Grade 12 past papers

Grade 12 Physical Sciences past papers and memos

Download all 119 Grade 12 Physical Sciences past papers and memos as free PDFs, 2014 to 2026, straight from the departments that set them.

Papers
119
Years
2014 to 2026
Exams
November (Term 4), September (Term 3), May/June (Term 2), Feb/March (Term 1)
Format
Free PDF, with memos

Download Grade 12 Physical Sciences past papers and memos

Newest first. The memo sits on the same row as the paper it belongs to, so you do not have to go looking for it.

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

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2016

2015

2014

Grade 12 Physical Sciences exam guidelines

What is in Paper 1 and Paper 2, and what each topic is worth.

The topics, the marks and the time you get, from the Department of Basic Education's examination guidelines for Physical Sciences. Know this before you sit down with a paper and you will know what a good mark should feel like.

A ± means it is the weighting the examiners work towards rather than a fixed part of the paper, so a sitting lands a few marks either side of it.

Paper 1: Physics

150 marks, 3 hours

Mechanics
±65 marks
Waves, sound and light
±15 marks
Electricity and magnetism
±55 marks
Matter and materials
±15 marks

Paper 2: Chemistry

150 marks, 3 hours

Chemical change
±92 marks
Matter and materials
±58 marks

How hard is Grade 12 Physical Sciences?

Out of every 10 learners who wrote Physical Sciences, about 5 got 40% or more.

205 017 learners wrote Physical Sciences in 2025. 7 of the 9 subjects on this site are passed more often than this one.

Use that when you mark your own paper. Under 30% is a fail. 30% to 39% is a pass, but it shuts you out of most courses after school. 40% and up means you did better than about half the country.

National Physical Sciences results, 2021 to 2025
YearWrote the examGot 30% or moreGot 40% or more
2025205 01777.3%50.1%
2024200 71575.6%49.9%
2023206 39976.2%51.1%
2022209 00474.6%49.7%
2021196 96869%44.8%

National results for the October and November papers, from the Department of Basic Education's 2025 NSC Diagnostic Report.

All Grade 12 subjectsWhen each paper is written

Grade 12 Physical Sciences past paper questions

NB
NavyBlue Editorial Team
Higher Education Content
Published Updated Verified against DBE and provincial education department papers

Had enough for now? Try today's puzzle.

Today's puzzle pulls from Physical Sciences and everything else you have covered. Four tries, about two minutes, and one group is always a trick.

Play the Grade 12 puzzle