Physics Scaling TCE 2026: Does It Scale Up or Down?

What Physics actually asks of you

The external assessment is one 3-hour written examination (plus 15 minutes preparation) worth 180 numeric marks: Section A Newtonian Physics (Criterion 5), Section B Electromagnetism (Criterion 6), Section C Waves (Criterion 7) and Section D Twentieth Century (Criterion 8), each 45 marks, about 45 minutes and five to seven compulsory structured questions. Each section score becomes an A, B, C, t or z rating; TASC combines those 4 external ratings with 8 internal ratings to decide the award. You may use the official Physics Information Sheet and a TASC-approved calculator.

The Physics exam is Friday 13 November 2026, 9.00 am (3 hours working time (15 minutes preparation time)). Source: TCE timetable.

The 20 areas of study you are examined on

From the Physics Level 4 (PHY415115) course document version 3c (accreditation renewed 25 September 2025, current for 2026); External Assessment Specifications Version 1.3 (March 2023); PHY415115 Physics Information Sheet. Sources downloaded and verified 4 October 2026..

• Kinematics and motion graphs
  Treat displacement, velocity and acceleration as vectors. Slopes of s–t and v–t graphs give velocity and acceleration; the area under a v–t graph gives displacement. Use the constant-acceleration equations with one sign convention throughout, including vertical motion with g = 9.81 m s⁻².
  In the exam: External Criterion 5 (Section A): identify and apply principles of Newtonian mechanics including gravitational fields.
  Where marks go missing: Drawing curved lines on a constant-acceleration v–t graph, or giving an upward and downward trip the same acceleration when friction acts.
• Projectile motion
  Split the launch velocity into components, keep horizontal velocity constant and apply uniform acceleration vertically. Launch and landing heights can differ, so solve the vertical equation for time first, then use it horizontally.
  In the exam: External Criterion 5 (Section A): identify and apply principles of Newtonian mechanics including gravitational fields.
  Where marks go missing: Treating the path as a straight hypotenuse, or forgetting the launch speed is not zero when an object leaves a ramp.
• Momentum, impulse, work and energy
  Impulse FΔt equals the change in momentum, and momentum is conserved in collisions and explosions in two dimensions. Use vector triangles with the cosine and sine rules. Compare kinetic energy before and after to classify a collision, and use W = Fs cos θ and P = W/t.
  In the exam: External Criterion 5 (Section A): identify and apply principles of Newtonian mechanics including gravitational fields.
  Where marks go missing: Adding momenta as numbers instead of vectors, or assuming a vector triangle is right-angled when it is not.
• Newton's laws and circular motion
  Draw free-body diagrams with every real force and no 'centripetal force' arrow. Apply ΣF = ma on inclines, to rockets and to mass-flow systems where force equals momentum change per second. In horizontal circles the net force points to the centre: F = mv²/r = 4π²mr/T².
  In the exam: External Criterion 5 (Section A): identify and apply principles of Newtonian mechanics including gravitational fields.
  Where marks go missing: Leaving out weight when finding rocket thrust, or adding friction and gravity components with the wrong signs on an incline.
• Gravitation and orbits
  F = Gm₁m₂/r² and g = GM/r² use centre-to-centre distance. Add the fields of two masses as vectors, locate the null point, and sketch field lines. Kepler's third law T² = 4π²r³/GM links period and orbital radius for satellites, including geostationary orbits.
  In the exam: External Criterion 5 (Section A): identify and apply principles of Newtonian mechanics including gravitational fields.
  Where marks go missing: Using altitude instead of orbital radius, or using the planet's radius when the orbital radius is needed.
• Electrostatics and point-charge fields
  Coulomb's law F = kq₁q₂/r² and E = kq/r² give magnitudes; directions come from the sign of the source charge. Combine fields from two charges with a labelled vector diagram, and sketch field lines that start on positive and end on negative charge.
  In the exam: External Criterion 6 (Section B): identify and apply principles of electricity and magnetism.
  Where marks go missing: Forgetting to square r, using one electron charge for a doubly charged ion, or treating a 120° vector problem as a right angle.
