Courses › Victorian Certificate of Education

VCE Physics

Review the whole course, see how every lesson matches the VCE Physics Study Design, and track what you can already do.

  1. Pick a unit below.
  2. Mark how confident you feel about each statement.
  3. Use the lessons to fix the red and amber ones.

Units 3 and 4 are examined in the end-of-year exam (50%). Every syllabus statement is listed, and each topic links to ready-to-use lessons.

Official VCAA study design Interactives Review videos Formula sheet Data sheet
Unit 1How is energy useful to society? Unit 2How does physics help us to understand the world? Unit 3How do fields explain motion and electricity? Unit 4How have creative ideas and investigation revolutionised thinking in physics?
Unit 1Unit 2Unit 3Unit 4

Unit 1: How is energy useful to society?

School assessedLight, thermal energy, radioactivity, nuclear processes and electricity, applied to issues like communication, climate and electrical safety.

Open a topic, then mark how confident you feel about each statement. Use the lessons to fix the red and amber ones.

0 of 51 confident

Area of Study 1: How are light and heat explained?

School assessed0 of 20 confident
Lessons: Wave TypesLight as EMRReflectionRefractionDispersionHeat and TemperatureSpecific Heat CapacityLatent HeatBlackbody RadiationSnell's LawSpecific Heat Capacity LABto confirm: optical fibres, rainbows and mirages, climate change
  • Electromagnetic radiation
  • I can identify all electromagnetic waves as transverse waves travelling at the same speed, c, in a vacuum, unlike mechanical waves that need a medium.
  • I can identify the amplitude, wavelength, period and frequency of a wave.
  • I can calculate wavelength, frequency, period and speed using λ = v/f = vT.
  • I can explain the wavelength of a wave as the result of its velocity (set by the medium) and its frequency (set by the source).
  • I can describe the electromagnetic radiation from the Sun as mainly ultraviolet, visible and infrared.
  • I can compare the wavelengths and frequencies of the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and their uses in society.
  • I can investigate and analyse refraction using Snell's law, n1 sinθ1 = n2 sinθ2 and n1v1 = n2v2.
  • I can analyse total internal reflection and the critical angle, including applications.
  • I can explain colour dispersion in prisms and lenses as the refraction of the components of white light.
  • I can explain how rainbows and mirages form.
  • I can investigate light transmission through optical fibres for communication.
  • Thermal energy
  • I can convert between the Celsius and kelvin scales.
  • I can describe how a temperature increase corresponds to an increase in the thermal energy (kinetic and potential energy of the atoms) of a system.
  • I can distinguish conduction, convection and radiation in heat transfers.
  • I can explain why evaporation cools, using a simple kinetic energy model.
  • I can analyse the energy needed to raise the temperature of a substance, Q = mcΔT.
  • I can analyse the energy needed to change the state of a substance, Q = mL.
  • Interaction of thermal energy and electromagnetic radiation
  • I can calculate the peak wavelength of radiation using Wien's law, λmaxT = constant.
  • I can compare the total energy emitted across the electromagnetic spectrum by objects at different temperatures.
  • I can apply energy transfer, energy transformation, temperature change and change of state to climate change and global warming.

Area of Study 2: How is energy from the nucleus utilised?

School assessed0 of 13 confident
Lessons: What is RadioactivityHalf LifeStrong Nuclear ForceBinding EnergyFissionFusionHalf life simulationBinding Energy interactiveto confirm: radiation dose (gray and sievert)
  • Radiation from the nucleus
  • I can explain nuclear stability using the electrostatic, strong nuclear and weak nuclear forces.
  • I can model radioactive decay as random decay with a half-life, including whole half-lives.
  • I can describe the properties of alpha, beta-minus, beta-plus and gamma radiation.
  • I can explain nuclear transformations using decay equations.
  • I can analyse decay series diagrams for the type of decay and the stability of isotopes.
  • I can explain the effects of alpha, beta and gamma radiation on humans: cell damage, short- and long-term effects, and sources outside and inside the body.
  • I can calculate absorbed dose (gray), equivalent dose (sievert) and effective dose (sievert).
  • I can evaluate the use of medical radioisotopes in therapy, including the effects on healthy and damaged tissue.
  • Nuclear energy
  • I can explain, qualitatively, nuclear energy as energy from the conversion of mass.
  • I can explain fission chain reactions, including the effect of mass and shape on criticality, and neutron absorption and moderation.
  • I can compare nuclear fusion and nuclear fission.
  • I can use a binding energy curve to explain why both fusion and fission release energy.
  • I can investigate the viability of nuclear energy as an energy source for Australia.

