As they approach the end of their HSC exams, Ryan Furtado and Alex Li are confident about their chances of getting the ATARs and university offers they are after.

Both students at St Pauls Catholic College in Sydney's west said they are happy with Thursday's physics exam, which they said didn't ask any questions they weren't prepared for.

Ryan Furtado and Alex Li from St Pauls Catholic College said Thursday's physics HSC paper was "a good exam". Credit:Louise Kennerley

"The challenging questions required us to think about something that wasn't in the book but they were an extension of the things we'd learnt," Alex, 18, said.

Ryan and Alex thought a question about acoustic impedance was one of the hardest.