What to expect in this section?

Someone rightly said that a good grasp of the fundamental principles of physics is the beginning of philosophy. Well, we are not contesting this. What we are re-enforcing here is that the aim of this test is to determine the extent of your grasp of fundamental principles of physics and your ability to apply them in solving problems. In simple terms, the test consists of about 100 five-choice questions, and some of these are grouped in sets and based on such materials as diagrams, graphs, experimental data, and descriptions of physical situations. Mind you, most test questions can be answered on the basis of mastery of the first three years of undergraduate physics. It is also important to note that the International System (SI) of units is used predominantly in the test. A table of information representing various physical constants and a few conversion factors among SI units is presented in the test booklet.


What is the content classification for this test?

It may of interest to note that the committee of examiners has set the approximate percentages of the test on the major content topics, after getting the requisite feedback. The percentages reflect the GRE Board committee's determination of the relative emphasis placed on each topic in a typical undergraduate programme. These percentages are given below along with the major sub-topics included in each content category. In each category, the subtopics are listed roughly in order of decreasing importance for inclusion in the test.

Classical Mechanics 20% - such as kinematics, Newton's laws, work and energy, oscillatory motion, rotational motion about a fixed axis, dynamics of systems of particles, central forces and celestial mechanics, three-dimensional particle dynamics, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism, noninertial reference frames, elementary topics in fluid dynamics)

Electromagnetism 18% - such as electrostatics, currents and DC circuits, magnetic fields in free space, Lorentz force, induction, Maxwell's equations and their applications, electromagnetic waves, AC circuits, magnetic and electric fields in matter)

Optics and Wave Phenomena 9% - such as wave properties, superposition, interference, diffraction, geometrical optics, polarization, Doppler Effect)

Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics 10% - such as the laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamic processes, equations of state, ideal gases, kinetic theory, ensembles, statistical concepts and calculation of thermodynamic quantities, thermal expansion and heat transfer)

Quantum Mechanics 12% - such as fundamental concepts, solutions of the Schrödinger equation (including square wells, harmonic oscillators, and hydrogenic atoms), spin, angular momentum, wave function symmetry, elementary perturbation theory

Atomic Physics 10% - such as properties of electrons, Bohr model, energy quantization, atomic structure, atomic spectra, selection rules, black-body radiation, x-rays, atoms in electric and magnetic fields

Special Relativity 6% - such as introductory concepts, time dilation, length contraction, simultaneity, energy and momentum, four-vectors and Lorentz transformation, velocity addition

Laboratory Methods 6% - such as data and error analysis, electronics, instrumentation, radiation detection, counting statistics, interaction of charged particles with matter, lasers and optical interferometers, dimensional analysis, fundamental applications of probability and statistics

Specialized Topics 9% - Nuclear and Particle physics (e.g., nuclear properties, radioactive decay, fission and fusion, reactions, fundamental properties of elementary particles), Condensed Matter (e.g., crystal structure, x-ray diffraction, thermal properties, electron theory of metals, semiconductors, superconductors), Miscellaneous (e.g., astrophysics, mathematical methods, computer applications)

You should be familiar with certain mathematical methods and their applications in physics. These include single and multivariate calculus, coordinate systems (rectangular, cylindrical, and spherical), vector algebra and vector differential operators, Fourier series, partial differential equations, boundary value problems, matrices and determinants, and functions of complex variables. These methods may appear in the test in the context of various content categories as well as occasional questions concerning only mathematics in the specialized topics category above.