A-Level Physics formula sheet: what you get and what to learn

Key takeaways

• →AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR all give students a data booklet or list in the A-Level Physics exam. Each board uses its own name and layout, so use your board’s official version.
• →The booklets give physical constants such as c, h, e and g, plus formulae grouped by topic. They do not choose the formula for you or rearrange it for you.
• →Some equations are not on the sheet, and it depends on the board. OCR’s AS specification says learners must recall F = ma and W = mg, but Pearson Edexcel’s list gives both.
• →Practise with the official booklet from your first past paper. Pearson says only clean copies may be used in exams, so keep your notes on a separate sheet.

1. What the formula sheet is

The A-Level Physics formula sheet is a printed booklet that students use in the exam. It gives physical constants (fixed numbers, such as the speed of light) and formulae, grouped by topic.

It saves students memorising long lists. It does not tell them which formula a question needs, and it does not replace the few equations they must recall themselves.

2. Which booklet your board uses

This table shows the official booklet for each board. Always use the board’s own version, not a copy from a revision site.

3. AQA A-Level Physics (7408)

The cover of a June 2023 AQA Paper 1 lists a Data and Formulae Booklet under what students must have. It says the booklet is provided as a loose insert.^[2]

AQA’s official title is A-level Physics data and formulae. AQA publishes it as a PDF on its website, and its cover says it is for use in exams from the June 2017 series onwards.^[1]

It opens with fundamental constants and values, astronomical data, and algebraic and geometrical equations such as the quadratic formula. Particle physics data comes next.^[1]

Formulae are then grouped by topic, including waves, mechanics, materials, electricity, circular motion, simple harmonic motion, thermal physics, fields and nuclear physics. Simple harmonic motion is repeating back-and-forth motion, such as a mass on a spring.^[1]

The booklet ends with the optional topics: astrophysics, medical physics, engineering physics, turning points in physics and electronics.^[1]

In Paper 3, students answer one of those options.^[3]

4. Pearson Edexcel A-Level Physics (9PH0)

The cover of a summer 2024 Pearson Edexcel Paper 1 lists a Data, Formulae and Relationships Booklet as enclosed with the paper.^[6]

The PDF is titled List of data, formulae and relationships (Issue 3, November 2022).^[4]

Pearson’s January 2023 update says it revised the lists so that they match the versions printed in exam papers. The update page has a download link for the booklets.^[5]

The list starts with data, then runs through topics including mechanics, electric circuits, materials, waves, fields, thermodynamics, space and oscillations (repeating motion).^[4]

5. OCR A (H556) and OCR B Advancing Physics (H557)

OCR’s Physics A booklet is shared by AS Level (H156) and A Level (H556).^[10]

OCR’s AS specification calls the same document the Physics A data sheet. It says the booklet will be printed for distribution with the exam papers and that learners are expected to become familiar with it.^[9]

The booklet starts with data: physical constants, quark charges and conversion factors. A section of mathematical equations follows, covering geometry, the sine and cosine rules, small-angle approximations and logarithm rules. The formulae are then grouped by course module.^[10]

OCR’s November 2024 update links the booklet PDF. It said schools and colleges would receive hard copies with their exam stationery for the June 2025 series.^[11]

A sample H556/01 paper lists the booklet under what students must have.^[12]

OCR B has its own booklet, shared by AS Level (H157) and A Level (H557). It covers data, conversion factors, mathematical constants and prefixes, then formulae grouped by topic such as imaging and signalling, electricity, materials, gases and waves.^[13]

OCR lists the Physics B booklet with the sample assessment materials on its H157 and H557 assessment page.^[14]

An H557/01 paper cover lists it as sent with general stationery.^[15]

OCR students: Print the current booklet from OCR’s website and use it from your first practice paper.

6. Data and constants are on the sheet

AQA’s constants table names the speed of light (c), the Planck constant (h), the charge of the electron (e) and gravitational field strength (g), among others.^[1]

Pearson Edexcel’s data section names the same four: g, e, h and c.^[4]

OCR A’s data section lists acceleration of free fall (g), the elementary charge (e), the speed of light (c) and the Planck constant (h). OCR says its values are given to three significant figures unless more or fewer are useful.^[10]

OCR B’s data section lists the speed of light, the charge on the electron, the Planck constant and the gravitational field strength at Earth’s surface.^[13]

Use the sheet’s numbers: Practise copying constants from your board’s booklet, with their units, rather than typing them from memory.

7. Equations that are not on the sheet

Not every equation is on the sheet. Some boards expect students to recall a few basic ones, and the lists differ by board.

OCR’s AS Level Physics A specification (H156) can be taught alongside the A Level. It says learners are expected to recall five equations, shown below.^[9]

OCR’s booklet does not list any of those five.^[10]

Pearson Edexcel’s list does give them, in some form, so the same equation can be on the sheet for one board and need recalling for another.^[4]

8. Knowing where an equation comes from

Pearson Edexcel’s Getting Started guide lists equations that A-Level students should know how to derive in Year 2. They include centripetal acceleration (from vector diagrams), pV = ⅓Nm⟨c²⟩, ½m⟨c²⟩ = (3/2)kT and g = Gm/r².^[8]

Pearson’s list includes the kinetic theory equations and centripetal acceleration, so being on the sheet does not mean students can skip learning where they come from.^[4]

AQA’s booklet is a reference list. It does not say which equations students must learn, so ask your teacher for the equations that are not in it.^[1]

Use your board’s own list: Build your Must learn list from your board’s own booklet and specification. Do not borrow a list from another board, because they differ.

9. How to use the booklet in revision

Treat the booklet as a tool you practise with from day one, not something you meet for the first time in the exam hall.

Use your board’s official booklet with every past paper, so that finding a formula becomes quick.

Learn the layout. Spend ten minutes going through the booklet topic by topic and note where each formula sits. In AQA’s booklet, the options come last.^[1]

Practise rearranging and units. The booklet gives you a formula, but you still have to rearrange it and use the right units. Pearson Edexcel says at least 40% of the marks across its three papers are for maths skills, so this is worth regular practice.^[7]

Still learn the recall equations. Write each one from memory first, then check it against the booklet. This shows you which ones you really know.

Use a clean copy. Pearson says only clean copies of its booklets may be used in exams, so keep your notes on a separate sheet.^[5]

Our A-Level Maths formula booklet guide covers the same ground for maths, and our GCSE physics equation sheet guide covers the GCSE version. For the wider course, see our A-Level Physics guide.

The booklet gives you the formula. You still choose which one.

Time yourself finding formulae: Take ten questions from a past paper. For each one, note which formula you need, find it in the booklet and time how long it takes. Aim to get quicker.

10. How Brainhub can help

A tutor can check which equations a student knows and which are not secure yet. Our one-to-one lessons are live online across the UK, and online A-Level lessons start from £40 an hour. Every family starts with a free 45-minute assessment.

Our own student records for 2021–2026 show that students who join us by Year 12 most often finish with A*/A. That is Brainhub data, not independent research.

1. 1. Does AQA give students a data and formulae booklet in A-Level Physics?

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2. 2. Is the same equation on the sheet for every board?

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3. 3. Why should students practise with an unmarked copy of the booklet?

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Your next steps

• Check your exam board and paper code: 7408 (AQA), 9PH0 (Pearson Edexcel), H556 (OCR A) or H557 (OCR B).
• Print the official booklet and use it with every past paper. Build a Must learn list from your board’s own documents.
• Book a free 45-minute assessment to find out which equations are not secure yet.

Subject guides to go with this

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