Stage 2 Nutrition Subject Outline (2NTN20, accredited from 2021, reissued for 2025)
School assessment is 70% of the Stage 2 Nutrition result: Assessment Type 1 Investigations Folio (30%, one design practical investigation plus one science-as-a-human-endeavour investigation) and Assessment Type 2 Skills and Applications Tasks (40%, two or three tasks, one of which must be a case study). Assessment Type 3 Examination is the externally assessed component, 30% of the result, and is a single 130-minute electronic examination (e-exam) sat on the SACE e-exam platform with approved calculators and the platform's own dictionary and spellcheck tools, but no formula sheet, data booklet or notes — energy values (protein and carbohydrate 16.7 kJ/g, fat 37.7 kJ/g, alcohol 29.3 kJ/g, water 0 kJ/g), the AMDR (fat 20–35%, carbohydrate 45–65%, protein 15–25%) and the BMR/TEF/EEE formulas must be recalled. There is no separate reading time: the 2026 timetable lists Nutrition in blue text (e-exam), not red (additional reading time). The paper has no fixed section structure — in 2025 it was seven compulsory stimulus-based questions worth 100 marks with no sections; 2023 and 2024 split the same 100 marks and compulsory questions into two roughly 65-minute sections — but every question is built on numbered sources (case studies, scenarios, tables, graphs, nutrition information panels) and there is no choice anywhere on the paper. The final question is always an extended case-study response (12–16 marks) with several dot-point requirements. The result reported is a grade from A+ to E− against the performance standards (Investigation, Analysis and Evaluation; Knowledge and Application), not a percentage or an exam mark; SATAC scaling of that grade into an ATAR contribution is a separate process the SACE Board does not run. Out of scope for these practice exams: the Investigations Folio's design practical and SHE investigation, the Skills and Applications Tasks' case study and timed tasks, Stage 1 Nutrition content, and any clinical dosages or brand-name products — none of these are set by the e-exam.
Past papers on this subject span more than one subject outline. Papers written under an older one still work as practice, but the topics they test have changed — the index labels every paper with the subject outline it was set under.
Stage 2 Nutrition Subject Outline (accredited from 2021, reissued 2022–2025) · 2021–present
The topics, one by one
Each area below lists the concepts named in the subject outline, what the SACE Board exam asks of them, and the mistake that most often costs marks.
- Topic 1 — Principles of nutrition, physiology and health
- Topic 2 — Health promotion and emerging trends
- Topic 3 — Sustainable food systems
- Science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour
Area 1 of 4
Topic 1 — Principles of nutrition, physiology and health
The largest and most calculation-heavy topic. It opens with energy: the kJ/g values for each macronutrient and alcohol, percentage energy compared against the AMDR, and the BMR/TEF/EEE/energy-balance chain (BMR male = kg × 1.0 × 24 × 4.2, female = kg × 0.9 × 24 × 4.2; TEF = 10% of daily energy intake; EEE = BMR + TEF + physical activity). It then covers the nutrient reference values (RDI, EAR, AI, UL, EER) and applies them to case-study intakes, the full digestive system from mouth to absorption (enzymes, mastication, peristalsis, emulsification, villi absorption of monosaccharides, amino acids, fatty acids and glycerol), the gut microbiome (vitamin K and short-chain fatty acid synthesis, prebiotics and probiotics, coeliac disease and lactose intolerance), and each macronutrient and micronutrient group in turn — proteins and biological value, lipids and cholesterol/CVD risk, carbohydrates and blood glucose, fibre, hydration, vitamins and minerals (bioavailability, deficiencies, nutrient interactions) — before closing on over- and undernutrition disorders and nutrition needs across the life cycle.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 11 points
- Energy content of macronutrients, alcohol and water; % energy and the AMDR
- BMR, TEF, EEE and energy balance calculations
- Nutrient reference values: RDI, EAR, AI, UL, EER
- The digestive system, digestive enzymes and absorption at the villi
- Gut microbiome, prebiotics and probiotics; coeliac disease and lactose intolerance
- Proteins: amino acids, biological value, complete/incomplete sources
- Lipids: triglycerides, sterols, fatty acid types, cholesterol and CVD risk
- Carbohydrates: sugar types, blood glucose, soluble and insoluble fibre
- Hydration and fluid balance
- Vitamins and minerals: functions, sources, bioavailability, deficiencies
- Over- and undernutrition disorders, at-risk groups and nutrition across the life cycle
What the exam asks
Every public e-exam has drawn heavily on this topic. Recent papers have asked students to calculate energy, percentage energy or EEE from given data, explain the physiological chain from coeliac disease to iron-deficiency anaemia (gluten damages villi → reduced surface area → less iron absorbed), compare iron absorption or nutrient-reference-value suitability between two people in a case study, identify pancreatic digestive enzymes and their long-term deficiency consequences, and explain hydration, fibre or lipid mechanisms behind a named health outcome.