Area of Study 3: How can electricity be used to transfer energy?

School assessed0 of 18 confident
Lessons: ChargeVoltageOhm's LawSeries and Parallel CircuitsElectrical Powerto confirm: diodes, thermistors and electrical safety
  • Concepts used to model electricity
  • I can apply charge, current, potential difference, energy and power in electric circuits.
  • I can analyse and evaluate analogies used to describe current and potential difference.
  • I can analyse circuits using I = Q/t, V = E/Q and P = E/t = VI.
  • I can justify the use of an ammeter, voltmeter or multimeter in a circuit.
  • I can apply the kilowatt-hour as a unit of energy.
  • Circuit electricity
  • I can model resistance using I-V graphs and R = V/I, including constant R for ohmic devices.
  • I can calculate equivalent resistance in series, R = R1 + R2 + ..., and in parallel, 1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ....
  • I can analyse circuits that combine series and parallel resistance.
  • I can analyse circuits with voltage dividers.
  • I can model household (AC) electrical systems as simple DC circuits.
  • I can compare power transfers in series and parallel circuits.
  • I can explain why home circuits are mostly parallel.
  • Using electricity
  • I can apply current, resistance, potential difference and power to circuits with resistors, light bulbs, diodes, thermistors, LDRs, LEDs and potentiometers.
  • I can investigate simple circuits with resistors, variable resistors, diodes and other non-ohmic devices.
  • I can describe energy transfers and transformations in common electronic components.
  • Electrical safety in the home
  • I can model household electricity connections as a simple DC circuit with fuses, switches, circuit breakers, loads and earth.
  • I can compare fuses, circuit breakers and residual current devices (RCDs).
  • I can describe the causes, effects and first aid for electric shock, and the approximate danger thresholds for current and duration.

Practise and review

InteractivesReview videosFormula sheetData sheet

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

School assessedExperiments build models and theories. Forces and motion, then a physics option of your choice.

Area of Study 2 is an option you choose from 18 (for example climate change, fusion and fission, flight, medical radiation, astrophysics or particle accelerators), and Area of Study 3 is a practical investigation. Neither is listed here: see the study design for the key knowledge of each option.

Open a topic, then mark how confident you feel about each statement. Use the lessons to fix the red and amber ones.

0 of 19 confident

Area of Study 1: How is motion understood?

School assessed0 of 19 confident
Lessons: VectorsKinematics IntroAccelerationGraphing MotionEquations of MotionNewton's LawsForces in EquilibriumNormal ForceFrictionMomentumEnergyTorqueMotion Graphsto confirm: Hooke's law and springs
  • Concepts used to model motion
  • I can identify parameters of motion as vectors or scalars.
  • I can analyse straight-line motion with constant acceleration using v = u + at, v² = u² + 2as, s = ½(u + v)t, s = ut + ½at² and s = vt − ½at².
  • I can analyse non-uniform straight-line motion graphically.
  • I can apply momentum to linear motion, p = mv.
  • Forces and motion
  • I can explain changes in momentum as caused by a net force, Δp = FnetΔt.
  • I can model the force due to gravity, Fg = mg, acting at the centre of mass.
  • I can model forces as vectors using the "force on A by B" convention, Fon A by B = −Fon B by A.
  • I can apply Newton's three laws to a body with forces acting on it, a = Fnet/m.
  • I can apply vector addition and components to forces including Fg, friction and normal forces.
  • Energy and motion
  • I can apply work done by a force, W = Fs cosθ, and as the area under a force-distance graph.
  • I can investigate Hooke's law for an ideal spring, F = −kx.
  • I can analyse energy transfers using conservation of energy: Eg = mgΔh, Es = ½kx² and Ek = ½mv².
  • I can analyse the rate of energy transfer using power, P = E/t.
  • I can calculate the efficiency of an energy transfer system.
  • I can analyse impulse in an isolated system for one-dimensional collisions, FΔt = mΔv.
  • I can investigate momentum conservation in one dimension.
  • Equilibrium and application
  • I can calculate torque, τ = r⊥F.
  • I can analyse translational and rotational forces in simple structures in equilibrium.
  • I can apply motion concepts to a case study such as sport, vehicle safety, a device or a structure.

Practise and review

InteractivesReview videosFormula sheetData sheet

Unit 3: How do fields explain motion and electricity?

Examined in the end-of-year examMotion in two dimensions, gravitational, electric and magnetic fields, and the generation and transmission of electricity.

