Cambridge 9709 · counted from 42 papers

Most common topics in A Level Maths 9709

Across 42 real Cambridge 9709 papers from 2020 to 2025, the topic that carries the most marks is Arc length and sector area — 279 marks, 8.9% of everything, appearing on 42 of the 42 papers. Next come Stationary points and sketching (6.6%) and nth term and sum (6.6%). The ten biggest topics together account for 61% of the marks.

Cambridge publishes a syllabus, not a weighting. These figures are counted from the papers themselves: every part of every question Quanta holds is filed under the topic it tests, and its marks are added up. That makes this the closest thing to a real answer to “what comes up most”.

Updated 28 September 2026

Topics that came up on every paper

One topic carried marks on all 42 papers counted — if you revise nothing else, these are the ones that have never been left out:

Arc length and sector area — 8.9% of all marks

By syllabus section

The same marks, grouped into the syllabus’s own sections:

1.6 Series

540 mk · 17.1%

1.7 Differentiation

478 mk · 15.2%

1.2 Functions

455 mk · 14.4%

1.3 Coordinate geometry

389 mk · 12.3%

1.8 Integration

381 mk · 12.1%

1.5 Trigonometry

337 mk · 10.7%

1.4 Circular measure

288 mk · 9.1%

1.1 Quadratics

282 mk · 9%

Every 9709 topic, ranked

All 34 topics, most marks first. “On papers” counts how many of the 42 papers gave the topic at least one mark. Topics in blue have a free Quanta guide.

#	Topic	Marks	Share	On papers
1	Arc length and sector area1.4 Circular measure	279	8.9%	42/42
2	Stationary points and sketching1.7 Differentiation	208	6.6%	39/42
3	nth term and sum1.6 Series	208	6.6%	38/42
4	Applications of differentiation1.7 Differentiation	208	6.6%	36/42
5	Binomial expansion1.6 Series	205	6.5%	41/42
6	Graph transformations1.2 Functions	174	5.5%	39/42
7	Area and volume of revolution1.8 Integration	174	5.5%	33/42
8	Solve trig equations1.5 Trigonometry	164	5.2%	39/42
9	Lines and circles algebraically1.3 Coordinate geometry	155	4.9%	33/42
10	Constant of integration1.8 Integration	143	4.5%	36/42
11	Inverse functions1.2 Functions	137	4.3%	37/42
12	Range and composition1.2 Functions	131	4.2%	36/42
13	Circle equation1.3 Coordinate geometry	112	3.6%	30/42
14	GP convergence and S∞1.6 Series	103	3.3%	27/42
15	Discriminant1.1 Quadratics	96	3%	25/42
16	Basic trig identities1.5 Trigonometry	88	2.8%	27/42
17	Complete the square1.1 Quadratics	79	2.5%	29/42
18	Line forms and distance1.3 Coordinate geometry	59	1.9%	15/42
19	Definite integrals1.8 Integration	58	1.8%	14/42
20	Intersections and parameters1.3 Coordinate geometry	51	1.6%	11/42
21	Hidden quadratic (substitution)1.1 Quadratics	50	1.6%	12/42
22	Differentiation rules and chain rule1.7 Differentiation	43	1.4%	12/42
23	Simultaneous linear–quadratic1.1 Quadratics	42	1.3%	10/42
24	Inverse trig notation1.5 Trigonometry	33	1%	10/42
25	Trig graphs1.5 Trigonometry	29	0.9%	11/42
26	Recognise AP and GP1.6 Series	24	0.8%	8/42
27	Exact trig values1.5 Trigonometry	23	0.7%	10/42
28	Gradient and derivative notation1.7 Differentiation	19	0.6%	8/42
29	Solve quadratics and inequalities1.1 Quadratics	15	0.5%	6/42
30	Equation of a straight line1.3 Coordinate geometry	12	0.4%	4/42
31	Inverse graphically1.2 Functions	9	0.3%	5/42
32	Radians and degrees1.4 Circular measure	9	0.3%	5/42
33	Integration as reverse differentiation1.8 Integration	6	0.2%	2/42
34	Function terminology1.2 Functions	4	0.1%	3/42

How this was counted

Each question part is filed under the one topic it mainly tests. Where a part also draws on a second topic, it counts only once, under the first — so these numbers slightly understate topics that mostly appear as support for others, and never double-count. Figures cover the 42 9709 papers Quanta has mapped, 2020–2025; they describe what those papers asked, not what a future paper will. What each paper needed for each grade →

Practise Mathematics against real mark schemes

Quanta has real Cambridge A Level Maths 9709 past-paper questions, broken into skill checkpoints, marked criterion by criterion the way examiners mark — and it tracks which skills you’re missing. Free for individual students.

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Common questions

What topic comes up most in 9709?

Arc length and sector area, with 279 marks across 42 papers — 8.9% of the total — appearing on 42 of them. Stationary points and sketching and nth term and sum are next.

Is this the official Cambridge weighting?

No — Cambridge does not publish topic weightings. These are counted from real past papers, which makes them a measurement of what has been asked rather than an official rule. The pattern is stable year to year, which is what makes it useful for deciding where revision time goes.

Should I only revise the most common topics?

No — any syllabus topic can be examined. But the ranking tells you where marks have concentrated, and the topics near the top are the ones where being secure pays back most. The ones that appeared on every paper are the safest place to start.