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TCE · TCE Level 4 · official past papers

TCE Physics past exams 2021–2025, by year and topic

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ATARMAxxing indexes 5 official TASC Physics papers from 2021 to 2025, with 47 questions mapped to 4 topics. Every paper opens on the TASC website.

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180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023) · 2022–2026160-mark, 4-part format (Parts 1–4, 40 marks each; superseded) · 2021–2021

TCE Physics exams by year: official papers & marking guidance

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

YearStudy designOfficial paper(s)Marking guidance
2025 TCE Physics exam180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination ↗Marking guidance ↗
2024 TCE Physics exam180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination ↗Marking guidance ↗
2023 TCE Physics exam180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination ↗Marking guidance ↗
2022 TCE Physics exam180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination ↗Marking guidance ↗
2021 TCE Physics exam160-mark, 4-part format (Parts 1–4, 40 marks each; superseded)Written examination ↗Marking guidance ↗

5 official papers across 5 years (2021–2025), 5 with marking guidance, published by TASC. These span more than one study design; the most recent is 180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023). Earlier papers may cover material that has since changed.

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Criterion 5 — Newtonian mechanics including gravitational fields · 11 mapped questions

Projectiles

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q15 marksA rider leaves a ramp angled below the horizontal at a speed given in km/h; resolve the launch velocity and decide, with working, whether the rider clears a gap of given width and drop.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q47 marksA cricket ball hit for six over a known range at a given angle: derive two equations linking initial speed and flight time, then solve for the initial speed.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Momentum and energy

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q29 marksA hockey ball is struck by a force at an angle to its motion for a short time; show the momentum change, draw a vector triangle, then use the cosine and sine rules for final speed and deflection angle.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q57 marksTwo footballers running at right angles collide and stay tangled: total momentum by vector diagram and the final velocity with direction.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Newton's laws

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q59 marksA hovering helicopter pushes a cylinder of air downwards each second: volume, mass and momentum change of the air, hence the helicopter's mass, then the share of engine power transferred to the air.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q110 marksA parent swings a child in a horizontal circle with the arms at an angle: force sketch, the parent's pull by trigonometry, the net (centripetal) force, tangential speed and period.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q29 marksA cart rolls up a 15° incline with friction equal to a fraction of its weight: friction force, acceleration up the slope, maximum displacement and a v–t graph for the up-and-back motion.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q67 marksA large rocket at lift-off: force sketch to scale, thrust from mass and acceleration, then the reduced mass later in flight for the same thrust.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Gravitation

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q310 marksNewton's Moon test: find the Moon's orbital speed and centripetal acceleration from its distance and period, show that gravity follows an inverse-square law, then find the acceleration of a space station at a given altitude.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q412 marksTwo stars of a binary system: gravitational field of each at a point forming an equilateral triangle, the resultant field (120° between vectors), the null-point position between the stars and a field sketch.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section A Q35 marksA neutron star: surface gravitational field strength from mass and diameter, and the orbital period of a planet in Earth days.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Motion — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Criterion 6 — Electricity and magnetism · 12 mapped questions

Electrostatics

  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q128 marksTwo unequal positive point charges: field-line sketch, the resultant field at a point by vector diagram, and the force on a small negative charge placed there.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Uniform electric fields

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q610 marksThunderclouds and lightning: induced ground charge, field sketch, why strikes start at sharp points, a static-hair warning sign, then minimum potential difference, charge transferred and energy released in a strike.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q78 marksHydrogen ions accelerated between two plates then drifting through a field-free metal chamber: explain where acceleration happens, find kinetic energy, speed from timing and the ion mass.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q77 marksCoulomb force between a doubly charged ion and an electron, then a time-of-flight mass spectrometer: drift speed, kinetic energy from the accelerating voltage and ion mass.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q910 marksAn electron from a 3 kV gun enters a field between deflecting plates: speed, field strength, emergence angle and the magnetic flux density that would cancel the deflection.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Magnetic fields

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q116 marksTwo parallel wires carrying unequal currents in the same direction: field sketch with null point, force per unit length between them and the flux density at a nearby point.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q106 marksA 30-turn rectangular coil as a DC motor: force on one side, sense of rotation with justification, and the role of the split commutator.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Charges in B fields

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q98 marksLight treated as crossed oscillating electric and magnetic fields acting on a charge: force expressions, acceleration directions for positive and negative charges, and why comet ion tails point away from the Sun.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Induction

