STEP preparation guide

STEP Mechanics: The Strategic Case for Section B

Every STEP paper carries twelve questions, and two of them sit in Section B: mechanics. Under the marking rule that every attempt is marked but only your six best answers count, those two questions are a genuine strategic asset for anyone who has studied mechanics, and an awkward cost-benefit decision for anyone who has not. This guide works through the arithmetic of Section B: how STEP mechanics differs from A level mechanics, who should plan it into their six, who should leave it alone, and how to set out force diagrams and working so that the marks you earn actually reach the page.
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STEP Mechanics at a Glance
Paper structure
Twelve questions per paper: 8 pure, 2 mechanics, 2 probability and statistics, 20 marks each
How it counts
Everything you attempt is marked, only your six best answers count, and no section carries a quota
What Section B buys
Widens your usable pool from eight questions to ten, one or two extra scoring slots
The price of a grade
2026 STEP 2: grade 2 at 52, grade 1 at 62, half a question apart
Starting from zero
With under six months to go, skip Section B and go deep on the eight pure questions

Structure, exam-room and presentation rules from OCR's STEP specification (June 2026 onwards), its FAQs and the test-specific instructions; boundaries from OCR's Explanation of Results for STEP 2026.

In short
  • Mechanics supplies 2 of the 12 questions, each worth the same 20 marks; only your six best answers count, and there is no quota per section.
  • Further Maths mechanics widens your usable pool from 8 questions to 10; on the 2026 boundaries, half a question (10 marks on STEP 2) separated grade 2 from grade 1.
  • The jump from A level to STEP mechanics is modelling left to the candidate plus heavy algebra, not extra content; full marks at A level do not transfer automatically.
  • With no mechanics background and under six months to go, skip Section B and deepen your pure work; with a year or more and mechanics on your school course anyway, plan it in.
  • Mechanics marks are lost on presentation: pencil force diagrams, stated sign conventions and full working matter, because examiners may deduct marks for working they cannot follow.
I

Part 1 of 3

Sections 01 to 03

01

Where Section B sits in the paper

STEP 2 and STEP 3 share an identical shape: a three-hour paper of twelve questions in three sections, every question marked out of the same 20. No restriction is placed on how many questions you attempt from any section, and your grade rests on your six best answers, out of a maximum of 120.

One STEP paper

Three hours, twelve questions, 120 marks

Section A: pure mathematics8 questions, 20 marks each
  • Enough on its own to fill all six slots, with two to spare
  • The entire pool for a candidate who practises pure only
Section B: mechanics2 questions, 20 marks each
  • Worth exactly what a pure question is worth
  • Not a bolt-on, and not a bonus round
Section C: probability and statistics2 questions, 20 marks each
  • Marked out of the same 20 as the other two sections
How the marking worksBest six count
  • Everything you attempt is marked
  • Only the best six are counted towards your total
  • No quota is imposed on any section

Tap a branch to unfold

A mechanics answer taken all the way therefore contributes exactly what a pure answer taken all the way contributes. Section B is not a bolt-on and not a bonus round: it is two of the twelve scoring opportunities on the paper.
One misreading is worth clearing up first: STEP is not a paper on which you choose six questions and commit. Everything you attempt is marked, and the best six are then counted towards your total. That distinction, between selecting in advance and being credited afterwards, drives every strategic point in this guide.
02

The best-six arithmetic: one or two extra slots

A candidate who practises pure only walks in with a pool of eight questions from which six must come. That sounds comfortable until the paper bites: two pure questions landing on your weakest topics and the choice collapses from eight-choose-six to six-choose-six, with no room to manoeuvre. A candidate fluent in mechanics walks in with a pool of ten, and can swap an unproductive pure attempt for a mechanics question when luck runs against them.

8 to 10

Questions in your usable pool once mechanics is in play

10 marks

Gap between grade 2 and grade 1 on STEP 2 in 2026, exactly half a question

22 marks

Gap between grade 1 and S on STEP 2 in 2026, roughly one whole question

Grade 2Grade 1GapS
STEP 252621084
STEP 34856880

Boundaries published for the 2026 series, out of a total of 120.

Boundaries move each year with the cohort, but the structure of the argument does not. Under a best-six rule with 20-mark questions, swapping one unproductive pure attempt for one well-drilled mechanics answer is precisely the kind of half-question swing that moves a grade. "One or two extra slots" is not a figure of speech; it converts directly into marks.
03

