Committee of Examiners for the Physics Test
Selected with the advice of the
American Association of Physics Teachers and
The American Physical Society
PROFESSOR GAIL G. HANSON, Chair
Indiana University
PROFESSOR JEFFREY S. DUNHAM PROFESSOR LARRY D. KIRKPATRICK
Middlebury College Montana State University
PROFESSOR DAVID J. GRIFFITHS PROFESSOR MARTHA C. TAKATS
Reed College Ursinus College
PROFESSOR BENNIE F. L. WARD
University of Tennessee
With the assistance of
John E. Economou and Carol J. Anderson
Educational Testing Service
Practice Tests Available
GRE Subject Test practice books are available for each of the Subject Tests. Each
book includes at least one test that was actually administered, answer sheets, correct
answers, and data on how students who took the test performed on each question.
Score conversion information is also provided to enable you to calculate your scaled
score. Practice books may be ordered with a credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or
American Express only) by calling 1-800-537-3160. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call
1-609-771-7243. Practice books may also be ordered on the registration form in
the GRE Information and Registration Bulletin or from the GRE Web site at
www.gre.org.
You may want to keep this booklet until after you receive your score report. It contains
important information about content specifications on which your scores are based.
Copyright 1999 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved.
EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, ETS, the ETS logo, GRADUATE RECORD
EXAMINATIONS, and GRE are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service.
The modernized ETS logo is a trademark of Educational Testing Service.
,Table of Contents
Purpose of the GRE Subject Tests.......................................................................................... 3
Preparing for a Subject Test.................................................................................................... 3
Test-Taking Strategies ............................................................................................................ 4
Development of the Subject Tests .......................................................................................... 5
What Your Scores Mean......................................................................................................... 6
Content of the Physics Test .................................................................................................... 8
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................... 11
Answer Key ............................................................................................................................ 23
Purpose of the GRE Subject Tests
The GRE Subject Tests are designed to help graduate school admission committees and
fellowship sponsors assess the qualifications of applicants in specific fields of study. The
tests also provide you with an assessment of your own qualifications.
Scores on the tests are intended to indicate knowledge of the subject matter emphasized in
many undergraduate programs as preparation for graduate study. Because past achievement is
usually a good indicator of future performance, the scores are helpful in predicting success in
graduate study. Because the tests are standardized, the test scores permit comparison of
students from different institutions with different undergraduate programs. For some Subject
Tests, subscores are provided in addition to the total score; these subscores indicate the
strengths and weaknesses of your preparation, and they may help you plan future studies.
The GRE Board recommends that scores on the Subject Tests be considered in
conjunction with other relevant information about applicants. Because numerous factors
influence success in graduate school, reliance on a single measure to predict success is not
advisable. Other indicators of competence typically include undergraduate transcripts
showing courses taken and grades earned, letters of recommendation, the GRE Writing
Assessment score, and GRE General Test scores. For information about the appropriate use
of GRE scores, write to GRE Program, Educational Testing Service, Mail Stop 51-L,
Princeton, NJ 08541.
Preparing for a Subject Test
GRE Subject Test questions are designed to measure skills and knowledge gained over
a long period of time. Although you might increase your scores to some extent through
preparation a few weeks or months before you take the test, last-minute cramming is
3
, unlikely to be of further help. The following information will help guide you if you decide to
spend time preparing for the test.
• A general review of your college courses is probably the best preparation for the test.
However, the test covers a broad range of subject matter, and no one is expected to be
familiar with the content of every question.
• Use official GRE publications, published by ETS, to become familiar with questions
used on the GRE Subject Tests. This descriptive booklet provides several sample
questions. In addition, Subject Test practice books are available (see inside front cover).
• Become familiar with the types of questions used in the test, paying special attention to
the directions. If you thoroughly understand the directions before you take the test, you
will have more time during the test to focus on the questions themselves.
Test-Taking Strategies
The types of multiple-choice questions in the test are illustrated by the sample questions at
the back of this booklet. When you take the test, you will mark your answers on a separate
machine-scorable answer sheet. Total testing time is two hours and fifty minutes; there are no
separately timed sections. Following are some general test-taking strategies you may want to
consider.
• Read the test directions carefully, and work as rapidly as you can without being
careless. For each question, choose the best answer from the available options.
• All questions are of equal value; do not waste time pondering individual questions you
find extremely difficult or unfamiliar.
• You may want to work through the test quite rapidly, first answering only the questions
about which you feel confident, then going back and answering questions that require
more thought, and concluding with the most difficult questions if there is time.
• If you decide to change an answer, make sure you completely erase it and fill in the
oval corresponding to your desired answer.
• Questions for which you mark no answer or more than one answer are not counted in
scoring.
• As a correction for haphazard guessing, one-fourth of the number of questions you
answer incorrectly is subtracted from the number of questions you answer correctly. It is
improbable that mere guessing will improve your score significantly; it may even lower
your score. If, however, you are not certain of the correct answer but have some
knowledge of the question and are able to eliminate one or more of the answer choices,
your chance of getting the right answer is improved, and it may be to your advantage to
answer such a question.
