§-Past paper

VICPhysics2022

VCE Physics 2022

Walkthrough of the 2022 VCE physics exam: what it assessed, strategy tips, and the common errors flagged in the official marker report.

Marks: 130
Time: 150 min
Authority: VCAA
Updated: 2026-05-29

Open the official PDF ->Official marking notes

What this paper assessed

The VCAA Units 3 & 4 Physics examination is worth 130 marks over 2.5 hours of writing time (plus 15 minutes reading), with a supplied formula sheet. It covers:

Unit 3 - How do fields explain motion and electricity? Gravitational, electric and magnetic fields, motion in fields (orbits, projectile and circular motion), and the generation of electricity (electromagnetic induction, transformers, transmission).
Unit 4 - How have creative ideas and investigation revolutionised thinking in physics? Waves and light (diffraction, interference, the photoelectric effect and wave-particle duality), and Einstein's special relativity (time dilation, length contraction, mass-energy).

Many items asked students to extract data from a graph, apply a relationship, then comment on the model's limitations or assumptions. The extended-response items rewarded structured reasoning - naming the relevant law and applying it step by step - over volume of writing.

Structure and timing

130 marks in 150 minutes (about 1.15 min/mark). The paper is one section of short- and extended-answer questions of increasing difficulty (the current study design has no separate multiple-choice section).

A workable pace is ~1.15 minutes per mark: a 3-mark item ~3.5 minutes, a 6-mark item ~7 minutes. Bank the routine early items, leaving more time for the harder analysis and the explanation items, and reserve ~5 minutes to check. Use the 15 minutes reading time to scan for the highest-mark items and the graphs you will need to read. Set out each calculation on three lines: relationship, substitution with units, answer with units and appropriate significant figures.

Worked practice questions (exam-style)

Worked example

Question 1 (5 marks): Circular motion in a gravitational field

A satellite orbits Earth in a circular orbit of radius $7.0 \times 10^{6}\ \text{m}$ . Taking $G = 6.67 \times 10^{-11}\ \text{N m}^2\,\text{kg}^{-2}$ and the mass of Earth $M = 5.97 \times 10^{24}\ \text{kg}$ , calculate the orbital speed of the satellite.

Solution. For a circular orbit the gravitational force provides the centripetal force:

\frac{GMm}{r^2} = \frac{mv^2}{r}

(2 marks for equating these.) The satellite mass $m$ cancels, giving

v = \sqrt{\frac{GM}{r}}

(1 mark.) Substituting:

v = \sqrt{\frac{6.67 \times 10^{-11} \times 5.97 \times 10^{24}}{7.0 \times 10^{6}}} = \sqrt{5.69 \times 10^{7}} \approx 7.5 \times 10^{3}\ \text{m s}^{-1}

(2 marks for substitution and the answer with units.)

Worked example

Question 2 (6 marks): Electromagnetic induction and transformers

An ideal transformer has 200 turns on the primary coil and 50 turns on the secondary. The primary is connected to a $240\ \text{V}$ AC supply. (a) Calculate the secondary voltage. (b) If the secondary delivers a current of $4.0\ \text{A}$ , find the primary current. (c) Explain why the transformer would not work with a DC supply.

Solution.
(a) For an ideal transformer, $\dfrac{V_s}{V_p} = \dfrac{N_s}{N_p}$ , so

V_s = 240 \times \frac{50}{200} = 60\ \text{V}

(2 marks.)
(b) An ideal transformer conserves power, $V_p I_p = V_s I_s$ :

I_p = \frac{V_s I_s}{V_p} = \frac{60 \times 4.0}{240} = 1.0\ \text{A}

(2 marks.)
(c) A transformer relies on a changing magnetic flux in the core to induce an EMF in the secondary (Faraday's law). A steady DC supply produces a constant flux, so $\dfrac{d\Phi}{dt} = 0$ and no EMF is induced in the secondary (except a brief pulse at switch-on/off) - so it cannot transform a steady DC voltage (2 marks).

Worked example

Question 3 (5 marks): Special relativity - length contraction

A spacecraft of proper length $120\ \text{m}$ travels past Earth at $0.60c$ . Calculate its length as measured by a stationary observer on Earth.

Solution. Proper length $L_0 = 120\ \text{m}$ is measured in the spacecraft's rest frame. The Earth observer measures the contracted length

L = L_0\sqrt{1 - \frac{v^2}{c^2}}

(1 mark for the relationship). With $v = 0.60c$ , $\dfrac{v^2}{c^2} = 0.36$ , so

\sqrt{1 - 0.36} = \sqrt{0.64} = 0.80

(2 marks). Therefore

L = 120 \times 0.80 = 96\ \text{m}

(1 mark). The Earth observer measures the spacecraft as shorter along the direction of motion (1 mark) - length contraction only acts in the direction of relative motion.

Common errors students made

The 2022 VCAA examination report flagged missing units, mixing scalar and vector quantities, treating projectile motion as one-dimensional, and students forgetting that induced EMF depends on the rate of change of flux rather than on flux itself. Add these recurring traps:

Not cancelling correctly in the orbital equation, or forgetting that orbital speed is independent of the satellite's mass.
Transformer ratio inverted - applying the turns ratio upside down, or assuming a transformer can step DC.
Misusing the relativistic factor - confusing proper length/time with the observer's measured value, or contracting/dilating in the wrong direction.
No law named - asserting an outcome without identifying and applying the relevant law (Faraday's, Newton's law of gravitation), and dropping units or using inappropriate significant figures.

How to use this paper

Sit the full paper in 150 minutes (with 15 minutes reading) using only the supplied formula sheet and a calculator. Mark against the official VCAA examination report and assessment criteria (linked in the frontmatter above), which show exactly where method and reasoning marks fall. Re-attempt any extended-response item scoring below half, structuring it as named-law → applied relationship → result-with-units. Keep a formula-to-concept sheet (orbital motion, transformer equations, relativity factors) and a checklist of units and vector directions to apply before submitting each answer.

Use this paper well

Sit the paper under exam conditions (150 minutes, 130 marks).
Mark yourself against the official VCAA marking notes.
Compare against the Physics hub to find the syllabus dot points this paper tested.

What this paper assessed

Structure and timing

Worked practice questions (exam-style)

Common errors students made

How to use this paper

Use this paper well

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