Which topic carries the most marks in the WACE Physics external exam?

Science Understanding (Unit 4) carries 48.2% of the marks across the 6 SCSA papers from 2020 to 2025, ahead of Science Understanding (Unit 3) on 32.4%.

How are marks split between question types in the WACE Physics exam?

Short answer carries 98.7% of the marks and multiple choice carries 1.2% of the marks, measured across 6 papers and 1129 marks from 2020 to 2025.

Has the topic balance changed in recent WACE Physics papers?

Yes. Science Understanding (Unit 3) moved down 10.0 percentage points, Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4) moved up 3.5 percentage points and Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 3) moved up 6.4 percentage points between the 2020 to 2022 and 2023 to 2025 papers.

How many past papers is this WACE Physics analysis based on?

6 SCSA external papers from 2020 to 2025, covering 120 questions and 1129 marks. 3.7% of those marks carry no dot-point mapping and sit outside the percentages.

WACE Physics most tested topics

Across the six SCSA Physics external papers from 2020 to 2025, Science Understanding (Unit 4) carries 48.2% of the marks against 0.4% for Science as a Human Endeavour (Unit 3), so the paper rewards Science Understanding (Unit 4) more than any other topic. At dot-point level 3.3.2.1 carries 7.0% of paper marks, and 22 of the 95 dot points that the board assesses externally have not appeared in one of these papers. Every percentage below covers the 96.3% of marks that map to a syllabus dot point.

Computed from 6 SCSA Physics external papers, 2020 to 2025: 120 questions, 337 question parts and 1129 marks.

Unit, topic and dot-point shares below are of the 1087 marks that map to a dot point, so each of those tables adds to 100%. 134 of the 337 parts are assessed against more than one dot point, and their 514 marks are divided evenly between the dot points they cover.

What these papers are

Year	Exam	Questions	Marks
2025	Exam	20	191
2024	Exam	19	190
2023	Exam	20	193
2022	Exam	19	187
2021	Exam	21	184
2020	Exam	21	184

Marks by unit

Unit	Share of marks
Unit 4: Electromagnetism and modern physics	62.9%
Unit 3: Gravity and relativity	37.1%

Marks by topic

Topic	Share of marks	Papers it appears in	Years
Science Understanding (Unit 4)	48.2%	6 of 6	6 of 6
Science Understanding (Unit 3)	32.4%	6 of 6	6 of 6
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4)	13.2%	6 of 6	6 of 6
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 3)	4.4%	5 of 6	5 of 6
Science as a Human Endeavour (Unit 4)	1.5%	4 of 6	4 of 6
Science as a Human Endeavour (Unit 3)	0.4%	1 of 6	1 of 6

Marks by subtopic

Each topic above breaks into the subtopics below, in the same order.

Subtopic	Share of marks	Papers
Electromagnetism (Science Understanding, Unit 4)	18.7%	6 of 6
Wave particle duality and the quantum theory (Science Understanding, Unit 4)	15.1%	6 of 6
Particle accelerators	11.7%	6 of 6
Cosmology	2.7%	4 of 6
Gravity	11.5%	6 of 6
Static equilibrium and centre of mass	8.4%	6 of 6
Circular motion in horizontal and vertical plane	7.6%	6 of 6
Relativity	4.8%	6 of 6
Wave particle duality and the quantum theory (Science as a Human Endeavour, Unit 4)	1.1%	3 of 6
Electromagnetism (Science as a Human Endeavour, Unit 4)	0.3%	1 of 6
Gravity and motion	0.4%	1 of 6

Marks by dot point

Dot-point numbers and wording are SCSA's own. Where a dot point is written as a list, its items run together here separated by semicolons.

