Current JAMB Syllabus For Physics [+Free PDF]

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Expect about 40 questions in your JAMB PHYSICS EXAM from different topics listed in the JAMB Physics syllabus:

1 MEASUREMENTS AND UNITS.

• (a) Length, area and volume: Metre rule, Venier calipers Micrometer Screw-guage, measuring cylinder.
• (b) Mass
  • (i) unit of mass;
  • (ii) use of simple beam balance;
  • (iii) concept of beam balance.
• (c) Time.
  • (i) unit of time;
  • (ii) time-measuring devices.
• (d) Fundamental physical quantities.
• (e) Derived physical quantities and their units.
  • (i) Combinations of fundamental quantities and determination of their units;
• (f) Dimensions.
  • (i) definition of dimensions.
  • (ii) simple examples.
• (g) Limitations of experimental measurements.
  • (i) accuracy of measuring instruments;
  • (ii) simple estimation of errors;
  • (iii) significant figures;
  • (iv) standard form.
• (h) Measurement, position, distance and displacement.
  • (i) concept of displacement;
  • (ii) distinction between distance and displacement;
  • (iii) concept of position and coordinates;
  • (iv) frame of reference.

2. SCALARS AND VECTORS.

• (i) definition of scalar and vector quantities;
• (ii) examples of scalar and vector quantities;
• (iii) relative velocity;
• (iv) resolution of vectors into two perpendicular directions including graphical methods of solution.

3. MOTION.

• (a) Types of motion: translational, oscillatory, rotational, spin and random.
• (b) Relative motion.
• (c) Causes of motion.
• (d) Types of force.
  • (i) contact.
  • (ii) force field.
• (e) linear motion
  • (i) speed, velocity and acceleration;
  • (ii) equations of uniformly accelerated motion;
  • (iii) motion under gravity;
  • (iv) distance-time graph and velocity time graph;
  • (v) instantaneous velocity and acceleration.
• (f) Projectiles:
  • (i) calculation of range, maximum height and time of flight from the ground and a height;
  • (ii) applications of projectile motion.
• (g) Newton’s laws of motion:
  • (i) inertia, mass and force;
  • (ii) relationship between mass and acceleration;
  • (iii) impulse and momentum;
  • (iv) force – time graph;
  • (v) conservation of linear momentum (Coefficient of restitution not necessary).
• (h) Motion in a circle:
  • (i) angular velocity and angular acceleration;
  • (ii) centripetal and centrifugal forces;
  • (iii) applications.
• (i) Simple Harmonic Motion (S.H.M):
  • (i) definition and explanation of simple harmonic motion;
  • (ii) examples of systems that execute S.H.M;
  • (iii) period, frequency and amplitude of S.H.M;
  • (iv) velocity and acceleration of S.H.M;
  • (v) simple treatment of energy change in S.H.M;
  • (vi) force vibration and resonance (simple treatment).

4. GRAVITATIONAL FIELD.

• (i) Newton’s law of universal gravitation;
• (ii) gravitational potential;
• (iii) conservative and non-conservative fields;
• (iv) acceleration due to gravity;
• (v) variation of g on the earth’s surface;
• (vi) distinction between mass and weight escape velocity;
• (vii) parking orbit and weightlessness.

5. EQUILIBRIUM OF FORCES.

• (a) equilibrium of particles:
  • (i) equilibrium of coplanar forces;
  • (ii) triangles and polygon of forces;
  • (iii) Lami’s theorem.
• (b) principles of moments
  • (i) moment of a force;
  • (ii) simple treatment and moment of a couple (torgue);
  • (iii) applications.
• (c) conditions for equilibrium of rigid bodies under the action of parallel and nonparallel forces.
  • (i) resolution and composition of forces in two perpendicular directions;
  • (ii) resultant and equilibrant.
• (d) centre of gravity and stability
  • (i) stable, unstable and neutral equilibra.

6. (a) WORK, ENERGY AND POWER.

• (i) definition of work, energy and power;
• (ii) forms of energy;
• (iii) conservation of energy;
• (iv) qualitative treatment between different forms of energy;
• (v) interpretation of area under the force-distance curve.
• (b) Energy and society
  • (i) sources of energy;
  • (ii) renewable and non-renewable energy e.g. coal, crude oil etc.
  • (iii) uses of energy;
  • (iv) energy and development;
  • (v) energy diversification;
  • (vi) environmental impact of energy e.g. global warming, greenhouse effect and spillage;
  • (vii) energy crises;
  • (viii) conversion of energy;
  • (ix) devices used in energy production.
• (c) Dams and energy production.
  • (i) location of dams.
  • (ii) energy production.
• (d) nuclear energy.
• (e) solar energy.
  • (i) solar collector;
  • (ii) solar panel for energy supply.

