§ Year 12 · Physics · QCAA Senior
Year 12 Physics.
Gravity, electromagnetism, and the year that decides your engineering ATAR.
Year 12 Physics is two units that bookend the modern subject — Unit 3 takes the familiar mechanics of Year 11 and rebuilds it in two and three dimensions with fields, while Unit 4 throws relativity and quantum mechanics at you. The external is 50% of your grade and tests both units together in a single 130-minute window. We tutor it every week. We know exactly where the marks leak.
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§ What Year 12 covers
The syllabus, in plain English.
Year 12 Physics covers QCAA Units 3 and 4. Unit 3 (Gravity and electromagnetism) runs Terms 1 and 2. Unit 4 (Revolutions in modern physics) runs Term 3 and the start of Term 4 — then it is exam preparation through to November. The two units feel almost like different subjects: Unit 3 is calculation-heavy and field-based, Unit 4 is concept-heavy with special relativity and quantum theory. The EA tests both.
Unit 3: Gravity and electromagnetism
- Gravity and motion — projectile motion in two dimensions, circular motion (centripetal force), orbital motion, Kepler's laws
- Newton's law of universal gravitation (F = GMm/r²), gravitational fields and potential energy
- Electromagnetism — electric fields, electric force (Coulomb's law), electric potential energy
- Magnetic fields — force on a current-carrying conductor (F = BIL), force on a moving charge (F = qvB)
- Electromagnetic induction — Faraday's law, Lenz's law, EMF in moving conductors, transformers
Unit 4: Revolutions in modern physics
- Special relativity — postulates, time dilation, length contraction, mass-energy equivalence
- Quantum theory — black-body radiation, photoelectric effect (E = hf), wave-particle duality
- The Standard Model — quarks, leptons, gauge bosons, hadrons (baryons and mesons), conservation laws
- Particle accelerators and detection, evidence for the Standard Model
- The structure of the atom — Bohr model, hydrogen energy levels, atomic spectra
§ Assessment
Three internal assessments worth 50% combined, one external worth 50%. The external is unseen and sat in one window in November, covering all of Units 3 and 4.
IA1 — Data test
10%
A 60-minute supervised data analysis test on Unit 3 content. Graphs, uncertainty, calculations from datasets. Sat in Term 1. Many students underprepare because it is "only 10%" — but 10% lost is half a grade band.
IA2 — Student experiment
20%
A practical investigation written up as a 1500–2000 word scientific report. Usually drawn from Unit 3 (electromagnetism or circular motion). The analysis and evaluation criteria are where most marks are won and lost.
IA3 — Research investigation
20%
A claim-based research report on a contemporary physics issue, typically drawn from Unit 4. 1500–2000 words. Marked on how well your claim is justified by the evidence you cite.
External Assessment
50%
A 130-minute QCAA-set exam covering Units 3 and 4. Multiple choice plus short and extended response. This is where ATAR scaling lives — the EA decides whether a borderline B becomes an A or a C.
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§ Where Year 12s get stuck
Common pitfalls — and how to dodge them.
Decomposing projectile motion wrong
For a projectile launched at angle θ with speed u, the horizontal velocity is u cos θ (constant) and the vertical velocity is u sin θ (changing due to gravity). Students mix these up — usually putting sine on the horizontal — and the entire trajectory calculation collapses. Always draw the triangle and label which component is which before substituting.
Forgetting that centripetal force is a net force
For circular motion, F_net = mv²/r is the required centripetal force. The marker wants you to identify which real forces (gravity, tension, normal, friction) provide it. Writing "centripetal force = mv²/r" without identifying its physical source loses marks on every circular motion extended-response question.
Using the right-hand rule but on the wrong charge
The right-hand rule (F = qv × B) gives the force direction for a positive charge. For an electron (negative), the force is in the opposite direction. Students apply the rule mechanically and forget to flip for negatives, then get the wrong direction for the deflection in a magnetic field every time.
Treating relativistic mass as Newtonian mass
In special relativity, kinetic energy is not ½mv². It is (γ − 1)mc² where γ = 1/√(1 − v²/c²). Using ½mv² for an electron travelling at 0.9c gives an answer that is wildly wrong. The Newtonian formula is fine at low speeds, but Unit 4 questions are explicitly set up at relativistic speeds — that is the whole point.
Misreading the photoelectric effect graph
The kinetic energy of ejected photoelectrons is E_k = hf − φ, where φ is the work function. Below the threshold frequency, no electrons are ejected, period — increasing intensity does nothing. Students who write "more intense light means more energy per electron" have confused intensity (number of photons) with energy per photon (which depends on frequency).
Conservation laws missed in Standard Model questions
Particle interaction questions test whether you can apply conservation of charge, baryon number and lepton number simultaneously. A reaction can balance charge and still be impossible because baryon number does not balance. Students check one or two conservation laws and miss the third.
§ Worked examples
A question. A walkthrough. The marks.
Example 1
Projectile motion — full 2D analysis
The question
A ball is kicked from ground level with an initial speed of 20.0 m/s at an angle of 30° above the horizontal. Taking g = 9.80 m/s² and ignoring air resistance, calculate (a) the time of flight, (b) the maximum height, and (c) the horizontal range.
