AQA Physics Equation Sheet: What's Given and What You Must Memorise

The AQA Physics equation sheet is the official formulae insert handed out with your exam papers, and for GCSE Physics and Combined Science it currently contains every single equation you need — for the 2026 and 2027 exam series, AQA extended the equations concession first introduced in 2022, so no GCSE physics equations need to be memorised at all. At A-Level, the situation is different: AQA gives you a Data and Formulae booklet, but it only contains a selection of equations, and you are still expected to recall a substantial number of formulae from memory. This guide explains exactly what's provided at each level, what you still need to know cold, and how to revise equations properly rather than just hoping the sheet saves you on the day.

What's on the AQA GCSE Physics equation sheet

The GCSE Physics equations sheet is issued as an insert with Physics (8463) Papers 1 and 2, Combined Science: Trilogy (8464) Physics papers, and Combined Science: Synergy (8465) papers. The specification originally split the required equations into two tiers: a set of roughly a dozen equations given on the sheet (things like the kinematics equation and specific heat capacity, which are harder to recall), and a further set that students were expected to memorise, including everyday relationships such as force equals mass times acceleration and the electricity equations linking voltage, current and resistance.

However, because of the disruption to teaching in recent years, Ofqual and AQA introduced a concession that puts all the required equations on the sheet, and this has now been confirmed as continuing through the 2026 and 2027 exam series. That means every equation covering energy, electricity, forces, waves, and magnetism that you're required to use in the exam will be printed for you, including ones that used to have to be memorised. The content of the sheet itself hasn't changed between 2025 and 2026 — it's the same document, just still in force for another year.

This is genuinely useful to know because it changes how you should spend your revision time. You don't need to panic-memorise the equation sheet itself. What you do need is fluency in using the equations — rearranging them, picking the right one for a question, and working with correct units — because the exam tests application, not recall, when the sheet is provided.

What changes from 2028 onwards

The concession is time-limited. From the 2028 exam series, AQA's plan is to revert to the original arrangement, where a chunk of the required GCSE equations must be memorised and only the harder-to-recall ones are printed on the sheet. If you're starting your GCSE course now and won't be sitting exams until 2028 or later, it's worth building the habit of recalling core equations without looking, even though the sheet is currently generous — it will put you in a much stronger position if the rules change again, and it also just makes you faster and more confident in the exam.

What's on the AQA A-Level Physics data and formulae booklet

A-Level Physics works differently from GCSE. AQA provides a Data and Formulae booklet in every written exam, but unlike the current GCSE arrangement, it is not a complete list of every equation you'll need. The booklet mainly contains:

• Physical constants (such as the speed of light, the gravitational constant, and the charge of an electron)
• Unit conversions and useful mathematical relationships
• A curated selection of equations that are considered harder to derive or recall, drawn from across the specification, including topics like particle physics, thermal physics, fields, and nuclear physics

Deliberately left out are many of the more fundamental relationships and definitions — the kind of formulae you're expected to have internalised through the course, such as basic definitions of physical quantities, core mechanics equations, and simpler relationships in electricity and waves. AQA doesn't publish this as a neat "must memorise" list separate from the booklet; instead, the specification and the booklet together define what's given, and everything else is fair game to be needed from memory. The safest way to find the gaps is to work through past papers side by side with the actual data booklet, noting every time a question expects an equation that isn't printed anywhere in it.

Why memorising equations still matters, even with a sheet

Even where AQA gives you every equation, as is currently the case at GCSE, simply having access to the sheet doesn't mean you'll use it well under exam pressure. A few reasons memorisation and genuine understanding still pay off:

• Speed: flicking back and forth to the sheet to find the right equation costs time you don't have in a tightly timed paper
• Recognising which equation to use: the sheet lists equations by symbol, not by scenario — you still need to know that a question about a car braking to a stop wants the kinematics equation, not the momentum one
• Rearranging under pressure: exams frequently ask you to rearrange a given equation to solve for a different variable, which is a skill independent of whether the equation itself is printed
• A-Level demands genuine recall: because the A-Level booklet is incomplete by design, treating equations as "I'll look it up" is not an option for a large share of the course
• The GCSE concession could end: equations you don't bother learning now may be required from memory in a future exam series

Practical strategies for learning the equations properly

Rote-copying an equation sheet rarely sticks. What tends to work far better is active, spaced practice tied to real questions:

• Cover the equation sheet and try to write out every equation from memory, then check what you missed — repeat every few days rather than once before the exam
• Practise rearranging each equation for every variable, not just the one it's usually written for
• Attach each equation to a real-world scenario (for example, linking the elastic potential energy equation to a stretched spring in a catapult question) so you recognise when to reach for it
• Do timed past-paper questions using only the actual sheet you'll get in the exam, so you get used to its exact layout and symbols
• Keep a running list of any equation a mark scheme expected that wasn't on the sheet, especially for A-Level, and drill those separately

How Applaa's AI tutor helps with equation practice

This is exactly the kind of practice that benefits from instant, patient feedback rather than working alone from a static PDF. Applaa's AI tutor lets GCSE and A-Level Physics students work through equation-based questions one at a time, get an instant explanation of which equation applies and why, and see the rearrangement worked through step by step when they get stuck. Because it's free to use, students can run through as many practice questions on a specific equation — say, the equations for waves, or circuits — as they need until it actually clicks, rather than being limited to the handful of examples in a textbook.

Alongside the equation sheet itself, Applaa's GCSE Physics practice questions and A-Level Physics resources are built around the current AQA specification, so the equations used in practice match what you'll actually see in the real exam, including whether a given equation is on the current sheet or needs to be memorised. If you're revising physics equations for an upcoming AQA exam, it's worth trying a few practice questions on Applaa to see which equations you can already rearrange confidently and which ones need more work — then keep coming back to the ones that don't yet feel automatic.

Key takeaways

For GCSE Physics and Combined Science under AQA, every required equation is currently printed on the exam sheet for the 2026 and 2027 series, thanks to an extended concession, though this is expected to change from 2028. For A-Level Physics, the Data and Formulae booklet only covers a selection of harder-to-recall equations and physical constants, so a meaningful number of formulae still need to be memorised and practised through past papers. Either way, being able to quickly identify and correctly rearrange the right equation for a question is what actually earns marks — and that's a skill built through repeated practice, not just having access to the sheet.