JEE MAINS PHYSICS SYLLABUS

Unit 1: Physics and Measurement

Physics, technology and society, S I units, Fundamental and
derived units. Least count, accuracy and precision of measuring
instruments, Errors in measurement, Dimensions of Physical
quantities, dimensional analysis and its applications.

Unit 2: Kinematics
Frame of reference. Motion in a straight line: Position-time
graph, speed and velocity. Uniform and non-uniform motion,
average speed and instantaneous velocity Uniformly accelerated
motion, velocity-time, position-time graphs, relations for
uniformly accelerated motion. Scalars and Vectors, Vector
addition and Subtraction, Zero Vector, Scalar and Vector
products, Unit Vector, Resolution of a Vector. Relative
Velocity, Motion in a plane, Projectile Motion, Uniform
Circular Motion.

Unit 3: Laws of Motion

Force and Inertia, Newton’s First Law of motion; Momentum,
Newton’s Second Law of motion; Impulse; Newton’s Third Law
of motion. Law of conservation of linear momentum and its
applications, Equilibrium of concurrent forces.
Static and Kinetic friction, laws of friction, rolling friction
Dynamics of uniform circular motion: Centripetal force and its
applications.

Unit 4: Work, Energy And Power

Work done by a constant force and a variable force; kinetic and
potential energies, work energy theorem, power.
Potential energy of a spring, conservation of mechanical energy,
conservative and non-conservative forces; Elastic and inelastic
collisions in one and two dimensions.

Unit 5: Rotational Motion

Centre of mass of a two-particle system, Centre of mass of a
rigid body; Basic concepts of rotational motion; moment of a
force, torque, angular momentum, conservation of angular
momentum and its applications; moment of inertia, radius of
gyration. Values of moments of inertia for simple geometrical
objects, parallel and perpendicular axes theorems and their
applications. Rigid body rotation, equations of rotational motion.
Unit 6: Gravitation
The universal law of gravitation. Acceleration due to gravity and
its variation with altitude and depth. Kepler’s laws of planetary
motion. Gravitational potential energy; gravitational potential.
Escape velocity. Orbital velocity of a satellite. Geo-stationary
satellites.

Unit 7: Properties of Solids and Liquids

Elastic behaviour, Stress-strain relationship, Hooke’s Law,
Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, modulus of rigidity. Pressure
due to a fluid column; Pascal’s law and its applications.
Viscosity, Stokes’ law, terminal velocity, streamline and
turbulent flow, Reynolds number. Bernoulli’s principle and its
applications. Surface energy and surface tension, angle of
contact, application of surface tension – drops, bubbles and
capillary rise. Heat, temperature, thermal expansion; specific
heat capacity, calorimetry; change of state, latent heat. Heat
transfer-conduction, convection and radiation, Newton’s law of
cooling.
Unit 8: Thermodynamics
Thermal equilibrium, zeroth law of thermodynamics, concept of
temperature. Heat, work and internal energy. First law of
thermodynamics. Second law of thermodynamics: reversible and
irreversible processes. Carnot engine and its efficiency.

Unit 9: Kinetic Theory of Gases

Equation of state of a perfect gas, work done on compressing a
gas. Kinetic theory of gases – assumptions, concept of pressure.
Kinetic energy and temperature: rms speed of gas molecules;
Degrees of freedom, Law of equipartition of energy,
applications to specific heat capacities of gases; Mean free path,
Avogadro’s number.

Unit 10: Oscillations and Waves

Periodic motion – period, frequency, displacement as a function
of time. Periodic functions. Simple harmonic motion (S.H.M.)
and its equation; phase; oscillations of a spring -restoring force
and force constant; energy in S.H.M. – kinetic and potential
energies; Simple pendulum – derivation of expression for its
time period; Free, forced and damped oscillations, resonance
Wave motion. Longitudinal and transverse waves, speed of a
wave. Displacement relation for a progressive wave. Principle of
superposition of waves, reflection of waves, Standing waves in
strings and organ pipes, fundamental mode and harmonics,
Beats, Doppler effect in sound.

Unit 11: Electrostatics

Electric charges: Conservation of charge, Coulomb’s law-forces
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, Gauss’s law and its applications to find field due to
infinitely long uniformly charged straight wire, uniformly
charged infinite plane sheet and uniformly charged thin
spherical shell. Electric potential and its calculation for a point
charge, electric dipole and system of charges; Equipotential
surfaces, Electrical potential energy of a system of two point
charges in an electrostatic field.
Conductors and insulators, Dielectrics and electric polarization,
capacitor, 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.
Unit 12: Current Electricity
Electric current, Drift velocity, Ohm’s law, Electrical resistance,
Resistances of different materials, V-I characteristics of Ohmic
and nonohmic conductors, Electrical energy and power,
Electrical resistivity, Colour code for resistors; Series and
parallel combinations of resistors; Temperature dependence of
resistance. Electric Cell and its Internal resistance, potential
difference and emf of a cell, combination of cells in series and in
parallel. Kirchhoff’s laws and their applications. Wheatstone
bridge, Metre bridge. Potentiometer – principle and its
applications.

Unit 13: Magnetic Effects Of Current And Magnetism

Biot – Savart law and its application to current carrying circular
loop. Ampere’s law and its applications to infinitely long current
carrying straight wire and solenoid. Force on a moving charge in
uniform magnetic and electric fields. Cyclotron.
Force on a current-carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic
field. Force between two parallel current-carrying conductors-
definition of ampere. Torque experienced by a current loop in
uniform magnetic field; Moving coil galvanometer, its current
sensitivity and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter.
Current loop as a magnetic dipole and its magnetic dipole
moment. Bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid, magnetic field
lines; Earth’s magnetic field and magnetic elements. Para-, dia-
and ferro- magnetic substances.
Magnetic susceptibility and permeability, Hysteresis,
Electromagnets and permanent magnets.

Unit 14: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating

Currents
Electromagnetic induction; Faraday’s law, induced emf and
current; Lenz’s Law, Eddy currents. Self and mutual inductance.
Alternating currents, peak and rms value of alternating current/
voltage; reactance and impedance; LCR series circuit,
resonance; Quality factor, power in AC circuits, wattless
current. AC generator and transformer.

Unit 15: Electromagnetic Waves

Electromagnetic waves and their characteristics. Transverse
nature of electromagnetic waves.
Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared,
visible, ultraviolet, Xrays, gamma rays). Applications of e.m.
waves.