Dot point	Content	Topic	Share of marks	Papers
3.3.2.1	when an object experiences a net force perpendicular to its velocity, it will undergo circular motion, including uniform circular motion on a horizontal plane; circular motion involving ‘banking’, e.g. objects moving around a banked track, aeroplanes and birds turning in flight; vertical circular motion, both uniform and non-uniform; apparent weight of objects undergoing circular motion This includes applying the relationships $v = \frac{2\pi r}{T}$ $a_c = \frac{v^2}{r}$ $F_c = ma_c = \frac{mv^2}{r}$	Science Understanding (Unit 3)	7.0%	6 of 6
3.3.1.3	for a rigid body to be in equilibrium, the sum of the forces and the sum of the moments must be zero, including applying the relationships $\sum F = 0$ $\tau = rF\sin\theta$ $\sum \tau = 0$	Science Understanding (Unit 3)	5.8%	6 of 6
4.3.2.1	electric and magnetic fields are used in high-energy particle accelerators to control the motion of charged particles, including applying the relationships $E = \frac{F}{q} = \frac{\Delta V}{d}$ $\Delta V = \frac{W}{q}$ $\frac{mv^2}{r} = qvB$ $a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t} = \frac{v_f - v_i}{t_f - t_i}$ $v_f = v_i + a\Delta t$ $s = v_i\Delta t + \frac{1}{2}a\Delta t^2$ $v_f^2 = v_i^2 + 2as$ $p = mv$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	5.6%	6 of 6
3.3.3.7	projectile motion can be analysed quantitatively by treating the horizontal and vertical components of the motion independently, including applying the relationships $a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t} = \frac{v_f - v_i}{t_f - t_i}$ $v_f = v_i + a\Delta t$ $s = v_i\Delta t + \frac{1}{2}a\Delta t^2$ $v_f^2 = v_i^2 + 2as$ $E_k = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$	Science Understanding (Unit 3)	5.2%	6 of 6
4.3.3.8	on the atomic level, electromagnetic radiation is emitted or absorbed in discrete packets called photons. The energy of a photon $E$ is proportional to its frequency $f$ and momentum $p$ , including applying the relationships $c = f\lambda$ $E = hf = \frac{hc}{\lambda}$ $E = pc$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	4.9%	6 of 6
4.1.0.11	interpret a range of scientific texts and evaluate processes and conclusions by considering the available evidence, and use reasoning to construct scientific arguments	Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4)	4.7%	6 of 6
3.3.4.4	motion can only be measured relative to an observer. Length and time are relative quantities that depend on the observer’s frame of reference, including applying the relationships $\ell' = \ell\sqrt{\left(1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}\right)}$ $\Delta t' = \frac{\Delta t}{\sqrt{\left(1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}\right)}}$ $u = \frac{u' + v}{1 + \frac{u'v}{c^2}}$ $u' = \frac{u - v}{1 - \frac{uv}{c^2}}$	Science Understanding (Unit 3)	4.0%	6 of 6
4.3.1.10	magnets, magnetic materials, moving charges and current-carrying wires experience a force in a magnetic field when they cut flux lines; this force is utilised in DC electric motors and particle accelerators, including applying the relationships $F = qvB\sin\theta$ where $\theta$ = angle between the field $B$ and the velocity $v$ and $F = I\ell B\sin\theta$ where $\theta$ = angle between the field $B$ and the conductor length $\ell$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	3.2%	6 of 6
3.3.3.8	Newton’s law of universal gravitation is used to explain Kepler’s third law of planetary motion and to describe the motion of planets and other satellites, which is modelled as uniform circular motion, including deriving and applying the relationship $\frac{T^2}{r^3} = \frac{4\pi^2}{GM}$	Science Understanding (Unit 3)	2.9%	4 of 6
4.3.1.15	step-up and step-down transformers are used in large scale AC power distribution systems including applying the relationships $\frac{V_p}{V_s} = \frac{N_p}{N_s}$ $P = VI = I^2R = \frac{V^2}{R}$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	2.5%	4 of 6
4.1.0.13	select, use and interpret appropriate mathematical representations, including linear and non-linear graphs and algebraic relationships representing physical systems, to solve problems and make predictions	Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4)	2.4%	6 of 6
4.3.3.12	on the atomic level, energy and matter exhibit the characteristics of both waves and particles. Young’s double-slit experiment is explained with a wave model but produces the same interference and diffraction patterns when one photon at a time or one electron at a time are passed through the slits, including applying the relationships $\lambda = \frac{h}{p}$ $E = pc$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	2.4%	5 of 6
4.3.2.4	the total energy $E$ of a moving object is the sum of the energy due to its mass and kinetic energy, including applying the relationships $E_{\text{rest}} = mc^2$ $E_k = E - E_{\text{rest}}$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	2.3%	5 of 6
4.3.1.14	a changing magnetic flux induces a potential difference; this process of electromagnetic induction is used in DC and AC generators, including applying the relationships induced emf: $\varepsilon = -N\frac{\Delta\Phi}{\Delta t} = \frac{\Delta BA_\perp}{\Delta t}$ where $A_\perp$ = area perpendicular to the field $B$ AC generator $\text{emf}_{\max}$ : $\varepsilon_{\max} = 2N\ell vB = 2\pi NBAf$ ; $\varepsilon_{\text{rms}} = \frac{\varepsilon_{\max}}{\sqrt{2}}$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	2.2%	5 of 6
4.3.2.3	the concept of mass–energy equivalence emerged from the theory of special relativity and explains the source of the energy produced in nuclear reactions. The mass of an object is constant and independent of its motion, including applying the relationship for total energy $E$ $E = \frac{mc^2}{\sqrt{\left(1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}\right)}}$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	2.2%	6 of 6
4.3.3.9	the constant of proportionality, Planck’s constant, can be determined experimentally using the photoelectric effect, including applying the relationship $E_k = hf - \phi$ where $\phi$ = the work function of the surface	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	2.2%	4 of 6
4.3.4.3	there is a variety of evidence that supports the Big Bang theory, including cosmic background radiation, expansion of space, the abundance of light elements and the red shift of light from galaxies that obey Hubble’s law, including applying the relationship $v = H_0d$	Science Understanding (Unit 4)	2.2%	4 of 6

