§ Year 7 · Physics strand of Science · Australian Curriculum
Year 7 Physics.
The first time forces stop being invisible.
In Queensland, Year 7 students don't sit a Physics class. They sit general Science, and Physics is one strand inside it. This page is about that strand — the forces and motion content your child meets in Year 7 Science. If that's the part where they're struggling (or the part they're loving), Pythora can focus there without trying to cover the whole subject.
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§ What Year 7 covers
The syllabus, in plain English.
Year 7 Science follows the Australian Curriculum v9. The physics-strand content for Year 7 is built around forces — what they are, how they act, how they combine, and how they change motion. Students meet contact forces (friction, push, pull, drag) and non-contact forces (gravity, magnetism). Most schools also build in simple machines as a worked context — levers, pulleys, inclined planes — to show forces doing useful work. It is the first time most students see free-body thinking and the first time the word 'unbalanced' starts doing real work.
Physical sciences strand — Forces (Year 7 Science)
- Contact and non-contact forces — friction, gravity, magnetism, push and pull
- Representing forces with arrows — size and direction
- Balanced and unbalanced forces and their effect on motion
- Simple machines — levers, pulleys and inclined planes
- Everyday examples — bicycles, sports, vehicles, structures
§ Where Year 7s get stuck
Common pitfalls — and how to dodge them.
Drawing force arrows without thinking about direction
A force arrow has to show both how big the force is and which way it acts. Year 7 students often draw an arrow that touches the object but points nowhere meaningful, or they draw two arrows the same length and call the forces balanced when they should be opposite. We slow that diagram step right down — the arrow has to start at the object, point in the actual direction of the force, and be roughly to scale.
Thinking a moving object must have a force pushing it
A ball rolling along the ground keeps moving even after you let go. Plenty of Year 7 students believe there must still be a force pushing it forward. That instinct is wrong but persistent, and it becomes a real problem in Year 10 when Newton's First Law shows up. We fix it early with simple thought experiments and worked examples.
Confusing weight and mass
Mass is how much matter something has. Weight is the force of gravity on that mass. They are not the same thing and they are not measured in the same units. We teach the distinction from the first session because it is one of the most common misconceptions all the way through Year 12 Physics.
Treating friction as always bad
Year 7 students often write friction off as the thing that slows you down. They forget that friction is also the reason your shoes grip the floor, the reason brakes work, and the reason you can hold a pencil. Real Year 7 questions ask whether friction in a specific situation is helpful or unhelpful. The "always bad" instinct loses easy marks.
Skipping the units in a simple machine question
When a question gives a load of 60 N lifted by a force of 20 N, the answer needs a unit. Year 7 students often write "3" for mechanical advantage (which is unitless and correct) but then write "20" for the effort force without the N. Marks are routinely dropped for missing units.
§ Worked examples
A question. A walkthrough. The marks.
Example 1
Identifying the forces on a stationary object
The question
A book is sitting on a table. Draw the forces acting on the book and describe what they are doing.
Walkthrough
Step 1 — Identify the object: the book. Step 2 — List the forces. There is gravity pulling the book down (its weight) and the table pushing the book up (the normal contact force from the table). Step 3 — Draw arrows starting at the centre of the book. One arrow points straight down, labelled "weight" or "gravity". One arrow of the same length points straight up, labelled "normal force" or "support force". Step 4 — Describe the effect. The forces are equal in size and opposite in direction, so they are balanced. Because the forces are balanced, the book is not changing its motion — it stays still. Mark allocation in a typical Year 7 question: 1 mark for identifying each force, 1 for the diagram with correct arrows, 1 for the word "balanced", 1 for the consequence on motion. Most students get the diagram right but forget to write the consequence sentence.
Example 2
A simple machine — calculating mechanical advantage
The question
A student uses a lever to lift a 60 N load by pushing down with a 20 N force on the other end. What is the mechanical advantage of the lever?
Walkthrough
Step 1 — Write the formula: Mechanical advantage = load ÷ effort. Step 2 — Substitute the numbers: MA = 60 N ÷ 20 N. Step 3 — Calculate: MA = 3. Step 4 — Write the answer in a sentence. The mechanical advantage is 3, meaning the lever lets the student lift a load three times bigger than the force they apply. Note: mechanical advantage is a ratio, so it has no units — the N cancels out. Year 7 students often write "3 N" as the answer; that loses a mark. The number is correct, the unit is wrong.
§ Why Pythora for Year 7 Physics
Not generic tutoring. Specifically this.
Tutors who studied senior Physics, scaffolding from Year 7
Every Pythora tutor for the physics strand has sat senior Physics within the last few years and scored highly. They know which Year 7 misconceptions become Year 11 problems, and they teach Year 7 with that in mind.
Focus on the strand, not the whole subject
Your child sits one subject called Science, but the gap may be in only one strand. We can target the physics strand specifically — the rest of Science is the school's job. Sessions stay focused on forces, motion, energy and the topics that are actually causing trouble.
Diagrams taught properly, not skimmed
Force diagrams are the single most important habit a Year 7 physics student can build. We don't let them be sloppy — every arrow has the right starting point, direction and label. That habit pays off all the way to Year 12.
A written recap of every session, in your inbox
You see what was covered, where your child struggled, what was set as homework, and what next session will focus on. Automatically, inside six minutes of the lesson ending.
§ Real student
“I finally get how to draw forces. My teacher used to mark me down for it every time. Now I get them all right.”
§ Where this fits
One step on the path.
Year 7 forces sit underneath every physics topic that comes after. Year 8 builds energy on top of force-and-motion thinking. Year 9 takes energy further into conservation and transfer. Year 10 brings Newton's laws and kinematics — and every kinematics question assumes the Year 7 force-diagram habit is already there. Building the foundation now is cheaper than rebuilding it in Year 10.
Builds from
Foundation year — nothing before this
Leads to
Year 8 Physics (energy strand)§ Questions
Frequently asked.
My child takes Science, not Physics. Why is this page called 'Year 7 Physics'?
In Queensland Years 7 to 10, Science is the subject. Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Earth Science are strands within it. This page is about the physics strand specifically — for parents whose child is struggling with (or excelling at) the forces and motion content inside Year 7 Science. If you need help with the whole Science subject, our Junior Science page covers all four strands.
My child is in Year 7 and only covers forces for a few weeks. Is tutoring worth it for that?
If the physics strand is the part causing trouble, yes — a few targeted sessions during the forces unit can close the gap before the test and lock in the diagram habits that matter for years afterward. If the issue is broader across Science, our Junior Science tutoring is a better fit.
How often should a Year 7 student have physics tutoring?
One 60-minute session per week is the sweet spot during the physics unit itself, then pausing or rotating to the next strand. Year 7 students consolidate best when they have time to do their own practice between sessions. More than once a week tends to crowd out independent thinking.
How much does Year 7 Physics tutoring cost?
Year 7 Physics (as a strand of Year 7 Science) is $75 per hour as a Junior subject. Billed weekly for completed sessions, no lock-in. Every new family gets a free trial session with their matched tutor first.
Year 7 Physics.
Done properly.
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From $75/hour · Billed weekly · Pause or cancel anytime