VCE Physics Units 3 and 4 exam structure, scaling and study plan: the 2026 guide

What this guide is for

VCE Physics Units 3 and 4 are graded on a 60-40 split between school assessment and the external exam. Students who plan around that split, who know how the exam paper is structured, and who understand how Physics is scaled into the ATAR, finish with the smallest gap between effort and outcome. This guide walks through assessment, exam structure, scaling, equipment and a study plan.

Assessment overview

The total VCE Physics study score for Units 3 and 4 is built from three components.

Unit 3 SACs. Three to four school-assessed tasks across the unit, contributing about 21 percent of the total study score. SAC types include data analysis, problem-solving tests, and short response under timed conditions. Common Unit 3 SACs cover motion in two dimensions, fields (gravitational, electric, magnetic), and electromagnetic induction (Faraday's law, generators, transformers).

Unit 4 SACs. Three to four tasks contributing about 19 percent. One is the student-designed practical investigation, usually presented as a scientific poster (covered in the dedicated practical investigation guide).

End-of-year examination. A single two-and-a-half-hour paper contributing 40 percent. All Unit 3 and Unit 4 content is examinable.

VCAA publishes specific weightings each year, so always check the current Physics Study Design (2024-2027) for the exact percentages. The 60-40 internal-external split is fixed.

Exam structure in detail

The exam is held in October or November. Fifteen minutes of reading time, two and a half hours of writing time.

Section A: multiple choice. 20 questions, each worth 1 mark. Topics are sampled across both units, with a typical balance of around 10 questions on Unit 3 content (motion, fields, electromagnetism) and 10 on Unit 4 (light, matter, waves). Each question has four options, only one correct, no negative marking. Around 30 minutes is the right allocation.

Section B: short answer and extended response. Around 110 marks across 12-15 questions. Item sizes range from 2 marks (a single calculation) to 10 marks (a multi-part question spanning a topic). Two hours is the right allocation, with the last 10 minutes for review.

Typical Section B item types:

• Calculation with multiple parts. Identify the principle, write the formula, substitute, solve. Marks are distributed across method, substitution, calculation and units.
• Explanation. Describe a phenomenon in words. Mark schemes reward correct use of physics terminology and explicit cause-and-effect chains.
• Compare and contrast. Often field-related (electric vs gravitational field, AC vs DC generator).
• Graph reading or sketching. Read a value, identify a gradient or area, sketch a relationship.
• Design or critique. Suggest an experimental modification or critique a proposed setup.

The formula and data sheet

VCAA provides a two-page formula and data sheet with the exam paper. You may not annotate your own version into the exam, but you must rehearse with the official sheet so the page layout becomes familiar.

Sheet 1 covers Unit 3: kinematics, projectile motion, circular motion ($F = mv^2/r$, $a = v^2/r$), Newton's universal gravitation ($F = GMm/r^2$, $g = GM/r^2$), orbital motion (Kepler's third $T^2/r^3 = 4\pi^2/(GM)$), electric field and potential, magnetic force ($F = qvB$, $F = nBIL$), Faraday's law ($\varepsilon = -N\,\mathrm{d}\Phi/\mathrm{d}t$), transformer turns ratio.

Sheet 2 covers Unit 4: wave equation $v = f\lambda$, double-slit fringe spacing $\Delta x = \lambda L / d$, Snell's law, photon energy $E = hf$, photoelectric equation $E_{k,\max} = hf - \phi$, de Broglie $\lambda = h/p$, special relativity time dilation $t = t_0/\sqrt{1 - v^2/c^2}$, length contraction, mass-energy $E = mc^2$.

Constants panel: $g = 9.8$ m/s$^2$, $c = 3.0 \times 10^8$ m/s, $h = 6.63 \times 10^{-34}$ J s ($= 4.14 \times 10^{-15}$ eV s), $e = 1.6 \times 10^{-19}$ C, $G = 6.67 \times 10^{-11}$ N m$^2$/kg$^2$, $m_e = 9.1 \times 10^{-31}$ kg.

Scaling history

VCE Physics is a moderately scaled subject. Historical VTAC scaling reports show study scores of 30 typically scaled to 34-36, and study scores of 40 to 44-46. This positions Physics above average-scaling subjects such as Health and Human Development, but below the top-scaled Specialist Maths and Languages.

Practical implications:

• A study score of 30 in Physics is broadly equivalent to a slightly higher score in a less-scaled subject for ATAR purposes.
• Strong students should not avoid Physics on scaling grounds; the scale-up is reliable.
• Always check the current year's scaling report at VTAC before finalising assumptions; scaling shifts slightly year to year as cohort strength changes.

Exam day strategy

Reading time (15 min). Skim Section A. Mark obviously easy questions. In Section B, identify any question worth more than 6 marks and read it carefully so it can develop in your mind during writing time.

Section A (30 min). Aim for 1.5 minutes per question. Flag harder items for return. Do not leave any blank; there is no penalty for guessing.

Section B (110 min). Spend roughly one minute per mark. A 6-mark question deserves 6 minutes. Always show working: VCAA awards method marks for naming the principle and writing the symbolic formula, even if the final arithmetic is wrong.

Review (10 min). Re-check Section A flags, units, significant figures, and any obvious oversights.

Week-by-week study plan

A 16-week plan (start of Term 1 to end of Term 3, with the exam in October) for a target study score of 40-plus.

Weeks 1-4: Unit 3 AoS 1. Motion in two dimensions. Master projectile motion, circular motion, Newton's laws, momentum, impulse. One SAC.

Weeks 5-8: Unit 3 AoS 2. Fields. Gravitational, electric, magnetic, comparison. One SAC.

Weeks 9-10: Unit 3 AoS 3. Electromagnetic induction, Faraday's law, generators, transformers, DC motor. One SAC.

Weeks 11-14: Unit 4 AoS 1. Light and matter. Photoelectric effect, atomic spectra, de Broglie, wave-particle duality. Begin Unit 4 practical investigation planning.

Weeks 15-18: Unit 4 AoS 2 (option content varies). Special relativity, wave model of light, interference, polarisation. Practical investigation poster due.

Weeks 19-22: Exam preparation. Past papers under timed conditions. Average around 4-5 past papers, every one marked carefully against the published exam report.

VCAA's exam reports are the highest-leverage revision resource. Each year's report identifies the specific errors made by the cohort, often with sample student responses showing where marks were lost. Read every exam report from 2018 onwards before sitting the exam.

Past paper rotation

Twelve past papers (2014-2025) are publicly available from VCAA. The pre-2017 papers are slightly less aligned to the current study design (some topics have moved) but the question style is identical. A workable rotation is one paper per week from Week 18, with the most recent three papers reserved for the final two weeks (full simulation conditions).

Cross-links

For worked examples in each Area of Study, see the VCE Physics worked exam problems by AoS guide. For the Unit 4 practical investigation poster, see the VCE Physics practical investigation guide.

In one sentence

VCE Physics Units 3-4 are assessed as 60 percent school-assessed coursework (split across about seven SACs covering motion, fields, electromagnetism, light, matter and the student-designed practical investigation) and 40 percent end-of-year exam (a two-and-a-half-hour paper with 20 multiple-choice questions and around 110 marks of short-answer and extended-response items); the subject scales reliably upward by 4-6 study-score points, and the top-band study plan rests on disciplined SAC preparation, methodical exam working that always names the physics principle, and a rotation of past papers marked against VCAA's published exam reports.