WACE Physics Past Papers (Science)
WACE Physics is examined in a single written ATAR paper worth 50% of your final result, set and marked by SCSA, covering gravity and motion, electromagnetism, and the physics of the atom and the universe.
SCSA keeps a rolling window of recent past ATAR exams online - roughly the six most recent years - so there's a compact set to work through, and each one is worth sitting to time.
Official Physics ATAR exam papers & marking keys (2020–2025)
SCSA publishes the past ATAR course exams, the marking keys and the summary examination reports for Physics on its own site. They are the real exam questions - sit them under timed conditions, then mark with the marking key.
What's on the Physics exam?
The paper combines short-answer and extended calculation and explanation questions across the Year 12 content, using the provided formula and data sheet. Marks are won on clear multi-step working and on explaining physical reasoning.
The past papers build the calculation speed and the habit of showing method that the SCSA marking key rewards.
How to use the past papers
Sit each Physics paper under exam timing, closed-book, then mark it against SCSA's marking key for that year - the key shows exactly how marks are allocated, which is where the improvement comes from.
Finish with the summary examination report for that year: it's SCSA's examiner feedback on what the state cohort did well and badly. The paper, the marking key and the report all download from the official SCSA page linked above.
Practice Physics beyond the past papers
Once you've worked through the SCSA papers, generate fresh questions on the exact topics you're weakest on with Polarbear's AI exam-cram - grounded in the WACE Physics syllabus, free to try.
Physics past papers FAQ
Source: SCSA's official Physics past ATAR course exams. SCSA materials are © School Curriculum and Standards Authority - free to copy for non-commercial educational use. Polarbear links to the official papers rather than rehosting them, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by SCSA.