GRE Physics Subject Test case studies
GRE Physics Subject Test · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The GRE Physics Subject Test is a paper-based, multiple-choice achievement test offered through the GRE Subject Tests program. It is intended for students who have completed a substantial undergraduate physics preparation and who want to strengthen applications to graduate programs in physics, astronomy, or closely related fields. The GRE Physics Subject Test case studies are 5 cases and about 2,740 words.
1Rotating Space Station: Friction Threshold and Spin-Up
A cylindrical space station has radius R = 50 m and moment of inertia I = 4.0×10^7 kg·m^2 about its rotation axis. A 2.0 kg equipment box rests against the inner wall, where the coefficient of static friction is μ s = 0.30 and the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.20.
564 words, about 3 min2Magnetic Braking Rod on Rails: Terminal-Speed Misconception
A 0.50 m long conducting rod slides on two long, parallel, frictionless rails. The rails are connected at one end by a 0.90 Ω resistor; the rod itself has resistance 0.10 Ω, and the rails have negligible resistance.
536 words, about 3 min3Single-Layer Antireflection Coating: Two Wavelengths and Thickness Error
A camera lens is made of glass with refractive index n g = 1.52. To reduce reflection at normal incidence, a single layer of magnesium fluoride with n c = 1.38 is deposited on the glass.
577 words, about 3 min4Fast Versus Slow Compression: Adiabatic or Isothermal?
A cylinder contains 2.0 mol of a monatomic ideal gas at 300 K and 1.0×10^5 Pa. A piston compresses the gas to exactly half its initial volume in 0.15 s.
529 words, about 3 min5Quantum-Well Emission: Infinite-Well Estimate Versus Finite Barrier
A semiconductor quantum well is modeled as an electron in a one-dimensional infinite square well of width L = 8.0 nm. The electron effective mass is m = 0.067 m e.
534 words, about 3 min