Portal:GRE Prep

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This page is the main entry point for the University of Arkansas - GRE prep site

Contents 1 Initial GRE Prep Talk 2 Dates 3 Coverage 4 General Strategy 5 Make this a valuable experience 6 Advice of Past Students 7 Test Preparation Schedule - Summer After Junior Year 7.1 Take First Practice Test 7.2 Set a Schedule 7.3 Start Reading 7.4 Make Introductory Notes 7.5 Notecards for Formulas 7.6 Make Advanced Notes 8 Test Preparation Schedule - Fall Senior Year 8.1 Take the First Practice Test Again 8.2 Set up a problem working schedule 8.3 Collect a Study Group 8.4 Begin to Prepare for the General Test 8.5 Take the Third Practice Test 8.6 Take the Fourth Practice Test 9 Resources 9.1 Official Practice Tests 9.2 Unofficial Solutions 9.3 Dr. Stewart's Test 2 Solutions 9.4 Chemistry Practice Tests 9.5 Multiple Choice Physics Tests 9.6 Worked Problems 9.7 Contributed Notes

Initial GRE Prep Talk

Initial GRE Prep Talk has the basic info given on the first day of the GRE Prep Course.

Dates

The GRE is given by ETS which can be reached at ETS. You should sign up for and take both the general GRE and the physics subject test. There are numerous study materials for the general GRE at most bookstores. These tests will be given on different dates. The subject test was given on November 8th last year. Expect a similar date this year. Sign up well in advance, none of this last minute stuff.

Coverage

For Wikipedia's complete list of Test Content. This list is also available in the GRE practice booklet. The main topics covered are Mechanics(20%), E+M(18%), Quantum(12%), Thermo(10%), Atomic(10%), Optics(9%), Special Relativity(6%) plus some additional fun garbage. For those of you who have not had all the above classes, don't freak. Much of the material can be done with a solid knowledge of your introductory physics classes, plus some general knowledge of what things are.

General Strategy

A student should allow 6 months to prepare for the exam. Since there are only four practice tests for the exam, the tests must be used wisely. After an initial review period, the student should take the first practice test early in their preparation process to sensitize themselves to the types of problems on the exam and to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

The GRE physics subject test is unusual because it is substantially a test of knowledge, not a test of skill. This makes it very different than most other physics tests the student will have taken. This makes some sense to a graduate school because it ensures the students they accept have a broad familiarity with physics and have fully mastered the content of the introductory sequence.

Strategy is important in preparing for and taking this test. As I have considered how to best advise students, I discovered my preparation strategy was completely stupid. I studied from junior level textbooks exclusively. Most GRE problems are introductory level problems. It is important to work from both introductory and advanced sources and to identify the important points in the advanced sources. Working a lot of easy problems is more important than a few hard problems. Therefore, finding sources of worked problems is important.

Make this a valuable experience

This site will focus on strategy and it will sound like you're jumping through a stupid hoop these graduate schools have set for you. You can certainly approach it that way, but it would be better if you made this into a positive experience. Each of your classes have only introduced you to new material. This is your chance to draw that material together. Work from multiple sources, read, work on things that have bugged you, and begin to develop your overview of the subject.

There are three points where a physicist really learns the material; (1) Preparing for the GRE, (2) Preparing for the free attempt at the qualifying exam offered by most universities before going to graduate school, and (3) Preparing for the qualifying exam. Make the most of this first time to begin to master physics.

Advice of Past Students

The students who took the GRE this past year sat down to discuss the test and give advice to the students who will take the test this year. Their primary advice boils down to this:

1. Plan to spend a lot of time preparing - Each of them wished they had begun preparation in May rather than August.
2. Set up a schedule - Set aside some time to read and work problems each day. Plan to spend at least an hour a day, preferrably more.
3. Work problems - Plan to work a lot of problems before the test. You not only need to know the stuff, you have to be fast.
4. Focus on UPI-Modern - The bulk of the test is drawn for UPI, UPII, UPIII, and Modern

Test Preparation Schedule - Summer After Junior Year

Take First Practice Test

Immediately after the Spring semester is complete take the first practice test. Don't freak out if you don't do well. This step is the sensitize you to the kind of things you need to study.

Set a Schedule

Set aside some time each day for reading, notetaking, and working problems.

Start Reading

Collect a reading list. This should include a calculus-based textbook that include modern physics.

Your UPIII book,Young and Friedman, will do nicely. I am also working with two modern textbooks, The book for this semester is Modern Physics by Tipler. I am also using and like better, Modern Physics by Taylor, Zafiratos, and Dubson. One important thing to realize as you prepare for the GRE is that you are responsible for ALL the material in these books not just the stuff that was covered in your class. For chapters that were not covered in your UPI-Modern classes, you need to read the chapter carefully and work some problems. For the chapters that were covered, skim the chapters again. The GRE covers slightly different material than was covered in your classes. You need to know what important experiments were about and some of the important numbers.

Reading List:

1. One introductory textbook with modern physics section
2. One to two modern physics books
3. Your lecture notes in advanced classes
4. Textbooks from advanced classes. (Skim these for experiment names, formulas, and worked examples)

If you had Quantum out of Lieboff, you may wish to find a more elementary reference. I recommend Griffith's Quantum Mechanics. It has a dead cat on the cover.

Make Introductory Notes

What you want to come out of this summer of reading is a set of compressed notes. You don't want to include everything in your notes; only the important stuff. You should have multiple references on most topics. Try to bring them together. Your notes should include:

1. Important Numbers - How big is stuff?
2. Important Experiments - Why do we know stuff ?
3. Named formulas - If it got a name, you need to know it.

