The GRE Physics test is an examination administered by the Educational Testing Service. The test attempts to determine the extent of the examinees' understanding
of fundamental principles of physics and their ability to apply them in
problem solution. Many graduate schools require applicants to take the exam and base admission decisions in part on the results. This puts pressure on undergraduate programs to teach the topics students will need to succeed on the GRE.
The scope of the test is largely that of the first three years of a standard
United States undergraduate physics curriculum, since many students who plan to continue to graduate school apply during the first half of the fourth year. It consists of approximately 100 five-choice questions covering subject areas including classical mechanics and electromagnetism, wave phenomena and optics, thermal physics, relativity, atomic and quantum physics, laboratory techniques, and mathematical methods. The table indicates the relative weights and detailed contents of the major topics.
Also:
Mathematical methods and their applications in physics
| Range of Raw Scores Needed to Earn Selected Scaled Scores on Three Physics Test Editions That Differ in Difficulty |
|---|
| Scaled Score | Raw Scores |
| Form A | Form B | Form C |
| 900 | 75 | 71 | 60-61 |
| 800 | 61 | 57 | 45 |
| 700 | 47 | 43-44 | 33 |
| 600 | 33-34 | 29-30 | 22 |
| Number of Questions Used to Compute Raw Score |
| 100 | 100 | 98 |
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