GRE Physics Subject Test
Study notes, worked examples, and practice questions across the GRE Physics domains, each with its sources cited. ETS describes the Physics Subject Test as a 2-hour computer-delivered test with approximately 70 five-choice questions.
The syllabus
GRE Physics preparation, organized into the content areas below.
- Classical mechanics
- Electromagnetism
- Quantum mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Optics and waves
- Atomic physics
- Special relativity
- Lab methods
Representative topics
- Newtonian mechanics
- Maxwell equations
- Schrodinger equation
- Statistical mechanics
- Wave optics
- Hydrogen atom
- Lorentz transformations
Study notes
Free to read, no account needed. Every exam fact and concept links to its official or open source.
- Newton's Second Law and Free-Body DiagramsA free GRE Physics mechanics note on applying net force, mass, acceleration, and free-body diagrams without hiding assumptions.
- Energy and Momentum ConservationA free GRE Physics mechanics note on the work-energy theorem, mechanical energy conservation, momentum conservation, and elastic versus inelastic collisions.
- Simple Harmonic MotionA free GRE Physics note on the simple harmonic motion equation, angular frequency for springs and pendulums, energy exchange in SHM, and qualitative damping.
- Gauss's Law and Electric FieldsA free GRE Physics electromagnetism note on Gauss's law, symmetry arguments for spheres, lines, and planes, conductor properties, and the field-potential relationship.
- DC CircuitsA free GRE Physics electromagnetism note on Ohm's law, series and parallel resistors, Kirchhoff's rules, and the RC charging and discharging time constant.
- Quantum Mechanics FoundationsA free GRE Physics quantum mechanics note on wavefunctions and probability, infinite square well energies, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and photon and de Broglie wavelength relations.
- Thermodynamics and Heat EnginesA free GRE Physics thermodynamics note on the first law, entropy and the second law, Carnot efficiency, and the standard ideal-gas processes.
- Special Relativity EssentialsA free GRE Physics special relativity note on the two postulates, time dilation, length contraction, and the relativistic energy-momentum relation.
- Interference and DiffractionA free GRE Physics optics note on double-slit interference, diffraction gratings, single-slit diffraction minima, and thin-film interference with phase shifts.
- Photons, Work Functions, and Matter WavesA free GRE Physics note on the two quantization facts atomic-physics questions lean on: light delivers energy in photons of energy hf, and a particle of momentum p behaves like a wave of wavelength h/p.
- Measurement Uncertainty and Error AnalysisA free GRE Physics laboratory-methods note on random versus systematic error, propagating uncertainty through sums and products, why averaging improves precision as one over the square root of N, and how real meters load the circuit they measure.
- Classical Mechanics Domain GuideThe whole GRE Physics mechanics domain in one place: forces and free-body diagrams, the conservation laws and when each one is legal, rotation and rolling, oscillations, orbits, and statics of fluids — with the traps that decide most items.
- Electromagnetism Domain GuideElectrostatics, circuits, magnetostatics, induction, and electromagnetic waves as one subject: the four Maxwell equations, the symmetry shortcuts that make them computable, and the sign conventions that decide most wrong answers.
- Quantum Mechanics Domain GuideWavefunctions, operators, and the three solvable systems the GRE Physics Test reuses: the infinite well, the harmonic oscillator, and hydrogen — plus superposition, measurement, uncertainty, and the scaling rules that answer most items without an integral.
- Thermodynamics Domain GuideThe laws, the ideal gas and its named processes, kinetic theory and equipartition, engines and the Carnot bound, entropy, calorimetry, and heat transfer — organised around the one question that unlocks most items: which variable is being held fixed?
- Optics and Waves Domain GuideTravelling and standing waves, the Doppler effect and beats, reflection and refraction with sign conventions, and the interference and diffraction conditions that look alike and mean opposite things.
- Atomic Physics Domain GuideAtomic structure and spectra, X-rays and Bragg diffraction, solids and band structure, and nuclear binding and decay — the specialised block, unified by one constant and one habit: work in electronvolts and think in ratios.