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q87 marksA roller on rails in a magnetic field acts as a linear motor: initial current and force, the terminal speed reached when the induced emf opposes the supply, and the current at that speed.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q106 marksA metal sheet pulled out of a magnetic field: which edge becomes positive, a sketch of the eddy current and the energy transfers involved.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q85 marksAn aluminium plate levitating above a coil carrying alternating current: explain using induction and Lenz's law, then predict the effect of direct current and of a steel plate.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section B Q119 marksThe same coil driven as a generator: speed of one side, maximum emf, an emf–time sketch, and the opposing force when a load is connected.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Criterion 7 — General principles of wave motion · 12 mapped questions

Wave basics

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q157 marksTwo buoys record ocean-wave displacement against time: amplitude, period, a reasoned wavelength, wave speed and direction of travel.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q167 marksPulses reflecting at rigid and free ends, wave speed on a string from tension and linear density, and reflected and transmitted pulses at a join with a heavier string.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Refraction

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q129 marksWhite light enters a 60° prism: angle of incidence from the refracted angle, sketches of blue and red paths, the critical angle, and whether all light leaves at one face.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q158 marksA laser beam enters a fish tank through the side: angle at the water–air surface, whether light emerges (critical angle) and why the glass wall can be ignored.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q176 marksSeismic P and S waves: which are transverse, why liquids do not carry transverse waves, refraction at the mantle–core boundary and curved paths in layers of increasing wave speed.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Standing waves

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q139 marksA sonometer wire tensioned by a hanging mass: fundamental frequency from tension and linear density, the second overtone, beats with a second wire and the least tensioning mass that fits.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q176 marksThe ear canal modelled as a closed pipe: sketch the fundamental and first overtone, calculate the fundamental, and discuss hearing-sensitivity ranges for adults and children.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q139 marksA large open pipe resonating to garden-tool noise: explain the resonance, estimate the pipe length, apply an end correction in a sketch, and sketch the first overtone of a closed pipe.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q187 marksA beating sound from two instruments shown on a graph: label interference regions, mark one beat, estimate the beat frequency and give the possible frequencies of the second instrument.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Interference

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q146 marksYoung's double slit with two colours: meaning of coherence, fringe spacing for each colour, a point where bright fringes coincide and the path difference in wavelengths there.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q148 marksSea waves through two gaps in a harbour wall: wavefront sketch, calm or rough conditions from path difference, spacing of rough zones and why it is only an estimate.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Diffraction and polarisation

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section C Q168 marksPolarised sunglasses: polarisation of light reflected from and transmitted into water, glare from shop windows, and what an observer sees rotating the lenses while viewing scattered skylight.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Criterion 8 — Wave-particle nature of light, atomic and nuclear physics · 12 mapped questions

Light as particles

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q185 marksInfrared remote thermometers sensitive to a wavelength band: Wien's law temperature range and whether the device could read the Sun's surface temperature.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q237 marksUltraviolet light on aluminium: spectrum region, maximum photoelectron kinetic energy from the work function, why a spread of energies occurs, and the threshold frequency.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q209 marksPhotoelectric data from a mercury lamp on caesium: convert wavelengths to frequencies, plot stopping voltage against frequency, explain the trend and extract Planck's constant, work function and cut-off frequency.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Photon momentum

Atomic structure

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q2210 marksSodium atoms bombarded by electrons: minimum excitation energy, possible transitions and photon energies, scattered-electron energies, the highest photon frequency at a higher bombarding energy, and the levels behind the yellow line.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q236 marksAurorae and oxygen energy levels: show a transition gives green light, the minimum incident-electron energy needed, and the spectrum region of another transition.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Radioactivity

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q215 marksAn alpha-emitting medical isotope: decay equation, number of atoms from the injected activity, and activity remaining after a number of days.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q1910 marksA nickel-63 beta-decay battery: decay equation with antineutrino, minimum activity for the stated power, mass of isotope needed, mass left after decades and what the absence of gamma emission implies.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Nuclear energy

  • 2025180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q197 marksRutherford's alpha–nitrogen transmutation: mass difference, whether energy is released or absorbed and its size in MeV, then Coulomb repulsion at a few femtometres as evidence for a nuclear force.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2024180-mark, 4-section format (Sections A–D, 45 marks each; current, EAS Version 1.3, March 2023)Written examination Section D Q216 marksIron-56: mass defect including electrons, binding energy per nucleon, and why fusion beyond iron cannot be sustained in typical stars.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

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