JEE MAIN 2015 SYLLABUS FOR PHYSICS:
Students may note that Syllabus contains two Sections
Section A: pertaining to the Theory Part having 80% weightage,
Section B: pertaining to the Practical Component (Experimental Skills) having 20% weightage.
Unit Unit Topic Topic Wise Syllabus
Section A
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
2 Kinematics
Frame of reference. Motion in a straight line: Positiontime
graph, speed and velocity. Uniform and nonuniform
motion, average speed and instantaneous velocity
Uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-time, positiontime
graphs, relations for uniformlyaccelerated 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
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.
4 Work, Energy And Power Work done by a constant force and a variable force;
kinetic and potential energies, workenergy theorem,
power. Potential energy of a spring, conservation of
mechanical energy, conservative and nonconservative
forces; Elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two
dimensions
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
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
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, latentheat. Heat
transferconduction, convection and radiation, Newton’s
law of cooling
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
9 Kinetic Theory Of Gases
Equation of state of a perfect gas, work doneon
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
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
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
12 Currrent 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.
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 currentcarrying
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.
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
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. Reflection and refraction of
light at plane and spherical surfaces, mirror formula,
Total internal reflection and its applications, Deviation
and Dispersion of light by a prism, Lens Formula,
Magnification, Power of a Lens, Combination of thin
lenses in contact, Microscope and Astronomical
Telescope (reflecting and refracting) and their
magnifyingpowers. Wave optics: wavefront and
Huygens’ principle, Laws of reflection and refraction
using Huygen’s principle. Interference, Young’s double
slit experiment and expression for fringe width.
Diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maximum.
Resolving power of microscopes and astronomical
telescopes, Polarisation, plane polarized light;
Brewster’s law, uses of plane polarized light and
Polaroids
16 Optics
Reflection and refraction of light at plane and spherical
surfaces, mirror formula, Total internal reflection and its
applications, Deviation and Dispersion of light by a
prism, Lens Formula, Magnification, Power of a Lens,
Combination of thin lenses in contact, Microscope and
Astronomical Telescope (reflecting and refracting) and
their magnifving powers.
Wave optics: wavefront and Huygens' principle, Laws of
reflection and refraction using Huygen's principle.
Interference, Young's double slit experiment and
expression for fringe width, coherent sources and
sustained interference of light. Diffraction due to a single
slit, width of central maximum. Resolving power of
microscopes and astronomical telescopes, Polarisation,
plane polarized light; Brewster's law, uses of plane
polarized lights and Polaroids
17 Dual Nature of Matter and radiation
Dual nature of radiation. Photoelectric effect, Hertz and
Lenard’s observations; Einstein’s photoelectric equation;
particle nature of light. Matter waves-wave nature of
particle, de Broglie relation. DavissonGermer
experiment
18 Atoms and Nuclei
Alpha-particle scattering experiment; Rutherford’s model
of atom; Bohr model, energy levels, hydrogen spectrum.
Composition and size of nucleus, atomic masses,
isotopes,isobars; isotones. Radioactivity-alpha, beta and
gamma particles/rays and their properties;
radioactive decay law. Mass-energy relation, mass
defect; binding energy per nucleon and
its variation with mass number, nuclear fission and
fusion.
19 Electronic Devices
Semiconductors; semiconductor diode: I-V
characteristics in forward and reverse bias;
diode as a rectifier; I-V characteristics of LED,
photodiode, solar cell and Zener diode; Zener
diode as a voltage regulator. Junction transistor,
transistor action, characteristics of a transistor; transistor
as an amplifier (common emitter configuration) and
oscillator. Logic gates (OR, AND, NOT, NAND and
NOR). Transistor as a switch
20 Communication Systems Propagation of electromagnetic waves in the
atmosphere; Sky and space wave propagation, Need for
modulation, Amplitude and Frequency Modulation,
Bandwidth of signals, Bandwidth of Transmission
medium, Basic Elements of a Communication System
(Block Diagram only).
