Notes for the Physics GRE - Harvard University Department of Physics

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Contents1 Introduction 22 General Advice 23 Classical Mechanics (20%) 34 Electromagnetism (18%) 65 Optics and Waves (9%) 176 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (10%) 247 Quantum Mechanics (12%) 298 Atomic Physics (10%) 369 Special Relativity (6%) 3910 Miscellaneous (15%) 401
1 IntroductionHello, potential physics Ph.D. student! If you are reading these notes, chancesare you are preparing to take the physics GRE subject test (pGRE). This exam,administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), consists of 100 multiplechoice problems in 170 minutes. Students score one point for every correctanswer and lose a quarter of a point for every incorrect answer, so arbitraryguessing is costly. The raw score out of 100 is converted to a scaled score out of990, which roughly corresponds to a raw score of 85 or above and a percentileof 95.The test is designed to measure the student’s physical intuition and education,but in practice it also measures a student’s calculation speed: most studentswho take the test are unable to complete it in the time allowed. Hence,you do not want to have to waste time on the exam re-deriving formulas andshould try to commit as much of your undergraduate physics education to memoryas possible. In these notes, I will present some of the most prolific formulasfound on the pGRE, along with some general tips for taking the exam. The restis in your hands. Good luck!2 General AdviceThese are the best tips I can give to someone preparing for the pGRE.1. Take the test seriously. ETS isn’t going to give you any extra pointsbecause the name of your undergraduate institution is “Harvard,” “Stanford,”“MIT,” “Princeton,” “Cornell,” etc. The test might not be as difficultor rigorous as the exams you’re accustomed to, but taking it lightlyis a big mistake (and one that some of the smartest and most talentedundergrads make every year). The pGRE is probably about as importantas the rest of the exams you’ve taken in your undergraduate career combined:treat it as such. If you want to study theoretical physics at one ofthese top schools, you should probably shoot for a score of 900 or better.2. Take every available practice exam, and do so under testing conditions.ETS should mail you a practice booklet when you register forthe pGRE, and you can find a set of four other practice tests on the OhioState Physics web page. You should take all five of these exams undertesting conditions (i.e. in 170 minute intervals). As Vince Lombardi said,“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”Don’t waste your time by doing a few practice problems here and there:approach the practice test in the same manner you approach the real test,and get accustomed to 170 minutes of furious thought.3. Start studying early. I started studying for the October physics GREsubject test the day that I finished the math GRE subject test in April.This is probably a tad extreme, but you should probably start studying2
Page 1: Notes for the Physics GRETom Rudeli
Page 5 and 6: 3. The square of the orbital period
Page 7 and 8: GeometryI1Solid disc/cylinder, radi
Page 9 and 10: Here, the d⃗s implies that this i
Page 11 and 12: GeometryIsolated sphere, charge Q,
Page 13 and 14: Here, Q = CE is the maximum charge
Page 15 and 16: where χ is the magnetic susceptibi
Page 17 and 18: The current in the RLC AC-circuit r
Page 19 and 20: where f is the focal length, d 0 is
Page 21 and 22: Figure 2: Convex (top) and concave
Page 23 and 24: Figure 3: Fixed (left) and free (ri
Page 25 and 26: Phase velocity is the speed of the
Page 27 and 28: Figure 5: The Carnot cycle. Source:
Page 29 and 30: The Helmholtz function:C P = T (
Page 31 and 32: From here, we see the expressions f
Page 33 and 34: This yields solutionsψ n (x) =with
Page 35 and 36: Ŝ z |sm〉 = m|sm〉. (269)Here, s
Page 37 and 38: 8 Atomic Physics (10%)The potential
Page 39 and 40: If ∆S = ±1, then ∆L = 0, ±1,
Page 41 and 42: gives the time difference between t
Page 43: where θ is the angle with respect

Notes for the Physics GRE - Harvard University Department of Physics

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