7. FRICTION.

• (i) static and dynamic friction;
• (ii) coefficient of limiting friction and its determination;
• (iii) advantages and disadvantages of friction
• (iv) reduction of friction;
• (v) qualitative treatment of viscosity and terminal velocity;
• (vi) Stoke’s law.

8. SIMPLE MACHINES.

• (i) definition of simple machines;
• (ii) types of machines;
• (iii) mechanical advantage, velocity ratio and efficiency of machines.

9. ELASTICITY.

• (i) elastic limit, yield point, breaking point, Hooke’s law and Young’s modulus;
• (ii) the spring balance as a device for measuring force;
• (iii.) work done per unit volume in springs and elastic strings;

10. PRESSURE.

• (a) Atmospheric Pressure.
  • (i) definition of atmospheric pressure;
  • (ii) units of pressure (S.I) units (Pa);
  • (iii) measurement of pressure;
  • (iv) simple mercury barometer; aneroid barometer and manometer;
  • (v) variation of pressure with height;
  • (vi) the use of barometer as an altimeter.
• (b) Pressure in liquids.
  • (i) the relationship between pressure, depth and density (P = pgh).
  • (ii) transmission of pressure in liquids (Pascal’s Principle).
  • (iii) application.

11. LIQUIDS AT REST.

• (i) determination of density of solids and liquids.
• (ii) definition of relative density.
• (iii) upthrust on a body immersed in a liquid.
• (iv) Archimedes’ principle and law of floatation and applications, e.g. ships and hydrometers.

12. TEMPERATURE AND ITS MEASUREMENT.

• (i) concept of temperature.
• (ii) thermometric properties.
• (iii) calibration of thermometers.
• (iv) temperature scales –Celsius and Kelvin.
• (v) types of thermometers.
• (vi) conversion from one scale of temperature to another.

13. THERMAL EXPANSION.

• (a) Solids.
  • (i) definition and determination of linear, volume and area expansivities;
  • (ii) effects and applications, e.g. expansion in building strips and railway lines;
  • (iii) relationship between different expansivities.
• (b) Liquids.
  • (i) volume expansivity;
  • (ii) real and apparent expansivities;
  • (iii) determination of volume expansivity;
  • (iv) anomalous expansion of water.

14. GAS LAWS.

• (i) Boyle’s law (isothermal process).
• (ii) Charle’s law (isobaric process).
• (iii) Pressure law (volumetric process).
• (iv) absolute zero of temperature.
• (v) general gas equation: (PV/T).
• (vi) ideal gas equation e.g. PV = nRT
• (iv) Van der waal gas.

15. QUANTITY OF HEAT.

• (i) heat as a form of energy;
• (ii) definition of heat capacity and specific heat capacity of solids and liquids;
• (iii) determination of heat capacity and specific heat capacity of substances by simple methods e.g. method of mixtures and electrical method and Newton’s law of cooling

16. CHANGE OF STATE.

• (i) latent heat;
• (ii) specific latent heats of fusion and vaporization;
• (iii) melting, evaporation and boiling;
• (iv) the influence of pressure and of dissolved substances on boiling and melting points;
• (v) application in appliances.

17. VAPOURS.

• (i) unsaturated and saturated vapours;
• (ii) relationship between saturated vapour pressure (S.V.P) and boiling;
• (iii) determination of S.V.P by barometer tube method;
• (iv) formation of dew, mist, fog, and rain;
• (v) study of dew point, humidity and relative humidity;
• (vi) hygrometry; estimation of the humidity of the atmosphere using wet and dry bulb hygrometers.

18. STRUCTURE OF MATTER AND KINETIC THEORY.

• (a) Molecular nature of matter
  • (i) atoms and molecules;
  • (ii) molecular theory: explanation of Brownian motion, diffusion, surface tension, capillarity, adhesion, cohesion and angles of contact etc;
  • (iii) examples and applications.
• (b) Kinetic Theory.
  • (i) assumptions of the kinetic theory
  • (ii) using the theory to explain the pressure exerted by gas, Boyle’s law, Charles’ law, melting, boiling, vapourization, change in temperature, evaporation, etc.

19. HEAT TRANSFER.

• (i) conduction, convection and radiation as modes of heat transfer;
• (ii) temperature gradient, thermal conductivity and heat flux;
• (iii) effect of the nature of the surface on the energy radiated and absorbed by it;
• (iv) the conductivities of common materials;
• (v) the thermos flask;
• (vi) land and sea breeze;
• (vii) engines.

