Medical Admission Physics Preparation 2026: Chapters, Formulas & Tips
Physics in the medical admission test: 15 marks from the 2025-26 session (20 marks until 2024-25). Expect about half concept questions and half short calculations from both HSC Physics papers. You have roughly 12 minutes for the section, so every formula must be ready in your head.
Many medical aspirants treat Physics as the “other” subject — they love Biology, accept Chemistry, and hope Physics will look after itself. That is a costly mistake. Physics questions are short and predictable, and a student who has drilled the formulas can collect almost all of these marks in a few minutes, leaving more time for Biology. This guide shows which chapters matter, which formulas come up again and again, and how to practise so that no calculation takes more than 40 seconds.
What Kind of Physics Questions Come?
| Type | Share (approx.) | Real examples from past papers |
|---|---|---|
| Direct concept or fact | About half | Cadmium rods absorb neutrons; sound in air is an adiabatic process; ceramic is an insulator |
| One-step calculation | About a third | A stone thrown up at 4.9 m/s stays in the air for 1 s; λ = 2 m and v = 300 m/s gives 150 Hz |
| Two-step calculation | A few | 187.5 m covered from rest in 5 s gives a = 15 m/s²; a 600 kg load lifted at 0.1 m/s needs 588 W |
| Units and dimensions | One or two | Unit of G is N m² kg⁻²; Hz is the unit of frequency |
Chapter Priority
| HSC chapter | Paper | How often it appears | Focus on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newtonian mechanics and motion | 1st | Every year | Equations of motion, projectiles, time of flight, nth-second distance |
| Work, energy and power | 1st | Every year | P = Fv, kinetic energy and momentum, efficiency |
| Waves and sound | 1st | Every year | v = fλ, longitudinal waves, resonance, decibels |
| Physical world and measurement | 1st | Often | Percentage error, units, significant figures |
| Gravitation | 1st | Often | Variation of g, weight without Earth’s rotation, weightlessness |
| Thermodynamics | 2nd | Every year | Laws of thermodynamics, heat engines, adiabatic and isothermal processes |
| Current electricity | 2nd | Often | Shunt, Ohm’s law, resistance and temperature |
| Optics | 2nd | Often | Dispersion, total internal reflection, optical fibre, polarisation |
| Modern and nuclear physics | 2nd | Every year | Photons, Compton effect, fusion, isotopes, neutron number |
| Semiconductors | 2nd | Often | n-type and p-type, transistors as amplifiers, band theory |
The Formula Sheet You Must Memorise
| Topic | Formula | Exam-style use |
|---|---|---|
| Motion | v = u + at, s = ut + ½at², v² = u² + 2as | Distance or acceleration from rest |
| Distance in the nth second | sₙ = u + ½a(2n − 1) | Ratio of distances in 4th and 3rd second = 7 : 5 |
| Vertical throw | Time of flight T = 2u/g, maximum height H = u²/2g | u = 4.9 m/s gives T = 1 s |
| Projectile at 45° | Range R = u²/g = 4H | Range is four times the maximum height |
| Kinetic energy | E = p²/2m | Double the momentum, four times the energy |
| Power | P = W/t = Fv = mgv | 600 kg at 0.1 m/s → 588 W |
| Heat engine | η = (Q₁ − Q₂)/Q₁ | 3,400 J in and 2,400 J out → 29.41% |
| Waves | v = fλ | Frequency ratio 5 : 6 → wavelength ratio 6 : 5 |
| Percentage error | For x = rⁿ, error = n × (error in r) | Sphere radius with 1% error → volume error 3% |
| Temperature scales | C/5 = (F − 32)/9 | Both scales read the same at −40° |
| Nucleus | Neutrons = A − Z | ¹⁵₇N has 8 neutrons |
| Light | E = hf, c = fλ | Energy of a photon from wavelength |
How to Solve Calculations in 40 Seconds
- Write nothing you can do in your head. Most medical-test sums use g = 9.8 and numbers chosen to cancel neatly (4.9, 9.8, 19.6).
- Check the options first. If the options are far apart, a rough estimate is enough to choose.
- Watch the units. Centimetres, grams and minutes are common traps when the answer is in SI units.
- Use ratios. Questions that ask “how many times” or “what ratio” never need full values.
- Skip and return. If a sum is not clear in 20 seconds, mark it and come back at the end.
A 21-Day Physics Plan
| Days | Chapters | Daily practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | Measurement, vectors, motion, Newtonian mechanics | 30 MCQ + 10 sums |
| 5–7 | Work, energy, power and gravitation | 30 MCQ + 10 sums |
| 8–10 | Periodic motion, waves and sound, ideal gas | 30 MCQ |
| 11–13 | Thermodynamics and static and current electricity | 30 MCQ + 10 sums |
| 14–16 | Magnetism, induction, optics | 30 MCQ |
| 17–19 | Modern physics, nuclear physics, semiconductors | 30 MCQ |
| 20–21 | Two Physics model tests and revision of mistakes | Timed 40-question sets |
Common Mistakes
- Mixing up adiabatic and isothermal. Sound in air is adiabatic; in an isothermal process the temperature stays fixed.
- Thinking frequency changes between media. When sound moves into a new medium, wavelength and speed change, but frequency stays the same.
- Forgetting that weight would rise without Earth’s rotation. Rotation reduces the effective value of g.
- Guessing on “which is correct” statements. These are designed to trap hurried readers; read all four options.
FAQ
From the 2025-26 session Physics carries 15 of the 100 marks. Until 2024-25 it carried 20 marks.
Newtonian mechanics, work-energy-power, waves and sound, thermodynamics, and modern and nuclear physics give the most questions.
Yes. Usually a third or more of the Physics questions are short calculations that can be done in under a minute with the right formula.
Yes for the concepts. Add regular practice of past questions so that the formulas become automatic.