Gap one: the modelling is left to you

OCR's own description of STEP questions is the honest syllabus here: they test the ability to apply mathematical knowledge in novel and unfamiliar ways, frequently draw on several specification topics at once, and demand insight, ingenuity and persistence. Applied to mechanics, that sentence has one concrete meaning: the biggest difference from A level is who does the modelling.
A level mechanicsSTEP mechanics
Who modelsThe question arrives pre-modelledThe entire set-up is left to the candidate
DiagramDrawn for youUsually prose with minimal illustration; you draw the force diagram
Variables and sign conventionNamed in the questionWhich quantities to introduce, which direction is positive and what may be neglected are all your choices
Which principle appliesQuietly signalled by the wordingYour call, and the constraints are yours to turn into equations
What is actually testedExecuting a set-up you were handedTurning the scenario into equations is the question, not the preamble
This is why students with full marks in A level mechanics can be shocked by their first STEP attempt. Nothing in the content is new; the missing skill is starting from a blank page. It is also why Section B divides candidates so sharply. For those who have practised modelling, the two mechanics questions can feel more direct than some of the pure ones, because once the model is right the route through is often clear. For those who have not, the first equation never appears.
II

Part 2 of 3

Sections 04 to 06

04

Gap two: the algebra load after the model

Setting up the model is only the entrance fee. OCR's official description warns that solutions frequently require working through substantial sequences of algebraic manipulation, and mechanics questions honour that warning in full: once the force diagram and the governing equations are down, the second half of a question is often pure-mathematical endurance.

Calculators

Neither permitted nor required

Every simplification and every trig manipulation is done by hand

Formulae booklet

Discontinued since 2019

The formulae you are expected to know sit in the specification's appendix

What the second half holds

Trig identities, parameter elimination, inequalities, extremum arguments

Any of them can be folded into what began as an applied problem

Where the marks sit

The second ten marks of each question

Almost always buried in the long chains of manipulation

A useful self-diagnostic: if your Further Maths mechanics work regularly comes back marked "right method, slipped in the algebra", STEP will magnify that weakness several times over. The corrective is equally specific. Practising Section B is not only rehearsing models; it is drilling long, accurate chains of manipulation with no calculator as a safety net. Treat algebraic stamina as a trainable skill in its own right, not a by-product of doing more questions.
05

Who should plan mechanics into their six

Start from the official baseline: STEP 2 is based on A level Mathematics plus AS level Further Mathematics, while STEP 3 is based on A level Mathematics plus the full A level Further Mathematics, so the standard rises from one paper to the other. Your mechanics preparation rides on the mechanics you have actually met along that route. The more of the following you recognise, the stronger the case for writing Section B into your plan.

Course background

Mechanics options taken within Further Maths, with consistent scores

Diagram habit

Draws their own force diagrams rather than waiting for one to be supplied

Attitude to modelling

Finds translating a physical scenario into equations enjoyable rather than a chore

A known gap in pure

Knows there are pure topics they never feel safe on, and wants a substitute available

A family of proof questions that never quite feels secure, for instance

For this group, the sensible target is not perfection on both mechanics questions. It is reaching the level where at least one of the two can reliably be pushed past roughly three-quarters of the marks. That turns your six-question selection into a portfolio with options: lean pure when the pure questions fall kindly, and reach for mechanics when they do not. The strategic value of Section B lies exactly in being available without being compulsory.
06

No mechanics background: is cramming worth it?

The honest answer is that cramming is usually a poor trade, and the one variable that can change the conclusion is time. Cap the benefit first. Section B offers two questions, and you need six; Section A's eight pure questions can already supply all six slots with two to spare, and no rule pushes you towards breadth across sections.
Now price the cost. What STEP mechanics rewards is modelling instinct plus long-form algebra, and both are built in months, not weeks. A few weeks of emergency mechanics typically buys the ability to write down the opening equations of a problem, worth single-figure marks on a 20-mark question. The same weeks spent on pure work routinely turn one or two shaky topics into dependable scorers. Set those side by side and the opportunity cost speaks for itself.
A year or more outIn betweenSix months or less, from zero
What to doStudy the mechanics modules properly and fold STEP mechanics into the plan as you goLet your pure standard decideLeave Section B alone and invest everything in depth across the eight pure questions
WhyThe mechanics modules are on your school course anywayIf pure is already solid, mechanics is insurance; if it is not, build the main position firstThe same hours invested in pure carry a plainly higher expected return
Keep the direction of the trade in view: mechanics buys flexibility, and it is never a requirement. Whether it is worth adding depends on how much runway you have and how solid your pure work already is, not on how important mechanics sounds.
III

Part 3 of 3

Sections 07 to 09

07

Presentation: diagrams, forces and conventions

The specification is blunt about presentation: solutions must be clear, logical and legible, with working fully set out, standard notational conventions followed and final answers simplified. No question type tests this harder than mechanics, where a single solution can carry half a dozen forces, several sign choices and a crowd of subscripts.

