TCE Physics: TASC Level 4, four 45-mark exam sections and the award rules

What the course assesses

Physics Level 4 has eight criteria. The first four, covering planning and organising, experiments, collecting and communicating information, and the application of physics in society, are internal. The last four are examined, and the exam gives each its own section.

The course document notes that it is highly recommended to have completed Physical Sciences Level 3 first. Our Laws of Motion course and Electricity course cover groundwork for sections A and B.

How the exam is set out

The external assessment specifications describe a written exam of three hours, with 15 minutes of extra preparation time during which you can take notes on the paper provided and highlight key words in the booklet. There are four sections, each worth 45 marks and designed to take about 45 minutes, with between five and seven compulsory questions. All criteria are assessed numerically out of 45. You may use the Physics Information Sheet and a TASC-approved calculator.

The specifications also say that marks match time, so a 10-mark question is designed for around ten minutes. Some extended questions are set in non-routine contexts, where you must combine and choose skills in an unfamiliar situation, and others use routine contexts. The exam includes a balance of short and extended responses.

Worked examples

Field strength at altitude

What is the gravitational field strength at a height of 400 km above Earth? With G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N m² kg⁻², M = 5.97 × 10²⁴ kg and a distance from the centre of 6.78 × 10⁶ m (take the constants from your information sheet):

That is about 88% of the value at the surface, so astronauts in the Space Station are not weightless because gravity is absent, but because they are in free fall. That sort of explanation is what extended-response marks reward.

A closed pipe

A closed pipe has its fundamental when the pipe length is a quarter of the wavelength. For a 0.20 m pipe, λ = 4 × 0.20 = 0.80 m, and with the speed of sound 340 m s⁻¹, f = v ÷ λ = 340 ÷ 0.80 = 425 Hz. Sketch the standing wave in the pipe, marking where the air does not move and where it moves most, to secure the explanation marks.

Practise a motion question, then press Mark:

Awards and ratings

TASC combines 12 ratings (8 internal, 4 external) to decide the award. The minimum requirements are:

Because each exam section is its own criterion, a weak section does not drag down the whole paper. It shows up as one lower rating. Ratings of A, B, C, t or z are decided by TASC against the standards in the course document.

ATAR and results

Level 3 and Level 4 results count for the ATAR, which uses your best results over two years of senior study. Eligibility needs the TCE and at least Satisfactory Achievement in four TASC Level 3 or 4 courses or equivalent. Results are released on Wednesday 16 December 2026.

Dates

Use the daily paper as a trial

Providers set their own trial exams, and TASC posts past papers and assessment reports on the course page. The free daily paper on the Year 12 Physics track is a short timed trial: 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, marked as you go. It is not a TASC exam.

• It fits: circular motion, gravitational fields, electric and magnetic fields, electromagnetic induction and radioactivity all appear in its rotation.
• It does not fit: capacitors and thermal physics are not named among the criteria, and there is no information sheet, so keep the TASC one next to you.
• The Year 11 Physics paper keeps Section A skills fresh.

Exam answers

Answers and a worked mark scheme arrive with each daily paper once it has been marked. They are Uni-Sine's own and are not TASC solutions.

Mistakes in TCE Physics

• Spending 20 minutes on a 10-mark question. The mark allocation is a time guide.
• Using the height as the distance in the gravitational field formula.
• Describing weightlessness as zero gravity.
• Leaving out a diagram when a standing wave is asked for.

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