Aditi Sinha
July 14, 2023 03:20
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Study the UPSC Physics Optional article, which contains details on the past year's questions, success rates, analysis, and syllabus.
Physics is one of the 48 subjects offered by the UPSC as an optional for UPSC CSE Mains examination. Being a technical subject, a candidate can choose the subject if they possess good knowledge and conceptual clarity. Read more about UPSC Physics Optional Syllabus, Paper, Analysis, Success Rate, PYQ and strategy.
Physics is a branch of natural science that deals with the study of matter and energy, and also their interactions. Physics is one of the core science subjects that has been taught to students from elementary school.
Physics in UPSC is a specialized field, ideally suited for candidates with a background in graduate-level physics. The UPSC Exam Syllabus for this subject covers topics such as statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, relativity, electricity and magnetism, quantum theory, and solid-state semiconductors, among others.
Despite the level of difficulty and the technicality involved, Physics has been popular among students having technical and science backgrounds. With a good hold over basics, and a clear-cut strategy, a student can qualify UPSC CSE exam by opting for Physics optional.
Physics optional Syllabus consists of two papers: Paper 1 and Paper 2, both of which carry 250 marks each. Both these papers contain eight questions, divided equally into two parts of four questions each.
A candidate has to attempt any five questions out of the eight, with question 1 and question 5 being compulsory. Out of the remaining six questions, they can attempt any three, with at least one from each section.
UPSC Physics Optional Syllabus consists of two papers: Paper 1 and Paper 2. The Paper 1 covers topics such as mechanics, optics, thermodynamics etc. The syllabus of Paper 2 involves topics such as molecular physics, nuclear physics, quantum mechanics etc.
The complete syllabus for Paper 1 and Paper 2 is given below:
| 1. Classical Mechanics | (a) Mechanics of Particles
Laws of motion; Conservation of energy and momentum, applications to rotating frames, centripetal and Coriolis accelerations; Motion under a central force; Conservation of angular momentum, Kepler’s laws; Fields and potentials; Gravitational field and potential due to spherical bodies, Gauss and Poisson equations, gravitational self-energy; Two-body problem; Reduced mass; Rutherford scattering; Centre of mass a laboratory reference frames. (b) Mechanics of Rigid Bodies System of particles; Centre of mass, angular momentum, equations of motion; Conservation theorems for energy, momentum, and angular momentum; Elastic and inelastic collisions; Rigid body; Degrees of freedom, Euler’s theorem, angular velocity, angular momentum, moments of inertia, theorems of parallel and perpendicular axes, equation of motion for rotation; Molecular rotations (as rigid bodies); Di and tri-atomic molecules; Processional motion; Top, gyroscope. (c) Mechanics of Continuous Media Elasticity, Hooke’s law and elastic constants of isotropic solids and their inter-relation; Streamline (Laminar) flow, viscosity, Poiseuille’s equation, Bernoulli’s equation, Stokes’ law and applications. (d) Special Relativity Michelson-Morley experiment and its implications; Lorentz transformations-length contraction, time dilation, the addition of relativistic velocities, aberration, and Doppler effect, mass-energy relation, simple applications to a decay process; Four-dimensional momentum vector; Covariance of equations of physics. |
| 2. Waves and Optics | (a) Waves
Simple harmonic motion, damped oscillation, forced oscillation and resonance; Beats; Stationary waves in a string; Pulses and wave packets; Phase and group velocities; Reflection and Refraction from Huygens’ principle. (b) Geometrical Optics Laws of reflection and refraction from Fermat’s principle; Matrix method in paraxial optics-thin lens formula, nodal planes, system of two thin lenses, chromatic and spherical aberrations. (c) Interference Interference of light-Young’s experiment, Newton’s rings, interference by thin films, Michelson interferometer; Multiple beam interference, and Fabry-Perot interferometer. (d) Diffraction Fraunhofer diffraction-single slit, double slit, diffraction grating, resolving power; Diffraction by a circular aperture and the Airy pattern; Fresnel diffraction: half-period zones and zone plates, circular aperture. (e) Polarization and Modern Optics Production and detection of linearly and circularly polarized light; Double refraction, quarter wave plate; Optical activity; Principles of fibre optics, attenuation; Pulse dispersion in step index and parabolic index fibres; Material dispersion, single mode fibres; Lasers-Einstein A and B coefficients; Ruby and He-Ne lasers; Characteristics of laser light-spatial and temporal coherence; Focusing of laser beams; Three-level scheme for laser operation; Holography and simple applications. |