Answers

Black pen

Diagrams

Pencil

Instruments allowed

Ruler, protractor, compasses

Graph paper

Not permitted

Every sketch goes straight into the answer booklet

01Step 1

Draw the force diagram

Label every force with a name and a direction, and draw it generously sized.
02Step 2

State your conventions

Before any equation appears, say which direction counts as positive and what each symbol denotes.
03Step 3

Record the modelling assumptions

Which quantities are being neglected and what idealisations you are invoking, set down before the equations start.
04Step 4

Number your equations

One numbered equation per line, with each significant algebraic step visible instead of three moves compressed into one.
The official wording is explicit: marks may be lost if examiners are unable to follow a candidate's working, even when a correct final answer appears. The opening ritual above looks slow, but it is the cheapest insurance on the paper, because the examiner who can follow you is the examiner who can pay you.
08

In the exam room: rough work and switching

STEP is a handwritten paper examination and no extra paper is issued, so rough working lives inside the official answer booklet. Two related rules matter in practice.

Rough paper

None issued

Only work inside the official booklet is marked; attached sheets are removed unmarked

Crossed-out work

Not marked by default

Unless you clearly indicate that you want it considered

The Question Answered marker

Complete it on every page you have written on

Otherwise some of your work may not be marked

On switching questions, the best-six rule is entirely on your side. Abandoning a stalled mechanics question costs no slot: whatever you wrote is still marked, the marking explicitly rewards genuine progress towards a solution even when the final answer never arrives, and a correct answer scores full marks whatever the method. Balance that against two cautions. There are no bonus marks for completing a question, so the last few marks of a stubborn final part are sometimes better spent elsewhere. And OCR explicitly advises against attempting more than six questions, noting that candidates who spread themselves rarely score as well as those who concentrate on six.
For the mechanics-trained candidate whose planned six are all pure, this amounts to a free option: an unusually friendly Section B question can be taken on merit, with no slot to sacrifice, provided the time budget allows.
09

A training route for Section B

Anchor the route on official material. The STEP Support Programme, developed by the Cambridge Faculty of Mathematics, is free and open to everyone, with online modules, hints and full solutions. The programme has also written fully worked solutions to STEP 2 and STEP 3 papers from 2019 onwards, and recommends timed past papers once the STEP 3 modules are complete, with January of Year 13 the suggested start for those modules.
01Stage 1

Take the school module to full independence

Work your Further Maths mechanics module until you can draw the diagram, choose the variables and write the equations with no prompt at all.
02Stage 2

Untimed work on past mechanics questions

Give deliberate attention to the presentation habits above, treating the force diagram, the conventions and the numbered equations as part of the answer rather than decoration.
03Stage 3

Timed full papers and six-question selection

Rehearse the selection under real pressure and find out whether mechanics is a core pick or a reserve in your personal portfolio.
One archival note when hunting for past papers: STEP 1 has not been offered since the June 2021 sitting, so STEP 1 papers circulating online belong to a discontinued format. The live examination consists of STEP 2 and STEP 3 only.
FrontierVue's STEP practice area organises past questions by paper and question type, which makes it easier to isolate Section B during stage two.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to attempt the mechanics questions in STEP?
No. There is no restriction on how many questions you attempt from any section, and only your six best answers count. Section A alone offers eight pure questions, enough to fill all six slots, and many candidates do take all six from pure. The cost is flexibility: if two pure questions land badly on the day, you have no substitute to reach for.
How do the mechanics questions differ between STEP 2 and STEP 3?
The structure is identical (twelve questions, two of them mechanics), but the assumed knowledge differs: STEP 2 is based on A level Mathematics plus AS level Further Mathematics, while STEP 3 is based on A level Mathematics plus the full A level Further Mathematics. For the precise syllabus content, work from the current official specification (the version applying from June 2026 onwards).
Can I cram STEP mechanics without a Further Maths mechanics background?
In the short term, rarely. STEP mechanics rewards independent modelling and long chains of algebra, not memorised formulae, and the official description of the questions stresses insight, persistence and substantial manipulation. With under six months to go, the same hours invested in pure mathematics carry a higher expected return. With a year or more, and mechanics modules on your school course anyway, studying them properly and then practising on past STEP questions is a workable route.
Are calculators or formula booklets allowed in STEP?
Neither. Calculators are not permitted or required, and formulae booklets were discontinued in 2019; the formulae you are expected to know are listed in the appendix to the specification. You may take in rulers, protractors and compasses, and should write answers in black pen with diagrams in pencil.
Where do diagrams go, and is graph paper allowed?
Graph paper is not permitted: all sketches go directly into the answer booklet. No extra paper is issued either; only work inside the official booklet is marked, and any attached sheets are removed unmarked. Draw force diagrams and sketches in pencil and write your answers in black pen.
If I abandon a mechanics question halfway, do I lose out?
You lose no slot. Every attempt is marked and only your six best answers count; the marking rewards genuine progress towards a solution even if the final answer is wrong, and correct answers receive full marks whatever the method. Two cautions: crossed-out work is not marked unless you clearly indicate you want it considered, and OCR advises against attempting more than six questions in total.
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