Preparation for IIT JEE Physics paper: Tips and Tricks

Physics is generally considered by the IIT aspirants as the subject that would give them the competitive edge. Concepts of Physics by H.C Verma, and higher secondary course books are generally considered the best ones to understand the fundamental concepts of Physics.

• Experts’ advice is to stay away from heavy volumes of high-level books during the initial stages of preparation. This is to ensure that one’s conceptual clarity is complete before plunging into complex problems like the ones appearing in IIT JEE papers.

• Once you have a firm grip on the fundamental concepts, try to solve more complicated problems using books like Fundamentals of Physics by Resnick and Halliday and Problems in General Physics by Irodov.

• Also, practice questions from IIT JEE previous years papers and sample test papers.

• Another advanced method for self-studying students is to download the lectures in video form as is an established fact that audio and visual aids enable faster learning. Video solutions to problems that have appeared in IIT JEE previous years papers are also available online.

Especially in the case of Physics, these lectures are helpful as the explanation involves the use of diagrams and animation that makes the complex concepts seem comparatively easy.

• A few steps must be followed to solve problems of Physics and Mathematics alike. If these steps become a habit during practice from JEE sample test papers or AIEEE sample papers, a student can remarkably enhance his/her chances in the actual examination.

1. Take time to comprehend the question properly. Read it multiple times if you find it very complex.

2. Make a complete list of all the known and unknown variables. Identify the primary unknown to proceed in the right direction.

3. Draw a diagram neatly if required. This might seem like a waste of time while practicing, but would be of immense help in understanding the problem comprehensively.

4. Try to make a logical guess of the answer by screening out all the improbable options using elimination method. This would help you to estimate how good you are at making logical guesses, as you can compare this with the answer obtained on solving the problem.

5. List out the formulas that can be used depending upon the list of variables made and the primary unknown identified.

6. Proceed with the solution.

7. Cross check with your estimation. This step would enable you to find how accurate you are with logical guessing, which can be of great help at times during the actual exam.

Important Topics for IIT JEE Physics

• Mechanics is one topic of Physics that is considered less scoring by experts. However to add to the dilemma this is also the topic that forms the major portion of the IIT JEE papers in terms of marks. So this topic cannot be neglected.

The choice strictly depends on an individual’s aptitude. Some students enjoy solving Mechanics’ challenging problems, thus they should work on strengthening their hold on the topic. Another option is to concentrate more on other topics to ensure that students are thorough with the more scoring portion, for example Optics, Electricity and Magnetism etc. as the cut off for Physics IIT JEE paper generally is around 35%.

• Kinematics and Particle dynamics are very important topics of Mechanics that make regular appearance in the IIT JEE question papers as well as AIEEE papers.

• Refer to past years’ IIT JEE papers and AIEEE papers, and sample test papers to understand what to expect in the exam when you have started solving advanced level problems.

• According to the general trends, Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism are the most important topics in terms of the number of questions asked in both IIT JEE Papers 1 and 2 of Physics.

• In the decreasing order of the marks they carry are listed different topics of Physics according to their appearance in previous years papers.

1.Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism (Equal importance)

2. Modern Physics

3. Optics

4.Heat and Thermodynamics and Waves and Sound

5. Measurement and errors

No way can it be taken for granted that a similar trend would follow each time in IIT JEE papers or AIEEE papers.

• Thermodynamics is important from the terms of both Physics and Chemistry so concentrate on that as well.

• It is wise to cover Wave Optics first in ‘Optics’ topic. The reason is that the portion is smaller compared to Ray Optics thus quick to cover.

• As it has already been discussed that Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism are the most important topics of Physics, it must be kept in mind to have a clear understanding of the basic concepts of these chapters. Vectors is one concept that students very commonly encounter in dealing with any of these topics, so effort must be taken to understand it properly.

• Majority of the questions in Physics 1 IIT JEE paper are generally moderate ones followed by the easy lot. Just like all the other subjects here as well the least number of questions are difficult. Thus during preparation make sure to be prepared in such a way that you can attempt almost all the easy and moderate problems.

• In Paper 2 the majority of the questions are either moderately difficult or easy. IIT JEE Paper 2 was easier compared to Paper 1 in 2011.

• The key is to concentrate on those topics that interest you the most and are comparatively easy. If you would like to devote more time to those topics that you are at ease with, and plan to skip a few unimportant topics to save time, that is acceptable, but don’t get too selective while studying. It is better to know the concepts of the majority of topics.

• When you start the preparation, from the very initial phase maintain a diary to note down all the different formulas and their explanations topic-wise so that while practicing previous years papers and sample test papers you can do a quick revision.

Following these simple points and working with complete dedication towards your goal would definitely help you ace all the engineering exams you appear for.