• Uniform fields and accelerated charges
  Between parallel plates E = V/d and a charge gains qV of kinetic energy. A charge entering perpendicular to the field follows a parabola like a projectile. Millikan's oil-drop method balances qE against mg.
  In the exam: External Criterion 6 (Section B): identify and apply principles of electricity and magnetism.
  Where marks go missing: Confusing the field symbol E with energy, or explaining acceleration only as 'attraction' without naming the field and net force.
• Magnetic fields and forces on currents
  A long straight wire produces B = kI/r in circles given by a right-hand rule. A current in a field feels F = IlB sin θ; parallel currents attract and antiparallel currents repel with F/l = kI₁I₂/r. Motors use this force with a split-ring commutator.
  In the exam: External Criterion 6 (Section B): identify and apply principles of electricity and magnetism.
  Where marks go missing: Calculating a force on an assumed 1 m instead of a force per unit length, or forgetting to multiply by the number of turns in a coil.
• Charged particles in magnetic fields
  A moving charge feels F = qvB sin θ at right angles to its velocity, so it moves in a circle of radius r = mv/qB, or a helix if it has a component along B. Crossed fields pass only v = E/B, and the Bainbridge spectrometer separates isotopes by radius.
  In the exam: External Criterion 6 (Section B): identify and apply principles of electricity and magnetism.
  Where marks go missing: Giving a force component along the field direction, or forgetting that an electron's force is opposite to a positive charge's.
• Electromagnetic induction
  A conductor moving through a field has emf = vlB sin θ, and a closed circuit carries I = V/R. Lenz's law makes the induced current oppose the change, so work done against the opposing force becomes electrical energy and then heat. Generators, eddy currents and transformers apply the same idea.
  In the exam: External Criterion 6 (Section B): identify and apply principles of electricity and magnetism.
  Where marks go missing: Confusing emf with the force on the rod, or describing energy transfer in only one step.
• Wave properties and pulses at boundaries
  Waves carry energy without carrying matter. v = fλ and f = 1/T link the graphs. A pulse inverts on reflection from a fixed end and stays upright at a free end; on a string v = √(T/μ), so a heavier string carries a slower, shorter-wavelength transmitted pulse.
  In the exam: External Criterion 7 (Section C): identify and apply general principles of wave motion.
  Where marks go missing: Using a mass instead of a tension in v = √(T/μ), or leaving linear density in g m⁻¹.
• Refraction and total internal reflection
  Snell's law n₁ sin θ₁ = n₂ sin θ₂ uses angles from the normal. Different colours have different refractive indices, so a prism disperses white light. Total internal reflection needs light travelling from a slower to a faster medium at more than the critical angle.
  In the exam: External Criterion 7 (Section C): identify and apply general principles of wave motion.
  Where marks go missing: Bending the ray away from the normal on entering glass, or claiming no reflection at all when the critical angle is not reached.
• Superposition, beats and standing waves
  Overlapping waves add. Two close frequencies give beats at |f₁ − f₂|. Standing waves form from reflected waves: strings and open pipes have f = nv/2L, closed pipes have only odd harmonics f = nv/4L. Resonance builds energy at a natural frequency.
  In the exam: External Criterion 7 (Section C): identify and apply general principles of wave motion.
  Where marks go missing: Confusing the second overtone with the second harmonic, or putting a node at an open end.
• Two-source interference
  Coherent sources produce maxima where the path difference is a whole number of wavelengths and minima at half-wavelengths. For a distant screen the fringe (band) width is w = λx/d. The same method works for light, sound, radio and water waves.
  In the exam: External Criterion 7 (Section C): identify and apply general principles of wave motion.
  Where marks go missing: Calculating path difference with trigonometry instead of subtracting the two distances.
• Diffraction and polarisation
  Diffraction is greatest when the gap or obstacle is comparable to the wavelength, which limits resolution and helps long-wavelength signals bend round obstacles. Only transverse waves polarise; reflection, transmission and scattering partly polarise light.
