Physics Major Field Test

Friday May 20, 1330-1550

TH404

Nature of Test• 70 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours• No guessing penalty• No notes, books, calculator. Scratch paper ok

– (Scratch paper provided; just bring pen/pencil)

• Main areas– Classical Mechanics and Relativity– Electromagnetism– Optics/Waves– Thermal Physics (Thermodynamics & Stat. Mech.)– Quantum Mechanics– Atomic Physics– Lab Methods, Nuclear, Particle

• Separated into Section 1 and Section 2. After ending 1 and going to 2, cannot go back to 1.

Tutorial The tutorial allows you to become familiar with the test taking interface. As part of the tutorial, you will have the opportunity to practice using sample questions. Tutorial has a time limit of 20 minutes and is not scored. Once you read through the tutorial, click on Next button and the first question for the sample test will display. When you click on the Next button after the last sample question, you will be taken to the review screen. To exit the sample test at any time , click on the End button. You will be asked if you really want to exit the sample test. Click OK to continue or Cancel to return to the review screen.

Sections--

MFT has two sections; each section is timed. Timing begins for each section when you click the Next button. If you do not complete a test in the designated time, a message box will display; the section you are in will automatically be scored and you will not be able to review your work.

You are advised to monitor the time remaining as indicated by the timer in the upper right corner of the display. At the completion of Section 1, you will be prompted to review and exit the test section. After you exit Section 1, you will be asked to either continue to Section 2 or pause the test so it can be completed at another time. (You should continue to Section 2, but can take a short break by just not responding immediately. Do not click on Pause.)

During test taking, the following testing tools will be available: The time remaining on the test appears in the upper right-hand corner:

The question you are on and the total number of questions appears in the upper left-hand corner:

Navigation buttons appear on the lower blue bar (Exit, Mark, Review, Help, Back, Next).

These buttons perform the followings functions: Help button take you to the information contained in the tutorial.

Back button takes you back one (1) question from the question they are on. Next button moves you forward one (1) question from the question they are on.

Mark button will display Marked in the upper left hand side of the title bar for that question. It also displays an indicator in the Marked column for that question on the Review page to provide a visual indicator. You can unmark a question by clicking the Mark button again.

Review button provides you a list of all the questions on the test and displays the status of each item (Marked, Incomplete, Answered). Click on a question number to return to that item on the test. An example of that screen is shown below:

Skipping Questions To skip a question, click on the Next button to continue to the next question. You will have the opportunity to answer the skipped question on the Review screen or you can click on the Back button during test taking to return to the question and indicate an answer. No penalty for guessing, so select an answer for every question. Changing a Response If you wish to change a response to a question during the test session, you can click another radio button to indicate the new response. Exiting Test - if you select Exit, you will be provided with two options. Exit – If you are in Section 1, you will exit Section 1 and start Section 2. You will not be able to return to Section 1. If you are in Section 2, you will exit and the test will be scored. This will end the test session and you will not be able to return to either section in the test. Cancel –You will be returned to the test.

Exit Evaluation QuestionsThe exit evaluation questions are optional and do not affect the student’s score. Upon exit, your score report will display.

Test Strategy• Treat each question in one of three ways:

– You can answer it fairly quickly -- do so!– You think you can answer it, but it will take

more time -- Mark it and come back later– You have no idea, or it would take a long time

--- make your best educated guess & move on

• Answers don’t need to be very precise– Take a look at the possible answers; often

they are separated by two orders of magnitude

• Which answers have the right units?

Strategy 2• Which answer is right when

– An angle goes to 0 or 90 degrees– A distance goes to zero or infinity– A speed goes to c– A dielectric constant goes to 1– A mass goes to zero or infinity– Two masses in a problem are set equal

• Helpful to know– Approximate size of atom and nucleus– Approximate mass of electron and proton