JEE Main: 5 most important topics and tips for Physics

If you’re a JEE Main or JEE Advanced aspirant and want to score more than 95 percentile in Physics in JEE, I’ve got some extremely keen insights for you on the 5 most important topics you must focus on to ace the exam. With my many years of experience in having taught JEE rankers, I’ve also added some tips that will help you prepare more effectively. 

1) Semiconductors, Communication Systems, Atomic and Nuclear Physics

The reason these chapters are crucial is because most students who target JEE Advanced don’t pay much attention to these topics! Many students feel that these topics, being theoretical, aren’t very important and hence can be ignored. This is a big mistake to make. These topics are relatively easy to score in and may be the difference between a poor and good rank. A very important tip to remember is that most questions from these topics are either direct formula based or based on textual theory. Hence a student must prepare accordingly for these topics.

2) Kinematics and Newton’s Laws of Motion

Mechanics, as this part of Physics is commonly called, is extremely important. The questions can range from moderate to very difficult, and usually test a student’s application skills. Simple formula-based questions are rarely asked. It is commonly observed that problems involving Laws of Motion are combined with either Work, Energy and Power concepts or with questions on Rotational Dynamics, making these questions not only difficult but also lengthy. Similarly, questions on Kinematics get combined with Centre of Mass and Collisions. A great tip to keep in mind while studying Newton’s Laws of Motion is to focus on wedge and string constraints as well as solve problems involving friction, circular motion, rotation and energy conservation.

3) SHM, Waves and Wave Optics

These topics have gained considerable prominence in not just state level engineering entrance exams, but also in JEE Main. Superposition and interference, reflection from rigid and non-rigid boundaries, standing waves in strings and organ pipes, Doppler Effect, power transmitted in a wave, velocity of a string wave and beats are most important concepts in waves and wave optics. In SHM and oscillations, it is very important to focus on forced and damped oscillations, resonance and combination of SHMs. Also, questions related to spring oscillations are very common in entrance exams, and students must prepare on topics like series and parallel combination of springs, energy stored in spring and Hooke’s Law. As a tip while solving problems of SHM, try to use the concept of SHM as a projection of circular motion wherever applicable. Similarly, for Wave Optics, focus on problems based on Young’s Double Slit experiment.

4) Electrostatics and Current Electricity

In a JEE Main paper, one can usually expect about 10-15% weightage for these two chapters combined. While questions on Electrostatics tend to be both difficult and lengthy, questions on Current Electricity can be very tricky and involve a mix of resistor, capacitor and Kirchoff’s Laws concepts rolled into a single question. Generally, it is important to have very good calculus application skills to solve questions from these topics, as integration-based questions are fairly routine. It is important to remember formulas for Electric Field, Electric Potential and Energy stored or dissipated by various components. Questions based on electric dipoles are also common, and must be prepared for thoroughly. The more formulae you know beforehand, the less effort you will need during the paper. Similarly, in current electricity, it is important to practice Kirchoff’s Laws and circuit simplifications extensively. Capacitor based problems are at the intersection of both electrostatics and current electricity, and are usually to be expected in any exam! Charging and discharging of capacitors, energy stored in capacitors and concept of dielectric materials are some must-knows!

5) Magnetism, Electromagnetic Induction and AC Circuits

While not as difficult as electrostatics and current electricity, this set of topics is equally relevant! Problems in AC Circuits usually can be solved using phasor diagrams and hence this method must be practiced considerably. Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction problems involve a mix of direct, formula-based questions and conceptually challenging questions requiring calculus. Hence, knowledge of formulas is a must. Additionally, these topics also have theory related to permeability and susceptibility of permanent magnets, on which questions are commonly asked.

Overall, this set of topics has the potential to boost your score in Physics in JEE Main if prepared adequately. Else, this can become the reason why your JEE score gets dragged down! Apart from the above-mentioned topics, Ray Optics, Fluid Mechanics, Mechanical Properties of Materials, Heat and Thermodynamics and Gravitation are also important and have reasonable weightage individually. The key to doing well in Physics in JEE Main and JEE Advanced is to not just focus on solving problems, but also doing it in a time-bound manner. Most students spend a disproportionately large amount of time in Physics because they feel they’re being able to solve problems. Ultimately, this eats away into their time for the other two subjects of Maths and Chemistry. Also, do not neglect theory in Physics just because it seems easy and you feel Physics is a numerical-based subject!

The author of the article is Tejas Shyam, edu-preneur and founder of The Education Journey. For more insights, he can be contacted at institute@tejtutorials.com

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA.)