{"id":3434,"date":"2026-04-12T17:02:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T07:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/academic-guide-years-11-12\/physics-2-unit\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:18:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T04:18:03","slug":"physics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/academic-guide-years-11-12\/hsc\/hsc-subjects\/physics\/","title":{"rendered":"Physics 2 unit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Course Description<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Year 11 (Preliminary) Course<\/strong> [Board Developed] 2 units<br><strong>Year 12 (HSC) Course<\/strong> [Board Developed] 2 units<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new Physics syllabus has been developed using the established NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) syllabus development process. The syllabus includes Australian curriculum content and reflects the new directions of the Stronger HSC Standards reforms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Students in ESL English may struggle with the literacy and language requirements of the Physics course.)&nbsp; Physics can be studied ON ITS OWN or alongside ONE or TWO other Science courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nature of physics is to show how seemingly disparate, complex observations are governed by the same underlying scientific laws and principles. This unification process involves application of&nbsp;mathematical models to reveal the simplicity that underlies the&nbsp;complexity that we observe. This unification process has indeed been successful when you can print a simple yet powerful equation on a t-shirt or coffee mug!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Physics&nbsp;looks at the&nbsp;behaviour of matter, waves and fields by studying the energy&nbsp;changes&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;forces&nbsp;that govern their interactions. This is true on all physical scales; from the quantum world inside an atom to the vastness of the&nbsp;Universe.&nbsp;It is the most fundamental of all the&nbsp;sciences.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A study of physics&nbsp;will include&nbsp;exploration&nbsp;of&nbsp;such diverse areas as&nbsp;satellites,&nbsp;nuclear power stations,&nbsp;the life cycle of stars,&nbsp;musical instruments,&nbsp;electric motors, the electrical power grid,&nbsp;relativity theory&nbsp;and&nbsp;the manipulation of light waves through&nbsp;communication technologies such as optical fibres.&nbsp;This is&nbsp;largely&nbsp;done&nbsp;through&nbsp;experimentation and application of mathematical formulae to analyse graphs and solve problems.&nbsp;There is also a strong emphasis on the historical development of theories and laws.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related careers areas include:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">E<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ngineering<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&nbsp;and design<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">astronomy \/ meteorology<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">nuclear medicine<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">research and development: particle physics<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">resource management<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">electrical power production<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">mining \/ petroleum industries<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">semi-conduction \/ magnetic and electronics industries<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">systems engineers and technicians<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">aeronautical \/ photonics research and product development<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;335559739&quot;:200,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Physics course builds on particular understandings, skills and attitudes that students have acquired during their K-10 Science course.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students from 10A1,A2, A3, B1 and B2\u202fas well as high performing students from other classes can be considered.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students should be competent mathematicians who enjoy solving complex mathematical problems.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Modules Covered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><strong>PRELIMINARY COURSE (Y11) 120 Hours including 10 hours of depth studies<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><strong>HSC COURSE (Y12) 120 Hours including 10 hours of depth studies<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><ul><br><li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Focus Area 1 &#8211; Fundamentals of Mechanics<\/span><\/li><br><li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Focus Area 2 &#8211; Waves<\/span><\/li><br><li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Focus Area 3 &#8211; Electricity and Magnetism<\/span><\/li><br><\/ul><\/td><td><ul><br><li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Focus Area 4 &#8211; Advanced Mechanics<\/span><\/li><br><li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Focus Area 5 &#8211; Electromagnetism<\/span><\/li><br><li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Focus Area 6 &#8211; The Nature of Light<\/span><\/li><br><li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Focus Area 7 &#8211; Matter, energy and the cosmos<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Assessment \u2013 HSC course only<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT<\/strong><\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>WEIGHTING<\/strong><\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>INTERNAL ASSESSMENT<\/strong><\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>WEIGHTING<\/strong><\/span><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">All modules 1-7 to be assessed in a formal HSC Examination<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">New HSC Examination specifics\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad are not yet available.<\/span><\/td><td>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">A maximum of four formal assessment tasks which may include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Investigations and practical skills<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Research and presentations<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Examination<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Depth Study (15 hours)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">About 20%<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">About 20%<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">About 30%<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">About 30%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">100%<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/td><td><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">100%<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Internal assessment for both Preliminary and HSC courses is measured against the following criteria:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Skills in working scientifically 60%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Knowledge and understanding of course content 40%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!-- section: section_text --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Course Description Year 11 (Preliminary) Course [Board Developed] 2 unitsYear 12 (HSC) Course [Board Developed] 2 units The new Physics syllabus has been developed using the established NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) syllabus development process. The syllabus includes Australian curriculum content and reflects the new directions of the Stronger HSC Standards reforms.&nbsp; (Students in ESL [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"parent":3402,"menu_order":29,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-3434","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3434"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4055,"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3434\/revisions\/4055"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newington.nsw.edu.au\/academic-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}