Where marks go missing
Stopping a mechanism halfway. Markers repeatedly note that students identify a factor (villi damage, high sodium intake, refined flour) but do not carry it through to the physiological consequence the question asks for, or give a vague answer (“affects absorption”) instead of stating the direction and the reason. Calculation answers lose marks for the wrong energy-value constant (29 kJ/g instead of 29.3 kJ/g for alcohol) or missing units.
7 real SACE Board questions indexed on this area →
Area 2 of 4
Topic 2 — Health promotion and emerging trends
This topic covers how food is regulated, assessed and communicated. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) sets additive rules and mandatory fortification (folate, thiamine and iodine in bread-making flour, vitamin D in some foods); food-borne illness and preservation techniques (freezing, canning, pasteurisation) and packaging materials follow. Labelling covers the 12 mandatory requirements and comparing nutrition information panels per 100 g. Diagnostic tools (BMI and its limitations against waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, weight-for-height tables, blood analysis) sit alongside the Australian Dietary Guidelines, the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Guide to Healthy Eating and social marketing campaigns, and the topic closes on sensory, psychological, social and marketing influences on food choice.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 6 points
- FSANZ, food additives and mandatory fortification
- Food-borne illness, preservation techniques and packaging types
- The 12 mandatory food-labelling requirements and comparing nutrition information panels
- BMI and alternative diagnostic tools: uses and limitations
- Australian Dietary Guidelines, AGHE, ATSIGHE and social marketing campaigns
- Sensory, psychological, social and marketing influences on food choice
What the exam asks
Papers have asked students to identify FSANZ's role and link it to a food-safety scenario, describe or compare preservation techniques for a named product, use nutrition information panel data to justify which of two products is more suitable, evaluate a diagnostic tool or an educational poster's limitations, and compare the AGHE with the ATSIGHE using specific foods.
Where marks go missing
Naming a tool or guideline without evaluating it. ‘BMI is limited’ or ‘the poster promotes healthy eating’ earns nothing without a stated reason — what the tool misses, or what the poster's stimulus actually shows it does not account for.
1 real SACE Board question indexed on this area →
Area 3 of 4
Topic 3 — Sustainable food systems
The environmental and future-food topic. It covers production-method impacts (monoculture, soil quality, fertilisers and pesticides, livestock antibiotics, organic farming, crop rotation, biodiversity), aquaculture and commercial fishing, food production's contribution to global warming, food miles and water availability, packaging materials and food waste, and closes on research and development — vertical and digital farming, GMOs, entomophagy, algae, lab-grown meat and 3D-printed food — assessed against nutrition, sustainability and food security.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 5 points
- Farming methods, livestock, aquaculture and commercial fishing impacts
- Food production's contribution to global warming, food miles and water availability
- Packaging materials, pollution and reducing food waste
- Vertical and digital farming, GMOs, entomophagy, algae, lab-grown and 3D-printed food
- Food security and population nutritional needs
What the exam asks
Questions have asked students to link a farming practice (monoculture, reduced gas drilling) to a specific environmental mechanism rather than a general outcome, identify a digital or genetic-modification technique suited to a stated scenario and explain how it would work, and evaluate a packaging or waste-reduction strategy using source data.
