WELCOME
Welcome to freenat5physics.com!
Find study materials, worked examples, past papers, and tips to ace your National 5 Physics exam!
UPDATES (30/01/2025)
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HOW TO USE
The topic pages below contain worked examples for National 5 Physics at exam level.
Try them yourself before revealing the solutions.
All the very best in your National 5 Physics studies!
Note: Only the Dynamics, Space, Waves and Radiation page have questions. The other pages are soon to come!
TOP RESOURCES
The Physics Academy - Find videos on the whole National 5 Physics Course! (Courtesy Mr Mitchell)
Past Paper Questions By Topic - Find every single past paper question sorted by topic! (Courtesy Mr Davie)
BBC Bitesize - Easily understand the National 5 Physics Course!
Dynamics and Space Past Paper Questions - Find past paper questions on Dyanmics and Space!
Electricity and Energy Past Paper Questions - Find past paper questions on Electricity and Energy!
Waves and Radiation Past Paper Questions - Find past paper questions on Waves and Radiation!
Past Paper Questions Answers - Mark your work using this!
National 5 Physics Course Specification - Make sure you have covered all the content!
SQA PAST PAPERS
SQA MARKING SCHEMES
National 5 2024 Marking Scheme
National 5 2023 Marking Scheme
National 5 2022 Marking Scheme
National 5 2020 Marking Scheme
National 5 2019 Marking Scheme
National 5 2018 Marking Scheme
National 5 2017 Marking Scheme
National 5 2016 Marking Scheme
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Here are my top tips for Open-Ended Questions
Don't spend too long on Open-Ended Questions
A maximum of 3-5 minutes should be spent.
This is because you should attempt to finish the paper. If you have time at the end, you can always come back to it.
Use formulae in your answer
This shows a strong understanding of physics.
e.g. d = vt , where d = distance, v = speed and t = time.
If the speed were to increase, and the time were to remain the same, the total distance travelled would increase.
Answer the Question
Many people miss out marks due to not addressing the question
e.g. if the question was to explain why the student's statement is incorrect,
you would explain the physics, then say
"therefore the student's statement is incorrect"
Include definitions where possible
e.g. if the question was talking about nuclear fission,
you would start by defining it.
Then, you could define chain reactions and so on.
Diagrams can help for some questions
e.g. if it was talking about refraction,
you could draw and label the path of light in a glass block.
You should also write some text to explain the diagram.
Write in bullet points
You do not need to write an essay to answer these questions.
Bullet points with sufficient detail are enough.
ASSIGNMENT
A really useful wesbite for the assignment is Understanding Standards
Here, you can find real assignments on different topics that have been marked by SQA markers.
A word of advice is to look at the marks the assignment achieved in each section, then the commentary and make notes on where candidates have lost marks.
It is then up to you to not make the same mistakes that they did.
ABOUT ME
Who am I?
My name is Reuben, and I'm a 16 year old student who's currently studying subjects such as physics and computing at Higher level.
Why did you make this wesbite?
I understand that National 5 Physics seems daunting and challenging, so I wanted to change that.
Creating this website allows people to have confidence when it comes to sitting the National 5 Physics Exam!
What are your top tips?
Personally, the things that help me the most is:
Consistency - studying hours of one subject at a time wont get you anywhere.
You need to put the effort in to study for an adequate amount of time everyday to ensure the most effective learning.
Discipline - without this, you'll never push yourself from making your dreams into a reality.
Balance - you need to make sure that you aren't just studying all day. Excercising and spending time with family are great ways to de-stress.
If you ever lose motivation - just remember, this is the beauty of physics!
SUPPORT ME
If you'd like to support the constant updating of the free resources on freenat5physics.com, you can now buy me a nice cup of coffee! Thanks :)