Walkthrough
Step 1 — Decompose initial velocity. u_x = 20.0 cos 30° = 17.3 m/s (constant). u_y = 20.0 sin 30° = 10.0 m/s (decreasing). Part (a) — Time of flight: vertical displacement returns to 0. Use s = ut + ½at² with a = −9.80 m/s². 0 = 10.0t − 4.90t². So t(10.0 − 4.90t) = 0, giving t = 2.04 s. Part (b) — Maximum height: at the apex, v_y = 0. Use v² = u² + 2as. 0 = (10.0)² + 2(−9.80)s, so s = 5.10 m. Part (c) — Range: horizontal motion has no acceleration, so R = u_x × t = 17.3 × 2.04 = 35.3 m. Answer: t = 2.04 s, h = 5.10 m, R = 35.3 m. Mark allocation in a 7-mark question: 2 for component decomposition, 2 for time of flight, 1 for max height, 2 for range. Students who skip the decomposition step at the start usually drop 3–4 marks because the rest of the working has no clear reference frame.
Example 2
EMF induced in a moving conductor
The question
A straight wire of length 0.50 m moves at 4.0 m/s perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field of strength 0.30 T. Calculate the EMF induced across the ends of the wire, and state the direction of conventional current flow if the wire is part of a closed circuit (use Lenz's law).
Walkthrough
Step 1 — EMF for a moving conductor: ε = BLv. Substitute: ε = 0.30 × 0.50 × 4.0 = 0.60 V. Step 2 — Direction. Use F = qv × B for a positive charge inside the wire. With v pointing in the direction of motion and B into the page (say), the force on a positive charge inside the wire points along the wire in one specific direction — that is the direction conventional current would flow inside the wire, which is also the direction current flows around the external circuit from the high-potential end. Step 3 — Lenz's law sanity check: the induced current must oppose the change in flux that produces it. If the wire is moving in a way that increases the flux through the circuit loop, the induced current flows so that its own magnetic field opposes that increase. Answer: ε = 0.60 V, with direction set by the right-hand rule and verified by Lenz's law. Mark allocation: 1 for formula, 1 for substitution, 1 for value, 1 for direction with reasoning. Students who give the value without the direction routinely lose the last mark.
§ Why Pythora for Year 12 Physics
Not generic tutoring. Specifically this.
A tutor who sat Physics recently, not five years ago
Physics changes slightly every year — sample assessments are republished, formula sheets get tweaked, and question phrasing shifts. Your Pythora tutor sat Physics recently enough to have done practice papers under the same syllabus your child is sitting.
IA2 support that actually moves the band
Most students lose marks on IA2 in the "analysis of evidence" and "evaluation" criteria, not the experimental work itself. We work the structure — uncertainty propagation, gradient interpretation, the difference between systematic and random error, sensitivity analysis — so the report earns top-band marks.
EA strategy specific to the Physics external
The external is 130 minutes, multiple choice plus short and extended response, and rewards method marks heavily. We teach how to maximise method marks even on questions you cannot finish, how to recognise relativistic-formula vs Newtonian-formula questions instantly, and how to allocate time across the paper.
A written recap after every session
You see what was covered, where the student struggled, what was set as homework, and what the next session will focus on. In your inbox inside six minutes of the lesson ending.
§ Real student
“Modern physics felt like reading a different language. Two months of tutoring on special relativity and the Standard Model and it finally made sense. Walked out of the EA confident.”
§ Where this fits
One step on the path.
Year 12 Physics assumes you are fluent in kinematics, Newton's laws, circuit analysis and wave behaviour from Year 11. Any gap in those foundations becomes an EA gap a year later. We close them first, then push forward into fields, electromagnetism and modern physics.
Builds from
Year 11 Physics (Units 1–2)Leads to
Final year — this is the end of the road
§ Questions
Frequently asked.
Is it too late to start tutoring in Term 3 of Year 12 Physics?
No. By Term 3, IA1 and IA2 are done and IA3 is in progress. We pivot to two things in parallel: getting IA3 to a band A or high B, and starting structured EA preparation — past-paper drilling, modern-physics concept consolidation, and method-mark technique. Students who start in Term 3 typically pick up 5–10 marks on their EA versus where they would have landed without intervention.
My child is strong at the calculations but struggles with the modern physics. Is that common?
Very common. Unit 3 is calculation-heavy and rewards students who can grind through algebra. Unit 4 is concept-heavy and rewards students who can hold counter-intuitive ideas (length contraction, wave-particle duality) in their head and apply them. They are nearly different subjects. We diagnose which one is weaker in the first session and target sessions accordingly.
How does tutoring help with IA3 (the research investigation)?
The marks on IA3 are awarded for how well your claim is justified by the evidence you cite, not for how cutting-edge or interesting the topic is. We help with: scoping a claim that is narrow enough to actually defend, identifying credible sources, structuring the analysis section so each piece of evidence connects to the claim, and writing the evaluation section that most students rush. We do not write any of it for you.
How much does Year 12 Physics tutoring cost?
Year 12 Physics is $85 per hour as a senior QCAA subject. Billed weekly for completed sessions, no lock-in. Every new family gets a free trial session with their matched tutor first.
Year 12 Physics.
Done properly.
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