Open a topic, then mark how confident you feel about each statement. Use the lessons to fix the red and amber ones.

0 of 38 confident

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

End-of-year exam0 of 12 confident
Lessons: Newton's LawsNormal ForceFrictionCircular MotionCircular ApplicationsProjectile MotionOrbital MotionMomentumEnergyConical PendulumBanked Curves
  • Newton's laws of motion
  • I can apply Newton's three laws where two or more coplanar forces act along a line and in two dimensions.
  • I can analyse uniform circular motion in a horizontal plane (Fnet = mv²/r) for a vehicle on a circular road, a banked track and an object on a string.
  • I can model natural and artificial satellite motion as uniform circular motion.
  • I can apply Newton's second law to circular motion in a vertical plane (highest and lowest points only).
  • I can analyse projectile motion near Earth's surface, and describe the effects of air resistance qualitatively.
  • I can apply conservation of energy and momentum in isolated systems in one dimension.
  • Relationships between force, energy and mass
  • I can analyse impulse in collisions in a straight line, FΔt = mΔv.
  • I can apply work done by a force as force × distance, and as the area under a force-distance graph (one dimension).
  • I can analyse energy transformations between kinetic, strain potential, gravitational potential and energy dissipated to the environment.
  • I can analyse kinetic energy at low speeds, Ek = ½mv², and elastic and inelastic collisions using conservation of kinetic energy.
  • I can find elastic potential energy from the area under a force-distance graph, including ideal springs, Es = ½kΔx².
  • I can find gravitational potential energy, Eg = mgΔh, or from the area under a force-distance or field-distance graph.

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

End-of-year exam0 of 16 confident
Lessons: GravitationOrbital MotionKepler's LawsCoulomb's LawElectric FieldVoltageMoving Charges in Electric FieldsCharge in Magnetic FieldsAmpere's LawMotor EffectDC MotorCharge in electric fieldCharge in magnetic fieldCharge in crossed fieldsParticle deflection gamesDC Motor 3Dto confirm: particle accelerators
  • Fields and interactions
  • I can describe gravitation, magnetism and electricity using a field model.
  • I can compare gravitational, magnetic and electric fields: direction, shape, attractive and repulsive fields, dipoles and monopoles.
  • I can compare gravitational and electric fields about a point mass or charge: direction, shape, the inverse square law and qualitative potential energy changes.
  • I can apply a field model to magnetic phenomena: fields of bar magnets, current-carrying wires, loops and solenoids.
  • I can identify fields as static or changing, and uniform or non-uniform.
  • Effects of fields
  • I can analyse using an electric field to accelerate a charge: E = kQ/r², F = kq1q2/r², W = qV, E = V/d and F = qE.
  • I can analyse using a magnetic field to change the path of a charged particle: F = qvB (perpendicular or parallel) and qvB = mv²/r.
  • I can analyse using gravitational fields to accelerate mass: g = GM/r², Fg = Gm1m2/r² and Eg = mgΔh.
  • I can find the change in gravitational potential energy from areas under force-distance and field-distance graphs.
  • Application of field concepts
  • I can apply the force due to gravity and the normal force, including satellites in uniform circular orbits.
  • I can model satellite motion as uniform circular orbital motion, a = v²/r = 4π²r/T².
  • I can describe the interaction of two fields: charges, poles and currents can attract or repel, but masses only attract.
  • I can analyse the force on a current-carrying conductor in an external magnetic field, F = nIlB.
  • I can analyse the operation of a simple DC motor with a split ring commutator.
  • I can describe qualitatively how current, external field and number of loops affect the torque of a simple motor.
  • I can model particle acceleration in a particle accelerator (linear acceleration by a uniform electric field and direction change by a uniform magnetic field).

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

End-of-year exam0 of 10 confident
Lessons: Magnetic FluxFaraday's LawLenz's LawGeneratorsTransformersFaraday's Law and FluxFaraday's Law and MagnetMotional EMFto confirm: rms values and photovoltaic cells
  • Generation of electricity
  • I can calculate magnetic flux, ΦB = B⊥A, and describe the effect of the angle between area and field.
  • I can analyse the generation of emf, including AC voltage, using ε = −NΔΦB/Δt.
  • I can explain how the induced emf depends on the rate of change of flux, the number of loops and the direction of the induced emf in a coil.
  • I can explain DC voltage in DC generators and AC voltage in alternators, including split ring commutators and slip rings.
  • I can describe electricity production using photovoltaic cells and the need for an inverter.
  • Transmission of electricity
  • I can compare sinusoidal AC voltages from a rotating loop: frequency, period, amplitude, peak-to-peak voltage and current.
  • I can compare rms alternating voltage with a constant DC voltage that gives the same power.
  • I can convert between rms, peak and peak-to-peak values of voltage and current.
  • I can analyse ideal transformer action, N1/N2 = V1/V2 = I2/I1.
  • I can analyse the supply of power considering transmission losses in transmission lines.

