NESA Stage 6 Physics · the syllabus currently examined
The HSC Physics syllabus, module by module
Everything NESA expects you to know for HSC Physics, laid out as a working checklist: all eight modules, the inquiry question behind every section, how the exam is structured, and a free lesson series for each module. Use it to find the gaps before the paper does.
- Modules
- 84 in Year 11 · 4 in Year 12
- Examined in the HSC
- Year 12Modules 5–8; Year 11 is assumed knowledge
- Written exam
- 100 marks20 multiple choice + 80 written
- Free lessons here
- 128covering all 8 modules
Which syllabus is this?
This page describes the current NESA Physics Stage 6 syllabus, the one being taught and examined right now. If you are sitting the HSC in 2026 or 2027, this is your course.
NESA has published a new Physics 11–12 syllabus (2025), first taught to Year 11 from 2027. It reorganises the course into focus areas instead of the eight modules below. Until your cohort moves across, the new syllabus does not change what you are examined on — revise against this page, not against the new document.
Year 11: Modules 1–4
The Year 11 course is the toolkit: motion, forces, waves and fields. It is assessed by your school rather than in the written HSC exam, but almost nothing in Year 12 stands without it — projectile motion is Module 1 kinematics in two dimensions, and the whole of electromagnetism assumes Module 4.
Describing and predicting motion in a straight line and on a plane: displacement, velocity, acceleration and vectors.
- How is the motion of an object moving in a straight line described and predicted?
- How is the motion of an object that changes its direction of movement on a plane described?
Forces and Newton’s laws, energy and work, and momentum in collisions.
- How are forces produced between objects and what effects do forces produce?
- How can the motion of objects be explained and analysed?
- How is the motion of objects in a simple system dependent on the interaction between the objects?
Wave properties and behaviour, sound, the ray model of light, and thermal physics.
- What are the properties of all waves and wave motion?
- How do waves behave?
- What evidence suggests that sound is a mechanical wave?
- What properties can be demonstrated when using the ray model of light?
- How are temperature, thermal energy and particle motion related?
Electrostatics, electric circuits, and magnetism — the foundations Module 6 builds on.
- How do charged objects interact with other charged objects and with neutral objects?
- How do the processes of the transfer and the transformation of energy occur in electric circuits?
- How do magnetised and magnetic objects interact?
Year 12: Modules 5–8 — the examined course
These four modules are what the written HSC examination is set against. They carry the famous content — projectiles, motors, relativity, the quantum atom — and the exam mixes multi-step calculations with extended explain-and-evaluate responses in every one of them.
Projectile motion, circular motion, and gravitation with planetary and satellite motion.
- How can models that are used to explain projectile motion be used to analyse and make predictions?
- Why do objects move in circles?
- How does the force of gravity determine the motion of planets and satellites?
Charged particles in fields, the motor effect, electromagnetic induction, and motors, generators and transformers.
- What happens to stationary and moving charged particles when they interact with an electric or magnetic field?
- Under what circumstances is a force produced on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field?
- How are electric and magnetic fields related?
- How has knowledge about the Motor Effect been applied to technological advances?
Maxwell and the electromagnetic spectrum, wave and particle models of light, and special relativity.
- What is light?
- What evidence supports the classical wave model of light and what predictions can be made using this model?
- What evidence supports the particle model of light and what are the implications of this evidence for the development of the quantum model of light?
- How does the behaviour of light affect concepts of time, space and matter?
Origins of the elements, models of the atom, quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, and the Standard Model.
- What evidence is there for the origins of the elements?
- How is it known that atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons?
- How is it known that classical physics cannot explain the properties of the atom?
- How can the energy of the atomic nucleus be harnessed?
- How is it known that human understanding of matter is still incomplete?
How the syllabus maps to the exam
| Component | Marks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Section I — multiple choice | 20 | 20 questions, 1 mark each |
| Section II — written response | 80 | Calculations, data analysis and extended explanations |
| Total (three-hour paper) | 100 | A NESA formula sheet and data sheet are provided |
The equations are given to you; the marks are in choosing the right one, combining two of them, and keeping units and significant figures honest. The other half of your HSC mark is school-based assessment, which includes a depth study of at least 15 hours in each of Year 11 and Year 12.
How to actually use this page
- Treat every inquiry question as a self-test. If you can answer one out loud — with the relevant equation and a sketch — that section is in good shape. If you cannot, open the module’s lessons and work through them.
- Master derivations, not just formulas. The discriminating Physics questions ask you to combine ideas — circular motion inside gravitation, induction inside transformers. The condensed Projectile Motion, Dynamics and Electromagnetism notes are built for that final consolidation pass.
- Finish each module with paper practice. The practice papers hub has exam-style questions to test whether revision actually stuck before the trials do it for you.
Common questions
Is this the current HSC Physics syllabus?
Yes. This page describes the NESA Physics Stage 6 syllabus currently being taught and examined, with its eight modules across Years 11 and 12. NESA has released a new Physics 11–12 syllabus for first teaching in 2027, so students sitting the HSC before then are examined on the syllabus described here.
Which modules are examined in the HSC Physics exam?
The written HSC examination assesses the Year 12 course: Module 5 Advanced Mechanics, Module 6 Electromagnetism, Module 7 The Nature of Light and Module 8 From the Universe to the Atom. Year 11 content is assumed knowledge — projectile motion is Year 11 kinematics extended to two dimensions, and Module 6 leans directly on Year 11 electricity and magnetism.
How is the HSC Physics exam structured?
A three-hour written paper worth 100 marks: 20 multiple-choice questions worth 20 marks, then written-response questions worth 80 marks, mixing calculations, data analysis and extended explanations.
Do I get a formula sheet in the exam?
Yes. The exam provides a NESA formula sheet and data sheet, so the equations do not need to be memorised — but choosing the right equation, combining two of them, and keeping units consistent is exactly what is examined.
When does the new Physics syllabus start?
NESA’s new Physics 11–12 syllabus (published 2025) is first taught to Year 11 from 2027, restructured into focus areas such as Fundamentals of mechanics, Waves, Advanced mechanics, Electromagnetism, Nature of light, and Matter, energy and the cosmos. If you sit the HSC before the new syllabus reaches Year 12, the current syllabus is the one that applies to you.
Where to next
Working through this list and something still is not landing? One-on-one HSC Physics tutoring is available online across NSW, from the teacher who maintains these pages.