Four study designs run the VCE sciences, and most students meet them only as a chapter list in a textbook. The documents themselves say more: what each unit is asking, how the study score is weighted (not the same in Physics as in the other three), what the exam may examine (everything in Units 3 and 4 plus the key science skills), how long it is, and when the design expires. This page is the four VCAA study designs for Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology set out side by side, with a printable summary.
Download the VCE science study designs summary (PDF) (the four studies with every unit and area of study, the SAC weightings and exam conditions, the accreditation periods, and the examinable skills; two pages, free).
The four at a glance
| Study | Accreditation | Unit 3 SACs | Unit 4 SACs | Examination | Current version of the design |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | 2022 to 2026 | 20% | 30% | 50%, 2.5 hours | 1.2, April 2026 |
| Chemistry | Units 1 and 2 from 2023; Units 3 and 4 from 2024; to 2027 | 20% | 30% | 50%, 2.5 hours | 2023 design (file updated February 2026) |
| Physics | Units 1 and 2 from 2023; Units 3 and 4 from 2024; to 2027 | 30% | 20% | 50%, 2.5 hours | 2023 design (file updated October 2025) |
| Psychology | 2023 to 2027 | 20% | 30% | 50%, 2.5 hours | 2023 design (file updated October 2025) |
The examination in each is set by a VCAA panel, marked by VCAA assessors, sat at the end of the year on a date the VCAA publishes annually, and covers all the key knowledge of Units 3 and 4 and the key science skills. Each unit is at least 50 hours of class time; the designs require a minimum of ten hours of practical work across Areas of Study 1 and 2 of each unit and seven hours for the student investigation in Areas of Study 3.
Biology: 2022 to 2026
| Unit | Area of Study 1 | Area of Study 2 | Area of Study 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. How do organisms regulate their functions? | How do cells function? | How do plant and animal systems function? | How do scientific investigations develop understanding of how organisms regulate their functions? |
| 2. How does inheritance impact on diversity? | How is inheritance explained? | How do inherited adaptations impact on diversity? | How do humans use science to explore and communicate contemporary bioethical issues? |
| 3. How do cells maintain life? | What is the role of nucleic acids and proteins in maintaining life? | How are biochemical pathways regulated? | |
| 4. How does life change and respond to challenges? | How do organisms respond to pathogens? | How are species related over time? | How is scientific inquiry used to investigate cellular processes and/or biological change? |
Unit 3 is the molecular half: DNA, RNA, protein synthesis and the tools of gene technology, then photosynthesis and cellular respiration as regulated biochemical pathways with enzymes. Unit 4 is immunity (the innate and adaptive responses, vaccination, immunotherapy), evolution (genetic change, speciation, the evidence from fossils and molecular homology, human change over time), and the student-designed investigation, which may be on anything in Units 3 or 4. The exam is 2.5 hours and carries data-analysis and experimental-design questions from the key science skills every year.
The 2022 to 2026 period ends with the 2026 Year 12 cohort. As of October 2026 the VCAA has not published a replacement study design; it announces changes to accredited studies only in the VCAA Bulletin, so a student starting Units 3 and 4 in 2027 should check it in Term 4 of 2026.
Chemistry: Units 1 and 2 from 2023, Units 3 and 4 from 2024
| Unit | Area of Study 1 | Area of Study 2 | Area of Study 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. How can the diversity of materials be explained? | How do the chemical structures of materials explain their properties and reactions? | How are materials quantified and classified? | How can chemical principles be applied to create a more sustainable future? |
| 2. How do chemical reactions shape the natural world? | How do chemicals interact with water? | How are chemicals measured and analysed? | How do quantitative scientific investigations develop our understanding of chemical reactions? |
| 3. How can design and innovation help to optimise chemical processes? | What are the current and future options for supplying energy? | How can the rate and yield of chemical reactions be optimised? | |
| 4. How are carbon-based compounds designed for purpose? | How are organic compounds categorised and synthesised? | How are organic compounds analysed and used? | How is scientific inquiry used to investigate the sustainable production of energy and/or materials? |
Unit 3 is energy (fuels, combustion, galvanic and fuel cells, electrolysis) and reaction optimisation (rates, equilibrium, Le Chatelier, the industrial compromise). Unit 4 is organic chemistry (naming, isomers, reaction pathways, synthesis), analysis (spectroscopy, chromatography, volumetric analysis) and the medicinal and food chemistry of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, plus the investigation. The exam is 2.5 hours with the VCAA data book (2026 version 2, February 2026) provided.
