PAT Practice Papers: 200 Questions in the style of the Physics Aptitude Test with Detailed Worked Solutions

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Past papers are a useful revision tool. They enable you to gauge your subject knowledge and uncover your strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to understand what areas you need to devote more time to and conversely, what areas you can devote less time to.

We do not generally provide solutions to the past papers; when marking the PAT, all suitable methods for solving the questions are allowed and we would not want you to feel only one specific way of solving the problem will gain you marks. We have however published sample solutions to the 2009 and 2010 papers and our Access team has created unofficial sample solutions for the 2019 paper; these can all be found below. As well as practising PAT questions, you can boost your chances of success with our PAT Tutoring programme. In 2017, the physics and maths sections were mixed up with one another rather than being two distinct sections Interpretation of graphs, eg force-distance, distance-time, velocity-time graphs and what the gradient of a curve or area underneath a curve represents.Knowledge of circular orbits under gravity including orbital speed, radius, period, centripetal acceleration, and gravitational centripetal force. This may include equating the force between two masses due to gravity (F=GM 1M 2/r 2) to centripetal force of a smaller body orbiting a larger body (F=mω 2r or F=mv 2/r) and use of centripetal acceleration (a=v 2/r or a=ω 2r). Distance, velocity, speed, acceleration, and the relationships between them, eg velocity as the rate of change of distance with time, acceleration as rate of change of velocity with time. Understand the difference between vector quantities (eg velocity) and scalar quantities (eg speed). Knowledge and use of equations such as speed = distance / time, acceleration = change in velocity / time or the SUVAT equations. If you are applying for one of the following courses you will be required to sit the Physics Admissions Test (PAT) - formerly known as the Physics Aptitude Test - as part of the admissions process:

The PAT is designed for candidates who have studied the first year of A-level (or equivalent) Maths and Physics, and covers similar material to that of the GCSE and A-level syllabus. Knowledge of elementary mathematics, in particular topics in arithmetic, geometry including coordinate geometry, and probability, will be assumed. Questions may require the manipulation of mathematical expressions in a physical context.Understanding of the terms current ( = charge / time), voltage (potential difference = energy / charge), charge, resistance ( = voltage / current) and links to energy and power (power = voltage x current, power = energy / time). Knowledge of transformers, including how the number of turns on the primary and secondary coils affect the voltage and current. Description of reflection at plane mirrors, where the angle of incidence (the angle between the incident ray and the normal) = angle of reflection (angle between the reflected ray and the normal).

Response of a system to multiple forces; Newton's laws of motion; know the difference between weight (= mg) and mass; vector addition of forces. Levers (including taking moments about a point on an object), pulleys (including calculating the tension in a rope or the overall motion in a system of ropes and pulleys) and other simple machines combining levers, springs and pulleys. The PAT workbooks contain many questions of varying difficulty and subjectmatter, and the accompanying solutions manuals outline possible approaches toeach question in detail. The PAT is typically taken on paper, so you may want to print off your past papers for a more authentic experience. Just be aware that you will then need to set up your own timer. Don't worry if you find the past or specimen papers very difficult - they're supposed to be!All our tests are designed to stretch you further than you have been stretched before – most candidates will find them really hard.Conservation of energy and momentum (=mass x velocity); power ( = energy transfer/time) and work ( = force x distance moved in direction of force). Springs, including knowledge of Hooke's law (Force = - kx) and stored potential energy ( = 1/2 kx 2). The 2023 test will still take the same question format as the past papers from 2018, 2019 and 2020: these and the older papers will still be of use when preparing

Ensure that you’ve used the PAT Syllabus as much as possible when revising, as this document details literally everything you need to know. It’s important to know this by heart so you don’t miss any topics or revise something that won’t be covered in the exam. The PAT is a subject-specific admissions test, lasting for 2 hours and sat under timed conditions. It is a hybrid test - with online questions and a paper answer booklet. You will need to take this test at an authorised test centre which, in most cases, will be your school or college. All applicants taking this test will be able to practise by taking the 2022 past paper (or equivalent) as a hybrid test in advance of your test day. Please note that as the syllabus and structure of this test has not changed, all the existing resources and practice materials available here are still valuable preparation for you and we strongly recommend exploring these. What do we offer? A massive, all-encompassing bank of online resources crafted by expert Oxford PAT tutors to get you fully prepared to take the Physics Aptitude Test. Find out more about our online PAT courses

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University preparation also contains lots of questions which are suitable as university entrance preparation. Knowledge of the force between two point charges (Force= kQ 1Q 2/r 2(where k is a constant)) and on a point charge in a constant electric field (Force = charge x electric field). Preparing for the PAT course: this course is run by the Department of Physics and features a mix of in-person (where possible) and online tuition, including mentoring by current students. This course is for year 12 students from state-funded schools, academies and colleges with little or no history of successful applications to the University of Oxford. Do you want detailed Physics Aptitude Test solutions? There are no official solutions to the Oxford PAT online! That’s why we’ve created a comprehensive bank of PAT video resources including: Familiarise yourself with the syllabus. The material is aimed at AS level maths and physics plus knowledge of material covered at GCSE. However we cannot guarantee when the material will be covered in your school so you might find you need to teach yourself a few topics before the exam.