Written by
Subrahmanya Hegde
Founder and faculty of SNBPLC. Qualified CSIR-NET, GATE and JEST in 2016-17. Training students for the past 8 years.
I have qualified CSIR-NET JRF December-2016, GATE-2017 and JEST-2017. I have been training students for above exams over the past 7.5 years. Over time, we have developed an ideal preparation method that is highly acclaimed by the student community.
Your Physics must be good !
Most of the questions in these exams are problems. In any problem, understanding the problem is half way to solve it. To understand the problem, and to generate solution ideas, you should have hold on concepts, theory and principles of Physics. Simply, your Physics must be good to qualify these exams .
- Understand the problem : Need conceptual clarity and theoretical understanding.
- Solve the problem : Need skill of applying the concepts and some practice. Math should be good.
A misconception !
When you see the problems, usually it may come to your mind that there will be some formula or so called tricks to solve the problems, and if you memorize them, you can solve problems. You may think that coaching classes have some “materials”, which if you study you can qualify the exams. Like there is a magic tablet which will make you super-human. So, it is widely believed that following some study materials, mugging up formulas and solving PYQs is the preparation method.
It is clearly mentioned in CSIR NET website and I quote :
“Questions are designed to test the candidate’s knowledge of scientific concepts and/or application of the scientific concepts. The questions shall be of analytical nature where a candidate is expected to apply the scientific knowledge to arrive at the solution to the given scientific problem”.
Link : CSIR-NET Physical Science Exam Scheme
(Check Part C)
Also, in GATE website :
“ GATE is a national-level examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of the subjects ”.
The main point one needs to understand is that the problems/questions are given in the exams to check your Physics, not your memory.
Conventional Method
The coaching industry created lots of formulas and tricks to solve previous problems. Remember, these materials are created after the exam, not for the exams. You may feel like you can solve previous problems with these materials, but it will not ensure that you can solve any newly designed problems in the exam. In these exams, almost all problems are either entirely new or twisted. One should be able to apply Physics to solve any question on any topic instantly and independently for these exams.
Conventional preparation method, relying on mugging up formulas and solving PYQs, is mostly inspired from academic annual/semester exams. As questions used to repeat in academic exams, guessing the questions and byhearting the solutions used to work well. But, it won’t work for these exams. Everytime they design new problems in these exams.
It is simple. Since the main purpose of the exam is to check your Physics, you should learn or improve your Physics.
Check your math !
Before jumping in, check your class 11 and 12 math. You should be very good at Trigonometry, Calculus, Graph Plotting, Vector Algebra etc. Essential Calculus by Stewart, NCERT 11 and 12 math and Khan Academy resources may help you out.
Once you are good at basic math, you are ready to jump into Learning Physics.
Don’t think about exams while learning !
Finland, which has emerged as a global example of quality education, has no standardized tests. The reason why they removed it is that once there is an exam, students will work solely on the exam and learning will be thrown out of the question. So, if you wish to learn good Physics, during this period, don’t think of exams. Once you are good with Physics, it will be easy to crack exams.
Learning Physics…!
Solving previous MCQs and coaching materials itself is not an actual learning and preparation process.
As Sir. Ken Robinson quotes,
“Learning happens in the minds and souls, not in the databases of multiple-choice tests”.
Learning Physics contains two major targets.
- First is to understand the concepts and mathematical structure of the theory.
- Second one is to apply them.
While applying the concepts during problems, we will get to know the gaps in our understanding. Hence, solving more and more problems becomes a main part of Learning Physics. We can say your Physics is good if you have conceptual understanding together with problem solving skills.
Process of Learning Physics contains following major parts:
- Reading multiple standard textbooks
- Asking questions and clarifying doubts
- Teaching concepts to others
- Solving more and more problems
- Discussion in group
Standard Textbooks :
Understanding and solving standard globaly recognized textbooks is the best way to learn physics.
