NEET entrance exam: 5 most important study tips for NEET Physics

If you’re finding it difficult to prepare for NEET Physics and want to supercharge your preparation, I’ve listed 5 important and highly-effective tips that can boost your score. 

1) Choose the right study material

The most important books for NEET Physics are the NCERT Textbooks! You need to absolutely master the contents of the NCERT Physics textbooks if you’re looking to score well in NEET. Most of the theory questions are directly from these textbooks, and the numerical problems are also variations of the chapter exercise questions. Apart from these textbooks, there are a variety of other study materials available to additionally choose from. The key is to choose a book that is aligned to the exam and its level of difficulty and then completely finish that one book. 

2) Understand the Paper Requirements

Unlike JEE Main where a candidate has an average time of about 2 minutes per question, the NEET exam gives only 1 minute per question. Hence, logically, there is bound to be a mix of theory and numerical questions. While JEE Main candidates usually focus more on complex, difficult numerical problems, a NEET aspirant must maintain a balanced approach to solving both theory and numerical problems while practising. The most important aspect to keep in mind is that time is of the greatest essence. One cannot spend disproportionate time solving Physics. A good problem-solving time for 45 questions of Physics is 50 minutes. Under no circumstances should the time exceed 60 minutes for 45 questions.

3) Focus on Most Important Topics

Generally, 11th grade topics have an overall weightage of around 40-45 percent and 12th grade topics have an overall weightage of around 55-60 percent in the NEET Physics paper. Even within each grade, there are some topics that are more likely to be tested in the exam. For grade 11, Units and Measurements, Rotational Motion, Motion in 1-D, Motion in 2-D, Fluid Mechanics, Work Energy Power and Oscillations are very important. In general, the highest number of questions from grade 11 syllabus are based on Mechanics. For grade 12, Current Electricity, Alternating Current, Electrostatics and Capacitors, Magnetism, Ray Optics and Optical Instruments and Semiconductor Electronics are critical chapters. 

4) Learn Formulas and their Application

Remembering Physics formulas can be immensely helpful to crack the NEET paper. Many questions are directly based on formulas or their simple applications. Learning formulas can help boost both speed and accuracy in the paper. It is usually a great idea to make your own notes while preparing for NEET and, in those notes, write down all the formulas you come across especially from NCERT Textbooks. In that way, you can create a repository of formulas of your own which you can quickly revise before your mock tests and the final NEET exam. However, apart from learning formulas, it is also important to focus on where those formulas can be used and what their limitations are. Many a times, there are questions which may trick a student into using a wrong formula if the student doesn’t pay attention to the conditions mentioned in the problem. 

5) Give plenty of Mock Tests

Cracking the Physics part of the NEET exam is all about practice. Since there is a finitely limited amount of theory, there is a limitation on the types of questions that can be asked in the paper as well. If one practises enough mock tests, it becomes very easy to spot these problem types in the NEET exam. Moreover, mock tests help in not just increasing speed but also formulating a strategy to crack the paper. Knowing what type of questions to not waste time on can be very helpful during attempting the exam. Always set a target score for every mock test you give, and try to achieve it. After the mock test is over, make sure to revisit the paper and work out the problems that you haven’t been able to get during the mock test. This will help in building a better conceptual understanding. A very valuable insight I’ve gained is that students usually tend to better remember the method to solve problems that they got wrong during mock tests!

Getting a good score in NEET Physics depends on how effectively you can manage your accuracy and time. Using the above 5 tips will certainly help you boost your overall performance. For more personalised advice, mentoring or training, you can reach out to me via email at institute@tejtutorials.com.

The author of the article is Tejas Shyam, edu-preneur and founder of The Education Journey.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA.)