Editing GRE Physics Test

{{Short description|Examination}}
{{Infobox examination
| name                = Graduate Record Examination (Physics Subject Test)
| image_name          = GRE logo.svg
| image_size          = 250 px
| image_alt           = 
| caption             = 
| acronym             = 
| type                = Paper-based standardized test<ref name="ets">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/content/|title=GRE Subject Tests: Test Content and Structure|publisher=ets.org|access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref>
| test_admin          = [[Educational Testing Service]]
| skills_tested       = Undergraduate level [[physics]]: <br /> {{Flatlist|
* [[Classical mechanics]]
* [[Electromagnetism]]
* [[Optics]] and [[wave]] phenomena
* [[Thermodynamics]] and [[statistical mechanics]]
* [[Quantum mechanics]]
* [[Atomic physics]]
* [[Special relativity]]
* Laboratory methods
* Specialized topics<ref name="ets2">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/content/physics|title=GRE Subject Tests: Physics|publisher=ets.org|access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref>
}}
| purpose             = Admissions in graduate programs (e.g. [[Master of Science|MS]] and [[PhD]]) in [[physics]] (mostly in universities in the United States).
| year_started        = 
| year_terminated     = <!-- YYYY -->
| duration            = 2 hours <ref name="ets"/>
| score_range         = 200 to 990, in 10-point increments<ref name="ets.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/scores/|title=GRE Subject Tests: Scores|publisher=ets.org|access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref>
| score_validity      = 5 years<ref name="ets.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/scores/|title=GRE Subject Tests: Scores|publisher=ets.org|access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref>
| offered             = 3 times a year, in September, October, and April through May.<ref name="ets3">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/|title=GRE Subject Tests: About the GRE Subject Tests|publisher=ets.org|access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref>
| attempt_restriction = 
| regions             = Worldwide
| language            = [[English language|English]]
| test_takers         = ~5,000-6,000 yearly
| prerequisite        = No official prerequisite. Intended for [[physics]] bachelor degree graduates or undergraduate students about to graduate. Fluency in [[English language|English]] assumed.
| fee                 = US$ 150<ref name="ets4">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/fees/|title=GRE Subject Tests: Fees|publisher=ets.org|access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref> <br />
(Limited offers of "Fee Reduction Program" for U.S. citizens or resident aliens who demonstrate financial need, and for national programs in USA that work with under-represented groups.<ref name="ets5">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/fees/reduction/|title=GRE Subject Tests: Fee Reduction Program|publisher=ets.org|access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref>)
| score_users         = [[Physics]] departments offering graduate programs (mostly in universities in the U.S.).
| qualification_rate  = 
| free_label          = 
| free                = 
| website             = {{URL|www.ets.org/gre/test-takers/subject-tests/about/content-structure.html}}
| footnotes           = 
}}

The '''[[Graduate Record Examination]]''' ('''GRE''') '''[[physics]] test''' is an examination administered by the [[Educational Testing Service]] (ETS). The test attempts to determine the extent of the examinees' understanding of fundamental principles of physics and their ability to apply them to problem solving. Many [[graduate school]]s require applicants to take the exam and base admission decisions in part on the results.

The scope of the test is largely that of the first three years of a standard [[United States]] undergraduate physics curriculum, since many students who plan to continue to graduate school apply during the first half of the fourth year. It consists of 70 five-option multiple-choice questions covering subject areas including the first three years of undergraduate physics.

The [[International System of Units]] (SI Units) is used in the test. A table of information representing various [[physical constant]]s and conversion factors is presented in the test book.

==Major content topics==

===1. [[Classical mechanics]] (20%)===
* [[kinematics]]
* [[Newton's laws of motion|Newton's laws]]
* [[Work (physics)|work]] and [[energy]]
* [[Oscillation|oscillatory motion]]
* [[Rotation around a fixed axis|rotational motion about a fixed axis]]
* [[n-body problem|dynamics of systems of particles]]
* [[central force]]s and [[celestial mechanics]]
* [[Three-dimensional space|three-dimensional]] particle dynamics
* [[Lagrangian mechanics|Lagrangian]] and [[Hamiltonian mechanics|Hamiltonian]] formalism
* [[non-inertial reference frame]]s
* elementary topics in [[fluid mechanics|fluid dynamics]]

===2. [[Electromagnetism]] (18%)===
* [[electrostatics]]
* [[Electric current|currents]] and [[Network analysis (electrical circuits)|DC circuits]]
* [[magnetic field]]s in free space
* [[Lorentz force]]
* [[Electromagnetic induction|induction]]
* [[Maxwell's equations]] and their applications
* [[Electromagnetic radiation|electromagnetic waves]]
* [[Electrical impedance|AC circuits]]
* [[Demagnetizing field|magnetic]] and [[Electric displacement field|electric fields]] in [[matter]]

