Read the examiner's general comments, they are relevant.

Along with other material the examiner writes:

"When plotting lines of best fit, there is still a significant number of students who rule their line through the first and last points only, ignoring all the other points.  This has been seen in previous years and it is not clear where this instruction is coming from. Students need to understand that this practice is wrong and that lines of best fit must take all data points into consideration.

It would be a wise move to read the Units, Significant Figures, Line of Best Fit primer.

Q10: A difficult question, it returned 34% correct (remember a random guess cohort would return 25%).  Students with some experience with calculus would be advantaged. Q19: It's difficult to see why this is considered to be a physics question at all – it's just algebra.

Q1: The examiner writes: "A few students chose to use a free body diagram, which made their thinking clearer."
Yes, it surprises me that there is not more time allocated to elementary free body diagrams (FBD) in the Physics syllabus (Section A Q3 is essentially a FBD question).  FBDs assist understanding and will be a standard tool for students doing later studies in mechanical or civil engineering and many branches of physics.

Q2: I swear to you I did not set this up – another question screaming out for a FBD!

Q5 a, b: The answer to this question assumes that the mass of the Earth is considerably more than a basketball – probably a reasonable assumption.  But, for an exercise, can you show why this approximation is acceptable?

Q9 a: Unfortunately the diagram could be interpreted as showing that the leg FG is outside the magnetic field, in which case it would never have a force acting on it.

Q12: For solar power issues refer to this Inverters and Solar Panels primer.

Q16: Read the Units, Significant Figures, Line of Best Fit primer to become familiar with VCAA requirements.

Some questions in Section B provide examples of the advantage of having some empathic accuracy (the ability to deduce what another is thinking).

Show sufficient working for calculation questions worth more than two marks, that is questions requiring multiple steps, make the best use of the available space and ensure the assessor can follow your working.

Be careful when writing indices to ensure they are readable.  Don’t write in pencil, as it does not scan well.

When annotating diagram, ensure you annotate the correct diagram.

When drawing a graph, ensure that you use all the available grid by sensible choice of scales.  When referring to information from a graph nominate the correct graph.

Diffraction is the bending of waves at an edge or slot.  Interference is the result produced by the interaction of waves.

Take care when taking material from your A3 reference sheet that it actually addresses the question.

Q4: For the exercise, try this slight variation to the method provided.  If a cm is the distance of the zero from the left charge the distance from the right charge is (12 – a) cm.  Now proceed with only a single variable.

Q5: This question or a variation is common (it reappears in Section B).  Well worth some study time.  In this case the amplitude doubles because the rate of change of flux doubles.

Q12: Only half the students got this correct.  You might like to look over refraction primer.

Q18: Also a vinyl record on a record player is out.

Q1: We assume that the brushes are placed conventionally.  You need to know the right-hand grip rule and the right-hand slap rule for this style of question.

Q2c: reads "Calculate the speed of an orbiting geostationary satellite."  It must have tempting for some students to write "zero km h^-1, that's why they are called geostationary".  Fortunately it would appear that very few students succumbed to temptation; fortunate, not because they would have been wrong, but because it was not the answer the examiner required.  The examiner should have kept in mind that speed is relative parameter and provided a reference frame for the speed, but ever since Newton's bucket that has proved to be a little tricky.

Q4: The approach to nutting out this question is to visualize the field around the wire.  Diagrams illustrating the right-hand grid rule are readily available.  The field is shown in the image to right in 2D using the head of arrow – tail of arrow convention.  Note that the field is uniform along the wire, but decreases as you move away from the wire.  A voltage is induced in the wire when the total flux through the loop changes.

Q5: To study material for this kind of question refer to the Simple Circuit Analysis primer.

Q6: The examiner writes “The most common errors were mathematical and usually involved the wrong trigonometry identity”.  If trigonometry is a problem put some examples on your crib sheet.

Q13: To study relevant material see the Refraction and Reflection Primer.

Show sufficient working. Write as if you are explaining your thinking to a teacher or peer.

Express numerical answers in decimal form ‘

Unless otherwise stated, the number of decimal places in your final answer is not considered.

Do not round excessively during calculations.

(Refer to Units, Significant Figures, Line of Best Fit for information on significant figures.)

Take care when taking material from your A3 reference sheet that it actually addresses the question.

For questions involving multiple steps plan the layout of your work.

Questions on motors and generators keep turning up in Physics 3/4 examinations.

Q20: Choice A is out because we have no information about the reference for “constant speed”.

Q1a: The examiner’s arrow does not pass through point P as requested.  However the angle (by vector sum) is correct.

Q1b: The result of a vector sum.

Q2: An excellent drawing of a loud speaker.

Q3: In the first line of working by the examiner there is no indication that the mass of Phobetor has appeared on both sides of the equation and been cancelled.

Q4: The VCAA have a problem with free body diagrams (FBD) and terminology.  Contrary to the report answer I believe the reaction to Liesel’s weight force is the normal force from the floor.  I’m sorry, but you’ll have to make your own choice.

Q5: The examiner writes “A four-mark question requires students to take time and plan their response”.  Very true.

Q6: The examiner writes “Questions of this nature have been included on examinations for many years.  Very true.  The examiner writes “common errors were to draw a cosine graph”.  Actually the question did not provide a formal t = 0 position so the phase of the answer is arbitrary.  Split rings are known as commutators outside of VCE physics.

Q7: For support material on this topic see Simple Circuit Analysis.

Q8d: The examiner draws attention to the reduction of gravitational potential energy as the height decreases.

Q9a: The examiner's working has an arithmetical error.

Q12: For support material on this topic see Reflection and Refraction.

Q20: For support material on this topic see Units, Significant Figures, Line of Best Fit.

Use your calculators in scientific notation to avoid rounding errors.

