9702 Paper 5 Planning Questions: A Reusable Template

Paper 5, Planning, Analysis and Evaluation, is short but distinctive. It has no apparatus and no lab. Instead you plan an experiment on paper and analyse data someone else has collected. Because the structure is the same in every series, a well-practised template can make the planning question far more manageable.

Paper 5 at a glance (2025–2027 syllabus)

• 1 hour 15 minutes, 30 marks: two compulsory questions, each worth 15 marks.
• Weighting: 11.5% of the A Level. It is not part of the AS Level.
• Question 1, Planning: design an investigation of a given problem. It is not highly structured, and you answer with a diagram and extended writing.
• Question 2, Analysis, conclusions and evaluation: you are given an equation and experimental data, and must find the value of a constant and estimate its uncertainty.
• Questions may be set in areas that are hard to investigate in a school lab. Any information needed beyond the syllabus is provided.

Question 1: where the planning marks are

The syllabus breaks the 15 planning marks into four areas: 1. Defining the problem: identify the independent variable, the dependent variable, and the variables to be kept constant. 2. Methods of data collection: how to vary and measure the variables, how to keep others constant, and a clear labelled diagram. The arrangement must be workable, and the instruments must be fit for purpose. 3. Method of analysis: how the data will be used to reach a conclusion, including what to plot and how to find constants from the graph. 4. Additional detail, including safety: for example, extra control measures, a circuit diagram, initial experiments or calibration, and a risk assessment with precautions.

The planning template

Use these headings in your answer. Each one maps to a mark area.

1. Variables - Independent variable: … (what you change, and how) - Dependent variable: … (what you measure, and with what instrument) - Controlled variables: … (name at least two, and say how each is kept constant)

2. Diagram - A large, labelled diagram of a workable arrangement. Include supports, clamps, measuring instruments and, for electrical experiments, a circuit diagram.

3. Method - How to set up the apparatus. - How to change the independent variable over a sensible range. - How to measure each quantity, naming the instrument (e.g. a micrometer for the diameter of a wire, a light gate and data logger for short time intervals). - Repeat measurements and average where appropriate.

4. Analysis - Rearrange the suggested relationship into a straight-line form. - State exactly what to plot on each axis. - State how the constants are found from the gradient and/or intercept. - State what result would confirm the relationship (e.g. a straight line through the origin).

5. Additional detail - Extra techniques that improve reliability, such as preliminary trials, checking zero errors, or using a fiducial marker. - Safety: identify a specific risk and a specific precaution (e.g. "goggles in case the stretched wire snaps", rather than "be careful").

Linearising relationships

The syllabus expects you to rearrange expressions into these forms:

Example (original): it is suggested that the period T of a mass–spring system depends on the mass m according to T = k mⁿ. Plot lg T against lg m. The gradient gives n and the intercept gives lg k. If n is close to 0.5, the data support T ∝ √m.

Question 2: analysis, conclusions and evaluation

The 15 marks cover data analysis, the table of results, the graph, the conclusion and the treatment of uncertainties. Typical steps: 1. State what to plot to give a straight line, and the expressions for the gradient and intercept. 2. Complete a table of calculated values, with uncertainties carried through. 3. Plot the graph, with error bars where required. 4. Draw the best-fit line and a worst acceptable line. 5. Find the gradient and intercept with their uncertainties, using the difference between the best-fit and worst lines. 6. Use them to find the required constant, with its uncertainty and unit.

Uncertainty in logarithms

When you plot ln y, the uncertainty in ln y is approximately Δy / y.

Example (original): if y = 4.0 ± 0.2, then ln y = 1.386, and the uncertainty in ln y ≈ 0.2/4.0 = 0.05. Record it as 1.39 ± 0.05.

For lg y, the uncertainty is approximately Δy / (y ln 10). Using the actual upper and lower values is also acceptable: lg 4.2 − lg 4.0 ≈ 0.021.

Presentation conventions for logarithms

The syllabus sets out two conventions that are easy marks to win or lose: - Units go with the quantity inside the logarithm, for example ln (d / cm). The logarithm itself has no unit. - Decimal places match significant figures. If L / cm is 76.5 (3 s.f.), then lg (L / cm) should be given as 1.884 (3 d.p.) or 1.8837 (4 d.p.).

For graphs in Question 2, the syllabus also expects error bars in both directions where appropriate, a line of best fit, and a worst acceptable straight line: the steepest or shallowest line that still passes through the error bars. The difference in gradient between the two lines gives the uncertainty in the gradient.

Common mistakes

1. No controlled variables, or naming them without saying how to keep them constant.
2. Unworkable diagrams: apparatus that floats unsupported, or meters in the wrong place in a circuit.
3. Vague instruments: "measure the length" without saying with what.
4. Analysis without specifics: "plot a graph" without saying what to plot or what the gradient represents.
5. Generic safety that is not linked to the experiment.
6. Worst acceptable line drawn through no error bars, or too similar to the best-fit line.

How to practise

• Plan one experiment a week using the template, then compare it with the mark scheme for that paper.
• Practise linearisation until choosing what to plot is automatic.
• Strengthen the shared skills (tables, graphs and uncertainties) with our 9702 Paper 3 practical guide.
• Sit full Paper 5s from the 9702 past papers library under the 75-minute limit.

Practise by topic

Topical PDFs of 9702 past-paper questions, with mark schemes: Capacitance · Oscillations · Nuclear physics · Ideal gases.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on Paper 5? Two compulsory questions, each worth 15 marks.

Do I need to have done the experiment? No. You need to plan it convincingly, but practical experience makes plans far more realistic.

Can the question be on a topic I haven't studied? It may be set in an unfamiliar context, but you will be given any information beyond the syllabus.

Is safety always required? Safety considerations are part of the additional-detail marks. Link each precaution to a specific risk.

Plan with confidence

Engr. Muhammad Waseem, BS Mechanical Engineering (UET Lahore), has taught Cambridge A Level Physics since 2022. He brings an engineer's approach to experimental design, focused on what actually works.

Sources: Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics 9702 syllabus for examination in 2025–2027: assessment overview, section 5 (Practical assessment) and the Paper 5 mark allocations and expectations (https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/664565-2025-2027-syllabus.pdf).

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