===3. [[Optics]] and [[wave]] phenomena (8%)===
* [[wave]] properties
* [[Superposition principle|superposition]]
* [[Wave interference|interference]]
* [[diffraction]]
* [[geometrical optics]]
* [[Polarization (waves)|polarization]]
* [[Doppler effect]]

===4. [[Thermodynamics]] and [[statistical mechanics]] (10%)===
* [[laws of thermodynamics]]
* [[thermodynamic process]]es
* [[Equation of state|equations of state]]
* [[ideal gas]]es
* [[Kinetic theory of gases|kinetic theory]]
* [[Quantum statistical mechanics|ensembles]]
* statistical concepts and calculation of [[Thermodynamic equations|thermodynamic quantities]]
* [[thermal expansion]] and [[heat transfer]]

===5. [[Quantum mechanics]] (13%)===
* fundamental concepts
* solutions of the [[Schrödinger equation]]
** [[Particle in a box|square wells]]
** [[harmonic oscillator]]s
** [[Hydrogen-like atom|hydrogenic atoms]]
* [[Spin (physics)|spin]]
* [[angular momentum]]
* [[wave function]] [[Symmetry in quantum mechanics|symmetry]]
* elementary [[perturbation theory]]

===6. [[Atomic physics]] (10%)===
* properties of [[electron]]s
* [[Bohr model]]
* [[Quantization (physics)|energy quantization]]
* [[Atom|atomic structure]]
* [[Spectroscopy|atomic spectra]]
* [[selection rule]]s
* [[black-body radiation]]
* [[x-ray]]s
* atoms in [[Stark effect|electric]] and [[Zeeman effect|magnetic]] fields

===7. [[Special relativity]] (6%)===
* introductory concepts
* [[time dilation]]
* [[length contraction]]
* [[Relativity of simultaneity|simultaneity]]
* [[Four-momentum|energy and momentum]]
* [[four-vector]]s and [[Lorentz transformation]]
* [[Velocity-addition formula|velocity addition]]

===8. [[Experimental physics|Laboratory methods]] (6%)===
* [[Errors and residuals|data and error analysis]]
* [[electronics]]
* [[instrumentation]]
* [[Particle detector|radiation detection]]
* [[Count data|counting statistics]]
* [[Ionization|interaction of charged particles with matter]]
* [[laser]]s and [[Interferometry|optical interferometers]]
* [[dimensional analysis]]
* fundamental applications of [[probability]] and [[statistics]]

===9. Specialized topics (9%)===
* '''[[Nuclear physics|Nuclear]] and [[particle physics]]'''
** [[Atomic nucleus|nuclear properties]]
** [[radioactive decay]]
** [[Nuclear fission|fission]] and [[Nuclear fusion|fusion]]
** [[Nuclear reaction|reactions]]
** fundamental properties of [[elementary particle]]s
* '''[[Condensed matter physics|Condensed matter]]'''
** [[crystal structure]]
** [[x-ray diffraction]]
** [[List of materials properties#Thermal properties|thermal properties]]
** [[Free electron model|electron theory of metals]]
** [[semiconductor]]s
** [[superconductivity|superconductors]]
* '''miscellaneous'''
** [[astrophysics]]
** [[Mathematical physics|mathematical methods]]
*** [[calculus|single]] and [[Multivariable calculus|multivariate calculus]]
*** [[coordinate system]]s ([[Cartesian coordinate system|rectangular]], [[Cylindrical coordinate system|cylindrical]], [[Spherical coordinate system|spherical]])
*** [[vector space|vector algebra]] and [[vector calculus|vector differential operators]]
*** [[Fourier series]]
*** [[partial differential equation]]s
*** [[boundary value problem]]s
*** [[Matrix (mathematics)|matrices and determinants]]
*** [[complex analysis|functions of complex variables]]
** [[Computational physics|computer applications]]

==See also==

* [[Graduate Record Examination]]
* [[GRE Biochemistry Test]]
* [[GRE Biology Test]]
* [[GRE Chemistry Test]]
* [[GRE Literature in English Test]]
* [[GRE Mathematics Test]]
* [[GRE Psychology Test]]
* [[Graduate Management Admission Test]] (GMAT)
* [[Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering]] (GATE)

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/content/physics Official Description of the GRE Physics Test]
* [http://grephysics.net/ Detailed Solutions to ETS released tests] - The Missing Solutions Manual, free online, and User Comments and discussions on individual problems
* [http://physgre.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ More solutions to the released tests] - Includes solutions to the recently released 2008 exam
* [http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/undergrad/ugs_gre.php GRE Prep Course at Ohio State University] - Preparation course, with links to all 4 publicly released Physics GRE tests, as well as links to other Physics GRE resources
* [http://physicsworks.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/gr0877-solutions/ GR0877 Solutions] - Solutions to 2008 exam
* [https://www.troy.edu/academics/colleges-schools/college-arts-sciences/departments/school-science-technology/chemistry-physics/physics/physics-gre.html] - Physics GRE Review at Troy University

[[Category:GRE standardized tests]]
[[Category:Physics education]]
[[Category:Standardized tests]]