Section B : Familiarity with the basic approach and observations of the experiments and activities given below:
21 Experimental Skills
1. Vernier callipers-its use to measure internal and
external diameter and depth of a vessel.
2. Screw gauge-its use to determine thickness/diameter
of thin sheet/wire.
3. Simple Pendulum-dissipation of energy by plotting a
graph between square of amplitude
and time.
4. Metre Scale - mass of a given object by principle of
moments.
5. Young’s modulus of elasticity of the material of a
metallic wire.
6. Surface tension of water by capillary rise and effect of
detergents.
7. Co-efficient of Viscosity of a given viscous liquid by
measuring terminal velocity of a given spherical body.
8. Plotting a cooling curve for the relationship between
the temperature of a hot body and time.
9. Speed of sound in air at room temperature using a
resonance tube.
10. Specific heat capacity of a given
(i) solid and (ii) liquid by method of mixtures.11. Resistivity of the material of a given wire using metre
bridge.
12. Resistance of a given wire using Ohm’s law.
13. Potentiometer –
(i) Comparison of emf of two primary cells.
(ii) Determination of internal resistance of a cell.
14. Resistance and figure of merit of a galvanometer by
half deflection method.
15. Focal length of:
(i) Convex mirror
(ii) Concave mirror, and
(iii) Convex lens using parallax method.
16. Plot of angle of deviation vs angle of incidence for a
triangular prism.
17. Refractive index of a glass slab using a travelling
microscope.
18. Characteristic curves of a p-n junction diode in
forward and reverse bias.
19. Characteristic curves of a Zener diode and finding
reverse break down voltage.
20. Characteristic curves of a transistor and finding
current gain and voltage gain.
21. Identification of Diode, LED, Transistor, IC, Resistor,
Capacitor from mixed collection of
such items.
22. Using multimeter to:
(i) Identify base of a transistor
(iii) See the unidirectional flow of current in case of a
diode and an LED.(iv) Check the correctness or
otherwise of a given electronic component (diode,
transistor or IC)
Students may note that Syllabus contains two Sections
Section A: pertaining to the Theory Part having 80% weightage,
Section B: pertaining to the Practical Component (Experimental Skills) having 20% weightage.
Unit Unit Topic Topic Wise Syllabus
Section A
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
2 Kinematics
Frame of reference. Motion in a straight line: Positiontime
graph, speed and velocity. Uniform and nonuniform
motion, average speed and instantaneous velocity
Uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-time, positiontime
graphs, relations for uniformlyaccelerated 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
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.
4 Work, Energy And Power Work done by a constant force and a variable force;
kinetic and potential energies, workenergy theorem,
power. Potential energy of a spring, conservation of
mechanical energy, conservative and nonconservative
forces; Elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two
dimensions
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
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
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, latentheat. Heat
transferconduction, convection and radiation, Newton’s
law of cooling
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
9 Kinetic Theory Of Gases
Equation of state of a perfect gas, work doneon
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
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
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
12 Currrent 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.
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 currentcarrying
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.
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
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. Reflection and refraction of
light at plane and spherical surfaces, mirror formula,
Total internal reflection and its applications, Deviation
and Dispersion of light by a prism, Lens Formula,
Magnification, Power of a Lens, Combination of thin
lenses in contact, Microscope and Astronomical
Telescope (reflecting and refracting) and their
magnifyingpowers. Wave optics: wavefront and
Huygens’ principle, Laws of reflection and refraction
using Huygen’s principle. Interference, Young’s double
slit experiment and expression for fringe width.
Diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maximum.
Resolving power of microscopes and astronomical
telescopes, Polarisation, plane polarized light;
Brewster’s law, uses of plane polarized light and
Polaroids
16 Optics
Reflection and refraction of light at plane and spherical
surfaces, mirror formula, Total internal reflection and its
applications, Deviation and Dispersion of light by a
prism, Lens Formula, Magnification, Power of a Lens,
Combination of thin lenses in contact, Microscope and
Astronomical Telescope (reflecting and refracting) and
their magnifving powers.
