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NUST NET Physics Syllabus

The Physics syllabus for NUST NET in full: 13 chapters and 50 topics, every one listed below, plus 51 Physics flashcards with answers.

13Chapters
50Topics
51Flashcards

Physics syllabus: all 13 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

  1. Measurements and Vectors

     4 topics
    • SI Units and Dimensions
    • Significant Figures and Errors
    • Scalars and Vectors
    • Resolution and Addition of Vectors

  2. Kinematics

     3 topics
    • Linear Motion and Equations of Motion
    • Projectile Motion
    • Relative Velocity

  3. Dynamics

     4 topics
    • Newton's Laws of Motion
    • Friction
    • Momentum and Impulse
    • Conservation of Linear Momentum

  4. Work, Energy and Power

     4 topics
    • Work-Energy Theorem
    • Kinetic and Potential Energy
    • Conservation of Energy
    • Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

  5. Circular Motion and Gravitation

     4 topics
    • Angular Velocity and Acceleration
    • Centripetal Force
    • Newton's Law of Gravitation
    • Orbital Motion and Satellites

  6. Fluid Mechanics

     3 topics
    • Pressure and Archimedes' Principle
    • Bernoulli's Equation
    • Viscosity and Stokes' Law

  7. Waves and Sound

     4 topics
    • Wave Properties and Superposition
    • Standing Waves
    • Doppler Effect
    • Resonance and Intensity

  8. Thermodynamics

     4 topics
    • Kinetic Theory of Gases
    • Gas Laws
    • Laws of Thermodynamics
    • Thermodynamic Processes and Entropy

  9. Electrostatics

     4 topics
    • Coulomb's Law
    • Electric Field and Potential
    • Capacitance and Dielectrics
    • Energy Stored in Capacitors

  10. Current Electricity

     4 topics
    • Ohm's Law and Resistivity
    • Kirchhoff's Laws
    • Wheatstone Bridge
    • EMF and Internal Resistance

  11. Electromagnetism

     4 topics
    • Magnetic Force on Charges and Conductors
    • Faraday's and Lenz's Laws
    • Transformers
    • Alternating Current Circuits

  12. Optics

     4 topics
    • Reflection and Refraction
    • Lenses and Optical Instruments
    • Interference and Diffraction
    • Polarisation

  13. Modern Physics

     4 topics
    • Photoelectric Effect
    • Bohr's Atomic Model
    • X-rays
    • Radioactivity and Nuclear Reactions

NUST NET Physics flashcards — 51 questions with answers

  1. What are the seven SI base quantities and their base 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 dimensional formula of force?

    [M L T^-2] — since force = mass x acceleration = kg x m/s^2.

  3. What is the dimensional formula of work, energy, and torque?

    [M L^2 T^-2]. (Energy/work = force x distance; torque has the same dimensions but is a different quantity.)

  4. What is the dimensional formula of power?

    [M L^2 T^-3] — power = work/time = (M L^2 T^-2)/T.

  5. State the three main uses of dimensional analysis.

    1) Checking the dimensional correctness (homogeneity) of an equation, 2) Deriving relationships between physical quantities, and 3) Converting units from one system to another.

  6. What is the principle of homogeneity of dimensions?

    Every term on both sides of a physically correct equation must have the same dimensions; only quantities with identical dimensions can be added or equated.

  7. What is the dimensional formula of pressure (and stress)?

    [M L^-1 T^-2] — pressure = force/area = (M L T^-2)/(L^2).

  8. Give two limitations of dimensional analysis.

    It cannot determine dimensionless constants (like 1/2 or 2π) and cannot derive equations involving trigonometric, exponential, or logarithmic functions or quantities with more than three unknown variables.

  9. What are significant figures?

    All the digits in a measurement that are known with certainty plus the first uncertain (estimated) digit, indicating the precision of the measurement.

  10. State the rule for significant figures in addition and subtraction.

    The result is rounded to the same number of decimal places as the quantity having the fewest decimal places.

  11. State the rule for significant figures in multiplication and division.

    The result should have the same number of significant figures as the quantity with the fewest significant figures.

  12. How many significant figures are in 0.00450?

    Three — the leading zeros are not significant, but the trailing zero after the decimal point is significant (4, 5, and the final 0).

  13. What is the difference between accuracy and precision?

    Accuracy is how close a measurement is to the true value; precision is how close repeated measurements are to one another (reproducibility), independent of the true value.

  14. Distinguish between random error and systematic error.

    Random errors vary unpredictably in size and sign and can be reduced by repeated measurements/averaging; systematic errors have a consistent bias (e.g. zero error, faulty instrument) and shift results in one direction.

  15. How is percentage error calculated?

    Percentage error = (absolute error / true or mean value) x 100%.

  16. How do relative errors combine for a quantity Q = A x B / C?

    The fractional errors add: ΔQ/Q = �δA/A + δB/B + δC/C (errors in multiplied and divided quantities add as fractions).

  17. What is the difference between a scalar and a vector quantity?

    A scalar has only magnitude (e.g. mass, speed, energy); a vector has both magnitude and direction and obeys vector addition rules (e.g. displacement, velocity, force).

  18. Give three examples each of scalar and vector quantities.

    Scalars: mass, temperature, speed, energy, time. Vectors: displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, momentum.

  19. What is a unit vector and how is it found?

    A unit vector has magnitude 1 and indicates direction; it is found by dividing a vector by its magnitude: â = A / |A|.

  20. What is the result of the dot (scalar) product A·B?

    A·B = |A||B| cos θ, a scalar. It is maximum when vectors are parallel (θ=0) and zero when perpendicular (θ=90°).

