This guide is about how to maximize your score in Physics examination conducted by CBSE. Though, this does work for other boards as well but I’ve restricted it to the domain of CBSE as I’ve personally experienced the CBSE fever!
To start about myself, I am not a Padhaku-type, I just realized a month or two before the actual examinations and was able to score 94 that for an average student like me were way beyond my wildest imaginations (Anyways why would my wild imaginations have scoring high in boards 😛 ).
Here are some tips to get 90+ in Physics:
1. Solve the three official CBSE sample papers thoroughly
Doesn’t need further explanations, solve them in the 3 hour time frame without looking at the answers and check with the answers then. See how many marks you get considering step-marking as well.
You can download these CBSE sample papers from here
2. Take time to absorb the marking scheme (Blue-print)
There is a very little chance that the paper comes out of the blue-print like it came in my time but nonetheless understanding how paper will be set can turn things better for you.
Lets take up the blue-print given by CBSE and I’ll explain you how I went about it during my preparation.
- Electrostatics – 08 marks
- Current electricity – 07 marks
- Magnetic effect of current and magnetism – 08 marks
- EMI and AC – 08 marks
- EM Waves – 03 marks
- Optics – 14 marks
- Dual nature of radiation and matter – 04 marks
- Atoms and Nuclei – 06 marks
- Electronic Devices – 07 marks
- Communication systems – 05 marks
- Optics (Both Wave and Ray optics)
- Electrostatics
- Magnetic effect of current and magnetism
- EMI and AC
- Current electricity
- Electronic devices
- Atoms and Nuclei
- Communication systems
- Dual nature of matter
- Electomagnetic waves
As you can see in the second column, I rearranged the topics with the ones having higher weightage on top and so on.
I started from the bottom part. EM waves, saw the chapter for an hour, left it cause I didn’t understand much of it but noted only important definitions like Displacement current, and the wave equation.
Dual Nature of matter, along with Atoms and Nuclei were finished next. Considering my love for Atomic Structure (From class XIth), I fairly enjoyed doing this.
Then Communication systems, didn’t like the chapter, so left it for later.
Now, there was a little digression here, as I went up the list, the chapters were becoming heavier and heavier, I had to reshuffle again according to what I knew well. I just stuck to mastering what all halves I knew and finished them to perfection. Like Electrostatics, Current Electricity, Magnetic effects of current were some topics that were there in my mind though not perfectly. I finished them off from my tuition notes first, did 1 and 2 marker conceptual questions from the sample papers book and solved some NCERT questions.
Then came EMI and AC. EMI is fairly a theoretical chapter with Lenz law having the maximum amount of questions floating around. I read its theory from NCERT textbook and solved 1 and 2 markers. Now for EMI, these short questions were quite useful as this chapter has very minute intricacies which one need to look after.
Alternating Current felt huge, and totally new. I was already weak in Waves and that carried onto AC as well. I strategized differently for this. Did transformers, generator and their theory, working and principle really well. I felt these were bigger birds and if they had a chance they would appear as a five markers.
Then read about Phasors over the Internet, came back and read the chapter again. Felt a little comfortable and finished it up though not up to the mark. Left it for sometime to settle in my head.
I was now in the final stage with only Optics and few small chapters left. For Ray optics, I read my tuition notes atleast twice. Derivations like for focus of mirrors and lens, the lens maker formula were done till perfection. Didn’t touch a numerical of it till the very last day of my examination, I felt if I knew the theory I could do the numerical as well. Didn’t touch my textbook at all for Ray optics, only smaller concise notes.
For Wave optics, I read it from the NCERT textbook line by line and to tell you, YDSE(Young’s Double Slit Experiment) is the most important thing in this chapter. If you had only one day in hand for it, YDSE, Huygens law and Brewster’s angle would be the only thing you would need to do from this chapter.
With this, Communication systems and Electronic Devices (Semiconductors) were only left.
I somehow mugged up Semiconductors but left Transistors altogether. I knew if they were coming, they had a higher probability of coming as five markers, and five markers should’ve an option. So, I am almost safe here.
Communication systems made me yawn first, it made me again. I only studied the definitions of sky waves, etc., learnt the only formula in the chapter by-heart which is root (2rH) where H is the height of tower.
I also had difficulty in remembering the Electromagnetic spectrum and its order. If you are just on the same boat as me, check this awesome song:
Get the idea? Most of the job is done if you work according to the blueprint. Just stick to it and you’ll realize what to leave when there’s no time left. But, try not to leave out on anything. My 94 were just because of leaving these smaller bits. Work on them and I am sure you’ll touch a 100!
3. Underline important lines in textbook while studying
Underlining is important, as when you are done with the chapter, you just have to read the underlined sentences to get the main gist of the chapter. Boosts your revision really well and saves time for your girlfriend/boyfriend.
4. Never undermine the importance of graphs!
This may sound weird, but graphs are also aids to learn intricate things fast. When you see something changing, it sticks in your mind well. Draw all the graphs in the book as much as you can.
5. Get sample papers, Do them a bit
I personally brought ULike Sample papers for this job. To be frank, I never went past the 1 and 2 markers given in the book. They were plenty in number and I just stuck to those. But avoid doing this, solve other parts as well. The more pages you do, the more stronger your preparation would be.
If you’ve plenty of time in hand after this, do the mock test papers.
Also, Consider allotting equal time to all the subjects, if you are acutely short on time, you may skip doing mock test papers in exam like conditions but just skim through them once.
6. Solve last 10-year question papers
Solving the last 10 year question papers of DELHI region, OUTSIDE DELHI and other regions will make your 90+ score sure shot. Many of the times, the 1 and 2 markers are direct lifts and you can see there are many repetitions. By-heart the one markers if you are stuck somewhere.
7. Chillax and enjoy physics
Scoring marks is not the primary goal, read to learn about our beautiful surroundings. Enjoy the subject, try researching on how physicist thought and deduced the laws and theorems. Then read your text, you’ll find yourself enjoying the whole practice and you’ll get the feeling of reading a novel.
Nonetheless, skip the last point if it’s January 😛