Wave optics: wavefront and Huygens' principle, Laws of
reflection and refraction using Huygen's principle.
Interference, Young's double slit experiment and
expression for fringe width, coherent sources and
sustained interference of light. Diffraction due to a single
slit, width of central maximum. Resolving power of
microscopes and astronomical telescopes, Polarisation,
plane polarized light; Brewster's law, uses of plane
polarized lights and Polaroids
17 Dual Nature of Matter and radiation
Dual nature of radiation. Photoelectric effect, Hertz and
Lenard’s observations; Einstein’s photoelectric equation;
particle nature of light. Matter waves-wave nature of
particle, de Broglie relation. DavissonGermer
experiment
18 Atoms and Nuclei
Alpha-particle scattering experiment; Rutherford’s model
of atom; Bohr model, energy levels, hydrogen spectrum.
Composition and size of nucleus, atomic masses,
isotopes,isobars; isotones. Radioactivity-alpha, beta and
gamma particles/rays and their properties;
radioactive decay law. Mass-energy relation, mass
defect; binding energy per nucleon and
its variation with mass number, nuclear fission and
fusion.
19 Electronic Devices
Semiconductors; semiconductor diode: I-V
characteristics in forward and reverse bias;
diode as a rectifier; I-V characteristics of LED,
photodiode, solar cell and Zener diode; Zener
diode as a voltage regulator. Junction transistor,
transistor action, characteristics of a transistor; transistor
as an amplifier (common emitter configuration) and
oscillator. Logic gates (OR, AND, NOT, NAND and
NOR). Transistor as a switch
20 Communication Systems Propagation of electromagnetic waves in the
atmosphere; Sky and space wave propagation, Need for
modulation, Amplitude and Frequency Modulation,
Bandwidth of signals, Bandwidth of Transmission
medium, Basic Elements of a Communication System
(Block Diagram only).
Section B : Familiarity with the basic approach and observations of the experiments and activities given below:
21 Experimental Skills
1. Vernier callipers-its use to measure internal and
external diameter and depth of a vessel.
2. Screw gauge-its use to determine thickness/diameter
of thin sheet/wire.
3. Simple Pendulum-dissipation of energy by plotting a
graph between square of amplitude
and time.
4. Metre Scale - mass of a given object by principle of
moments.
5. Young’s modulus of elasticity of the material of a
metallic wire.
6. Surface tension of water by capillary rise and effect of
detergents.
7. Co-efficient of Viscosity of a given viscous liquid by
measuring terminal velocity of a given spherical body.
8. Plotting a cooling curve for the relationship between
the temperature of a hot body and time.
9. Speed of sound in air at room temperature using a
resonance tube.
10. Specific heat capacity of a given
(i) solid and (ii) liquid by method of mixtures.11. Resistivity of the material of a given wire using metre
bridge.
12. Resistance of a given wire using Ohm’s law.
13. Potentiometer –
(i) Comparison of emf of two primary cells.
(ii) Determination of internal resistance of a cell.
14. Resistance and figure of merit of a galvanometer by
half deflection method.
15. Focal length of:
(i) Convex mirror
(ii) Concave mirror, and
(iii) Convex lens using parallax method.
16. Plot of angle of deviation vs angle of incidence for a
triangular prism.
17. Refractive index of a glass slab using a travelling
microscope.
18. Characteristic curves of a p-n junction diode in
forward and reverse bias.
19. Characteristic curves of a Zener diode and finding
reverse break down voltage.
20. Characteristic curves of a transistor and finding
current gain and voltage gain.
21. Identification of Diode, LED, Transistor, IC, Resistor,
Capacitor from mixed collection of
such items.
22. Using multimeter to:
(i) Identify base of a transistor
(iii) See the unidirectional flow of current in case of a
diode and an LED.(iv) Check the correctness or
otherwise of a given electronic component (diode,
transistor or IC)