Notecards for Formulas

Write important formulas and calculation tricks on a notecards so that you can go through and memorize them. You need to remember formulas because you won't have time to derive them on the test.

Make Advanced Notes

Other than formulas, you really only need to know the most important stuff from your advanced classes. Limit yourself to twenty handwritten pages in each class and write a brief set of notes, only the good stuff.

Test Preparation Schedule - Fall Senior Year

The subject GRE will be given near the first of December. Days vary year to year.

Take the First Practice Test Again

If you are taking the GRE, you may attend my 4991 course. We will take the first practice test as a class the first meeting. Allow yourself to use your notes. How did you do? What is missing from your notes? Make adjustments to your study strategy.

Set up a problem working schedule

So you've reviewed the material, now you've got to put it into practice. You must work a large number of problems to improve your speed and accuracy. These problems can come from your introductory textbooks or from one of the collections mentioned in the reference section below. It would be best to set aside some time each day to work problems. Hannah worked problems during breakfast each day.

Collect a Study Group

Use your performance on the second practice test to identify a set of topics that need work. Begin to network with other GRE takers. This year we will use my 4991 class as a study session. I will try to find a time that fits the schedule of all test takers. Each student at this point should be working from a substantial set of notes, we will begin to share notes to fill in gaps. I would like to meet with the group of test takers to figure out the best use of the 4991 class. As a group, begin to work on your GRE crib sheet, the list of formulas and numbers you will know for the test.

Begin to Prepare for the General Test

Like any standardized test, there are many practice guides for the general test. Use them. Your score on the General Test is a better predictor of graduate school success than your subject test score. However, both scores are important in graduate school admissions.

Take the Third Practice Test

One month before the test, gather for a simulated test session to take the third practice test. Review your crib sheet before the test and take the test with the other GRE takers in test conditions. Figure out your test strategy beforehand, are you going to try each problem, easy problems first. Use this as an opportunity to test your strategy. Talk over results afterwards. Once you're taken the test.

work all the problems.

Take the Fourth Practice Test

Two weeks before the test, do it again.

Resources

Official Practice Tests

These are the official released copies of the GRE, use them sparingly but definitely take all four before taking the test.

1. Test 1 - GRE Practice Booklet(GRE0177)
2. Test 2 - GRE Practice Booklet (GRE9677)
3. Test 3 - GRE Practice Booklet(GRE9277)
4. Test 4 - GRE Practice Booklet(GRE8677)

Unofficial Solutions

Unofficial and sometimes incorrect solution to the four published tests are available at GRE Solutions

Dr. Stewart's Test 2 Solutions

1. Problems 1-20 (Big because I was an idiot)
2. Problems 15-28
3. Problems 29-47
4. Problems 48-66
5. Problems 67-82
6. Problems 83-100

Chemistry Practice Tests

Naturally, there are physics problems on the chemistry GRE, but only some of the questions are relavent.

• Chemistry - Image:GR0027.pdf Useful Problems: 6, 22, 23, 48, 37, 49, 59, 60, 61, 62, 84, 85, 108, 109, 110, 111, 113, 119, 120, 121
• Chemistry GR9527:Image:GR9527.pdf 2, 4, 7, 14-18, 26, 27, 29-34, 36, 37, 39-43, 51, 54, 55, 58-63, 65, 69, 79-83, 86, 99, 107, 108, 110-113, 115, 117, 126, 128, 129, 132-135, 141-144
• GR9027: 26, 29, 31-37, 41-45, 54, 56, 91, 94, 95, 117, 119, 120, 122, 133, 135, 141, 143-145. I have

not found an electronic copy of this one.

Multiple Choice Physics Tests

The following contain multiple choice physics problems. I will place them on reserve in the physics library. They will not circulate, but you are welcome to photocopy the tests or work them in the library. Taking a multiple choice physics test is a skill that requires practice, so working multiple choice problems should be a part of your preparation.

1. Preparing for Physics GRE - This is the book with the purple color in the SPS lounge. This contains four additional practice tests. Good practice, but these are not as carefully constructed as the real GRE, so they are a bit harder and more random. It is the only source of additional subject test problems. The book in the SPS lounge correct contains the note, the problems in this book are much harder than those in the GRE.
2. AP Physics BC Practice material - Since many GRE problems can be solved with methods from introductory courses, the AP test is good practice. These will by and large be amongst the easiest GRE problems.

Worked Problems

The GRE is a test of breadth, not depth. So having seen a lot of solved problems is helpful. The strategy for using the following is to read the review material, attempt the problems but if it doesn't come immediately, read the solution. These have also been place in the physics library. They are really cheap ($10), so if they work for you consider buying them. If you have references that should go here, let me know.

1. Schaum's Begining Physics I, II
2. 3000 Physics problems
3. Schaum's Modern Physics

Contributed Notes

1. Dr. Stewart Notes - Some of my lecture notes are available at SPS Notes.
   1. Particle Physics
   2. Nuclear Physics
   3. Lagrangian Dynamics and Small Oscillations Careful, this one is huge (8M) because it had to be scanned in color.
2. Nightvid Cole Formulas - Nightvid did very well on the subject GRE. Here are the formula sheets he created. Volume 1 and Volume 2. These are very large pdf documents (23M) so allow some time to download. I should note that Nightvid scored 980 on the subject test.