Transverse and longitudinal waves, properties of waves
05 / Light and electromagnetic wavesBoth tiers
Answer: C Ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays
The higher the frequency of an electromagnetic wave, the more energy it carries and the more harm it can do. Ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays are the hazardous end of the spectrum; gamma rays pass deep into the body.
Checked against DfE GCSE single science subject content (gov.uk), physics: Light and electromagnetic waves (uses and hazardous effects)
06 / ElectricityBoth tiers
Answer: C The rate of flow of electric charge
Current is the rate of flow of charge: how much charge passes a point each second. In metal wires the moving charges are electrons. Current is not a flow of energy, although the moving charges do transfer energy.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.2.1.2 Electrical charge and current
07 / Magnetism and electromagnetismBoth tiers
Answer: B They repel
Like poles (north and north, or south and south) repel each other. Unlike poles (north and south) attract. These forces act without the magnets touching, so they are non-contact forces.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.7.1.1 Poles of a magnet
08 / Particle model of matterBoth tiers
Answer: A Mass per unit volume
Density tells you how much mass is packed into each cubic metre of a material. It is mass divided by volume, so its unit is kilograms per metre cubed, kg/m³.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.3.1.1 Density of materials
03 / Physics calculations44 kinds, fresh numbers every time
Every kind of calculation makes new numbers each time you practise, and shows the working step by step: the equation, the numbers in, the rearranging and the unit. The answers are worked out by code, never typed.
A car has a mass of 1,000 kg and is moving at 11 m/s. Work out the kinetic energy. Give your answer in joules.
Answer 60,500 J
There is a potential difference of 3 V across a small motor. Its resistance is 20 Ω. Work out the current through it. Give your answer in amps.
Answer 0.15 A
04 / Required practicals10 practicals across the boards
Practical work is at least 15% of the marks. Here’s every physics practical AQA or Edexcel requires, plus OCR’s practical groups, with who has each one. Open one for the variables, the method, a safety point and where the marks go.
Questions from the app’s required practicals topic, with the answer and the reason.
01 / Required practicalsBoth tiers
Answer: A The energy needed to warm 1 kg of it by 1 °C
You supply a measured amount of energy, measure the mass and the temperature rise, and work out the energy needed per kilogram per degree. That value is the specific heat capacity, in J/kg °C.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 8.2.1 Required practical activity 1
02 / Required practicalsBoth tiers
Answer: C The same p.d. across each branch
Each parallel branch is connected across the same two points, so each has the same p.d. In series the supply p.d. is shared between the components, so their p.d.s add up to the supply p.d.
Checked against Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics 1PH0 specification, Appendix 6 core practicals 2.19 to 10.17
03 / Required practicalsBoth tiers
Answer: A The spring constant
Force = spring constant × extension, so force ÷ extension, the gradient, is the spring constant in N/m. A stiffer spring gives a steeper line.
Checked against OCR Twenty First Century Physics B J259 specification, P6.3 material under stress
04 / Required practicalsBoth tiers
The right order: E, B, A, D, C
Drawing round the block lets you put it back and join the ray through it. The ray box bulb runs hot, so let it cool before moving it, and work in a dimmed room with bags tucked away so nobody trips.
Checked against OCR Gateway Physics A J249 specification, P5.1 reflection and refraction (PAG P8)
05 / Long answers6 marks
In the app you write your answer, then tick off what a full answer includes and read our model answer. No AI marking, no score, no grade.
Describe how and why the model of the atom has changed over time.
06 / Coming to Show WorkingWhat it will cost
We’re building Science for Show Working now, and physics is part of it. It isn’t on phones yet, and we won’t give a date until it’s ready.
Maths is the subject in Show Working today: fresh questions every time, with the working shown for every answer. See the maths topics.
Coming soon to the App Store07 / QuestionsAbout GCSE Physics
Show Working groups the Department for Education’s physics content into ten areas: energy; forces; forces and motion; waves in matter; light and electromagnetic waves; electricity; magnetism and electromagnetism; the particle model of matter; atomic structure; and space physics, which is in separate Physics only.
Yes. Every GCSE Physics and Combined Science exam now comes with an equation sheet, and Ofqual has said this carries on for the rest of the current courses. You still need to pick the right equation, rearrange it and use the right units.
Use the value the question gives you. AQA gives 9.8 N/kg, while Edexcel and OCR often expect 10 N/kg. Every calculation in Show Working tells you which value to use.
AQA has 10 for Physics and 8 physics ones in Combined Science. Edexcel has 8 core practicals in Physics and 7 in Combined Science. OCR sets practical activity groups and lets schools choose the experiments.
Cover, recall, check.
Read the answers today, then come back tomorrow, cover them and see how many you still know. That’s how facts stick.
Revise the practicalsWant the bigger picture? Combined or separate, boards and tiers.
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