IGCSE Physics (0625): The Complete Guide for Pakistani Students

If your Oct/Nov 2026 exam series is coming up, IGCSE Physics is probably one of the subjects on your mind right now. It’s a core science for most Cambridge pathways in Pakistan, it feeds directly into A Level Physics, and it’s one of the subjects where a clear understanding of the paper structure — not just the content — makes a real difference to the final grade.

This guide walks through what IGCSE Physics (0625) actually covers, how it’s assessed, the Core vs Extended decision that trips up a lot of families, and how to use the time left before your exam wisely.

What is IGCSE Physics (0625)?

IGCSE Physics is one of the three separate sciences offered under Cambridge’s IGCSE syllabus (alongside Chemistry and Biology), and it’s a popular choice for students in Pakistan heading toward A Level Physics, engineering, or any STEM-related degree. The syllabus code for Cambridge’s version is 0625.

Edexcel also offers an IGCSE Physics syllabus under a different code and paper structure, so if your school follows Edexcel rather than Cambridge, some of the paper-specific details below won’t apply directly — though the core topics are broadly similar. Always confirm your syllabus and code with your exams officer, since schools occasionally switch boards or tiers between cohorts.

Exam structure: what the papers actually look like

Cambridge IGCSE Physics is assessed through a Multiple Choice paper, a Theory paper, and a practical component:

• Multiple Choice — a set of short, single-best-answer questions covering the full syllabus. Which version of this paper you sit depends on whether you’re entered for Core or Extended tier.
• Theory — longer, structured questions requiring calculations, explanations and diagram-based answers. This is usually the paper that carries the most weight and the one students spend the most revision time on.
• Practical Test or Alternative to Practical — depending on how your school is set up, you’ll either sit a hands-on practical test or a written paper that tests practical skills (planning, measuring, handling data) without requiring lab equipment.

Exact paper numbers, timings and weightings are reviewed by Cambridge periodically, so always confirm the current combination with your teacher or the latest syllabus document rather than relying on last year’s structure alone.

Core topics you’ll need to know

Regardless of tier, IGCSE Physics is built around a consistent set of topic areas.

Mechanics and forces covers motion, speed and acceleration, mass and weight, density, forces and Newton’s laws, momentum, and turning effects — and tends to carry some of the most calculation-heavy questions on the paper.

Thermal physics covers states of matter, kinetic particle theory, thermal properties, and heat transfer by conduction, convection and radiation.

Waves covers general wave properties, light (including reflection and refraction), and sound.

Electricity and magnetism covers electrical quantities, circuits, electromagnetic effects, and magnetism — another topic that carries significant weight in the Theory paper.

Nuclear physics covers radioactivity, half-life, and safety considerations around radioactive materials.

Space physics covers the solar system, stars and the universe — usually a smaller, more descriptive section compared to the others.

Mechanics, electricity and waves tend to carry the most marks and the most calculation-heavy questions, so they’re usually worth prioritising early in a revision plan.

Core vs Extended: which one is right?

This is one of the most common questions parents ask us. Core tier is designed for students targeting grades up to a C, while Extended tier covers the full grade range up to an A*. Extended includes everything in Core plus additional, more challenging content and calculation-based questions.

The right choice depends on where the student is realistically performing in mock exams and class tests — not on ambition alone, since being entered for Extended and scoring below the Core grade boundary can mean an ungraded result. This is worth discussing directly with your child’s physics teacher well before entry deadlines, since tier decisions are usually locked in months ahead of the exam.

How to prepare in the time you have left

A few things consistently make the biggest difference for IGCSE Physics students in Pakistan:

1. Work through past papers by topic, not just by year. Grouping questions by topic (for example, all electricity questions across five years) helps you spot patterns in how Cambridge phrases questions.
2. Don’t skip the practical or Alternative to Practical paper. It’s often under-revised because it feels less “content-heavy,” but it has its own specific skills — reading instruments correctly, describing experimental errors — that need dedicated practice.
3. Get comfortable with units and significant figures. A surprising number of marks are lost to careless unit errors in an otherwise correct calculation.
4. Talk through mark schemes with a study group or tutor, not just questions — understanding why a mark scheme awards marks the way it does is often more useful than attempting more new questions.

Frequently asked questions

Is IGCSE Physics hard compared to other IGCSE sciences? Most students find it more calculation-heavy than Biology and roughly on par with Chemistry — the difficulty tends to come from applying formulas under exam conditions rather than pure memorisation.

Can a student move from Core to Extended after starting the course? It’s possible early in the two-year programme, but gets harder the closer you get to exams, since Extended assumes additional content has already been covered from the start.

Does IGCSE Physics prepare a student well for A Level Physics? Yes — Extended tier in particular builds the mathematical and conceptual foundation A Level Physics assumes. Students who took Core sometimes need extra support in the first term of A Level to catch up on missing depth.

Where IGCSE Physics fits into the bigger picture

For students planning to continue Physics after IGCSE, it’s worth looking ahead at what A Level Physics with Cambridge involves — the transition is smoother when a student already knows what’s coming.

How Learners Academy can help

At Learners Academy, IGCSE Physics is taught live online by vetted teachers who work through the Cambridge syllabus board by board — you can see the full breakdown of topics, syllabus code and assessment structure on our Cambridge IGCSE Physics page. If your school follows Edexcel instead, we also run dedicated classes for Edexcel IGCSE Physics.

Group classes are Rs 19,000/month per subject, and 1-to-1 classes are Rs 3,500/class, taught live online with no long-term contracts.

The first class is free. Book a demo class or message us on WhatsApp at +92 323 9149918 to see where your revision stands before Oct/Nov 2026.