Physics: Units 1 and 2 from 2023, Units 3 and 4 from 2024
| Unit | Area of Study 1 | Area of Study 2 | Area of Study 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. How is energy useful to society? | How are light and heat explained? | How is energy from the nucleus utilised? | How can electricity be used to transfer energy? |
| 2. How does physics help us to understand the world? | How is motion understood? | Options: How does physics inform contemporary issues and applications in society? | How do physicists investigate questions? |
| 3. How do fields explain motion and electricity? | How do physicists explain motion in two dimensions? | How do things move without contact? | How are fields used in electricity generation? |
| 4. How have creative ideas and investigation revolutionised thinking in physics? | How has understanding about the physical world changed? | How is scientific inquiry used to investigate fields, motion or light? |
Note the weighting: Physics is the one science where Unit 3 SACs carry 30 percent and Unit 4 SACs 20 percent. Unit 3 is Newtonian motion in two dimensions (projectiles, circular motion, momentum, energy), the three fields (gravitational, electric, magnetic) and electromagnetic induction, transformers and transmission. Unit 4 is light and matter (waves, interference, the photoelectric effect, matter waves, the atom) and special relativity, with the student investigation into fields, motion or light. The exam is 2.5 hours with the VCAA formula sheet (February 2026) provided.
Psychology: 2023 to 2027
| Unit | Area of Study 1 | Area of Study 2 | Area of Study 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. How are behaviour and mental processes shaped? | What influences psychological development? | How are mental processes and behaviour influenced by the brain? | How does contemporary psychology conduct and validate psychological research? |
| 2. How do internal and external factors influence behaviour and mental processes? | How are people influenced to behave in particular ways? | What influences a person's perception of the world? | How do scientific investigations develop understanding of influences on perception and behaviour? |
| 3. How does experience affect behaviour and mental processes? | How does the nervous system enable psychological functioning? | How do people learn and remember? | |
| 4. How is mental wellbeing supported and maintained? | How does sleep affect mental processes and behaviour? | What influences mental wellbeing? | How is scientific inquiry used to investigate mental processes and psychological functioning? |
Unit 3 is the nervous system and stress, then learning (classical and operant conditioning, observational learning, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander approaches to learning) and memory (the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, the brain regions, mnemonics). Unit 4 is sleep (the circadian and ultradian rhythms, sleep across the lifespan, sleep deprivation and disorders) and mental wellbeing (the biopsychosocial model, specific phobia, protective factors, cultural determinants), with the investigation. The exam is 2.5 hours.
What the four have in common, and what it means for the year
- The exam is half, and the SACs are moderated to it. Each study's SAC scores are statistically moderated to the school's exam results, so the exam decides the level of the whole study score. The study score page has the mechanism.
- The key science skills are examinable in every study. Developing aims and questions, planning investigations, controlled and uncontrolled variables, accuracy and precision, uncertainty and error, analysing and evaluating data, drawing conclusions consistent with evidence. Every exam asks them; every examination report says students lose marks on them.
- The Unit 4 investigation is both SAC and exam preparation. The poster or report is the SAC; the method it teaches is the exam's data questions.
- The documents are the source. The study design PDF or Word file on the VCAA site is the only official statement of the content, and the VCAA Bulletin the only official channel for changes; textbooks follow both, sometimes a year late. Read the Unit 3 and 4 pages of the study design once, in January, with the examination specifications beside them.
How we teach the VCE sciences
1-on-1 online in Melbourne's after-school hours, with the study design's key knowledge list as the syllabus (not a textbook's chapter list), each area of study finished with its questions from the past exams, and the key science skills practised on the student's own SAC investigation. The first 30-minute class is free; send the study and the last SAC on WhatsApp or the contact page. The papers are in VCE past exams, the English and mathematics designs in VCE English and mathematics study designs, and the city page is Melbourne.
Download the VCE science study designs summary (PDF)
Sources: VCAA, VCE Biology Study Design 2022 to 2026 (version 1.2, April 2026); VCE Chemistry Study Design, Units 1 and 2 2023, Units 3 and 4 2024; VCE Physics Study Design, Units 1 and 2 2023, Units 3 and 4 2024; VCE Psychology Study Design 2023; the VCAA's 2026 VCE study designs list (accreditation periods); read on 25 October 2026.
Questions parents ask
1What is the current VCE Biology study design?
2How is the VCE Chemistry study score weighted?
3What are the areas of study in VCE Physics Units 3 and 4?
4What is the student-designed scientific investigation in VCE science?
See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →
Shobha
Founder and lead tutor, Science with Shobha
Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.