Practise and review

InteractivesReview videosFormula sheetData sheet

Unit 4: How have creative ideas and investigation revolutionised thinking in physics?

Examined in the end-of-year examThe limits of the wave model of light, quantum physics, matter waves and Einstein's special relativity.

Area of Study 2 is a student-designed practical investigation, reported as a scientific poster. It is not listed here.

Open a topic, then mark how confident you feel about each statement. Use the lessons to fix the red and amber ones.

0 of 31 confident

Area of Study 1: How has understanding about the physical world changed?

End-of-year exam0 of 31 confident
Lessons: Light as EMRStanding WavesDouble Slit DiffractionPlanck and the BlackbodyPhotoelectric Effectde Broglie and Matter WavesBohr ModelSpectroscopyMichelson-Morley ExperimentSpecial RelativitySpecial Relativity EvidenceBinding EnergyFusionDouble Slit DiffractionSpectroscopyGuess the SpectraTime dilationSimultaneity
  • Light as a wave
  • I can describe light as a transverse electromagnetic wave produced by accelerating charges.
  • I can identify that all electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed, c, in a vacuum.
  • I can explain the formation of a standing wave from a travelling wave and its reflection.
  • I can analyse standing waves with nodes at both ends.
  • I can explain diffraction as the spread of waves for different gap widths and obstacle sizes, and apply this to the limits of imaging with electromagnetic waves.
  • I can explain Young's double slit experiment: evidence for the wave nature of light, and interference from path differences nλ and (n − ½)λ.
  • I can explain how wavelength, screen distance and slit separation affect the interference pattern, Δx = λL/d when L >> d.
  • Light as a particle
  • I can apply the quantised energy of photons, E = hf = hc/λ.
  • I can analyse the photoelectric effect, including graphs of photocurrent against electrode potential and kinetic energy against frequency.
  • I can calculate the maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons, Ek max = hf − φ, in joules and electron-volts.
  • I can explain the effect of the intensity of incident radiation on photoelectron emission.
  • I can describe the limits of the wave model of light in explaining the photoelectric effect.
  • Matter as particles or waves
  • I can interpret electron diffraction patterns as evidence for the wave nature of matter.
  • I can distinguish the diffraction patterns of photons and electrons.
  • I can calculate the de Broglie wavelength, λ = h/p.
  • Similarities between light and matter
  • I can discuss the importance of quantisation in understanding light and atoms.
  • I can compare the momentum of photons and matter of the same wavelength, p = h/λ.
  • I can explain atomic absorption and emission line spectra, including from metal vapour lamps.
  • I can interpret spectra and calculate the energy of absorbed or emitted photons, E = hf = hc/λ.
  • I can explain photon emission or absorption as a change of electron energy state, with the energy difference equal to the photon energy.
  • I can interpret the single photon or electron double slit experiment as evidence for the dual nature of light and matter.
  • Einstein's theory of special relativity
  • I can describe the limits of classical mechanics for motion approaching the speed of light.
  • I can state Einstein's two postulates of special relativity.
  • I can interpret the null result of the Michelson-Morley experiment as evidence supporting special relativity.
  • I can compare special relativity with the principles of classical physics.
  • I can describe proper time, the time interval between two events at the same point in a frame.
  • I can describe proper length, the length measured in the frame where objects are at rest.
  • I can model time dilation and length contraction at speeds near c, t = t0γ and L = L0/γ, with γ = 1/√(1 − v²/c²).
  • I can explain examples of special relativity: muons reaching Earth, particle accelerator lengths, and GPS time corrections.
  • Relationship between energy and mass
  • I can show that total mass-energy is Etot = Ek + E0 = γmc², with E0 = mc² and Ek = (γ − 1)mc².
  • I can describe how fusion in the Sun converts matter to energy, decreasing its mass and emitting radiation.

Practise and review

InteractivesReview videosFormula sheetData sheet
Statements are written in my own words from the VCAA VCE Physics Study Design (Units 1 and 2: 2023–2027; Units 3 and 4: 2024–2027). © Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Always check the official study design. Your ticks are saved on this device only.