In the final days before your IGCSE Physics 0625 exam, focus on confirming the correct paper and timetable, reviewing weaknesses that are still costing you marks, checking equations and units, practising difficult question types and revisiting practical skills. This is not the time to restart the entire syllabus. Your last-minute revision should be based on evidence from recent Past Papers, Mock Exams, Diagnostic Reports and your own mistakes.
Use this checklist to organise what you need to do several days before the exam, the day before it and immediately before entering the exam room.
1. Confirm Which Physics 0625 Paper You Are Sitting
Start by checking the exact component you are preparing for.
For the current 2026–2028 syllabus:
- Core candidates: Paper 1 + Paper 3 + Paper 5 or 6
- Extended candidates: Paper 2 + Paper 4 + Paper 5 or 6
- Paper 5: Practical Test
- Paper 6: Alternative to Practical
All candidates therefore sit a multiple-choice paper, a theory paper and one practical-skills component.
Before each exam, confirm:
- Your paper number
- Examination date
- AM or PM session
- Venue
- School or centre instructions
- Correct Cambridge timetable
Cambridge uses six administrative zones, each with its own timetable, so do not rely on a timetable screenshot from another country or centre. Check our full IGCSE Physics Exam Dates & Timetable guide to verify your administrative zone and component codes.
2. Review Your Weakest Physics Topics First
Your final revision should be selective.
Use your recent:
- Mock Exam results
- Test Papers
- Diagnostic Reports
- Past Paper errors
- Personal error log
to identify what still needs attention.
Prioritise problems such as:
- Repeated conceptual mistakes
- Calculation errors
- Equations you regularly misuse
- Graph or data questions you lose marks on
- Practical-skills weaknesses
For example, if you repeatedly struggle with circuit calculations but perform well in Thermal Physics, give more of your remaining time to Electricity and Magnetism.
The principle is simple:
Evidence of Weakness → Targeted Review
3. Check Equations, Units and Calculations You Often Get Wrong
Do not spend your final revision session trying to memorise equations randomly.
Instead, check whether you can:
- Select the correct equation
- Rearrange it
- Substitute values correctly
- Use consistent SI units
- Convert prefixes and units
- Use significant figures appropriately
- Avoid rounding too early
- Use standard form correctly
- Operate your calculator confidently
Cambridge expects candidates to recall required equations; equations that do not need to be learnt are provided within the relevant question rather than through a complete formula sheet.
Complete a few targeted calculations involving the equations you have previously misapplied.
4. Review the Question Types That Cost You Marks
Do not complete full Past Papers simply for the sake of completing another paper.
Use short targeted practice for:
- Multiple Choice
- Structured explanations
- Calculations
- Graphs
- Data interpretation
- Equation application
- Experimental questions
A useful final practice sequence is:
Weak Question Type → Targeted Questions → Check Mark Scheme → Correct Error
If you repeatedly lose marks because your explanations are incomplete, practise explanations. If calculations are the issue, prioritise calculations.
Your own error pattern should determine the task.
5. Check Your Practical Skills for Paper 5 or Paper 6
Practical preparation matters whether you take Paper 5 or Paper 6.
Paper 5 involves practical experimental work, while Paper 6 assesses practical and experimental understanding through written questions. Cambridge emphasises practical skills throughout Physics 0625.
Before the exam, check that you can handle:
- Measurements
- Results tables
- Graph axes and scales
- Best-fit lines
- Gradients
- Independent and dependent variables
- Controlled variables
- Experimental procedures
- Sources of error
- Suggested improvements
- Interpreting experimental data
Do not treat Alternative to Practical as another ordinary theory paper.
6. Review Your Most Common Physics Mistakes
Your own mistakes are more useful than a generic list, but these are worth checking:
- Missing or incorrect units
- Wrong unit conversions
- Choosing the wrong equation
- Rounding too early
- Ignoring command words
- Giving an explanation without enough Physics
- Misreading graph scales
- Incorrect gradient calculations
- Not showing sufficient calculation working
- Rushing Multiple Choice questions
- Giving unrealistic experimental improvements
Look through your latest marked work and identify which of these actually applies to you.