Complete the exam in pen or a softer pencil such as HB to ensure your work is legible when scanned.

Give answers in decimal form.

Q7a See the comments in the "Physics 3/4 and the Real World" box below.

Q8: Option D is correct, C is not because of the relative magnitude of the forces.

Q12: A suitable reference frame for observation is implied.

Q15: A little tricky, but on the other hand 62% got it right.

Q5c: The answer in the report does not show the units on the time axis.  (Also the values on the time axis have slipped.)

Q6a: (The area of an ellipse is less than that of circle of the same circumference.)

Q6b,c: Lenz’s Law is tricky.

Q13b: The question asks for “the shape of the standing wave envelope”.  It is unclear why half of the boundary is shown solid and the other half dotted.

Q18: Definitely a 16 mark question – many opportunities for a slip.

The examiner writes Students struggle to convert g to kg, and cm and mm to m.  Students are expected to be able to convert between SI units at this level.

A very reasonable expectation.  Though the centimetre is an SI unit it is discounted in many research and industrial situations.  For example it is formally written out of the construction industry by the Australian Standard AS 1155-1974 "Metric Units for Use in the Construction Industry".

Students are rounding excessively during their working.  For example, in [2019] Question 5b., 6.37 × 106 + 2.00 × 10⁷ should not be rounded to 2.6 × 10⁷.  Working should maintain as many significant figures and/or decimal places as the data provided in the question stem.  Rounding should occur [only?] when the final answer is given.

The question also required students to respond to three significant figures.  Students and teachers alike should ensure they refer to the VCAA website under advice for teachers.  Here they will find an explanation that, for the purposes of VCE Physics, 42 600 has five significant figures. (p8)

(As an aside: It's generally regarded as poor form to be critical of work colleagues in public.)

Examiners should be wary of tripping over their own standards.  The answer to Question 7c 2019 examination was given in the examiner's report as The period of rotation was 0.05 sec.  However "sec" is not a SI abbreviation; the abbreviation for second is "s".  Also 0.05 s is only a single significant figure and the answer should have been written as 0.050 s or 50 ms as the formation of the question determined that 2 significant figures are required. 

The formal document on SI units is The International System of Units (SI).

2018 VCE Physics examination (VCAA link accessed 02/01/2026)

2018 VCE Physics examination report (VCAA link accessed 02/01/2026)

2017 VCE Physics examination (VCAA link accessed 02/01/2026))

2017 VCE Physics examination report (VCAA link accessed 02/01/2026)

The VCE Physics curriculum is very enthusiastic about its interaction with the real world.

An understanding of the complexities and diversity of physics leads students to appreciate the interconnectedness of the content areas both within physics, and across physics and the other sciences.

As well as an increased understanding of scientific processes, students develop capacities that enable them to critically assess the strengths and limitations of science, respect evidence-based conclusions and gain an awareness of the ethical, social and political contexts of scientific endeavours.

In VCE Physics students develop a range of inquiry skills involving practical experimentation and research, analytical skills including critical and creative thinking, and communication skills.  Students use scientific and cognitive skills and understanding to analyze contemporary physics-related issues and to communicate their views from an informed position. (VCE Physics Study Design 2016)

The examinations do not in general attempt to determine how many of these diverse skills the students have acquired in the course of their study.  Evaluation is made through other means.  Nevertheless, there are some "real world" questions in the examination papers.  However, here the examiners face, within the constraints of a very prescriptive and narrow physics course, difficulty in formulating viable questions.  Consider the 2021 NHT Examination, Section B Q8; the students are required to draw a free body diagram for a trailer held on an incline by the towing vehicle.  The answer provided by the examiners is shown on the right.

The answer has the following significant problems

• The normal force does not act through the area of contact.
• There is no tension force as shown because there is no rope, cable, strap, chain or etc to apply the tension force.
• The coupling to the car will provide a reaction force to the end of the towbar, this force is not indicated.

The accepted term for a force in the normal direction between two surfaces in contact is ‘normal force’.  Teachers should note that the expressions ‘reaction force’ and ‘normal reaction force’ perpetuate misunderstandings in terms of the connection of the term ‘reaction’ to Newton’s third law.  Firstly, the term ‘reaction’ in this law applies to force-pairs in all types of forces, not just the normal contact forces (so, friction along the direction of the plane of contact is an action-reaction force pair, but not normal to the plane).  Second, there is no distinction about which of the pair of forces is the ‘action’ and which is the ‘reaction’.  The term ‘reaction’ is validly used when carefully describing so-called ‘action-reaction’ force pairs in relation to Newton’s third law, and should be restricted to that usage.

Another example of the difficulty of the real world question is Section B Q6 in the 2019 examination.  The question deals with the installation of a 12 volt lighting system in the entertainment area of a large property.  Calculations show that there is an excessive voltage drop in the 200 metre run of cable from the transformer to the lights.  The final part of the question reads:

Using the same equipment, what changes could the home owner make to improve the brightness of the lights?  Explain your answer.

The examiners make the comment;

Students were required to provide a change using the same equipment. The only valid answer was to move the transformer from the house end of the lead to the light end of the lead so that the current in the lead would be reduced and less power would be lost.

The most common errors involved adding to or changing the equipment, such as adding another transformer or replacing the lead.

The immediate practical concerns with the examiner's solution are inadequate safety and non-compliance with wiring rules.  The structure of the question leads students to a place they shouldn't go. 

Real World questions must promote real world treatment — else the student is being mislead.

2021 Examination (VCAA link accessed 18/08/2022)

2021 Examination Report (VCAA link accessed 18/08/2022)

2020 Examination (VCAA link accessed 18/08/2022)

2020 Examination Report (VCAA link accessed 18/08/2022)