Where marks go missing
Giving the wrong mechanism for the right topic — food distribution's environmental effect is fossil-fuel combustion driving the enhanced greenhouse effect, not ozone depletion, and vehicles do not ‘release fossil fuels’. Compostable, biodegradable and degradable packaging are not interchangeable terms and are marked as distinct.
1 real SACE Board question indexed on this area →
Area 4 of 4
Science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour
Examined inside every question rather than as its own section, worth roughly 10–20 marks per paper. Covers designing an investigation from a hypothesis or inquiry question (independent and dependent variables, factors held constant and why, factors that cannot be controlled, ethical and safety considerations), representing primary and secondary data in SI units, tables and graphs, analysing trends and calculating means, and distinguishing random from systematic error and reliability from validity from accuracy. The four SHE key concepts — Communication and Collaboration, Development, Influence, and Application and Limitation — are applied to a new technology or research finding in most papers, most often Influence.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 5 points
- Investigation design: hypotheses, variables, controlled and uncontrolled factors
- Representing primary and secondary data: SI units, tables and graphs
- Trends, means, random and systematic error, reliability, validity and accuracy
- Limitations of conclusions
- SHE key concepts: Communication and Collaboration, Development, Influence, Application and Limitation
What the exam asks
Recent papers have asked students to identify the independent or dependent variable, controlled and uncontrolled factors, in a described investigation; outline an investigation to a set of dot points; identify and explain a systematic error or a limitation of a stated conclusion; and discuss how society influenced a piece of research, or how that research could influence society, using the named SHE concept.
Where marks go missing
Confusing reliability, validity, accuracy and precision, or discussing the wrong direction of a named SHE concept (research influencing society when the question asks how society influenced the research, or vice versa). Markers also penalise a limitation of the results being given instead of a limitation of the investigation's method or conclusion.
2 real SACE Board questions indexed on this area →
Common questions
Is there a formula sheet or data booklet in the Nutrition e-exam?
No. The SACE e-exam platform gives you approved-calculator access and a built-in dictionary and spellcheck, but no formula sheet or data booklet. Energy values (16.7 kJ/g for protein and carbohydrate, 37.7 kJ/g for fat, 29.3 kJ/g for alcohol), the AMDR ranges and the BMR/TEF/EEE formulas have to be memorised.
How many questions are on the paper, and can I choose which ones to answer?
Every question is compulsory — there is no choice anywhere on the paper. The 2025 e-exam had seven compulsory stimulus-based questions worth 100 marks with no sections; 2023 and 2024 split the same 100 marks and compulsory questions across two sections of roughly 65 minutes each. The SACE Board has not published a fixed specification, so a future paper's exact split is not guaranteed.
Do I get extra reading time before the Nutrition exam?
No. Nutrition is printed in blue text on the SACE examinations timetable, meaning it is an electronic examination, not in red text, which is reserved for the additional reading time given to language exams. The e-exam's stated total time is 130 minutes with no separate reading period.
Is Stage 1 Nutrition content examined in the Stage 2 exam?
No. Only Stage 2 Topics 1–3, science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour are examinable. The outline's ‘possible contexts’ (for example edible insects or famine biscuits) are teaching suggestions, not required knowledge — exams may set an unfamiliar context, but only to test Stage 2 outline concepts.
Are the Investigations Folio and Skills and Applications Tasks covered by exam practice?
No, and they should not be. The design practical investigation, the SHE investigation and the case study and timed tasks that make up the school-assessed 70% are marked at school against the performance standards, not by an external e-exam, so they are out of scope for these practice papers. Practising the e-exam only prepares you for the externally assessed 30%.
What's the difference between EER, EEE, BMR and TEF?
BMR (basal metabolic rate) is the energy used at rest; TEF (thermic effect of food) is fixed at 10% of daily energy intake; EEE (estimated energy expenditure) is BMR plus TEF plus physical activity. EER (estimated energy requirement) is a nutrient reference value — a published daily energy target for a population group — rather than a value you calculate from an individual's own data the way you calculate EEE.