if you wanted to get 650 - problem groupings

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delsub
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:17 am

if you wanted to get 650 - problem groupings

Post by delsub » Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:28 am

If your sole target in the test was to get 650 - the minimum requisite score in lesser colleges - how would you prepare??

I am at a loss here - should i try to get a good grasp of everything - and almost answer many questions correctly - thereby screwing up my score??

Or is it not a better strategy to try some typical problems they are likely to ask and get them right - like prepare for 60 odd


about 5-6 are on PHENOMENA - stern gerlach, michelson morley, zeeman, stark etc - some or the other effect

about 4-5 - are some sort of violation - energy, momentum, laws of thermodynamics, baryon/lepton number etc

about 10-12 - are formula based - optics, mechanics, bohr model, carnot cycle, EM etc. got to invoke the right formula.

about 5-7 - "which eqn to use" type - it wont be easy cos the problem involves bragg's law/wein's law/other obscure law

about 5 - are "catch" problems - there is a catch, if you can spot which, it is easy. like some symmetrical arrangement etc

about 6-8 are tough calculation problems - too risky to try to solve in P-gre

about 6-8 are very conceptual - the derivative of such and such = that, or solution to some diff eq = answer. Again too risky.

about -6-8 are property based - of semiconductor's resistivity, or latent heat, or cyclotron motion in presence of E + M fields

about 4-5 are relativity based - generally easy. "Y" plays a big role and clear concepts needed too.

about 6-8 are "limits" based - your best bet to solve the problem is to eliminate by taking limits.

about 5-7 are about selecting the right graph/plot from given choices. got to understand underlying causes well.



can someone add some more groups - i am trying to figure out the "low hanging fruit".

Lets work through this together - joint effort. I am sure its not only me who stands to gain - all others who are taking the test this Oct or Nov should benefit from the thread. The other thing i want to find out are some typical patterns in all things QM - question groupings.

Once again thank you very much everyone. This forum and Physgrad have been of immense help.

geshi
Posts: 200
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 12:01 am

Re: if you wanted to get 650 - problem groupings

Post by geshi » Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:38 pm

Try working through the 4 exams that have been published (there's a stickied thread somewhere that has DL locations). You might want to use at least 1 or 2 for doing "test-like conditions." Try making flash cards of the equations, concepts, constants, etc that seem to appear multiple times. Maybe try memorizing some of the easier concepts that only appear once.

There are also some threads (probably stickied) on these forums with some helpful tips. The tips include checking limits and units. If you don't know how to do a problem quickly, make sure you know how to use those tips. There are usually a few problems each exam that are easily solvable through limit or unit checking. If you're looking for "groups of questions" to add, definitely add "units" to that limits based group (I only skipped your groups, maybe you already have that).

delsub
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:17 am

Re: if you wanted to get 650 - problem groupings

Post by delsub » Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:50 pm

Thanks. yes noted - about 5-6 questions that can be solved by checking the units and/or order of magnitude.

I wonder where are the threads on limits and other tips. maybe we should make a thread that supplies links to all useful threads.

Other inputs welcome.

geshi
Posts: 200
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 12:01 am

Re: if you wanted to get 650 - problem groupings

Post by geshi » Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:42 pm

delsub wrote:Thanks. yes noted - about 5-6 questions that can be solved by checking the units and/or order of magnitude.

I wonder where are the threads on limits and other tips. maybe we should make a thread that supplies links to all useful threads.

Other inputs welcome.
Links, links, and more links:
http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2559
Practice exams:
http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2548



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