Motion and forces
- Kinematics
- Dynamics
About this topic group
Build the language and models used to describe motion and its causes.
Course at a glance
What you'll study
Waves, heat and fields
- Waves and Thermodynamics
- Electricity and Magnetism
About this topic group
Connect energy transfer with wave behaviour, electricity and magnetism.
Official resources
Use NESA's current syllabus first; the 2025 syllabus is for 2027 starters.
For the 2026 course
Next syllabus1 files
Assessment
Year 11 assessment is school-based; NESA receives a final grade rather than an external examination mark.
Assessment details
School-designed assessment program
Your school uses formal and informal evidence to award a Common Grade Scale result at the end of the course.
No external NESA examHSC Physics scaling
Review Year 12 scaling benchmarks for Physics, where a cohort of 8,817 recorded a scaled mean of 31.0 out of 50.
Year 11 marks are not scaled. The 2025 Year 12 scaled profile is provided as historical context only.
31.0 Scaled mean out of 50
32.2 Scaled median 2025 cohort
38.8 Upper quartile 2025 cohort
UAC calculates scaling from unreleased raw exam and assessment marks, meaning NESA-reported HSC marks cannot be uniquely converted into scaled marks. Estimate your overall ATAR using five years of historical scaling data from UAC.
UAC ATAR CompassSyllabus updates and paper advice
Current · 2026
The 2017 syllabus still applies
No content amendments were logged in 2024–2026. The latest recorded change was performance-band descriptor wording in 2023.
Caution · HSC papers
HSC papers assess Year 12
Use full HSC papers only when your teacher selects questions relevant to Year 11 prerequisite knowledge.
Ahead · 2027
New Year 11 syllabus starts in 2027
Year 11 changes in Term 1 2027 to Fundamentals of mechanics, Waves, and Electricity and magnetism. The first new HSC is in 2028.
Common questions
Does Year 11 Physics scale?
No. Year 11 marks are not scaled and do not count towards your ATAR.
Which syllabus and past papers should I use?
Follow the 2017 Physics syllabus in 2026. HSC papers assess Year 12, so use only teacher-selected questions relevant to your current work.
When does the new Physics syllabus begin?
Year 11 teaching begins in Term 1 2027. Year 12 follows in Term 4 2027, with the first new HSC in 2028.
Related courses
HSC · Year 11
Practise Physics
Strengthen your understanding with targeted questions, sample answers, and detailed marking criteria for Physics on ATARIS.
Start practising Physics →