← Physical Education syllabus

SAPhysical Education

Focus Area 1: In Movement

11 dot points across 11 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems respond immediately when a person begins to exercise?

Explain the acute (immediate, short-term) physiological responses of the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems to a single bout of exercise.
How heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, ventilation, blood flow redistribution and muscle temperature change immediately during a single bout of exercise, and why.
6 min answer →

How do rotation, torque and the conservation of angular momentum explain spinning and somersaulting movements?

Apply the principles of angular motion - torque, moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum - to explain and improve rotating movements.
How torque, moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum explain rotating movements such as somersaults, spins and throws, and how athletes control rotation speed.
6 min answer →

How do force, levers and the laws of motion explain and improve human movement and performance?

Apply biomechanical principles - force, levers, Newton's laws, projectile motion and stability - to analyse and improve movement.
How force, levers, Newton's laws of motion, projectile motion and stability explain human movement and can be applied to analyse and improve performance.
8 min answer →

How does the body adapt structurally and functionally to repeated training over weeks and months?

Explain the chronic (long-term) cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular adaptations to aerobic and anaerobic training, and how they improve performance.
The long-term cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular adaptations to aerobic and anaerobic training, including cardiac hypertrophy, capillarisation, mitochondrial density and enzyme changes.
6 min answer →

What are the components of physical fitness, and how are they measured validly and reliably?

Identify the health-related and skill-related components of fitness and select valid, reliable and specific tests to measure each.
The health-related and skill-related components of fitness, the tests used to measure each, and how validity, reliability and specificity determine which test to choose.
6 min answer →

How do the three energy systems interact to resynthesise ATP during physical activity of different intensities and durations?

Analyse the contribution of the ATP-PC, anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic energy systems to performance, and how they interplay across an activity.
How the ATP-PC, anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic energy systems resynthesise ATP, their fuels, rates, capacities and by-products, and how they interplay across an activity.
8 min answer →

What causes fatigue during different types of exercise, and how does the body recover afterwards?

Explain the causes of fatigue specific to each energy system and the recovery processes that restore the body, including the oxygen deficit and EPOC.
The causes of fatigue specific to each energy system, the oxygen deficit and EPOC, replenishment of PC and glycogen, lactate removal and active versus passive recovery.
6 min answer →

How do air and water resistance, drag, lift and spin affect the movement of athletes and projectiles?

Apply the principles of fluid mechanics - drag, lift, the Magnus effect and buoyancy - to explain and improve movement through air and water.
How drag, lift, the Magnus effect and buoyancy act on athletes and projectiles moving through air and water, and how technique and equipment manipulate these forces.
6 min answer →

How does a performer take in information, decide on a response and produce a movement, and what speeds this up?

Explain the information-processing model - input, decision-making, output and feedback - and the factors that influence reaction time and decision speed.
The information-processing model of input, decision-making, output and feedback, memory stores, selective attention, and the factors that influence reaction and response time.
6 min answer →

How do learners progress through the stages of learning, and how do practice and feedback shape skill acquisition?

Explain the stages of learning, classifications of skills, and the role of practice and feedback in developing motor skills.
The cognitive, associative and autonomous stages of learning, how skills are classified, and how practice structure and feedback shape motor skill development.
8 min answer →

How does learning or practising one skill affect the learning or performance of another?

Explain the types of transfer of learning - positive, negative, zero, bilateral - and how practice can be designed to maximise positive transfer.
The types of transfer of learning - positive, negative, zero and bilateral - why they occur, and how coaches design practice and progressions to maximise positive transfer.
6 min answer →