NYS Physics Reference Tables · 2025 Edition

The Reference Tables for Physical Science: Physics (2025 Edition) are the reference tables students use throughout the Physics course and during the Regents Examination in Physical Science: Physics, which was first given in June 2026. They replace the Physical Setting/Physics Reference Tables (2006 Edition) used with the previous Physics Regents exam: eleven tables on six pages, most of them equation sheets, where the 2006 edition also had tables of friction coefficients, indices of refraction, resistivities, energy levels and particles.

Every table below links to a page with the table itself, what it shows, and the released Regents questions that depend on it. Each caption lists the performance expectation the table primarily supports; the equation sheets have a row anchor for every equation, so links from the standards pages and the chips on the cluster pages point at the equation a question needs.

Constants, prefixes and vectors

List of Physical Constants
every quantitative standard
Prefixes for Powers of 10
HS-PS4-1, HS-PS4-5
Vectors
HS-PS2-1

HS. Forces and Interactions

Motion and Forces
HS-PS2-1 · momentum HS-PS2-2, HS-PS2-3 · gravitation HS-PS2-4

HS. Energy

Energy
HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-2 · power and efficiency HS-PS3-3 · Q = mcΔT HS-PS3-4
Electricity
circuits HS-PS3-6 · electrostatics HS-PS2-4, HS-PS3-5
Circuit Symbols
HS-PS3-6
Series Circuits
HS-PS3-6
Parallel Circuits
HS-PS3-6

HS. Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation

Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation
HS-PS4-1 · photons HS-PS4-3, HS-PS4-4 · optics HS-PS4-6
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
HS-PS4-4, HS-PS4-5

Which tables go with which standard

Standard	Relevant reference tables
HS-PS1-8 Nuclear Processes	—
HS-PS2-1 Newton's Laws	Motion and Forces – kinematics (v̄ = d/t, a = Δv/t, v_f = v_i + at, d = v_it + ½at², v_f² = v_i² + 2ad); Motion and Forces – F_net = ma and F_g = mg; Vectors; List of Physical Constants – g
HS-PS2-2 Conservation of Momentum	Motion and Forces – p = mv; Motion and Forces – F_nett = mΔv
HS-PS2-3 Design for Collision Safety	Motion and Forces – F_nett = mΔv and p = mv; Motion and Forces – F_net = ma
HS-PS2-4 Gravitational and Electrostatic Forces	Motion and Forces – F_g = Gm₁m₂/r²; Electricity – F_e = kq₁q₂/r² and F_e = qE; List of Physical Constants – G, k and e
HS-PS2-5 Electromagnetism	—
HS-PS3-1 Energy Conservation	Energy – KE, ΔPE_g, PE_s, E_T = PE + KE + E_other and W_net = ΔE_T; List of Physical Constants – g
HS-PS3-2 Kinetic and Potential Energy	Energy – KE = ½mv², ΔPE_g = mgΔh, PE_s = ½kx² and E_T = PE + KE + E_other; List of Physical Constants – g
HS-PS3-3 Energy Conversion Devices	Energy – % efficiency and P = W/t; Electricity – P = VI = I²R = V²/R
HS-PS3-4 Thermal Energy and Heat	Energy – Q = mcΔT; Electricity – W = Pt = VIt (energy delivered by an electric heater)
HS-PS3-5 Forces and Fields	Electricity – F_e = kq₁q₂/r², F_e = qE and W = qV; List of Physical Constants – k and e
HS-PS3-6 Ohm's Law and Circuits	Electricity – V = IR, P = VI, W = Pt and I = Δq/t; Circuit Symbols; Series Circuits; Parallel Circuits
HS-PS4-1 Wave Properties	Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation – v = fλ, T = 1/f, n = c/v, Snell's law and n₂/n₁ = v₁/v₂ = λ₁/λ₂; Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation – E_photon = hf; List of Physical Constants – c, speed of sound and h; The Electromagnetic Spectrum; Prefixes for Powers of 10
HS-PS4-2 Digital Transmission of Information	—
HS-PS4-3 Wave-Particle Duality	Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation – E_photon = hf; List of Physical Constants – h and 1 eV
HS-PS4-4 Electromagnetic Radiation and Matter	The Electromagnetic Spectrum; Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation – E_photon = hf; List of Physical Constants – h
HS-PS4-5 Waves and Technology	The Electromagnetic Spectrum; Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation – v = fλ
HS-PS4-6 Lenses and Mirrors	Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation – θ_i = θ_r, Snell's law, 1/F = 1/d_o + 1/d_i and h_i/h_o = −d_i/d_o
HS-ESS1-2 Big Bang Theory	Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation – v = fλ and E_photon = hf; The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The engineering design standards (HS-ETS1-1 to HS-ETS1-4) use no reference table.

How the tables are used on the exam

No released question names a reference table. The June 2026 exam and the three NYSED sample clusters never say "using the Reference Tables"; a question asks for "a mathematical representation" or "one or more mathematical relationships", and the equation has to come from the tables. Of the 65 released questions, 28 need an equation or a constant from the tables and the rest are conceptual or are read from the data in the cluster. Three answer keys say in so many words that the bare equation earns no credit without the reasoning (June 2026 Q10, Q20 and Q26), and the numbers a question needs are supplied in the cluster: speeds of sound in tissue, laser frequencies, specific heats, masses, charges, forces. Parts no question has needed yet: Prefixes for Powers of 10, Vectors, Circuit Symbols, Series Circuits, Coulomb's law, universal gravitation, Snell's law and the lens equation.

On this wiki, a question that cannot be answered without a table carries a chip next to its standard on the cluster page, for example HS-PS2-1 F_net = ma g = 9.8 m/s², and each table page lists those questions.

About the 2025 Edition

Compared with the 2006 edition, the 2025 edition drops the tables of approximate coefficients of friction, absolute indices of refraction and resistivities, the energy-level diagrams for hydrogen and mercury, the classification-of-matter and particle tables of the standard model, and the geometry and trigonometry table (only the Vectors relationships remain); from the equation sheets it drops friction, spring force, centripetal force, the resistance of a wire and all of modern physics except E_photon = hf. It adds percent efficiency, the lens equation and magnification, and the device bands on the spectrum chart. The current official PDF is published on NYSED's state assessment site, on the page titled "Reference Tables for Physical Science: Physics".

Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard, Shirley Shameen