  In the exam: External Criterion 7 (Section C): identify and apply general principles of wave motion.
  Where marks go missing: Saying sound can be polarised, or that a polarising filter blocks all reflected light at every angle.
• Black bodies and the photoelectric effect
  Planck explained black-body spectra with quantised energy; Wien's law gives λ_max T = 2.90 × 10⁻³ m K. Einstein's equation Ek(max) = hf − W = eV₀ means a graph of stopping voltage against frequency has gradient h/e (h in eV s) and intercepts that give the threshold frequency and work function.
  In the exam: External Criterion 8 (Section D): wave-particle nature of light, atomic and nuclear physics.
  Where marks go missing: Thinking brighter light raises the maximum kinetic energy, or reading the gradient without converting units.
• X-rays, photon momentum and matter waves
  X-ray tubes give a continuous spectrum with f_max = eV/h plus characteristic lines. Photons carry momentum p = h/λ, so Compton scattering conserves vector momentum. de Broglie's λ = h/p gives particles wave behaviour, strongest at low momentum.
  In the exam: External Criterion 8 (Section D): wave-particle nature of light, atomic and nuclear physics.
  Where marks go missing: Treating a back-scattered photon's momentum as positive, or using h in eV s with momentum in kg m s⁻¹.
• Energy levels and spectra
  Electrons occupy discrete levels. Moving between them absorbs or emits a photon with ΔE = hf = hc/λ. Electron collisions can excite an atom if they carry at least the level gap, and the scattered electron keeps the rest; photons must match a gap exactly unless they ionise.
  In the exam: External Criterion 8 (Section D): wave-particle nature of light, atomic and nuclear physics.
  Where marks go missing: Assuming excitation happens in upward steps, or dropping the scattered electron's leftover energy.
• Radioactive decay and half-life
  Alpha, beta-minus (with antineutrino), beta-plus (with neutrino) and gamma emissions conserve charge and nucleon number. Activity A = λN, λ = 0.693/T½ and N = N₀e^(−λt); convert between mass and number of atoms with N = mN_A/M.
  In the exam: External Criterion 8 (Section D): wave-particle nature of light, atomic and nuclear physics.
  Where marks go missing: Mixing time units between λ and t, or omitting the antineutrino from a beta-minus equation.
• Mass defect, binding energy and nuclear energy
  Mass defect × 931 MeV per u gives binding energy; the binding energy per nucleon curve peaks near iron, so fusion of light nuclei and fission of heavy nuclei release energy. Reactors need moderators, control rods and heat exchangers. The strong force is short-range; nucleons are up/down quarks held by gluons.
  In the exam: External Criterion 8 (Section D): wave-particle nature of light, atomic and nuclear physics.
  Where marks go missing: Forgetting the electron masses when using atomic masses, or giving total binding energy when binding energy per nucleon is asked for.

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How scaling works in Tasmania

In Tasmania, TASC rates each Level 3 and Level 4 course against its criteria, from your school's assessment and the external examination, and combines the ratings into an award from Exceptional Achievement down to Preliminary Achievement. Scaling then converts each award of Satisfactory Achievement or better into a course score on a common scale, by comparing every result a student achieved with the results of every other student across all their courses; in 2025 course scores ran from 1.0 to 26.0. Your Tertiary Entrance score combines your best course scores from any two years of senior secondary study to a total of 60 to 75 points — normally five 15-point courses — and the ATAR is your rank on that score. Scaling is recalculated every year from that year's cohort, so a published score range describes one past cohort and is never a guarantee.

Source: official TASC scaling report (PDF). Last checked 2026-08-18.

What scaling is not

Scaling is not a difficulty rating and it is not a bonus. It compares how the students in one subject performed across every other subject they took, so a subject scales up because of its cohort, not because of the paper. The consequence is practical: you cannot scale your way out of a weak result. The only lever you control is the raw mark, and the fastest way to move that is full-length timed practice against the real exam format.

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