HSC Physics Past Papers (Science)
HSC Physics is a single 3-hour written exam set and marked by NESA, covering the Year 12 modules: Advanced Mechanics, Electromagnetism, The Nature of Light and From the Universe to the Atom.
It rewards fluent problem-solving with the formula and data sheet, so timed past-paper practice is essential.
Check the syllabus year. A new Physics syllabus is first examined in the 2028 HSC. If you sit the exam in 2028 or later, the past papers below are from the previous syllabus - still useful for exam technique, but confirm the content against the current syllabus. If you sit it in 2027 or earlier, they match your course.
Official Physics HSC exam papers & marking guidelines (2019–2025)
NESA publishes the past HSC exam papers, the marking guidelines and the notes from the marking centre for Physics on its own site. They are the real exam questions - sit them under timed conditions, then mark with the guidelines.
What's on the Physics exam?
The paper combines multiple-choice with short-answer and extended-response questions, using the provided formula and data sheet. Marks are won on clear multi-step working and on explaining physical reasoning, not just final answers.
Doing the past papers to time builds the calculation speed and the habit of showing method that the marking guidelines reward.
How to use the past papers
Sit each Physics paper in one timed session, closed-book, before you look at anything else. Then mark it against NESA's marking guidelines for that year - the guidelines show exactly how marks are awarded, which is where most of the improvement comes from.
Finish with the notes from the marking centre (NESA's examiner feedback): it spells out what the strongest responses did and the mistakes the state cohort repeated. All three - the paper, the marking guidelines and the marking-centre notes - are on the official NESA page linked above.
Practice Physics beyond the past papers
There are only a handful of NESA papers, so once you've done them, generate fresh questions on the exact topics you're weakest on with Polarbear's AI exam-cram - grounded in the HSC Physics syllabus, free to try.
Physics past papers FAQ
Source: NESA's official Physics HSC exam papers. HSC exam papers are © State of New South Wales (NESA) - Polarbear links to the official papers rather than rehosting them, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NESA.