physics syllabus
physics syllabus
Unit 1: Electrostatics
Electric charges and their conservation. Coulomb’s law – force between two-point charges, forces
between multiple charges; superposition principle and continuous charge distribution.
Electric field, electric field due to a point charge, electric field lines; electric dipole, electric field
due to a dipole; torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field.
Electric flux, statement of Gauss’s theorem and its applications to find field due to infinitely long
straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet and uniformly charged thin spherical shell
(field inside and outside).
Electric potential, potential difference, electric potential due to a point charge, a dipole and system
of charges; equipotential surfaces, electrical potential energy of a system of two point charges and
of electric dipoles in an electrostatic field.
Conductors and insulators, free charges and bound charges inside a conductor. Dielectrics and
electric polarisation, capacitors and capacitance, combination of capacitors in series and in parallel,
capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectric medium between the plates,
energy stored in a capacitor.
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Current loop as a magnetic dipole and its magnetic dipole moment. Magnetic field intensity due
to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) along its axis and perpendicular to its axis. Torque on a magnetic
dipole (bar magnet) in a uniform magnetic field; bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid, magnetic
field lines. Para-, dia- and ferro-magnetic substances, with examples.
Unit 6: Optics
Reflection of light, spherical mirrors, mirror formula. Refraction of light, total internal reflection
and its applications, optical fibres, refraction at spherical surfaces, lenses, thin lens formula, lens-
maker’s formula. Magnification, power of a lens, combination of thin lenses in contact
combination of a lens and a mirror. Refraction and dispersion of light through a prism.
Scattering of light – blue colour of the sky and reddish appearance of the sun at sunrise and sunset.
Optical instruments: Microscopes and astronomical telescopes (reflecting and refracting) and their
magnifying powers.
Wave optics: Wavefront and Huygens’ principle, reflection and refraction of plane wave at a plane
surface using wavefronts.
Proof of laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens’ principle.
Interference, Young’s double hole experiment and expression for fringe width, coherent sources
and sustained interference of light.
Diffraction due to a single slit.
Polarisation, plane polarised light.
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Unit 7: Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation
Photoelectric effect, Hertz and Lenard’s observations; Einstein’s photoelectric equation – particle
nature of light.
Matter waves – wave nature of particles, de Broglie relation.
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