20. WAVES.

• (a) Production and Propagation
  • (i) wave motion;
  • (ii) vibrating systems as source of waves;
  • (iii) waves as mode of energy transfer;
  • (iv) distinction between particle motion and wave motion;
  • (v) relationship between frequency, wavelength and wave velocity (V=fλ);
  • (vi) phase difference, wave number and wave vector;
  • (vii) progressive wave equation e.g. Y =A sin
• (b) Classification
  • (i) types of waves; mechanical and electromagnetic waves;
  • (ii) longitudinal and transverse waves;
  • (iii) stationary and progressive waves;
  • (iv) examples of waves from springs, ropes, stretched strings and the ripple tank.
• (c) Characteristics/ Properties
  • (i) reflection, refraction, diffraction and plane polarization;
  • (ii) superposition of waves e.g. interference.
  • (iii) Beats;
  • (iv) Doppler effects (qualitative treatment only).

21. PROPAGATION OF SOUND WAVES.

• (i) the necessity for a material medium;
• (ii) speed of sound in solids, liquids and air;
• (iii) reflection of sound; echoes, reverberation and their applications;
• (iv) disadvantages of echoes and reverberations.

22. CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND WAVES.

• (i) noise and musical notes;
• (ii) quality, pitch, intensity and loudness and their application to musical instruments;
• (iii) simple treatment of overtones produced by vibrating strings and their columns F_o = 1/2π√LC
• (iv) acoustic examples of resonance;
• (v) frequency of a note emitted by air columns in closed and open pipes in relation to their lengths.

23. LIGHT ENERGY.

• (a) Sources of Light
  • (i) natural and artificial sources of light;
  • (ii) luminous and non-luminous objects.

• (b) Propagation of light
  • (i) speed, frequency and wavelength of light;
  • (ii) formation of shadows and eclipse;
  • (iii) the pin-hole camera.

24. REFLECTION OF LIGHT AT PLANE AND CURVED SURFACES.

• (i) laws of reflection;
• (ii) application of reflection of light;
• (iii) formation of images by plane, concave and convex mirrors and ray diagrams;
• (iv) use of the mirror formula:
• (v) linear magnification.

25. REFRACTION OF LIGHT THROUGH AT PLANE AND CURVED SURFACES.

• (i) explanation of refraction in terms of velocity of light in the media;
• (ii) laws of refraction;
• (iii) definition of refractive index of a medium;
• (iv) determination of refractive index of glass and liquid using Snell’s law;
• (v) real and apparent depth and lateral displacement;
• (vi) critical angle and total internal reflection.

• (b) Glass Prism
  • (i) use of the minimum deviation formula:
  • (ii) type of lenses;
  • (iii) use of lens formula: and Newton’s formular (F² = ab)
  • (iv) magnification.

26. OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS.

• (i) the principles of microscopes, telescopes, projectors, cameras and the human eye (physiological details of the eye are not required);
• (ii) power of a lens;
• (iii) angular magnification;
• (iv) near and far points;
• (v) sight defects and their corrections.

27. (a) DISPERSION OF LIGHT AND COLOURS.

• (i) dispersion of white light by a triangular Prism;
• (ii) production of pure spectrum;
• (iii) colour mixing by addition and subtraction;
• (iv) colour of objects and colour filters;
• (v) rainbow.

• (b)Electromagnetic spectrum
  • (i) description of sources and uses of various types of radiation.

28. ELECTROSTATICS.

• (i) existence of positive and negative charges in matter;
• (ii) charging a body by friction, contact and induction;
• (iii) electroscope;
• (iv) Coulomb’s inverse square law, electric field and potential;
• (v) electric field intensity and potential difference;
• (vi) electric discharge and lightning.

29. CAPACITORS.

• (i) types and functions of capacitors;
• (ii) parallel plate capacitors;
• (iii) capacitance of a capacitor;
• (iv) the relationship between capacitance, area separation of plates and medium between the plates C = EA/D
• (v) capacitors in series and parallel;
• (vi) energy stored in a capacitor.

30. ELECTRIC CELLS.

• (i) simple voltaic cell and its defects;
• (ii) Daniel cell, Leclanche cell (wet and dry);
• (iii) lead –acid accumulator and Nickel-Iron (Nife) Lithium lron and Mercury cadmium;
• (iv) maintenance of cells and batteries (detail treatment of the chemistry of a cell is not required);
• (v) arrangement of cells;
• (vi) efficiency of a cell.