| 3. Electricity and Magnetism | (a) Electrostatics and Magnetostatics
Laplace and Poisson equations in electrostatics and their applications; Energy of a system of charges, multiple expansion of scalar potential; Method of images and its applications; Potential and field due to a dipole, force and torque on a dipole in an external field; Dielectrics, polarization; Solutions to boundary-value problems-conducting and dielectric spheres in a uniform electric field; Magnetic shell, uniformly magnetized sphere; Ferromagnetic materials, hysteresis, energy loss. (b) Current Electricity Kirchhoff’s laws and their applications; Biot-Savart law, Ampere’s law, Faraday’s law, Lenz’ law; Self-and mutual-inductances; Mean and r m s values in AC circuits; DC and AC circuits with R, L, and C components; Series and parallel resonances; Quality factor; Principle of transformer. |
| 4. Electromagnetic Waves and Blackbody Radiation | Displacement current and Maxwell’s equations; Wave equations in vacuum, Pointing theorem; Vector and scalar potentials; Electromagnetic field tensor, covariance of Maxwell’s equations; Wave equations in isotropic dielectrics, reflection and refraction at the boundary of two dielectrics; Fresnel’s relations; Total internal reflection; Normal and anomalous dispersion; Rayleigh scattering; Black body radiation and Planck’s radiation law, Stefan – Boltzmann law, Wien’s displacement law and Rayleigh-Jeans’ law. |
| 5. Thermal and Statistical Physics | (a) Thermodynamics
Laws of thermodynamics, reversible and irreversible processes, entropy; Isothermal, adiabatic, isobaric, isochoric processes and entropy changes; Otto and Diesel engines, Gibbs’ phase rule and chemical potential; Vander Waals equation of state of a real gas, critical constants; Maxwell-Boltzman distribution of molecular velocities, transport phenomena, equi-partition, and virial theorems; Dulong-Petit, Einstein, and Debye’s theories of specific heat of solids; Maxwell relations and applications; Clausius- Clapeyron equation; Adiabatic de-magnetisation, Joule-Kelvin effect and liquefaction of gases. (b) Statistical Physics Macro and micro states, statistical distributions, Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein, and Fermi-Dirac distributions, applications to specific heat of gases and black body radiation; Concept of negative temperatures. |
| 1. Quantum Mechanics | Wave-particle duality; Schroedinger equation and expectation values; Uncertainty principle; Solutions of the one-dimensional Schroedinger equation for free particle (Gaussian wave-packet), particle in a box, particle in a finite well, linear harmonic oscillator; Reflection and transmission by a step potential and by a rectangular barrier; Particle in a three dimensional box, density of states, free electron theory of metals; Angular momentum; Hydrogen atom; Spin half particles, properties of Pauli spin matrices. |
| 2. Atomic and Molecular Physics | Stern-Gerlach experiment, electron spin, fine structure of hydrozen atom; L-S coupling, J-J coupling; Spectroscopic notation of atomic states; Zeeman effect; Franck-Condon principle and applications; Elementary theory of rotational, vibrational and electronic spectra of diatomic molecules; Raman effect and molecular structure; Laser Raman spectroscopy; Importance of neutral hydrogen atom, molecular hydrogen and molecular hydrogen ion in astronomy. Fluorescence and Phosphorescence; Elementary theory and applications of NMR and EPR; Elementary ideas about Lamb shift and its significance. |
| 3. Nuclear Physics | Basic nuclear properties-size, binding energy, angular momentum, parity, and magnetic moment; Semi-empirical mass formula and applications; Mass parabolas; The ground state of a deuteron magnetic moment and non-central forces; Meson’s theory of nuclear forces; Salient features of nuclear forces; Shell model of the nucleus-success and limitations; Violation of parity in beta decay; Gamma decay and internal conversion; Elementary ideas about Mossbauer spectroscopy; Q-value of nuclear reactions; Nuclear fission and fusion, energy production in stars; Nuclear reactors.