Show the other 31 Physics flashcards

  1. What is the result of the cross (vector) product A×B?

    A×B = |A||B| sin θ n̂, a vector perpendicular to both A and B (direction by right-hand rule). It is zero for parallel vectors and maximum for perpendicular vectors.

  2. How is a vector resolved into rectangular components?

    For a vector A at angle θ to the x-axis: Ax = A cos θ (horizontal) and Ay = A sin θ (vertical).

  3. How do you find the magnitude and direction of a vector from its components Ax and Ay?

    Magnitude: A = √(Ax^2 + Ay^2); Direction: θ = tan^-1(Ay / Ax) measured from the x-axis.

  4. State the head-to-tail (polygon) rule of vector addition.

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

  5. For two vectors of magnitudes P and Q with angle θ between them, what is the magnitude of the resultant?

    R = √(P^2 + Q^2 + 2PQ cos θ).

  6. What are the maximum and minimum possible values of the resultant of two vectors P and Q?

    Maximum = P + Q (when they are parallel, θ=0°); minimum = |P − Q| (when antiparallel, θ=180°).

  7. What is the difference between distance and displacement?

    Distance is the total path length (scalar, always positive); displacement is the shortest straight-line vector from start to end point and has direction.

  8. Write the three equations of motion for uniform acceleration.

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

  9. What does the slope of a velocity-time graph represent, and what does the area under it represent?

    The slope gives acceleration; the area under the velocity-time graph gives the displacement.

  10. What is the difference between average velocity and instantaneous velocity?

    Average velocity = total displacement / total time over an interval; instantaneous velocity is the velocity at a specific instant (the limit as the time interval approaches zero).

  11. For a body in free fall from rest, what equations apply?

    With u=0 and a=g (≈9.8 m/s^2): v = gt; h = (1/2)gt^2; v^2 = 2gh (taking downward as positive).

  12. What is projectile motion?

    The two-dimensional motion of an object launched into the air under gravity alone, where horizontal velocity is constant and vertical motion has constant downward acceleration g.

  13. What is the path (trajectory) of a projectile and why?

    A parabola, because horizontal displacement increases uniformly with time while vertical displacement changes with t^2 due to gravity.

  14. Give the formula for the time of flight of a projectile launched at angle θ with speed u.

    T = (2u sin θ) / g.

  15. Give the formula for the maximum height of a projectile.

    H = (u^2 sin^2 θ) / (2g).

  16. Give the formula for the horizontal range of a projectile and the angle for maximum range.

    R = (u^2 sin 2θ) / g; maximum range occurs at θ = 45°, giving R_max = u^2 / g.

  17. At the highest point of a projectile's path, what are its velocity components?

    The vertical velocity component is zero; only the horizontal component (u cos θ) remains, so speed = u cos θ.

  18. What is relative velocity?

    The velocity of one object as observed from the frame of reference of another object: V(A relative to B) = V(A) − V(B).

  19. Two cars move in the same direction at 60 km/h and 40 km/h. What is their relative velocity?

    20 km/h (60 − 40). In the same direction, relative velocities subtract.

  20. How do you find relative velocity for two objects moving in opposite directions?

    Their speeds add: the relative velocity magnitude = v1 + v2 (directed toward each other).

  21. State Newton's First Law of Motion.

    A body remains at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by a net external force (the law of inertia).

  22. State Newton's Second Law of Motion.

    The net force on a body equals the rate of change of its momentum; for constant mass, F = ma (force in the direction of acceleration).

  23. State Newton's Third Law of Motion.

    For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; the forces act on two different bodies.

  24. What is inertia and what does it depend on?

    Inertia is a body's resistance to any change in its state of rest or motion; it depends directly on the body's mass.

  25. What is the difference between static friction and kinetic friction?

    Static friction acts on a stationary body and adjusts up to a maximum (limiting) value; kinetic (sliding) friction acts on a moving body and is generally smaller and roughly constant. Thus μs > μk.

  26. What is the coefficient of friction and the formula for limiting friction?

    The coefficient of friction μ = F/R is the ratio of frictional force to normal reaction; limiting/maximum friction F = μR, where R is the normal force.

  27. State two methods of reducing friction.

    Using lubricants (oil/grease), polishing surfaces, using ball or roller bearings, and streamlining bodies to reduce drag (any two).

  28. Define linear momentum and state its SI unit.

    Linear momentum p = mv (mass times velocity); it is a vector. SI unit: kg·m/s (or N·s).

  29. Define impulse and state the impulse-momentum theorem.

    Impulse = force x time of contact (F·t), measured in N·s. The impulse-momentum theorem states impulse equals the change in momentum: F·t = Δp = m(v − u).

  30. State the law of conservation of linear momentum and a condition for it.

    For an isolated system with no net external force, the total linear momentum remains constant; the momentum before a collision equals the momentum after: m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2.

  31. State the work-energy theorem.

    The net work done on a body equals the change in its kinetic energy: W_net = ΔKE = (1/2)mv^2 − (1/2)mu^2.

NUST NET Physics FAQ

What is in the NUST NET Physics syllabus?

NUST NET Physics is split into 13 chapters: Measurements and Vectors, Kinematics, Dynamics, Work, Energy and Power, Circular Motion and Gravitation, Fluid Mechanics, Waves and Sound, Thermodynamics, Electrostatics, Current Electricity, Electromagnetism, Optics and Modern Physics. Together they contain 50 topics.

How many chapters are in NUST NET Physics?

13 chapters, containing 50 topics. The largest chapter is Measurements and Vectors, with 4 topics.

Are there flashcards for NUST NET Physics?

Yes — a 51-card Physics deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.