Edexcel Combined Science physics revision guides
Four free PDF handbooks for the physics in Pearson Edexcel GCSE Combined Science (1SC0), 46 pages in all, written for Foundation and Higher. Together they cover the 13 physics topics and seven core practical areas, the equations and how to choose them, the mistakes that cost marks, and five years of official grade boundaries.
These are not past papers or practice books. They are the reference set that sits beside them: use them to decide what to revise, check a method before practising it, and turn a mock score into a realistic grade target.
Free to download. No sign up, no email required. Independent resources aligned to Pearson Edexcel GCSE Combined Science 1SC0, not produced, approved or endorsed by Pearson.
Which revision guides can I download?
Four handbooks for the physics papers, each covering both tiers. Use them alongside our 1SC0 physics books: Edexcel Foundation resources and Edexcel Higher resources have the learning books for every physics topic.
Specification and core practicals reference
Covers how Combined Science is assessed, then the 13 physics topics with paper, core scope, secure performance, a high-risk check and a revision audit, cross-topic connections, the seven physics core practical areas, and a guard listing what 1SC0 leaves out.
Download the specification and core practicals referenceEquations handbook
Covers the equation sheet position and the Combined Science equation scope, then 27 equation cards from distance and speed to elastic energy, each with its tier, units, a selection rule and a worked example, plus practical maths and a six-step calculation routine.
Download the equations handbookCommon mistakes handbook
Covers 35 physics mistakes from units and powers of ten to answer-line discipline, each with a repair routine and rapid retest, labelled by evidence: 20 are supported by Pearson’s June 2024 Combined Science physics examiners’ reports and 15 are risks drawn from the specification.
Download the common mistakes handbookGrade boundary handbook
Covers the official June 2022 to 2026 Combined Science boundaries out of 360 for both tiers, five-year ranges and medians for every double grade, notional boundaries for both physics papers, a physics subtotal planner and five years of cohort outcomes.
Download the grade boundary handbookHow do the four guides work together?
Each guide answers one revision question: what is on the course, which equation to use, why marks are being lost, and what grade a score is worth. Used in that order, they turn a vague plan into a list of named topics to fix.
A revision loop using all four guides
- Audit: go through the specification reference and mark each topic red, amber or green
- Prepare: before practising a red topic, read its equation card and common trap
- Practise and mark: answer exam-style questions on the topic, then mark them honestly
- Repair: match every lost mark to an entry in the common mistakes handbook and follow its repair routine
- Measure: add up a mock score and compare it with the grade boundaries for the same year
What else is inside
- the assessment structure: six papers, two each in biology, chemistry and physics, each 60 marks in 1 hour 10 minutes. The physics papers carry 120 of the 360 marks, and the double grade comes from all six
- physics only: biology and chemistry are not covered in these guides
- Foundation and Higher content in the same books, with Higher-only content marked
- a scope guard, so separate Physics content such as astronomy and static electricity is not revised by mistake
- sources cited throughout, so a parent or tutor can check the facts
- boundaries shown as history, not predictions: they move every year
- 46 printable A4 pages across the four guides
What is inside each guide?
The sections below follow each handbook’s own contents. The longest is 15 pages and the shortest 7, 46 pages in all.
Specification and core practicals reference
- Six papers, 360 marks, one double grade: where physics fits
- 13 physics topic entries with paper, core scope and a high-risk check
- A revision audit and the evidence to keep for each topic
- Cross-topic connections to practise
- Seven core practical areas, a working scientifically checklist and what 1SC0 leaves out
Equations handbook
- Equation sheet position for 2027 and from 2028
- Combined Science scope: the separate Physics extras left out
- 27 equation cards with tier, units, a selection rule and a worked example
- Calculation toolkit for the seven core practical areas
- Unit conversions and a six-step calculation routine
Common mistakes handbook
- Evidence labels: examiner report or specification risk
- 35 entries across the physics topics, practicals and exam technique
- A repair routine and rapid retest on every entry
- Examiner-report themes worth acting on
- Diagnostic repair log
Grade boundary handbook
- Why physics has no separate grade in Combined Science
- June 2022 to 2026 boundaries out of 360, both tiers
- Five-year ranges and medians for every double grade
- Notional boundaries for both physics papers, 2022 to 2026
- Physics subtotal planner and five years of cohort outcomes
How should a student use these?
Start with the specification reference, because it shows what is left to learn. Keep the equations and mistakes handbooks open during practice, and use the grade boundary handbook after each mock, not before it.
Planning revision in Year 10 or early Year 11
Work through the specification reference a topic at a time. Anything red goes on the revision plan, with the matching equation cards and core practical alongside it.
After a mock
Add all six paper marks, compare the total with the boundaries for the same tier, and use the physics notional boundaries to see whether physics is helping or holding the grade back.
Fixing a weak physics paper
List the lost physics marks, match each one to the common mistakes handbook, and do its retest. A mistake is only fixed when it stays fixed on a fresh question in a different context.
Guide: GCSE grade boundaries
How grade boundaries are set each summer, why they move, and how to read them for a mock result.
Read the grade boundaries guideGuide: maths skills for Physics
The equations, rearranging, graphs and standard form that physics questions expect, in one checklist.
Read the maths skills guideGuide: GCSE Science resits
How Combined and separate Science resits work, and how to plan the months before the exam.
Read the resits guideRevision guide questions
The guides are free for personal use and written for Edexcel Combined Science 1SC0 physics. These answers cover boundaries, equations, sources, licensing and choosing the right course.
Are these official Pearson documents?
No. They are independently written guides aligned to the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Combined Science (1SC0) specification. The boundaries are transcribed from Pearson’s published grade boundary documents, with the source given for each, but no Pearson question, mark scheme or artwork is reproduced.
Do the physics papers get their own grade?
No. Edexcel Combined Science awards one double grade, such as 6-5, from the total of all six papers out of 360, and physics carries 120 of those marks. Pearson publishes notional boundaries for each physics paper, and the grade boundary handbook includes them, but they are for analysis only.
Can the grade boundaries predict my grade this year?
No. Boundaries are set after each exam to reflect how hard the papers were, so they move every year. Between 2022 and 2026 the Higher 9-9 boundary ranged from 266 to 284 marks out of 360, which is why a mock target should be a range, not a single number.
Do students still need to learn the equations?
Yes. Pearson supplies an equation sheet in the exams, but it does not tell a student which equation to use, how to rearrange it or which units to convert first. The equations handbook covers the Combined Science set only and leaves out the extras that are for separate Physics.
Do these guides cover biology and chemistry?
No. They cover the physics in Edexcel Combined Science only: the 13 physics topics, numbered 1 to 6 and 8 to 15 in Pearson’s specification. Our biology and chemistry resources are still to come.
Are they free? What is the licence?
The guides are free to download for personal and household educational use. Tutors and schools need permission before copying them for learners, and resale, paid redistribution and third-party uploading are not permitted.
Is this the right course? My school does triple science.
These guides are for Edexcel Combined Science (1SC0). If you take GCSE Physics as a separate subject, use the Edexcel GCSE Physics revision guides instead: they include astronomy, static electricity and the longer papers.
Practice finds the gaps. A tutor closes them
Fourteen of our tutors teach Science, and Combined Science is covered by tutors who teach across biology, chemistry and physics. Lessons are one to one on Zoom, £30 each, and the first 30 minutes are free with no card details. If the same mistake keeps coming back after the repair routine, that is the moment to have the idea retaught.