Physics (ATAR): should I choose it?

What will I learn?

How will I be assessed?

Progression and companion subjects

No complete companion or exclusion review is attached to this profile. Check the official course-entry conditions, language eligibility and your school’s sequence before enrolling. Links between resource hubs show related learning; they do not establish a compulsory prerequisite.

Will I find it hard?

Difficulty depends on your experience, interests, teaching and assessment. These are our reflection prompts, not an official difficulty rating.

• Look at how much data, calculation and graph interpretation appear in the sample for this particular science.
• Can you explain the ideas in your own words as well as recall the terminology?
• Do investigations and evaluating evidence interest you? Check the course’s practical requirements.

Does it scale up or down?

Physics, 2025. TISC’s mean scaled scores summarise all students with a scaled score in the published course. The mean describes a cohort and gives no individual raw-to-scaled conversion. A scaled mean alone cannot establish whether this subject scaled up or down. Historical cohort data cannot predict your result or a future scaling direction.

Scaling is not a measure of difficulty or a guaranteed bonus. Prioritise content you can engage with and required subjects for courses you are considering.

Try a little of the subject

Motion and forces

A scalar has magnitude only: distance, speed, mass and elapsed time are examples. A vector has magnitude and direction: displacement, velocity, acceleration, momentum and force are examples. Choose axes before calculating. On an east–west line, east may be positive and west negative. The symbol Δ means final minus initial, so displacement s = Δx = x_f − x_i. A negative displacement describes direction rather than negative distance travelled. Average velocity is Δx/Δt; average speed uses the entire path length instead. Positions must share the same origin. Add vectors head to tail or add their signed components. Subtraction means adding the opposite vector. For a vector A at angle θ above the positive horizontal axis, A_x = A cos θ and A_y = A sin θ. Combine components separately, then use magnitude √(A_x² + A_y²) and a direction consistent with the signs. Pythagoras applies to perpendicular components, not arbitrary pairs of vectors. Worked example. Moving 3.0 m east and 4.0 m north gives displacement components (3.0, 4.0) m: magnitude 5.0 m at 53° north of east. Distance travelled is 7.0 m. Subtracting the northward vector leaves 3.0 m east. Over 2.0 s, average velocity has magnitude 2.5 m/s along the displacement. For constant acceleration, a = Δv/Δt, v_f = v_i + aΔt, s = v_iΔt + ½aΔt² and v_f² = v_i² + 2as. Select an equation containing the known quantities and requested unknown. A trolley initially moving at 2.0 m/s with acceleration 2.0 m/s² for 3.0 s reaches 8.0 m/s and travels 15 m. These equations do not assume initial rest. A displacement–time graph has velocity as its slope; curvature reveals changing velocity. A velocity–time graph has acceleration as its slope and signed displacement as its area. An acceleration–time graph has change in velocity as its signe

Original practice question: Which quantity is a vector?

This is ATARMAxxing’s original sample learning material. It is not an official assessment task or a prediction of your school’s workload.

Explore the resources

Open the Physics (ATAR) subject hub and free preview (opens in a new tab)

• Physics — WACE Year 12 ATAR (opens in a new tab)

Core subject information and planning are free. Full study resources are optional.