This is not that much harder than physics 1, so if you are eligible for this subject, I recommend it. The cohort is self-selecting, and pretty smart, so tutors and lecturers seem to respect you and this subject does not feel patronising in the slightest. Other reviews have perfectly summarised what I suspect to be the main differences between this and physics 1, and David Jamieson was indeed funny and charismatic. Plenty of resources, i.e. challenging problems, exams, and their solutions were provided which were really nice for those who enjoy the grind (trust me it's cathartic at times). The only reason why I can't give 5 stars is that the labs, a major component, were a little shaky at times. The onsite labs were really stressful and you got 2.5 hours to do 2-4 experiments and note down a full lab report, while online labs seemed to have one or two experiments in 24h, and reports generally scored higher, which was concerning. I hope they did end up scaling accordingly. The apparatus in the onsite lab were sometimes broken and dodgy other times, adding to the stress, but our lab helpers were nice and reassuring. Labs were also a bit stressful since sometimes you took labs on concepts you weren't taught yet in order to "get the feeling of discovering something". While I understand the intention, it just rewarded people doing extra homework and learning the concepts in advance. Doing labs on non-examinable concepts like polarization was admittedly cool though. All that said, I still recommend doing the onsite labs if you can, while stressful, they were a strictly positive outcome.

The core content covered in advanced physics is similar to the standard steam. What separates the two is a greater emphasis on derivations and challenging concepts. The tutorial problems and exams are difficult but enlightening. It is definitely a jump from the high school 'plugging numbers' physics. Many questions require you to examine from both a mathematical and physical perspective. David Jamieson who taught the subject was funny and charismatic. Lab component was just alright, sometimes it did get hard and stressful. If you do not have a strong passion for physics the standard steam may suit you better.

It is really worth thinking about whether or not you really are passionate about physics before you choose to do this subject. Many people who excel in VCE physics will have a very different experience here and will struggle with difficulty of the subject (imagine no more basic maths problems, a lot more conceptual problems without the aid of a cheatsheet, a lot more pracs, and any other difficulty that comes with the jump from high school to uni). The lectures are interesting and well taught with some cool demonstrations. The labs can be interesting, but are more often stressful, and a lot can depend on how helpful your demonstrator is and how tough their marking is. Problem-solving classes seem to be a waste of time, with the tutor seeming to go off on a tangent for half the session, best to do those questions once the worked solutions are available.

Quite fun subject, exam is pretty hard though. Just hope that you get a good teacher at laboratory in the start since bad one will not give you enough feedback to improve on your report or talks too much prelab

A very in-depth look at some fundamental physics concepts and a fantastic course for those who are passionate about the field and inspired to learn everything they can about it. While you don't get any extra credits for it being an 'advanced' subject, it's worth doing if you really really love physics. The practicals, while a little shaky and disorganised to start, were a fantastic place to learn new concepts in an experimental fashion. The lectures were well delivered and the content well explained. The online assignment tools are great, and forgiving for those little mistakes you make along the way. They also house a plethora of practice questions to help you keep on top of the concepts covered in lectures. For students not strong in physics, I recommend doing one of the other streams, but for those who have a definite, burning passion for physics, Advances 1 is the subject for you!

Really interesting subject with great lectures and coursework. Do if able