How to prepare for IIT-JEE Physics?

In this article, we are going to list down the books and study material that you will need to study to gain mastery over IIT-JEE Physics. Also, some preparation tips.

Table of Contents

• What study material should we study for IIT JEE Physics?
• Preparation strategy for IIT-JEE Physics

What study material should we study for IIT JEE Physics?

If you are enrolled in some online or offline coaching, then you should study that for sure. These materials are fine-tuned for exam preparation. Even if you are not enrolled in any coaching, you should get their study material by enrolling in their correspondence course or get it from some shop.

Of course, you may read the various articles published on our website too.

Now, what about books?

What books should I study for IIT Physics?

You should start with H. C. Verma books. There are two volumes. They form the basics of the Physics preparation for IIT-JEE. You will also get the solutions of the exercises in H. C. Verma easily on the internet. Once you have read these books, and have solved its questions, you can say that your concepts are clear. Now, you can move ahead. Not before that.

Apart from this, you may read:

• B. M. Sharma books – Do read these books, if you are not reading any coaching material. Otherwise, you may skip it.
• D. C. Pandey - Do the objective book. It has good questions and their solutions are good too. The 5 volumes D. C. Pandey series is not required.
• Interactive Physics Series (around 8 small books) – By R. Ravi, P. Kamaraj, P. Ranganathan. You need not study all of these books. But you may read the topics that you are conceptually weak in. Some concepts are very beautifully described in these books.

B. M. Sharma books vs. D. C. Pandey books

B. M. Sharma books are more descriptive than D. C. Pandey books. Everything has been properly explained. That’s why they are bigger and thicker too, and yes more expensive.

These books will cover not only IIT-JEE Mains, but IIT-JEE Advanced too. Also, once you have read one or two of these books, you will find Physics NCERTs very easy. Just go through them like a novel. And you are good to go for your board exams too.

Apart from this, if you have a lot of time, you may also solve I. E. Irodov. It has many challenging questions. Their solutions are also readily available in the market. However, be selective in your approach. If you want to attempt Irodov after H. C. Verma, then you need to have at least 2 years of preparation time. Many people suggest I. E. Irodov and Resnick Halliday, but these books are not essential for you to crack IIT-JEE. These books are strictly for JEE-Advanced, and if goal is to be among the top 100. Touch these books only if you have read other books many times, and have gained a lot of mastery over Physics. Otherwise, skip these.

Anyways, rather reading a lot of books, you should focus more on revising your concepts and developing the analytical skills to apply those concepts to solve new problems. My suggestion would be to just read H. C. Verma for theory. Maybe B. M. Sharma books, if you have time. If you are also studying some coaching’s material and class notes, then it is more than sufficient.

Then solve a lot of questions from other books. Read a particular chapter from other book, only if you think that you need more conceptual clarity or if you have a lot of doubts. But I don’t think that it will be required.

Should I read NCERTs for IIT Physics?

To develop the basics, do read your NCERTs or ISC board books. However, just reading NCERTs won’t be enough. You need much deeper understanding of concepts and learn their various applications. That is, the topics will be the same as you have studied in 11th and 12th class, but you will need to go in much more depth.

You will get some conceptual questions in IIT-JEE Mains, wherein your concept clarity or your hold on theory will be tested (say around 10% questions). NCERTs will help you here.

My suggestion would be to read your coaching material and H. C. Verma first. Then read NCERTs. You will complete them in no time. However, if you find it hard to follow H. C. Verma, then you may start with NCERTs first.

Preparation strategy for IIT-JEE Physics

Almost all of the subjects in IIT-JEE require you to do a lot of practice. Just reading and memorizing a lot of theory will not be sufficient, especially in case of Maths, Physics and Physical Chemistry. You won’t be able to solve questions from these topics in exam, if you haven’t solved a lot of questions.

Focus on theory 25%, and Focus on question practice 75%

Which Topics are more important in Physics?

In broad terms, Mechanics, Electro-Magnetism and Modern Physics are the most important chapters in IIT-JEE Physics. Almost 60% questions are asked from these chapters.

But these chapters are pretty large too, each having a lot of sub-topics. So, we must look into it topic-wise. Some topics are more important than others. For some you may need to prepare a lot for just 1 question. While some other topics can be completed pretty soon.

For example, a question each from Error Analysis, Instrumental Analysis and Dimensional Analysis is asked in IIT-JEE every year, and you just need a day or two to prepare these topics. Most of the times these questions are pretty easy. You will also get a question from Rotational Motion (which is part of Mechanics) almost every year. However, you will need at least a couple of weeks to master this topic. And there’s no guarantee that you may be able to solve this question or not, as sometimes it can be pretty tricky.

Semi-conductors and Communication are also easy topics. Though not many questions come from these topics, but you can prepare these topics in very less amount of time. So, Result-Effort ratio is pretty good here.

Note

The above strategy is based on the pattern of questions that we have seen in IIT-JEE Physics section of Mains and Advanced. This pattern may change a bit or drastically any given year. So, be prepared for surprises.

If possible, cover the whole syllabus. Start preparing just after your 10th board exams, or even before. Give yourself some time, to increase the chances of success.

How to handle Weak and Strong Areas?

There may be strong and weak areas within a subject too. For example, in Physics, you may like Mechanics, Optics and Modern Physics. Maybe you do not like Thermodynamics. It’s fine. Focus more on the topics you like.

However, some chapters are very important from exam’s perspective. Maybe many questions are asked from that topic, or concepts of that chapter are used in various other chapters too. So, you cannot skip these chapters.

For example, Mechanics and Electro-Magnetism chapters are very important in Physics as almost 50% questions are asked from these topics. So, you cannot afford to leave them. Also, you cannot afford to leave Newton’s laws as they are used in various other chapters in Physics.

What about Question Practice?

Just like Maths, Physics is more about practice. Just reading theory and memorizing concepts will not help you to solve questions. So, you need to practice the various types of questions that are asked in exam and develop the analytical skills to apply the concepts in solving questions.

Do have a look at and solve previous year questions too; at least of the last 5-6 years. It will solve two purposes:

• It will guide your preparation in the initial stages of your IIT-JEE preparation. You will know what topics you need to study, how deep knowledge and practice is required, etc.
• Once you have completed a chapter, say Mechanics, you may then solve some previous year questions from that topic and see if your preparation level is good enough, or you need to dig deeper. So, keep a previous year questions compilation with you, wherein questions are listed chapter-wise.

Also, enrol in some online test series. If possible, give some tests in actual exam centres. It will help you a lot in gauging your overall preparation and solving a paper within time restraints and under pressure.