HSC PDHPE exam: Take the test

Students and teachers are calling this HSC exam the “easiest” in years, test your skills and see if you would pass.

The Personal Development, Health and Physical Education HSC exam was the easiest in years, students and teachers said after completing the long awaited three hours exam today.

St Patrick’s Marist College in Dundas Year 12 student Enrique Milton, 18, said he was very pleased with the paper.

“I didn’t find it too bad at all, as long as I read the questions correctly,” he said after the exam.

His classmate Serena Biasom, 18, also found it a breeze but some questions in the multiple choice were unexpected.

“I could narrow down the answers to two options so hopefully I chose the right one,” she said.

And for Imani Cogger, 17, said she was able to confidently answer questions on sports medicine and its overuse and also a question on rehab for soft injury tissues in the latter parts of the paper.

“I think the extended responses were a lot nicer, the marks were spread out a bit more between questions,” she said.

SEE THE QUESTIONS BELOW

St Patrick's Marist College students Imani Cogger, Serena Biason, Enrique Milton and Bianca Garth pictured after completing the PDHPE exam. Picture: Toby Zerna

Bianca Garth, 17, said she was comfortable with a question requiring a longer response on soft tissue injuries.

“I just talked about progressive mobilisation, gradual exercise, training and then heat and cold for that. And of course supplying examples from sports including a shoulder injury in tennis whereas for basketball I spoke about a hamstring injury,” she said.

The school’s PE teacher Jared Hornby said he was not surprised the students found it a breeze but said some multiple choice questions required a bit of reading.

“They have worked quite hard so it won’t be surprising if they achieve quite well,” he said.

Students took to social media to thank the NSW Standards Authority for going easy on the 16,739 students who took the exam.

“Why was that PDHPE test so easy,” one wrote.

Veteran physical education teacher Susan Turnbull said the paper was “very fair” but said the multiple choice may have looked simple but could have been difficult for some students to get full marks on.

“The multiple choice often trips the students up, getting 100 per cent is difficult. A lot of my colleagues struggle to get 18/20,” she said.

She has revealed her suggested answers to the first 10 multiple choice questions below. Her suggested answers are below.

1 Which of the following describes the trend in life expectancy at birth in Australia over the last 10 years?

A. Stable

B. Increasing

C. Decreasing

D. No clear trend

2 What type of cancer currently has the highest mortality rate in Australia?

A. Breast

B. Lung

C. Prostate

D. Skin

3 Which of the following is used when performing a proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretch?

A. Isometric contraction and static stretches

B. Isometric contraction and dynamic stretches

C. Isotonic contraction and static stretches

D. Isotonic contraction and dynamic stretches

4 What is the predominant energy system used by an athlete in a 400-metre running event?

A. Aerobic

B. ATP – PC

C. Phosphate

D. Lactic acid

5 Which of the following best describes the nature of the skill demonstrated when a tennis player is receiving a serve from an opponent?

A. Self-paced and open

B. Self-paced and closed

C. Externally paced and open

D. Externally paced and closed

6 For which of the following has there been an increasing mortality rate for both men and women over the past 10 years in Australia?

A. Lung cancer

B. Coronary heart disease

C. Cerebrovascular disease

D. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

7 A golfer is extremely nervous and shaking prior to hitting the ball. She closes her eyes

and pictures herself making a smooth back swing. Which psychological strategy is the golfer using?

A. Focusing

B. Goal setting

C. Visualisation

D. Concentration

8 What could be an advantage for an individual who has private health insurance?

A. The Medicare Safety Net is decreased.

B. The Medicare Levy Surcharge needs to be paid.

C. The cost of some ancillary health services is reduced.

D. The recovery time after elective surgery in a private hospital is decreased.

9 An athlete consistently and accurately passes and controls the ball when under pressure during games. He communicates and interacts positively with his teammates. Which two characteristics of the learner are being demonstrated by this athlete?

A. Ability and personality

B. Heredity and confidence

C. Ability and prior experience

D. Personality and prior experience

10 At the end of a game, a netball coach gives the goal shooter the following feedback.

‘You made a lot of technical errors when shooting today. Next time remember to relax and focus on your wrist action when shooting for goal.’

What type of feedback is being given?

A. Internal

B. Concurrent

C. Knowledge of results

D. Knowledge of performance

ANSWERS:

Q1 B. Increasing

Q2 B. Lung

Q3 C. Isotonic contraction and static stretches

Q4 D. Lactic acid

Q5 C. Externally paced and open

Q6 D. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

Q7 C. Visualisation

Q8 C. The cost of some ancillary health services is reduced.

Q9 C. Ability and prior experience

Q10 D. Knowledge of performance