Physics Teacher License Test Content: 8 Domains, 18 Standards and Weights
Content of the physics teacher license test: the eight domains and weights (mechanics 22%, electricity and magnetism 22%), all 18 standards, ETEC's question style and the kinds of equations.
- Questions and time
- 88 questions · 120 minutes (two hours) for the paper test, per ETEC's FAQ
- Pass mark
- 50%
- Exam fee
- SAR 100 for the specialized test
Start with 10 free questions to find what needs more work. No sign-up, with answer explanations.
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Start with 10 free questions to find what needs more work. No sign-up, with answer explanations.
Try 10 free questions and see your levelLast verified: 30 October 2026. Our sources are the candidate guide for the Teachers' Professional License test in Physics and the physics teacher standards, both published by the Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) (1441 AH / 2020 edition; the latest edition, and the guide is a trial edition). This guide is independent: it is not affiliated with ETEC, Qiyas (the National Center for Assessment), the Ministry of Education or any government body.
In short: the physics test covers 18 standards in eight domains. Mechanics and Fluids is 22% and Electrostatics, Current Electricity and Magnetism is 22%, so two domains hold 44% of the questions, followed by Modern and Nuclear Physics at 14% and Waves and Light at 12%. Physics has a single test, with no Level 1 and Level 2 as in mathematics and science.
One physics test
ETEC publishes one guide and one standards document for physics, unlike mathematics and science, which have two guides for two levels. Physics teachers serve the secondary stage, according to the Ministry of Education's guide to specialisations for teaching posts (1445 AH).
Test format
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Number of questions | 88 questions |
| Question type | Multiple choice with four options; each question measures one indicator of one standard |
| Duration | 120 minutes (two hours) |
| Delivery | Paper or computer depending on the subject, shown in your profile |
| Language | Arabic |
| Calculator | Not allowed |
| Scoring | Criterion-referenced; wrong answers carry no penalty |
| Score levels | 50 Practitioner Teacher, 70 Advanced Teacher, 80 and above Expert Teacher (Professional License Regulations, Article 4) |
The eight domains and their weights
These weights come from the figure and the table on pages 6 and 7 of the candidate guide.
| Domain | Official weight | Standards | Questions out of 88 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature and History of Physics, Links to Other Sciences and the Scientific Method | 6% | 3 | 5 |
| Practical Work, Mathematical and Statistical Skills | 6% | 2 | 5 |
| Mechanics and Fluids | 22% | 2 | 20 |
| Heat, Properties of Matter and Thermodynamics | 10% | 2 | 9 |
| Electrostatics, Current Electricity and Magnetism | 22% | 3 | 19 |
| Waves and Light | 12% | 2 | 11 |
| Modern and Nuclear Physics | 14% | 2 | 12 |
| Physics Teaching Strategies, Skills and Assessment | 8% | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 100% | 18 | 88 |
Each question measures one indicator, and the test does not have to cover every indicator.
All 18 standards, one by one
Standard names follow the standards document, and the "What it tests" column is our summary of its indicators.
Nature and History of Physics, Links to Other Sciences and the Scientific Method (6%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.1 | Nature of science and the history of physics | Nature of science and its revisability, contributions of Islamic and other civilizations, and fact vs concept vs law vs theory |
| 6.6.2 | The scientific method, its ethics and applications | The scientific method, identifying and controlling variables, measurement accuracy and sources of error, research ethics |
| 6.6.16 | Physics and other sciences; applications in life | How physics relates to mathematics and other sciences, and its uses in medicine, engineering, astronomy and daily life |
Practical Work, Mathematical and Statistical Skills (6%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.3 | Practical work and laboratory safety | Laboratory safety and first aid, using instruments correctly and reading measuring tools |
| 6.6.4 | Mathematical and statistical skills | Reading graphs, vectors, dimensional analysis and unit conversion, statistics, and calculus in physics |
Mechanics and Fluids (22%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.5 | Forces and motion | Motion in one and two dimensions and projectiles, Newton's laws, momentum, energy and collisions, circular motion, torque and equilibrium, gravitation |
| 6.6.6 | Fluids | Buoyancy and Archimedes' principle, the continuity equation, Bernoulli's equation, Pascal's principle, pressure and viscosity, cohesion and adhesion |
Heat, Properties of Matter and Thermodynamics (10%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.7 | Properties of matter | Hooke's law, stress and strain, states of matter, crystal structure of solids, thermal and electrical conduction in materials |
| 6.6.11 | Heat and thermodynamics | Heat, temperature and heat transfer, heat capacity and specific heat, the ideal gas and gas laws, the laws of thermodynamics |
