How much of prelim chemistry and physics is tested in the hsc? Which specific prelim topics/concepts are needed to understand the content in year 12? (1 Viewer)

[Vdog]

A bit behind on the prelim course for both physics and chemistry, and I'm trying to catch up as quickly as possible. I was wondering which topics/concepts I should focus on the most, as I know that not everything in prelim is relevant to the HSC. Any help would be greatly appreciated because y12 starts soon and I do not want to fall behind for that too.

 

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

I've finished Mod 5 recently so I can give my brief understanding. The year 11 physics content is not directly assessed however it is assumed knowledge, if markers throw a problem for say about Non Uniform Circular Motion, they would expect you to use law of conservation of energy to solve the problem naturally however you wouldn't cover that in Advanced Mechanics at all as you would've been expected to have learnt it from dynamics. I've seen other modules and they follow this same pattern of assuming knowledge from Year 11 so in that sense the workload for these modules are heavily reduced if you're already strong with Year 11 concepts (especially for the first module, its literally just an extension of dynamics).

If you're relatively decent at Year 11 physics then I really doubt its going to put constraints - however it is most optimal to have a mastery of Year 11 concepts before so you spend less time struggling. The only concepts that are not tested in the slight bit are Thermodynamics and Circuits, the rest of the content is assumed knowledge really. I'm sure someone else in their HSC can elaborate but thats how I'm feeling for Year 12 physics so far, pretty sure on NESA it states Year 11 Physics is assumed knowledge also, so theres that?

 

[specificagent1]

I can't speak for physics, but for chemistry it is not directly assessed rather it is assumed knowledge required to understand content or to solve a step of a particular question.

 

[CM_Tutor]

Stoichiometry and energy questions certainly show up in some HSC and trial papers from prelim chemistry... and it's all assumed knowledge

 

[jazz519]

I made a post about this before for things you need to know from Year 11 going into Year 12:

Chemistry New Syllabus Advice / Sample Answers by an Experienced HSC Tutor

Hi seeing as there are not many resources for the new syllabus or people who actually know the syllabus properly, feel free to post questions you have regarding the new syllabus. It could be things like what to expect or actual exam questions or homework problems you are having trouble with and...

boredofstudies.org

The one thing I didn't include in it is for Module 4, you need to know about Gibbs free energy, the calculations, interpretation and link to entropy and enthalpy as well.

This is the bare minimum, but there are other things that are helpful to know in general knowledge for better understanding of concepts.

 

[tito981]

As jazz has posted for chemistry.
For physics you will need most of the knowledge in module 1, except you dont really get tested on the graph from kinematics and you dont do the vector resolution question.
For mod 2, no impulse and inelastic/elastic collision questions are tested, everything else is assumed knowledge and required in solving questions throughout all the modules.
For mod 3, you will need to know the theory side of waves, this is because in mod 8 you basically learn about the history of different models of light, you dont need to know the calculations though (none of the equations in page 43 of the hsc physics syllabus are tested, only dopplers law is used in explainations). For thermodynamics you dont need to know any of it.
For mod 4, the electrostatics dot point is all needed and the magnetism dot point (no magnetism equations needed), you dont get tested for circuit at all (you just need to know basic info like direction of current from a power pack).

 

[fishytakoyaki]

I've finished Mod 5 recently so I can give my brief understanding. The year 11 physics content is not directly assessed however it is assumed knowledge, if markers throw a problem for say about Non Uniform Circular Motion, they would expect you to use law of conservation of energy to solve the problem naturally however you wouldn't cover that in Advanced Mechanics at all as you would've been expected to have learnt it from dynamics. I've seen other modules and they follow this same pattern of assuming knowledge from Year 11 so in that sense the workload for these modules are heavily reduced if you're already strong with Year 11 concepts (especially for the first module, its literally just an extension of dynamics).

If you're relatively decent at Year 11 physics then I really doubt its going to put constraints - however it is most optimal to have a mastery of Year 11 concepts before so you spend less time struggling. The only concepts that are not tested in the slight bit are Thermodynamics and Circuits, the rest of the content is assumed knowledge really. I'm sure someone else in their HSC can elaborate but thats how I'm feeling for Year 12 physics so far, pretty sure on NESA it states Year 11 Physics is assumed knowledge also, so theres that?

by assumed knowledge- do you mean they ask questions about the year 11 modules or do the questions just utilize the concepts from the year 11 modules?

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

A bit behind on the prelim course for both physics and chemistry, and I'm trying to catch up as quickly as possible. I was wondering which topics/concepts I should focus on the most, as I know that not everything in prelim is relevant to the HSC. Any help would be greatly appreciated because y12 starts soon and I do not want to fall behind for that too.

