COMSATS Admission Test Physics Syllabus

Physics syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Physics in COMSATS Admission Test, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Measurement and Vectors

   3 topics

   • Physical Quantities and Units
   • Errors and Significant Figures
   • Vector Addition and Resolution
2. 2

   Kinematics and Dynamics

   5 topics

   • Motion in One and Two Dimensions
   • Equations of Motion
   • Projectile Motion
   • Newton's Laws of Motion
   • Momentum and Collisions
3. 3

   Work, Energy and Power

   3 topics

   • Work and Energy
   • Conservation of Energy
   • Power and Efficiency
4. 4

   Circular and Rotational Motion

   3 topics

   • Angular Motion
   • Centripetal Force
   • Moment of Inertia and Torque
5. 5

   Waves and Oscillations

   3 topics

   • Simple Harmonic Motion
   • Wave Motion
   • Sound and Resonance
6. 6

   Heat and Thermodynamics

   3 topics

   • Kinetic Theory of Gases
   • Laws of Thermodynamics
   • Heat Transfer
7. 7

   Electricity and Magnetism

   5 topics

   • Electrostatics
   • Current Electricity
   • Ohm's Law and Circuits
   • Magnetic Fields and Electromagnetism
   • Electromagnetic Induction
8. 8

   Modern Physics

   3 topics

   • Photoelectric Effect
   • Atomic Structure
   • Nuclear Physics
9. 9

   Electronics

   2 topics

   • Semiconductors and Diodes
   • Logic Gates

Physics flashcards for COMSATS Admission Test

24 of 55 cards from the Physics deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the seven SI base quantities and their units?

   Length (metre, m), mass (kilogram, kg), time (second, s), electric current (ampere, A), temperature (kelvin, K), amount of substance (mole, mol), and luminous intensity (candela, cd).

2. What is the difference between base (fundamental) and derived quantities?

   Base quantities are independent and defined directly (e.g., mass, length, time). Derived quantities are obtained by combining base quantities through multiplication or division (e.g., speed = length/time, force = mass x acceleration).

3. State the dimensional formula for force, work (energy), and power.

   Force: [MLT^-2]; Work/Energy: [ML^2T^-2]; Power: [ML^2T^-3].

4. What is the principle of homogeneity of dimensions and what is it used for?

   It states that every term on both sides of a valid physical equation must have the same dimensions. It is used to check the correctness of equations and to derive relationships between physical quantities.

5. List the SI prefixes for nano, micro, milli, kilo, mega, and giga with their powers of ten.

   nano = 10^-9, micro = 10^-6, milli = 10^-3, kilo = 10^3, mega = 10^6, giga = 10^9.

6. What is the difference between random error and systematic error?

   Random errors are unpredictable fluctuations (scatter) that vary in size and sign; they are reduced by averaging many readings. Systematic errors are consistent biases in one direction (e.g., zero error, faulty calibration); they cannot be reduced by averaging.

7. What is the difference between precision and accuracy?

   Accuracy is how close a measurement is to the true value. Precision is how close repeated measurements are to each other (reproducibility). A set of readings can be precise but not accurate, or accurate but not precise.

8. How do absolute, relative (fractional), and percentage errors relate?

   Absolute error = magnitude of deviation from true value. Relative (fractional) error = absolute error / measured value. Percentage error = relative error x 100%.

9. How do errors combine when quantities are added or subtracted versus multiplied or divided?

   For addition/subtraction, the absolute errors add. For multiplication/division, the relative (fractional or percentage) errors add.

10. State the rules for counting significant figures.

    All non-zero digits are significant; zeros between non-zero digits are significant; leading zeros are not significant; trailing zeros after a decimal point are significant; trailing zeros in a whole number without a decimal are ambiguous.

11. How many significant figures are in 0.00405, 1200., and 3.200?

    0.00405 has 3 sig figs; 1200. (with decimal point) has 4 sig figs; 3.200 has 4 sig figs.

12. What is the rule for significant figures when multiplying or dividing measurements?

    The result is rounded to the same number of significant figures as the measurement with the fewest significant figures.

13. What is the difference between a scalar and a vector quantity? Give two examples of each.

    A scalar has magnitude only (e.g., mass, speed, temperature, energy). A vector has both magnitude and direction (e.g., displacement, velocity, force, acceleration).

14. State the head-to-tail (polygon) rule for vector addition.

    Place the tail of each successive vector at the head of the previous one; the resultant vector is drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector.

15. How do you resolve a vector A into its rectangular components at angle theta to the x-axis?

    Ax = A cos(theta) and Ay = A sin(theta).

16. Given components Ax and Ay, how do you find the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector?

    Magnitude A = sqrt(Ax^2 + Ay^2); direction theta = tan^-1(Ay/Ax) measured from the x-axis.

17. State the parallelogram law of vector addition with the magnitude formula.

    If two vectors of magnitudes A and B make angle theta, the resultant magnitude is R = sqrt(A^2 + B^2 + 2AB cos(theta)), directed along the diagonal of the parallelogram.

18. What is the difference between the dot product and cross product of two vectors?

    Dot product A.B = AB cos(theta) gives a scalar. Cross product A x B = AB sin(theta) gives a vector perpendicular to both A and B (direction by right-hand rule).

19. What is the difference between distance and displacement?

    Distance is the total path length travelled (a scalar, always positive). Displacement is the straight-line change in position from start to end with direction (a vector); its magnitude is the shortest distance between the two points.

20. What is the difference between average speed and average velocity?

    Average speed = total distance / total time (scalar). Average velocity = total displacement / total time (vector). They are equal in magnitude only for straight-line motion without reversal.

21. Define instantaneous velocity and instantaneous acceleration.

    Instantaneous velocity is the rate of change of displacement at an instant (v = dx/dt). Instantaneous acceleration is the rate of change of velocity at an instant (a = dv/dt).

22. On a velocity-time graph, what do the slope and the area under the curve represent?

    The slope represents acceleration; the area under the curve represents displacement.

23. State the three equations of motion for uniform acceleration.

    v = u + at; s = ut + (1/2)at^2; v^2 = u^2 + 2as, where u is initial velocity, v is final velocity, a is acceleration, t is time, and s is displacement.

24. What is the equation for displacement in the nth second of uniformly accelerated motion?

    s_nth = u + (a/2)(2n - 1), where u is initial velocity, a is acceleration, and n is the second number.

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