- The test consists of approximately 100 five-choice
questions, some of which are grouped in sets and based on such
materials as diagrams, graphs, experimental data, and
descriptions of physical situations.
- The aim of the test is to determine the extent of the
examinees' grasp of fundamental principles and their ability to
apply these principles in the solution of problems.
- Most test questions can be answered on the basis of a
mastery of the first three years of undergraduate physics.
- 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 book.
- The approximate percentages of the test on the major content
topics have been set by the committee of examiners, with input
from a nationwide survey of undergraduate physics curricula. The
percentages reflect the committee's determination of the
relative emphasis placed on each topic in a typical
undergraduate program. These percentages are given below along
with the major subtopics included in each content category. In
each category, the subtopics are listed roughly in order of
decreasing importance for inclusion in the test.
- Nearly all the questions in the test will relate to material
in this listing; however, there may be occasional questions on
other topics not explicitly listed here.
- 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)
Those taking the test should be familiar with certain
mathematical methods and their applications in physics. Such
mathematical methods 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.
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