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QCE · QCE Units 3 & 4 · official past papers

QCE Marine Science past exams 2021–2025, by year and topic

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ATARMAxxing indexes 20 official QCAA Marine Science papers from 2021 to 2025, with 36 questions mapped to 4 topics. Every paper opens on the QCAA website.

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QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025) · 2021–2025Marine Science 2025 syllabus (v1.1 released for implementation July 2024; first external assessment under it in 2026) · 2026–present

QCE Marine Science exams by year: official papers & marking guidance

Past exams indexed: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021. Open the official QCAA papers, with marking guidance where available.

YearStudy designOfficial paper(s)Marking guidance
2025 QCE Marine Science examQCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 — Multiple choice question book ↗ · Paper 1 — Question and response book ↗ · Paper 2 — Question and response book ↗ · Subject report ↗Marking guidance ↗
2024 QCE Marine Science examQCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 — Multiple choice question book ↗ · Paper 1 — Question and response book ↗ · Paper 2 — Question and response book ↗ · Subject report ↗Marking guidance ↗
2023 QCE Marine Science examQCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 — Multiple choice question book ↗ · Paper 1 — Question and response book ↗ · Paper 2 — Question and response book ↗ · Subject report ↗Marking guidance ↗
2022 QCE Marine Science examQCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 — Multiple choice question book ↗ · Paper 1 — Question and response book ↗ · Paper 2 — Question and response book ↗ · Subject report ↗Marking guidance ↗
2021 QCE Marine Science examQCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 — Multiple choice question book ↗ · Paper 1 — Question and response book ↗ · Paper 2 — Question and response book ↗ · Subject report ↗Marking guidance ↗

20 official papers across 5 years (2021–2025), 5 with marking guidance, published by QCAA. These span more than one study design; the most recent is Marine Science 2025 syllabus (v1.1 released for implementation July 2024; first external assessment under it in 2026). Earlier papers may cover material that has since changed.

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Unit 3 Topic 1 — The reef and beyond · 12 mapped questions

Multiple choice across all four topics

  • 2025QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 Questions 1–2020 marksTwenty one-mark items: coral prey capture structure, soft-coral classification, an indirect acidification effect on planktivores, why government agencies can manage parks, the settlement stage, barrier versus fringing reefs, fixed quotas; stimulus sets on turbidity and coral growth, a lobster fishery's catch against its TACC, coral-core humic acid and river discharge, abalone production by sector, rugosity versus fish density, and an SST/degree-heating-week chart used to judge bleaching timing.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Skeleton formation

Abiotic factors and coral distribution

  • 2025QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 Question 245 marksTwo depth profiles (species abundance and dissolved oxygen): read a depth range, state a trend, then draw and justify a conclusion linking dissolved oxygen to living coral using both graphs.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Rank abundance and hysteresis

Sea-level history

Reef zonation

Disturbance, run-off and connectivity

  • 2024QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 Question 227 marksCoral cover at an inshore and an offshore reef with a disturbance-event table: identify the disturbance that affected the inshore reef more, infer which reef run-off affects least with two pieces of evidence, and draw a conclusion about habitat connectivity and water quality.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Coral feeding

Coral classification

Ecological tipping point

Coral–zooxanthellae symbiosis

Habitat complexity

Also in this topic: Global and Australian coral reef distribution; latitudinal and cross-shelf patterns · Abiotic factors limiting corals (dissolved oxygen, light, salinity, temperature, substrate, aragonite, low nutrients) · Geological history and sea-level change since 20 000 BP; reef types and zonation · Soft and hard corals, hermatypic and ahermatypic corals, genus keys and coral anatomy · Skeleton formation, feeding, zooxanthellae symbiosis and the coral life cycle · Larval dispersal, settlement, recruitment; accretion versus destruction · Habitat complexity, rugosity, connectivity and herbivorous fish · Tipping points, hysteresis, diversity indices, Whittaker plots, coral cover and water quality — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 3 Topic 2 — Changes on the reef · 10 mapped questions

Carbon sources and sinks

Bleaching recovery

Bleaching and zooxanthellae

  • 2025QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 2 Question 49 marksZooxanthellae density and clade proportions in Acropora at two reefs after heat stress: choose the reef most likely to bleach, compare the reefs' responses, predict the energy effect of lost symbionts, and predict future heat tolerance after symbiont shuffling.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Aragonite saturation and pH

Carbonate chemistry

  • 2025QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 2 Question 115 marksA CO2–ocean chemistry diagram: identify a missing species, explain why high CO2 affects sea water and fresh water differently (carbonate buffering), and explain how warming changes CO2 uptake and pH.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Carbonate compensation depth and upwelling

Laboratory versus field acidification

  • 2024QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 Question 254 marksCalcification rates of coral types against dissolved CO2 in laboratory and field: state the effect on one genus, two lab–field differences for another, and a limitation of laboratory experiments.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Coral cover and bleaching

Aragonite and land clearing

Biological pump

Also in this topic: Global anthropogenic factors and specific pressures on reefs; modelled reef futures · Coral cores as records of growth and climate · Coral bleaching, Shelford's law, SST, degree heating weeks, recovery and regional comparisons · Carbonate buffering, acidification chemistry, CO2 sources, the biological pump and the CCD · Calcite and aragonite, aragonite saturation (Ω), calcifying organisms, lab versus field experiments, resilience — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 4 Topic 1 — Oceans of the future · 3 mapped questions

MPA design criteria and management

  • 2025QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 1 Question 275 marksA Great Barrier Reef zoning map: name a design criterion, explain how it applies to coral trout across their life cycle, and propose a management strategy for coral trout in habitat protection zones.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

MPA site selection

Future scenarios

Also in this topic: Ecological, economic, ethical and aesthetic values for preserving species and habitats · MPA design criteria and management strategies; judging MPA success · Government and non-government organisations · Future scenarios, atmosphere–ocean interactions, warming and indirect consequences of acidification — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 4 Topic 2 — Managing fisheries · 11 mapped questions

Thermal regimes and fish distribution

Aquaculture and food security

Dynamic spatial zoning

Aquaculture species attributes

MSY and MEY

Australian seafood trade

Catch, TACC and effort data

Data reliability and capture–recapture

  • 2025QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 2 Question 97 marksA snapper study using logbooks, charter reports and tag-and-release: explain why estuary-tagged fish were recaptured offshore, discuss the reliability of the logbook and charter data, and identify two limitations of capture–recapture.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Fishery types

Lincoln index and data reliability

  • 2024QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 2 Question 46 marksA migratory fish surveyed by capture–recapture and satellite tracking: calculate the Lincoln index estimate, identify two reliability factors, and infer whether capture–recapture is reliable using the graph.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Aquaculture carrying capacity and systems

  • 2024QCAA Marine Science papers set before the 2025 syllabus (2021–2025)Paper 2 Question 77 marksWhiteleg shrimp production and survival against stocking density with an intensive/extensive comparison table: predict carrying capacity, identify two factors reducing it, and explain three system differences.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Fishery types, wild fish as protein and causes of decline · Drivers of fish distribution, thermal regime shifts, rugosity and fish diversity · Bioaccumulation and biomagnification (ciguatera, heavy metals, microplastics) · BIDE model, Lincoln index and reliability of fisheries data · MSY, MEY, ecosystem-based management, MPAs for fisheries, migratory species agreements, decline versus recovery case studies · Australian Fishing Zone, governance, trade, TAC and quotas, dynamic spatial zoning, precautionary principle · Aquaculture: food security, ABARES data, species attributes, carrying capacity, systems and issues — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

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