AQA A Level Physics data sheet

This sheet will be given to you in every AQA A Level Physics exam, so it’s important that you become familiar with what is, and isn’t, included in it.

The first page of the AQA A Level Physics data sheet contains four key sections:

• Data - fundamental constants and values

• Algebraic equation

• Geometrical equations

• Astronomical data

We will have a look at each of these sections one by one and explore some of the ways that they can aid you in some example questions.

AQA A Level Physics Data Sheet - Fundamental Constants and Values 

When you open the data booklet, the very first thing you will see on page 1 is a great big table of values with their names, symbols and associated units.

Source: AQA website

This table of data contains 19 of the most common fundamental constants and values that you could need in your exam. Any other key values or pieces of data you need to answer a question will be provided in the exam paper itself. This is to ensure that you can focus on showing your physics knowledge, rather than your ability to memorise and recall numbers and equations.

Algebraic Equation

Under the large data table is a section with a single equation, the quadratic equation. You will have used this equation in maths, but maybe not so much in physics yet.

Remember that a quadratic has the form ax2 + bx + c = 0, and the quadratic formula can be used to find the two roots, or values, of x by substituting the values of a, b and c and then interchanging the + and - signs before the square root.

You should be aware that the use of the quadratic formula may be expected in the exam. It is not commonly examined, but it occasionally comes up in questions about projectile motion, such as in the example shown below.   

Source: AQA website (Paper 1 QP - Nov 2021)

In this question, you would be expected to recognise that the given equation (in the red dotted-line box) is in quadratic form, and then use the quadratic formula from the data sheet (shown in the blue box) to evaluate its two roots. To gain all of the available marks, you would still need to apply your knowledge of projectiles and explain that the values represent the two points along the ball’s path where it is a height of 3 metres above the ground.

Geometrical Equations

Next to the quadratic equation, a list of 6 geometrical equations is also included in the datasheet. These formulae cover all the different formulae for lengths, surface areas and volumes of curved shapes that you may need.

Source: AQA website

You will probably already know many of these geometrical equations from studying maths, but in the pressure of exam conditions you don’t want to make any silly mistakes, so these can be extremely useful to refer to.

Astronomical Data

Tucked away at the bottom of the first page of the datasheet is a little table which shows the mass and radius of the Sun and the Earth.

Source: AQA website

It can be easy to forget about this little box of astronomical data, but after practising gravitational fields and astrophysics questions, you will see that these numbers crop up relatively often. 

In the following exam question, you can find almost all the information you need on the data and equation sheet. 

Source: AQA website (Paper 3B QP - June 2022) 

You would gain all three marks for selecting the correct equations and values, and then carrying out the calculations. 

For the first mark, you can find the equation for the Schwarzchild radius RS under the ‘Astrophysics’ section, the values for the gravitational constant G and the speed of light c in the table of fundamental constants and values. The mass of the Sun MS can be found in the table of astronomical data.

For the second mark, you can find the volume of a sphere in the list of geometrical equations, and for the third mark, you can find the equation for density under the ‘Materials’ section.

After practising using the data sheet to answer questions over and over, many students find that common values, such as the speed of light or the charge of an electron, become committed to memory. This means that by the time you get to your exam, you won’t always need to refer to the datasheet, and this can save precious seconds.