Stage 2 Physics Subject Outline (2PYI20) — reissued 2025 onwards
School assessment contributes 70%: the Investigations Folio is 30% and Skills and Applications Tasks are 40%. The external examination (Assessment Type 3) contributes 30%. It is a written paper examination, not an e-exam: 130 minutes total with no separate reading period, 120 marks, two question booklets of 60 marks each, all questions compulsory, with a supplied formula sheet and approved calculators only. The 120-mark, two-booklet structure is verified from the official 2023, 2024 and 2025 paper covers. Practice-paper mark model (stated assumption): every original paper here follows the 2025 shape exactly — Booklet 1 with 11 questions for 60 marks and Booklet 2 with 10 questions for 60 marks — because the outline does not fix the question count and it varies by year (11 + 11 in 2024, 12 + 10 in 2023).
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.
Earlier outline — check current requirements · 2023–2024Current subject outline — reissued 2025 onwards · 2025–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: Motion and relativity
- Topic 2: Electricity and magnetism
- Topic 3: Light and atoms
- Science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour
Area 1 of 4
Topic 1: Motion and relativity
Resolve projectile motion into independent horizontal and vertical components, and recognise the limits of the no-drag model. Treat momentum and impulse as vectors, using force–time areas and two-dimensional conservation. Connect radial net force to circular motion, gravitation and Kepler’s laws, then apply special relativity: invariant light speed, proper time and length, Lorentz factors and mass–energy.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 4 points
- Projectile motion
- Forces and momentum
- Circular motion and gravitation
- Relativity
What the exam asks
Multistep calculations with stated assumptions and units, vector diagrams for momentum and forces, graphical analysis of investigation data (including lines of best fit and intercepts), and explanations that start from a named principle such as conservation of momentum rather than an unrelated law.
Where marks go missing
Using energy or Newton’s third law where the question asks for conservation of momentum, and treating the radial force as an extra ‘centrifugal’ force rather than the net force required for circular motion.
Area 2 of 4
Topic 2: Electricity and magnetism
Superpose electric fields and Coulomb forces as vectors, follow charged particles through uniform electric fields and potential differences, and apply right-hand conventions to fields around currents and forces on conductors. Derive radius and period for charges in magnetic fields, explain velocity selectors, mass analysis, cyclotrons and synchrotrons, and use changing flux to explain induced emf, Lenz’s law and transformers.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 5 points
- Electric fields
- Motion of charged particles in electric fields
- Magnetic fields
- Motion of charged particles in magnetic fields
- Electromagnetic induction
What the exam asks
Field and force directions justified explicitly, derivations that begin from the basic force relation and explain each substituted formula, and evaluation of accelerator limits including relativistic effects. Transformer and induction questions expect both the ideal relation and a named, mechanism-based loss.
Where marks go missing
Starting a cyclotron derivation from the final kinetic-energy expression instead of the magnetic force, and confusing the mass of a positron or ion with the mass of a proton when a question specifies the particle.
Area 3 of 4
Topic 3: Light and atoms
Use polarisation, path difference, fringe spacing and grating conditions for the wave model; use photoelectric thresholds, stopping voltage, X-ray cut-off and de Broglie wavelengths for the particle and matter-wave models. Interpret continuous incandescent spectra, hydrogen line series, absorption, fluorescence and laser action from discrete energy levels, and classify particles and interactions in the Standard Model with conservation laws.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 4 points
- Wave behaviour of light
- Wave–particle duality
- Structure of the atom
- Standard Model
What the exam asks
Explanations of bright fringes through path difference or phase, photon-energy calculations with correct eV–joule conversion, reasoning about why intensity or frequency changes do or do not affect photoemission, and reconstruction of quark or antiparticle charges with conservation of charge and particle number.
Where marks go missing
Restating the question as an ‘explanation’ in photoelectric-effect questions, and invoking constructive or destructive interference where the question is about diffraction limits or spectral evidence.
Area 4 of 4
Science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour
Deconstruct a problem into a testable question with justified independent, dependent and controlled variables; present data in tables and graphs with a line of best fit; evaluate random and systematic error, precision, accuracy, reliability, validity and limitations. Link a contemporary physics application to a science-as-a-human-endeavour key concept using evidence from the supplied text.
What the subject outline lists under this area · 4 points
- Deconstructing a problem: variables, controls, method design and justification
- Analysing data: graphs, lines of best fit, uncertainty, random and systematic error
- Evaluating precision, accuracy, reliability, validity and limitations
- Science as a human endeavour: linking a key concept to evidence in a supplied text
What the exam asks
Method-design questions want a realistic, coherent procedure that isolates one variable; analysis questions want the relationship from the data equated to the physical relationship (for example, extracting a planetary mass from a gradient). SHE questions want the key concept named, explained and then elaborated with specific evidence from the stimulus.
Where marks go missing
Describing a method that measures a value rather than testing how a variable affects another, and answering an SHE question with generic statements instead of evidence drawn from the text provided.
Common questions
Is the Physics examination an e-exam?
No. Stage 2 Physics is a written paper examination with two question booklets and a supplied formula sheet. The SACE Board lists it as a 130-minute examination worth 30% of the subject; the 2026 timetable schedules it for Thursday 5 November 2026 at 9 am South Australian time.
How many marks and questions are on the real paper?
The 2023, 2024 and 2025 papers each total 120 marks in two 60-mark booklets over 130 minutes. The number of questions per booklet varies by year (11 + 10 in 2025, 11 + 11 in 2024, 12 + 10 in 2023). The practice papers here always use the 2025 shape of 11 + 10 questions; that is a stated modelling assumption, not a Board rule.
Are the practice papers official past exams?
No. They are original ATARMAxxing questions with fully worked responses and mark-by-mark guides. The official 2023–2025 papers and Subject Assessment Advice are linked separately; the Board does not publish solutions, and this platform is not affiliated with the SACE Board or SATAC.
What can I bring into the examination?
The official cover lists the two question booklets, the supplied formula sheet and your registration label, and permits approved calculators only (memory cleared, no CAS — see SACE Information sheet 49). Use black or blue pen, with a sharp dark pencil for diagrams. No other notes or reference material are listed.
Is there reading time?
No separate reading period is provided; the 130 minutes is total time, and the cover suggests about 65 minutes per booklet. Plan to skim both booklets early so the longer multi-topic questions in Booklet 2 are not left to the end.