VCE Physics: complete 2026 guide to Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 (study design: Units 1 and 2 from 2023, Units 3 and 4 from 2024)

VCE Physics covers four units across Years 11 and 12, set out in the current VCAA study design (Units 1 and 2 from 2023, Units 3 and 4 from 2024). Units 1 and 2 set up thermodynamics, electricity, nuclear physics and motion in one dimension. Units 3 and 4 (the Year 12 sequence) build the fields framework, electromagnetic induction, waves, light and special relativity, and produce a VCE study score.

This page is the index. Below you will find every dot-point answer we have for VCE Physics in 2026, organised by unit and area of study, alongside the structural notes you need to plan study.

The four VCE Physics units in 2026

Unit 1: How is energy useful to society

Thermodynamics, heat transfer and climate; electric circuits (Ohm's law, series and parallel, power, household electricity); nuclear physics and radioactivity. Assessed at S/N level only.

Unit 2: How does physics help us to understand the world

Motion in one dimension (kinematics, Newton's laws, momentum, energy) plus a student-chosen option topic (for example astrophysics, sound, sport science). Assessed at S/N level only.

Unit 3: How do fields explain motion and electricity

Newtonian motion in two dimensions (projectiles, circular motion, momentum and impulse); gravitational, electric and magnetic fields; DC motors, electromagnetic induction, AC and DC generators, transformers and power transmission. Three SAC tasks (one per outcome) and the exam.

Unit 4: How have creative ideas and investigation revolutionised thinking in physics? Mechanical and electromagnetic waves, interference and diffraction; the photoelectric effect and the wave-particle nature of light; Einstein's special relativity (postulates, time dilation, length contraction, mass-energy equivalence); and the Unit 4 student-designed scientific investigation.

Unit 3 dot-point guides

Unit 3 is one of the two assessed Year 12 units. It deepens into motion in two dimensions and the field models that explain non-contact forces and electromagnetic induction.

Area of Study 1: How do physicists explain motion in two dimensions?

• Newton's laws, momentum, impulse and collisions
• Projectile motion in two dimensions
• Uniform circular motion (horizontal and vertical)
• Banked tracks and the banking angle

Area of Study 2: How do things move without contact?

• Gravitational fields and Newton's law of universal gravitation
• Electric fields, Coulomb's law and parallel plates
• Magnetic fields and the Lorentz force on charges

Area of Study 3: How are fields used in electricity generation?

• Magnetic force on a current and the DC motor
• Electromagnetic induction: flux, Faraday and Lenz
• Generators, transformers and AC power transmission

Unit 1 light and refraction

Unit 1 Area of Study 1 (How are light and heat explained?) includes refraction, total internal reflection and dispersion.

• Refraction, Snell's law and dispersion (Unit 1 summary)

Unit 4 dot-point guides

Unit 4 covers light as a wave and as a particle, matter as particles or waves, special relativity, mass-energy, and the student-designed investigation.

Area of Study 1: How has understanding about the physical world changed? Light as a wave, light as a particle, matter as particles or waves, similarities between light and matter, Einstein's special theory of relativity, and the relationship between energy and mass.

Light as a wave:

• Electromagnetic waves and the EM spectrum
• Wave model of light and interference (Young's double-slit)

Light as a particle, matter and the similarities between them:

• Photoelectric effect and the photon model
• Matter waves and the de Broglie wavelength
• Atomic energy levels and emission spectra
• Wave-particle duality

Einstein's special theory of relativity, and energy and mass:

• Einstein's postulates and the Michelson-Morley experiment
• Time dilation, proper time and the Lorentz factor
• Length contraction and proper length
• Evidence for special relativity: muons, accelerators and GPS
• Mass-energy equivalence and relativistic energy

Older pages kept at their original addresses. These two topics are not in the Unit 4 key knowledge of the current design, which places refraction in Unit 1 and does not list polarisation. Both remain useful background:

• Refraction, Snell's law and dispersion (longer treatment)
• Polarisation and Malus's law (extension)

Area of Study 2: How is scientific inquiry used to investigate fields, motion or light? The student-designed scientific investigation, assessed as a scientific poster of no more than 600 words plus logbook entries.

• Practical investigation: design and uncertainty

Exam structure (Units 3 and 4)

The VCE Physics exam is a single paper.

• Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes plus 15 minutes reading time.
• Total marks: 120.
• Section A: 20 multiple-choice questions for 20 marks.
• Section B: short-answer and extended-answer questions, including multi-part questions and data analysis, for 100 marks.

Both Units 3 and 4 are examined. About half the marks test Unit 3 content (fields, motion in two dimensions, electromagnetic induction) and half test Unit 4 content (waves, light, special relativity), with some questions integrating across units.

How VCE Physics scales

VCE Physics scales up slightly. In VTAC's 2025 Scaling Report, a study score of 30 scaled to 32, a study score of 40 to 42 and a study score of 45 to 47. Physics scales above Biology in VTAC's 2025 table because VTAC scales each study by how its cohort performed in their other studies. For ATAR planning, run scenarios in the VCE ATAR calculator.

Calculators and tools for Physics

Use these calculators alongside the Unit 3 dot-point pages. They are written against the same equations and units VCAA uses.

• Projectile motion calculator for AoS 1 trajectory questions.
• Centripetal force calculator for circular motion problems.
• Banking angle calculator for banked-track questions.
• Universal gravitation calculator and Kepler third-law calculator for AoS 2 gravitational-field problems.
• Electric field calculator for Coulomb's law and parallel plates.
• Lorentz force calculator for charges moving in magnetic fields.
• DC motor torque calculator for AoS 3 motor questions.
• Induced EMF calculator for Faraday's law.
• Transformer calculator for turns ratios and power transmission losses.

Study strategy by unit

Units 1 and 2

Build your equation-handling base. Aim for one summary sheet per area of study with the equations, the units, and one fully worked numerical example. SACs reward careful unit conversion and explicit working.

Unit 3

This is the equation-heavy unit. Build a single A3 sheet of the field equations ($F = GMm/r^2$, $E = kQ/r^2$, $F = qvB$, $F = nBIL$, $\varepsilon = -N \frac{d\Phi_B}{dt}$) and drill them across past papers. Use our Unit 3 dot-point pages as your active recall checklist.

Unit 4

This is more conceptual. Waves and the photoelectric effect reward clean graphs and explicit links between gradient or intercept and physical quantities. Special relativity rewards careful frame-of-reference language and unit-by-unit substitution into the time-dilation and length-contraction equations.

The system around VCE Physics

VCE Physics sits inside the wider VCE system. Related explainers:

• How the VCE ATAR is calculated covers VTAC's aggregate and scaling mechanics.
• How VCE study scores work explains the 0-50 scale and per-subject scaling offsets.
• SACs and SATs explained covers internal assessment and moderation.
• VCE exam day: what to actually expect covers logistics and timing.

How to use this hub

If you are starting Unit 3: work through AoS 1 in study-design order (Newton's laws and momentum first, then projectiles, then circular motion and banking). Move to AoS 2 once you can resolve forces and apply $F = ma$ cleanly. AoS 3 builds on AoS 2 and needs Faraday's law to be second nature.

If you are sitting the exam in three weeks: drill multiple choice from the last five years of past papers, write one full timed extended response per area of study, and re-read our VCE exam day guide. Polish what you have; do not start new content.

For the official VCAA Physics Study Design (from 2023) and current past papers, refer to vcaa.vic.edu.au.