HKDSE Physics is the physics subject within the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, the public exam that Secondary 6 students in Hong Kong sit at the end of senior secondary school. It is not one of the four core subjects every school candidate must take. It is an elective, chosen by students alongside their core subjects, and its content splits into a Compulsory Part every Physics candidate studies and an Elective Part of four units, of which students study two; Paper 2 candidates answer questions on any two.
What is the HKDSE Physics exam part of?
HKDSE Physics is one elective subject inside the wider Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, set by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). Students choose it in Secondary 4 alongside Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Citizenship and Social Development, the four core subjects school candidates sit. Physics competes for a study slot with other electives such as Chemistry, Biology and Combined Science, so a student’s choice usually reflects an interest in the physical sciences or a university course that expects it.
Who typically takes HKDSE Physics?
Students who plan to continue toward engineering or the physical sciences at university commonly pick Physics as one of their electives, alongside classmates simply interested in the subject. It is studied over three years, from Secondary 4 through Secondary 6, following the curriculum set out in the HKDSE Physics Curriculum and Assessment Guide published jointly by the Curriculum Development Council and the HKEAA.
What does the Compulsory Part cover?
The Compulsory Part is five topics that every Physics candidate studies, with no school choice involved:
- Heat and Gases: temperature, heat and internal energy, the three heat-transfer processes, changes of state, and gas behaviour.
- Force and Motion: position and motion, Newton’s laws, projectile motion, work and power, momentum, circular motion and gravitation.
- Wave Motion: the properties that all waves share, the behaviour of light, and sound.
- Electricity and Magnetism: electrostatics, circuits and everyday domestic wiring, and electromagnetism.
- Radioactivity and Nuclear Energy: radiation, radioactivity, the atomic model, and nuclear energy.
These five topics move roughly from everyday physical phenomena toward the more abstract physics of the nucleus, and together they form the largest share of what gets examined.
What does the Elective Part cover, and which units do students study?
Students study two of the four elective units, and Paper 2 candidates answer questions on any two, so no single answer to “what’s in the Elective Part” applies to every student. The four options are:
- Astronomy and Space Science: the universe across different scales, the history of astronomy, orbital motion under gravity, and stars.
- Atomic World: Rutherford’s atomic model, the photoelectric effect, Bohr’s model of the hydrogen atom, wave-particle duality, and physics at the nano scale.
- Energy and Use of Energy: electricity in the home, energy efficiency in buildings and transport, and renewable versus non-renewable sources.
- Medical Physics: how the eye and ear work, and medical imaging using both non-ionizing and ionizing radiation.
Because students study only two of the four units, a student cannot assume their revision will match a friend’s. Confirming which two elective units you are studying is the first thing worth checking before deep revision on the Elective Part begins.
Is the Investigative Study part of the written exam?
No. The curriculum’s tenth component, the Investigative Study in Physics, is assessed within the school-based assessment (20% of the subject mark), alongside required experiments; schools may use an experiment with a detailed report in its place. Private candidates skip SBA.
How does a revision app fit into studying for HKDSE Physics?
Because students study different pairs of elective units, a revision resource is most useful when it covers every topic rather than guessing which pair a given student needs. The RiverMap Learning DSE Physics app covers all five Compulsory Part topics and all four Elective Part units, with 580 original practice questions, 326 flashcards, and a one-page revision note per topic, available in English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese with one-tap switching between them. Each question comes with a written explanation, and calculation questions show the formula, substitution and result step by step rather than just the final number.
Every question, flashcard and note in the app is original, written to align with the publicly available HKDSE Physics Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6) jointly prepared by the Curriculum Development Council and the HKEAA at edb.gov.hk, and none of it is copied from a past paper, marking scheme or textbook. This app is an independent revision aid, not affiliated with or endorsed by the HKEAA, the Education Bureau or the Curriculum Development Council.