Classification of elementary particles and their interactions; Conservation laws; Quark structure of hadrons : Field quanta of electroweak and strong interactions; Elementary ideas about unification of forces; Physics of neutrinos. |
| 4. Solid State Physics, Devices and Electronics | Crystalline and amorphous structure of matter; Different crystal systems, space groups; Methods of determination of crystal structure; X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopies; Band theory of solids—conductors, insulators and semi-conductors; Thermal properties of solids, specific heat, Debye theory; Magnetism: dia, para and ferromagnetism; Elements of super-conductivity, Meissner effect, Josephson junctions and applications; Elementary ideas about high temperature super-conductivity.
Intrinsic and extrinsic semi-conductors- p-n-p and n-p-n transistors; Amplifiers and oscillators. Op-amps; FET, JFET and MOSFET; Digital electronics-Boolean identities, De Morgan’s laws, Logic gates and truth tables. Simple logic circuits; Thermistors, solar cells; Fundamentals of microprocessors and digital computers. |
Before starting preparation, candidates have to collect all the resources needed for covering the complete syllabus. The complete list of books needed for students to complete Physics Optional syllabus is given below:
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
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UPSC Physics Optional Analysis is very important for candidates. This analysis gives you a clear picture of the types of questions asked, how hard or easy they are, and if certain questions tend to repeat.
By studying previous papers, you can spot patterns and understand which topics are more important. This helps you focus your preparation on what really matters and manage your time effectively. It’s also a smart way to predict if some questions might come up again, giving you a valuable advantage in the exam. So, for the UPSC Physics optional paper, thorough analysis is a crucial part of your preparation strategy.
The success rate of the UPSC Physics Optional Paper for the year 2021-2022 was 6.2 percent. The table given below will give you insights into the UPSC Physics Optional Success Rate.
| UPSC Physics Optional Success Rate | |||
| Year | No. of Candidates Appeared | No. of Candidates Recommended | Success Rate Percentage |
| 2021 | 130 | 8 | 6.2 |
| 2020 | 165 | 12 | 7.3 |
| 2019 | 120 | 13 | 10.8 |
| 2017 | 140 | 14 | 10 |
| 2016 | 239 | 16 | 6.7 |
| 2015 | 266 | 17 | 6.4 |
| 2014 | 147 | 13 | 8.8 |
| Year | Name | Marks | Rank |
| 2022 | Ankur Kumar | 295 | 257 |
| 2021 | Aniket Hirde | 312 | 98 |
| 2018 | Sushil Agrawal | 300 | 198 |
Any preparation is incomplete without analysing previous year questions related to the subject. While preparing for Physics Optional, candidates have to go through the previous year questions to understand the demand of the exams, and prepare accordingly. Following is the link to download previous year questions of Physics Optional:
| UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ 2023 | Paper 1: Physics Optional |
| Paper 2: Physics Optional | |
| UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ 2022 | Paper 1: Physics Optional |
| Paper 2: Physics Optional | |
| UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ 2021 | Paper 1: Physics Optional |
| Paper 2: Physics Optional | |
| UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ 2020 | Paper 1: Physics Optional |
| Paper 2: Physics Optional | |
| UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ 2019 | Paper 1: Physics Optional |
| Paper 2: Physics Optional | |
| UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ 2018 | Paper 1: Physics Optional |
| Paper 2: Physics Optional |
Physics optional is not the conventional optional subject that involves monotonous study. It is conceptual in nature, requiring clear understanding of basics. The following are some steps that a candidate can follow for scoring better marks in Physics Optional:
Looking at the syllabus and past trends, it is clear that Physics optional puts emphasis on application-based questions rather than pure theory. The candidates must not just read concepts; they must have the knowledge of applying it to solve questions.
This makes Physics optional a challenging subject for the students. Candidates having a good Physics conceptual base, who can grasp topics easily and those having a good hold over Mathematical concepts like differentiation, integration, algebra, Trigonometry etc have an edge over other competitors.
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