How Physics Is Tested (Official)
According to the CSCA Physics Exam Syllabus (2025 Edition), the physics exam lasts 60 minutes, carries a maximum score of 100, is offered in Chinese or English, and consists of 48 single-choice questions.
Put those three numbers together and the pace becomes clear: 48 single-choice questions in 60 minutes leaves an average of only 75 seconds per question. In everyday practice, then, you need to train yourself to recognise the tested point quickly, choose the right approach and work out the answer. In the exam itself, you need to know when to move on: if a question stalls you, mark it and skip it for now, saving time for questions you are confident about. Do not spend the marks of the next five easy questions on a single difficult one.
The exam content is divided into five modules: mechanics, electromagnetism, thermal physics, optics and modern physics. A simple way to understand them: mechanics studies how objects move and why they move that way; electromagnetism studies electric charge, electric fields, circuits and magnetic fields; thermal physics studies temperature, heat and gases; optics studies the propagation and imaging of light; and modern physics covers more recent content such as atoms and quanta.
Note that not every candidate has to take physics. Science, engineering and agriculture programmes generally require either physics or chemistry, subject to the requirements of the target institution. So the first step in preparing is not buying books and doing practice questions, but confirming whether the programme you are applying for requires physics: if physics is mandatory, prepare for physics; if chemistry can replace it, weigh up which subject you are more confident in and for which you have enough time. Get this step wrong, and all your later time planning is wasted.
We Counted 4 Past Papers
We collected the physics past papers from four exam sessions: 21 December 2025, 25 January 2026, 15 March and 25 April, 188 questions in total. In the papers we received, the December set was missing 1 question and the March set was missing 3. Four sets of 48 questions should have made 192 questions; these 4 missing questions were not included in the count.
When counting, each question is counted only once, under its main tested point. That is, even if a question requires both force analysis and energy relationships, it is assigned only to its most important tested point and is not counted once in each of two modules. The resulting proportions therefore reflect "what this question mainly tests", not "what knowledge is needed to solve it".
Here are the results:
- Mechanics: 121 questions (about 64%)
- Electromagnetism: 52 questions (about 28%)
- Optics: 8 questions (about 4%)
- Thermal physics: 7 questions (about 4%)
- Modern physics: 0 questions
From this count, mechanics and electromagnetism together make up the vast majority, already more than nine tenths. This does not mean the other modules can be ignored entirely; it only means that when time is limited, securing these nine tenths of the marks first gives the best return on investment.
Mechanics: Nearly Two-Thirds
Mechanics accounts for 121 questions, the largest block across the four past papers and close to two-thirds of all questions. Its breakdown is:
- Kinematics: 40 questions
- Forces and equilibrium: 28 questions
- Work and energy: 22 questions
- Newton's laws: 13 questions
- Momentum: 9 questions
- Oscillations and waves: 9 questions
Kinematics and forces and equilibrium together account for 68 questions, so these are the areas to practise to fluency first. They deserve priority not only because they contain so many questions, but also because Newton's laws, work and energy, and momentum almost all presuppose that you can draw force diagrams and analyse motion: if the force analysis is wrong, the energy and momentum equations will be written incorrectly too, and however simple the question, you will not reach the answer.
Electromagnetism: The Second-Largest Module
Electromagnetism has 52 questions, about 28%, making it the second-largest module.
- Electrostatics: 22 questions
- Circuits: 11 questions
- Electromagnetic induction: 10 questions
- Magnetic fields: 9 questions
Electrostatics alone has 22 questions, the largest share within electromagnetism. When working on these questions, draw a diagram of the electric field and the forces first, then choose the formula; this is usually less error-prone than plugging numbers straight into formulas.
Circuits and electromagnetic induction have 11 and 10 questions respectively, and magnetic fields has 9, so the three are close in number. In other words, apart from electrostatics being clearly more frequent, the rest of electromagnetism is fairly evenly spread. You need to be able to handle the basic questions in all of them; don't practise just one area.
Thermal Physics, Optics, and Modern Physics
- Thermal physics has 7 questions and optics 8; both appear in all four papers, though in small numbers.
- Modern physics is in the syllabus, but it appears in neither the four past papers nor the official sample questions. This does not mean it will not be tested later; you can put it last in your review.
The point that they "appear in all four papers" is worth noting: thermal physics and optics together come to fewer than 20 questions, yet they appeared in all four papers, which shows that these two areas are content you may meet in every exam. Although the question count is small, don't drop them entirely; at least learn to do the basic questions.
Modern physics is different: it is within the syllabus, so you cannot conclude that it will not be tested later; it simply has not appeared in the available materials. For review strategy, you can put it last: first understand the basic concepts and common conclusions, and give priority to mechanics and electromagnetism.
How to Plan Your Review Using These Statistics
Work through your review in the following order:
- Start with kinematics, forces and equilibrium, and work and energy. Together these three areas account for 90 questions and form the main body of the score; they also determine whether you can handle the material that comes later.
- Next, practice electrostatics and Newton's laws. Electrostatics is the largest part of electromagnetism, while Newton's laws are the core of mechanics and the foundation for other mechanics questions.
- Then cover circuits, electromagnetic induction, momentum, magnetic fields, vibrations and waves. These areas have modest question counts, so aim to break through them as a group rather than spreading them out from the start.
- Make sure you can handle basic questions in thermal physics and optics.
- Leave modern physics until last.
Two further points to note:
- Calculators are not allowed in the exam, so all calculation must be done by hand and by estimation. When you practice, avoid the calculator: get used to estimating the order of magnitude first, then calculating precisely, and finally checking your answer by working backward from the options.
- These statistics describe only the past four papers; they are not an official promise about how questions will be set. A sample of four papers and 188 questions is not large, and the question count in each module may vary from session to session, so the modules in steps 3 and 4 cannot be abandoned entirely — they are simply lower priority.
CSCA.PRO's Physics Learning Center organizes explanations and practice by knowledge point, and you can study in this order.