These 17 dot points carry 61.7% of the paper marks between them. Another 56 assessed dot points share the rest, and 22 of the 95 externally assessable dot points have not been assessed in any of these 6 papers. Content that has not appeared is still examinable.

What has moved between papers

Comparing the 2020 to 2022 papers with the 2023 to 2025 papers, three topics have moved by more than 3.0 percentage points.

Topic	2020 to 2022 share	2023 to 2025 share	Movement
Science Understanding (Unit 3)	37.5%	27.5%	down 10.0 points
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4)	11.4%	14.9%	up 3.5 points
Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 3)	1.1%	7.5%	up 6.4 points

How the papers are built

Short answer carries 98.7% of the marks across these 6 papers.

Question type	Share of marks	Marks	Parts
Short answer	98.7%	1114	323
Multiple choice	1.2%	13	13

Verb	Share of marks	Marks	Parts
calculate	44.5%	502	128
explain	16.2%	183	55
estimate	7.4%	83	20
describe	3.4%	38	16
show	2.1%	24	7
discuss	1.9%	21	5
draw	1.8%	20	7
determine	1.7%	19	6

What these percentages do not tell you

Where to practise

Every topic above links to its own page of real SCSA questions with marking criteria and average scores attached: Science Understanding (Unit 4), Science Understanding (Unit 3), Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 4), Science Inquiry Skills (Unit 3), Science as a Human Endeavour (Unit 4) and Science as a Human Endeavour (Unit 3). For how students actually score on this content, read WACE Physics hardest topics, and for the full question bank start at WACE Physics.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is used under licence, © School Curriculum and Standards Authority. See our SCSA licensing notice. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority does not endorse this publication or product.