The Edexcel A-Level Physics specification includes 16 core practical experiments. While you will not perform these experiments in the exam, Paper 3 in particular tests your understanding of practical skills through written questions. These questions can appear in any part of the paper and are worth significant marks.
The 16 Core Practicals
You should be familiar with the apparatus, method, and analysis for each core practical. The key ones include:
CP1: Determine the acceleration of a freely falling object (using light gates or electromagnetic release and timer)
CP2: Determine the frequency of stationary waves on a string (vibration generator, measuring wavelength and frequency)
CP3: Determine the electrical resistivity of a material (measuring resistance, length, cross-sectional area)
CP4: Determine the EMF and internal resistance of a cell
CP6: Determine the Young's modulus of a material
CP9: Investigate the charge and discharge of a capacitor (measuring voltage across capacitor over time)
CP11: Investigate the effects of length and width on the resonant frequencies of vibrating strips
CP14: Determine the specific heat capacity of a material
CP16: Investigate the relationship between intensity and distance for a point source of light (inverse-square law)
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