31. CURRENT ELECTRICITY.

• (i) electromagnetic force (emf), potential difference (p.d.), current, internal resistance of a cell and lost Volt;
• (ii) Ohm’s law;
• (iii) measurement of resistance;
• (iv) meter bridge;
• (v) resistance in series and in parallel and their combination;
• (vi) the potentiometer method of measuring emf, current and internal resistance of a cell.
• (vii) electrical networks.

32. ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND POWER.

• (i) concepts of electrical energy and power;
• (ii) commercial unit of electric energy and power;
• (iii) electric power transmission
• (v) heating effects of electric current;
• (vi) electrical wiring of houses;
• (vii) use of fuses.

33. MAGNETS AND MAGNETIC FIELDS.

• (i) natural and artificial magnets;
• (ii) magnetic properties of soft iron and steel;
• (iii) methods of making magnets and demagnetization;
• (iv) concept of magnetic field;
• (v) magnetic field of a permanent magnet;
• (vi) magnetic field round a straight current carrying conductor, circular wire and solenoid;
• (vii) properties of the earth’s magnetic field; north and south poles, magnetic meridian and angle of dip and declination;
• (viii) flux and flux density;
• (ix) variation of magnetic field intensity over the earth’s surface
• (x) applications: earth’s magnetic field in navigation and mineral exploration.

34. FORCE ON A CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTOR IN A MAGNETIC FIELD.

• (i) quantitative treatment of force between two parallel current-carrying conductors;
• (ii) force on a charge moving in a magnetic field;
• (iii) the d. c. motor;
• (iv) electromagnets;
• (v) carbon microphone;
• (vi) moving coil and moving iron instruments;
• (vii) conversion of galvanometers to ammeters and voltmeter using shunts and multipliers;
• (viii) sensitivity of a galvanometer.

35. (a) ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION.

• (i) Faraday’s laws of electromagnetic induction;
• (ii) factors affecting induced emf;
• (iii) Lenz’s law as an illustration of the principle of conservation of energy; pole;
• (iv) a.c. and d.c generators;
• (v) transformers;
• (vi) the induction coil.

• (b) Inductance
  • (i) explanation of inductance;
  • (ii) unit of inductance;
  • (iii) energy stored in an inductor: E =  I²L
  • (iv) application/uses of inductors.

• (c) Eddy Current
  • (i) reduction of eddy current
  • (ii) applications of eddy current

36. SIMPLE A.C. CIRCUITS.

• (i) explanation of a.c. current and voltage;
• (ii) peak and r.m.s. values;
• (iii) a.c. source connected to a resistor;
• (iv) a.c source connected to a capacitor capacitive reactance;
• (v) a.c source connected to an inductor inductive reactance;
• (vi) series R-L-C circuits;
• (vii) vector diagram, phase angle and power factor;
• (viii) resistance and impedance;
• (ix) effective voltage in an R-L-C circuits;
• (x) resonance and resonance frequency: F₀ =

37. CONDUCTION OF ELECTRICITY THROUGH:

• (a) liquids
  • (i) electrolytes and non-electrolyte;
  • (ii) concept of electrolysis;
  • (iii) Faraday’s laws of electrolysis;
  • (iv) application of electrolysis, e.g. electroplating, calibration of ammeter etc.
• (b) gases
  • (i) discharge through gases (qualitative treatment only);
  • (ii) application of conduction of electricity through gases;

38. ELEMENTARY MODERN PHYSICS.

• (i) models of the atom and their limitations;
• (ii) elementary structure of the atom;
• (iii) energy levels and spectra;
• (iv) thermionic and photoelectric emissions;
• (v) Einstein’s equation and stopping potential
• (vi) applications of thermionic emissions and photoelectric effects;
• (vii) simple method of production of x-rays;
• (viii) properties and applications of alpha, beta and gamma rays;
• (ix) half-life and decay constant;
• (x) simple ideas of production of energy by fusion and fission;
• (xi) binding energy, mass defect and Einstein’s Energy equation [ΔE = ΔMc²]
• (xii) wave-particle paradox (duality of matter);
• (xiii) electron diffraction;
• (xiv) the uncertainty principle.

39. INTRODUCTORY ELECTRONICS.

• (i) distinction between metals, semiconductors and insulators (elementary knowledge of band gap is required);
• (ii) intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors;
• (iii) uses of semiconductors and diodes in rectification and transistors in amplification;
• (iv) n-type and p-type semiconductors; (v) elementary knowledge of diodes and transistors.

Source: JAMB IBASS

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