Here is the list of textbooks : https://snboseplc.com/ref-books/
Authors like Griffiths, Reif, Goldstein, have kept their 30-40 years of understanding and experience in their books. The level of Physics that you can get from the standard textbooks is way high than any other materials or videos or internet resources. Which makes textbook learning quite irreplaceable.
Anothe misconception about the textbooks is that they are for theories. This is totally wrong. The textbooks that we listed above contain huge number of problems inside the chapter and outside the chapter. By solving these textbooks, students not only acquire conceptual hold, they also develop problem solving skills. Books also give many generalized tricks and formulas which are helpful in exams.
These textbooks cover all concepts either in the theory, example problems or outside problems. So, it is not a surprise for me that most of the problems from the exams are familiar to the topics in the textbooks. One can find many questions in CSIR-NET, GATE and JEST which are directly taken from standard books or designed on the concepts given in standard books.
The difficulties!
You may think it is difficult to read and solve these textbooks. If you directly landed on the chapters of the book without having required mathematical skill or any other prerequisites, it will be definitely difficult. Read preface carefully and have required mathematical skill before jumping into the book.
Learning should not be a solo journey. One of my teacher said that “Learning is a team adventure”. So, if you are in a group, or in right environment, it will give courage to face difficulties. While doing these standard textbooks, group learning may play key role.
Raising questions and clarifying doubts, teaching concepts to others, solving more and more problem and group discussion etc. are important parts of Physics learning process.
The Syllabi
Here you can find syllabi for these exams : https://snboseplc.com/syllabus/
While writing textbooks for class 11 and 12, Prof. H. C. Verma first thrown away the syllabus. He decided the level and started writing a Physics book. For the past decades, his books are the best resources for JEE, NEET, board exams etc.
The books that we listed above cover all of the topics and subjects required for the exams. If you’re very worried about the syllabus and short on time, do this :
Using the exam syllabus, mark the necessary chapters from the books and cover them one by one. If any extra chapters required for the continuity, cover them too even though it is not in the exam syllabus.
Orientation of knowledge and skills towards exams :
Conceptual knowledge and problem-solving skills acquired from textbooks should be oriented towards solving MCQs, MSQs, and numerical questions. Choosing the simplest approach to solve a new problem requires very good practice. Applying all conceptual knowledge and experience to eliminate options plays a key role in exams. Doing mathematical steps neatly, solving numerical questions in a disciplined way is very important.
Solving topic wise MCQs weekly along with the book learning process helps. These topic wise tests help you to gauge your understanding and ability to apply what you have learnt. By identifying your weaknesses, you can focus on areas that need improvement.
We have created a huge resources of topic wise MCQs which you can take as a test. Check this page : https://snboseplc.com/topic-wise-previous-csir-net-gate-jest-tifr-iit-jam-physics-questions/
Revision and Full Length Tests :
As the syllabus is like an ocean, you may not stop covering the syllabus. You should complete the major part of the syllabus at least one month before the exam. Putting full stop to syllabus coverage and starting revision is the hardest part. Also, completing revision and taking full length tests are still harder. These should be done on time. You may keep revising until a day before an exam without taking mock tests. This should not happen.
Some students face exam hall problems. Although they have very good understanding and problem-solving abilities, they may struggle in the exam hall. Full length practice tests are a valuable tool to evaluate a student’s comprehension, speed, and independent problem-solving skills. They also help the students in developing time management skills.
In the exam hall these are important :
- Solving easy questions first and leaving lengthy questions for the end
- Not being stuck in the lengthy questions and spending 15-20 min on one .
- Not leaving any easy questions on the paper and time management.
- Distributing time to every section according the difficulties, etc.
To execute these in exam, you should take as many mock tests as possible, at least 20.
Finally
Your preparation process must be a perfect balanced combination of these :
- Understanding and Solving Standard Textbooks
- Solving topic wise MCQs along with textbook chapters
- Group discussion
- Revision
- Full length mock tests.
All the best…!
-Subrahmanya L. Hegde.