- Special Relativity Domain GuideTwo postulates, one factor, and a strict discipline about whose clock and whose ruler: time dilation, length contraction, simultaneity, velocity addition, and relativistic energy and momentum.
- Lab Methods Domain GuideUncertainty propagation, counting statistics, significant figures, and the instruments the exam expects you to reason about — the block where a candidate who has practised the rules can score close to full marks.
Worked examples
Full solutions with the correct answer, the reasoning, and why each option is right or wrong. No account needed.
- Heat flow through a thicker wallUse proportional reasoning for steady heat conduction while keeping material, area and temperature difference fixed.
- Linear thermal expansionDistinguish a small length change from the final length and convert metres to millimetres correctly.
- A collision that conserves momentum but loses kinetic energyChoose the system before a sticking collision, then check both momentum and kinetic energy.
- Net Force and AccelerationA public mechanics question that shows how to combine opposing horizontal forces before applying Newton's second law.
- Energy Conservation on a Frictionless TrackA public energy-conservation question showing why mass cancels when gravitational potential energy converts into speed on a frictionless track.
- Perfectly Inelastic CollisionA public momentum question showing how to find the shared final speed after two carts couple in a perfectly inelastic collision.
- Mass-Spring Oscillation PeriodA public oscillation question showing how mass and spring constant set the period of simple harmonic motion independent of amplitude.
- Gauss's Law and Sphere RadiusA public Gauss's law question contrasting how the enclosed-charge flux and the surface electric field respond when a Gaussian sphere is enlarged.
- Series-Parallel Branch CurrentA public DC-circuit question showing how to reduce a series-parallel network before tracing the current through a single branch.
- Infinite Square Well TransitionsA public quantum question showing how infinite-square-well energies scale with the square of the quantum number and set photon transition energies.
- Photoelectric EffectA public photoelectric-effect question showing how a photon's energy splits between the work function and the electron's maximum kinetic energy.
- Carnot Engine Work OutputA public heat-engine question showing how absolute reservoir temperatures set a Carnot engine's efficiency and per-cycle work output.
- Time DilationA public special-relativity question showing how to identify the proper time and apply the Lorentz factor to a moving clock.
- Double-Slit Bright FringesA public interference question showing how wavelength, slit separation, and screen distance set the position of a double-slit bright fringe.
- De Broglie Wavelength of an Accelerated ElectronA public atomic-physics question on turning an accelerating voltage into a de Broglie wavelength, using the momentum of the electron rather than the photon energy relation.
- Counting Time and Relative UncertaintyA public laboratory-methods question on Poisson counting statistics: how much longer a detector must run to halve the relative uncertainty in its total count.
Guides
Free articles for GRE Physics test takers, each checked against official sources.
- GRE Physics: force, energy or momentum?Choose a mechanics method from the system, the interval and the quantity being asked for, then practise on an original collision problem.
- Colleges Requiring GRE Physics: 2026–27 Program ListWhich physics PhD programs require, recommend or ignore the Physics GRE for 2027 entry: 53 US and Canadian programs, each checked on its own admissions page.
- Should you take the GRE Physics Subject Test in 2026?Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Caltech have put the Physics GRE back into their published requirements while other top programs stay optional or split. A sourced survey of department policies, the 2026 test format, and what the research actually shows.
Recall tools
Recall cards and timed practice you can run free in your browser.
What these questions are built to catch
Every wrong answer in the GRE Physics bank was written to catch one specific mistake, and each is recorded by name. The taxonomy sets out the named mistakes for this exam, grouped by the part of the syllabus each turns up in, with what to do differently. It describes how the questions were written, not how students perform.
Open the GRE Physics section of the error taxonomySources
- GRE Subject Test Content and Structure — ETS. Accessed 2026-07-06. Use as a cited source for exam facts; do not imply affiliation or reproduce protected test material.
How this page is maintained
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- Last source check
- 2026-07-06
- Update policy
- on-source-change
- Next review: 2026-10-06
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