Electrostatics, Current Electricity and Magnetism (22%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.8 | Electrostatics | Coulomb's law, the electric field and its link to force, electric potential and energy |
| 6.6.9 | Electric current and circuits | Current and potential difference, resistance, series and parallel circuits and Ohm's law, capacitors, Kirchhoff's laws |
| 6.6.10 | Magnetism and electromagnetism | Magnetic force on charges and currents, the magnetic field, electromagnetic induction, generators and transformers, Maxwell's equations |
Waves and Light (12%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.12 | Waves and oscillations | Simple harmonic motion and waves, the wave equation, sound, superposition, interference, standing waves and beats, the Doppler effect |
| 6.6.13 | Light | The wave nature of light, reflection and refraction, mirrors and lenses, interference, diffraction and polarization |
Modern and Nuclear Physics (14%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.14 | Modern physics | Special relativity, the electromagnetic spectrum, atomic models and energy levels, the photoelectric effect, de Broglie wavelength, quantum mechanics principles |
| 6.6.15 | Nuclear and radiation physics | Nuclear structure, types of radiation and radioactivity, half-life, fission and fusion, nuclear energy, radiation protection |
Physics Teaching Strategies, Skills and Assessment (8%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.17 | Core skills for teaching physics and current trends in science education | Trends in science education (STEM, STS), technology and simulations, simplifying concepts with models, misconceptions, types of thinking, international assessments |
| 6.6.18 | Physics teaching methods and assessment | Teaching methods (projects, problem solving, demonstrations and experiments), levels of inquiry, managing learning, varied assessment, problem-solving strategies |
Question style in ETEC's guide
The guide shows ten sample questions with the reasoning behind each answer, then twenty-five practice questions with an answer key linking each question to its standard and indicator. From them we can see the patterns of the test:
- Direct concepts: "A scientific guess that can be tested is a..." and the answer is a hypothesis. Also telling fact, law and theory apart.
- Short calculations: integrating a given acceleration to find speed, free fall, how gravitational force changes when the distance doubles, a spring's stretch under Hooke's law, and potential difference from field strength and distance.
- Reading graphs: a velocity-time graph, a pressure-volume diagram, and the waveform after rectification in an electric circuit.
- Teaching questions: which method best suits an inquiry activity, and which misconceptions are common (such as heavier objects falling faster); these belong to the Physics Teaching Strategies and Assessment domain.
ETEC itself notes that the guide's examples do not cover every aspect of the test and do not reflect the difficulty of the real questions.
The kinds of equations you need to master
The test has no calculator, so you need to know the equation and substitute easy numbers. This table does not list everything in the syllabus; it gives examples of the kind of equation in each domain:
| Domain | Example equations |
|---|---|
| Motion, forces and energy | v = v_0 + at, F = ma, F = G\dfrac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}, W = \Delta K |
| Fluids | \dfrac{F_1}{A_1} = \dfrac{F_2}{A_2}, A_1 v_1 = A_2 v_2, F_B = \rho g V |
| Properties of matter and heat | F = kx, Q = mc\Delta T, PV = nRT, \Delta U = Q - W |
| Electricity and magnetism | V = Ed, V = IR, F = qvB, F = BIL, \dfrac{V_s}{V_p} = \dfrac{N_s}{N_p} |
| Waves and light | v = f\lambda, n = \dfrac{\sin\theta_1}{\sin\theta_2}, \dfrac{1}{f} = \dfrac{1}{u} + \dfrac{1}{v} |
| Modern and nuclear physics | E = hf, K_{max} = hf - \phi, \lambda = \dfrac{h}{p}, N = N_0\left(\dfrac{1}{2}\right)^{t/T} |
How to use this table when you study
- Start with the free questions to see which domains are weakest for you.
- Order your time by weight: mechanics and fluids and electricity and magnetism first (44%), then modern and nuclear physics. The eight-week plan is built on these weights.
- Do not neglect the small domains. Practical work and mathematical skills, the nature and history of physics, and physics teaching together are 20% of the questions (about 17).
- Practise calculating without a calculator, and reading graphs.
Your score on our questions is an estimate of readiness, not an official result. Each unit in unit practice is one of these eight domains, so if the free questions show a weakness in electricity or modern physics, you can practise that domain on its own.
Finished reading? Try a set of questions
Start with 10 free questions to find your weakest units. Keep practising with the full question bank and mock exams from SAR 26.
Sources and references
- ETEC – Professional License Test for Educational Professions (dates, scoring, FAQ and e-services) etec.gov.sa
- ETEC – Candidate guide for Physics teachers (2020 trial edition): domains, weights and sample questions media.etec.gov.sa
- ETEC – Subject standards for Physics teachers (1441 AH / 2020) media.etec.gov.sa
- ETEC – Professional License Regulations for Educational Jobs (1445 AH revision) media.etec.gov.sa