4
Selected with the advice of the
American Association of Physics Teachers and
The American Physical Society
PROFESSOR GAIL G. HANSON, Chair
Indiana University
PROFESSOR JEFFREY S. DUNHAM PROFESSOR LARRY D. KIRKPATRICK
Middlebury College Montana State University
PROFESSOR DAVID J. GRIFFITHS PROFESSOR MARTHA C. TAKATS
Reed College Ursinus College
PROFESSOR BENNIE F. L. WARD
University of Tennessee
With the assistance of
John E. Economou and Carol J. Anderson
Educational Testing Service
Practice Tests Available
GRE Subject Test practice books are available for each of the Subject Tests. Each
book includes at least one test that was actually administered, answer sheets, correct
answers, and data on how students who took the test performed on each question.
Score conversion information is also provided to enable you to calculate your scaled
score. Practice books may be ordered with a credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or
American Express only) by calling 1-800-537-3160. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call
1-609-771-7243. Practice books may also be ordered on the registration form in
the GRE Information and Registration Bulletin or from the GRE Web site at
www.gre.org.
You may want to keep this booklet until after you receive your score report. It contains
important information about content specifications on which your scores are based.
Copyright 1999 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved.
EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, ETS, the ETS logo, GRADUATE RECORD
EXAMINATIONS, and GRE are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service.
The modernized ETS logo is a trademark of Educational Testing Service.
,Table of Contents
Purpose of the GRE Subject Tests.......................................................................................... 3
Preparing for a Subject Test.................................................................................................... 3
Test-Taking Strategies ............................................................................................................ 4
Development of the Subject Tests .......................................................................................... 5
What Your Scores Mean......................................................................................................... 6
Content of the Physics Test .................................................................................................... 8
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................... 11
Answer Key ............................................................................................................................ 23
Purpose of the GRE Subject Tests
The GRE Subject Tests are designed to help graduate school admission committees and
fellowship sponsors assess the qualifications of applicants in specific fields of study. The
tests also provide you with an assessment of your own qualifications.
Scores on the tests are intended to indicate knowledge of the subject matter emphasized in
many undergraduate programs as preparation for graduate study. Because past achievement is
usually a good indicator of future performance, the scores are helpful in predicting success in
graduate study. Because the tests are standardized, the test scores permit comparison of
students from different institutions with different undergraduate programs. For some Subject
Tests, subscores are provided in addition to the total score; these subscores indicate the
strengths and weaknesses of your preparation, and they may help you plan future studies.
The GRE Board recommends that scores on the Subject Tests be considered in
conjunction with other relevant information about applicants. Because numerous factors
influence success in graduate school, reliance on a single measure to predict success is not
advisable. Other indicators of competence typically include undergraduate transcripts
showing courses taken and grades earned, letters of recommendation, the GRE Writing
Assessment score, and GRE General Test scores. For information about the appropriate use
of GRE scores, write to GRE Program, Educational Testing Service, Mail Stop 51-L,
Princeton, NJ 08541.
Preparing for a Subject Test
GRE Subject Test questions are designed to measure skills and knowledge gained over
a long period of time. Although you might increase your scores to some extent through
preparation a few weeks or months before you take the test, last-minute cramming is
3
, unlikely to be of further help. The following information will help guide you if you decide to
spend time preparing for the test.
• A general review of your college courses is probably the best preparation for the test.
However, the test covers a broad range of subject matter, and no one is expected to be
familiar with the content of every question.
• Use official GRE publications, published by ETS, to become familiar with questions
used on the GRE Subject Tests. This descriptive booklet provides several sample
questions. In addition, Subject Test practice books are available (see inside front cover).
• Become familiar with the types of questions used in the test, paying special attention to
the directions. If you thoroughly understand the directions before you take the test, you
will have more time during the test to focus on the questions themselves.
Test-Taking Strategies
The types of multiple-choice questions in the test are illustrated by the sample questions at
the back of this booklet. When you take the test, you will mark your answers on a separate
machine-scorable answer sheet. Total testing time is two hours and fifty minutes; there are no
separately timed sections. Following are some general test-taking strategies you may want to
consider.
• Read the test directions carefully, and work as rapidly as you can without being
careless. For each question, choose the best answer from the available options.
• All questions are of equal value; do not waste time pondering individual questions you
find extremely difficult or unfamiliar.
• You may want to work through the test quite rapidly, first answering only the questions
about which you feel confident, then going back and answering questions that require
more thought, and concluding with the most difficult questions if there is time.
• If you decide to change an answer, make sure you completely erase it and fill in the
oval corresponding to your desired answer.
• Questions for which you mark no answer or more than one answer are not counted in
scoring.
• As a correction for haphazard guessing, one-fourth of the number of questions you
answer incorrectly is subtracted from the number of questions you answer correctly. It is
improbable that mere guessing will improve your score significantly; it may even lower
your score. If, however, you are not certain of the correct answer but have some
knowledge of the question and are able to eliminate one or more of the answer choices,
your chance of getting the right answer is improved, and it may be to your advantage to
answer such a question.
4