7. What to Do the Day Before the Physics Exam
Keep the day before focused.
You should:
- Complete only short targeted revision
- Check your paper number and timetable again
- Review your personal error list
- Revisit equations or concepts you frequently confuse
- Check your calculator
- Prepare the equipment required by your centre
- Confirm travel and reporting arrangements
- Avoid beginning a large unfamiliar chapter
Cambridge's 2026 exam regulations permit calculators unless a syllabus or question paper states otherwise, and the Physics 0625 syllabus states that calculators may be used throughout the examination.
A final evening spent correcting recurring mistakes is generally more useful than attempting to relearn the whole course.
8. What to Check Before Entering the Exam
Before leaving for your examination centre, confirm:
- Correct date
- Correct paper
- Correct AM/PM session
- Required identification, if instructed by your centre
- Permitted calculator
- Required stationery and drawing equipment
- Arrival time
- Centre instructions
Cambridge requires candidates to provide their own pens, pencils, drawing instruments and erasers, while only permitted materials may be taken into the examination room. Your centre's instructions should always take priority for your specific sitting.
9. What Not to Do at the Last Minute
Avoid:
- Restarting the complete syllabus
- Learning several new chapters the night before
- Doing full papers without reviewing the mistakes
- Changing your revision method completely
- Obsessing over predicted grade boundaries
- Relying on unofficial timetable screenshots
- Spending all your time on topics you already know
- Comparing your preparation with other students
The final stage should reduce uncertainty, not create more of it.
Final IGCSE Physics 0625 Checklist
Use this as your final quick check:
- Confirm Core or Extended route
- Confirm paper number
- Check official timetable
- Confirm AM/PM session
- Review weakest topics
- Check recurring calculation errors
- Review equations and units
- Practise difficult question types
- Review Paper 5 or Paper 6 practical skills
- Check your error log
- Prepare permitted calculator and equipment
- Confirm examination-centre instructions
- Avoid unnecessary new material
- Arrive according to your centre's instructions
Conclusion
Your final IGCSE Physics preparation should follow:
Check → Prioritise → Practise → Prepare
—not restart the syllabus from the beginning.
Use your latest Mock Exam, Diagnostic Report or error log to decide where the final revision time will have the most value. Check your paper, timetable, practical skills and exam-day equipment before the sitting.
For the wider preparation process, see How to Prepare for IGCSE Physics 0625 Exams: Step-by-Step Study Plan and return to the IGCSE Physics 0625 Exam Guide for the complete examination journey.
Frequently Asked Questions About Last-Minute IGCSE Physics Revision
What should I revise the day before IGCSE Physics?
Focus on your repeated weak areas, frequently misused equations, common mistakes and difficult question types. Use recent marked work rather than revising every syllabus chapter equally.
Should I do a full Past Paper the day before the exam?
Not necessarily. If you have already completed substantial Past Paper practice, targeted questions and error review may use your remaining time more effectively than another complete paper.
What equations should I revise for IGCSE Physics?
Review equations required by your current syllabus, particularly those you repeatedly struggle to select, rearrange or apply. Cambridge expects required equations to be recalled; equations that do not need memorising are given in the question.
How should I prepare for Paper 5 or Paper 6 at the last minute?
Review measurements, variables, graphs, gradients, experimental procedures, data interpretation, errors and improvements. Paper 6 does not involve carrying out the experiment, but it still assesses practical thinking.
What should I bring to an IGCSE Physics exam?
Take only equipment permitted by Cambridge and your examination centre. Cambridge allows calculators for Physics 0625 and requires candidates to provide standard stationery and drawing instruments, but always follow your centre's latest instructions.
Should I learn a new topic the night before?
Avoid starting large unfamiliar areas if it means abandoning high-value error review. If you discover a genuine major gap, focus on its essential concepts rather than attempting to master an entire chapter overnight.
Where can I find the Physics 0625 exam timetable?
Use Cambridge's official timetable for your examination series and administrative zone, then confirm the detailed start arrangements with your school or centre.