For Physics/Math, HSC questions may start by getting you to calculate something from the preliminary course or you may need to do something using a prelim method and a HSC method and compare results, or you may simply need to understand a fundamental principle from the prelim course in order to even set up one of the questions. Physics/Math are highly cumulative, so many questions can require content from a mix of modules 1-4 and 5-8.

If you're behind, it's always better to start with basics before you try to move on, physics/math can become very confusing if you're bad at fundamentals.

 

[Luukas]

by assumed knowledge- do you mean they ask questions about the year 11 modules or do the questions just utilize the concepts from the year 11 modules?

Year 11 content can be covered in year 12 exams so long as the overall question is based in a year 12 module.

For chemistry, module 4 (energy) questions can be asked as (say) delta H calculations for an acid/base reaction (module 6) or entropy and delta G in a dissolution system (module 5) or about a fuel (module 7 / 8). Stoichiometry (module 2) can be applied to any year 12 system. Structure and bonding (module 1) can be asked as properties of organic substances (module 7), say.

If an examiner really wants to test some part of the prelim course, they can generally find a way to ask in within a year 12 module context, I think.

 

[fishytakoyaki]

Year 11 content can be covered in year 12 exams so long as the overall question is based in a year 12 module.

For chemistry, module 4 (energy) questions can be asked as (say) delta H calculations for an acid/base reaction (module 6) or entropy and delta G in a dissolution system (module 5) or about a fuel (module 7 / 8). Stoichiometry (module 2) can be applied to any year 12 system. Structure and bonding (module 1) can be asked as properties of organic substances (module 7), say.

If an examiner really wants to test some part of the prelim course, they can generally find a way to ask in within a year 12 module context, I think.

thank you. do u know what all is carried over for phy or eco?

 

[fishytakoyaki]

I've finished Mod 5 recently so I can give my brief understanding. The year 11 physics content is not directly assessed however it is assumed knowledge, if markers throw a problem for say about Non Uniform Circular Motion, they would expect you to use law of conservation of energy to solve the problem naturally however you wouldn't cover that in Advanced Mechanics at all as you would've been expected to have learnt it from dynamics. I've seen other modules and they follow this same pattern of assuming knowledge from Year 11 so in that sense the workload for these modules are heavily reduced if you're already strong with Year 11 concepts (especially for the first module, its literally just an extension of dynamics).

If you're relatively decent at Year 11 physics then I really doubt its going to put constraints - however it is most optimal to have a mastery of Year 11 concepts before so you spend less time struggling. The only concepts that are not tested in the slight bit are Thermodynamics and Circuits, the rest of the content is assumed knowledge really. I'm sure someone else in their HSC can elaborate but thats how I'm feeling for Year 12 physics so far, pretty sure on NESA it states Year 11 Physics is assumed knowledge also, so theres that?

do you know more now about if the prelim modules can be tested in the hsc??

 

[tgone]

do you know more now about if the prelim modules can be tested in the hsc??

from what i can remember barely any prelim-specific (thermo, waves, circuits etc) is tested in the hsc, its just assumed knowledge for yr12 syllabus content.

as has been said above, its not specifically tested but all of it is assumed knowledge as part of any mod 5-8 questions (e.g. perhaps if a theory of light models question was asking about transverse vs longitudinal waves and polarisation or something)

to be very clear, they only write questions on the year 12 content but these may use concepts that you are assumed to have learnt in year 11.

 

[Luukas]

thank you. do u know what all is carried over for phy or eco?

It's the same as Chem in Maths and Physics and Biology - prelim material is examinable so long as the overall context is year 12 content... which is consistent with the idea of assumed knowledge, too.

I can't comment on Economics, sorry.

 

[tgone]

It's the same as Chem in Maths and Physics and Biology - prelim material is examinable so long as the overall context is year 12 content... which is consistent with the idea of assumed knowledge, too.

I can't comment on Economics, sorry.

i am about 93% sure that maths is different and they can test specifically on year 11 content (eg perms/combs in ext1 year 11), but yeah for everything else that's correct

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

thank you. do u know what all is carried over for phy or eco?

Sorry to break it to you, but pretty much all of prelim in both Econ and Phys are prerequisite information.

Modules 1/2/4 for physics are all quite important as most hsc modules build on these, all modules from economics are important because your short response and essay answers should include reference to all concepts covered (in every module including basic modules - for econ never use a complicated concept when a simple one will do).

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

It's the same as Chem in Maths and Physics and Biology - prelim material is examinable so long as the overall context is year 12 content... which is consistent with the idea of assumed knowledge, too.

I can't comment on Economics, sorry.

Math can test content from anywhere in either course including year 7-10 basics if they wish. This is how the math exams have always worked and will always work as math is a cumulative subject.