Cambridge HSC study guide
Cambridge HSC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Cambridge Higher School Certificate is a senior secondary qualification built around external, subject-based assessment. Candidates usually take it after a sustained course of study, either at a school that offers Cambridge qualifications or as a private candidate where local regulations allow. The Cambridge HSC study guide has 7 sections and about 2,045 words.
01Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and related subjects)
Biology, Chemistry and Physics papers share one spine: Working Scientifically skills assessed inside the Module 5–8 content - Heredity and Genetic Change, Equilibrium and Acid Reactions, Advanced Mechanics, From the Universe to the Atom, and so on. Expect long responses that ask you to explain a phenomenon using a model, evaluate secondary-source data, or justify an investigation design, plus questions drawn from your depth study.
300 words, about 2 min02Languages (English, French and other modern and heritage languages)
English Advanced and Standard assess a sustained thesis about prescribed texts across Module A (Textual Conversations), Module B (Critical Study of Literature) and Module C (The Craft of Writing). Modern-language courses - French, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and the heritage streams - test listening, reading, speaking and writing through prescribed themes such as the personal world, family, leisure and future plans, using text types like emails, articles, notices and speeches.
297 words, about 1 min03Mathematics and Further Mathematics
Mathematics Standard 2, Mathematics Advanced, Extension 1 and Extension 2 are separate courses with separate papers. Advanced builds on calculus, functions, trigonometry and probability; Extension 1 adds vectors, proof by mathematical induction and combinatorics; Extension 2 adds complex numbers, mechanics and further integration.
317 words, about 2 min04Business, Accounting and Economics
Business Studies examines Operations, Marketing, Finance and Human Resources through the syllabus pattern of influences, processes and strategies, with extended responses requiring a real case-study business. Economics covers the global economy, Australia's place in it, economic issues - growth, inflation, unemployment, distribution - and economic policies and management, tested with stimulus data.
287 words, about 1 min05Humanities and Social Sciences (History, Geography, Sociology, Political Science)
Modern History tests source analysis and argument across the core study, a national study, and peace-and-conflict topics. Geography examines ecosystems at risk, urban places and economic activity, using fieldwork-style data.
274 words, about 1 min06Technical and Vocational subjects (Design and Technology, Computer Science, applied studies)
Design and Technology assesses a Major Design Project and its folio alongside a written paper on design theory, innovation and the impact of technology. Engineering Studies, Software Design and Development and IPT test applied principles and problem-solving.
282 words, about 1 min07Creative and Performing Arts (Art and Design, Music, Drama)
Visual Arts combines a Body of Work with a written paper on art criticism and art history, framed by the conceptual framework - artist, artwork, world, audience - and the four frames: subjective, cultural, structural, postmodern. Music 1 and 2 test performance, composition, musicology and aural skills.
288 words, about 1 min