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GRE Physics Test

The GRE Physics test consists of approximately 100 five-choice questions.

The test attempts to determine the extent of the examinees' understanding of fundamental principles of physics and their ability to apply them in problem solution.

The scope of the test is largely that of the first three years of a standard United States undergraduate physics curriculum.

MAJOR CONTENT TOPICSPercentage
1. Classical mechanics 20%
2. Electromagnetism 18%
3. Optics and wave phenomena 9%
4. Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics 10%
5. Quantum mechanics
  • fundamental concepts
  • solutions of the Schrödinger wave equation
  • spin
  • angular momentum
  • wave function symmetry
  • elementary perturbation theory
12%
6. Atomic physics
  • properties of electrons
  • Bohr model
  • energy quantization
  • atomic structure
  • atomic spectra
  • selection rules
  • black-body radiation
  • x-rays
  • atoms in electric and magnetic fields
10%
7. Special relativity 6%
8. Laboratory methods
  • data and error analysis
  • electronics
  • instrumentation
  • radiation detection
  • counting statistics
  • interaction of charged particles with matter
  • lasers and optical interferometers
  • dimensional analysis
  • fundamental applications of probability and statistics
6%
9. Specialized topics

Also:

Mathematical methods and their applications in physics

Range of Raw Scores Needed to Earn Selected Scaled Scores on Three Physics Test Editions That Differ in Difficulty
Scaled ScoreRaw Scores
Form AForm BForm C
900 75 71 60-61
800 61 57 45
700 47 43-44 33
600 33-34 29-30 22
Number of Questions Used to Compute Raw Score
100 100 98