How to use these notes
- Pick a topic from the side rail — every chapter is split into sub-topic pages so you read only what you need.
- Each PYQ card is the same: Recall (the law you need), Steps (one line per step, no jumps), Answer (boxed with units), Exam tip (how to score the marks).
- The figures are captioned to their equations. If a picture and a formula disagree on a page, that page is wrong — tell me.
- The math is KaTeX. All formulas render — if you ever see raw
$..$, refresh once and the auto-render will catch up.
References. Brij Lal & N. Subrahmanyam — Electricity & Magnetism (S. Chand); Brij Lal, Subrahmanyam & M.N. Avadhanulu — A Textbook of Optics; N. Subrahmanyam & Brij Lal — Waves & Oscillations; S.L. Arora; H.C. Verma; Ajoy Ghatak — Optics. Fallback (only when an Indian book doesn't cover the point): D.J. Griffiths — Electrodynamics; Hecht — Optics.
Page map — 27 pages, 89 questions
| Unit | Hub | Sub-topic pages | Q count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Electrostatics | Overview | Gauss · Fields · Potential · Capacitors · Dielectrics | 24 |
| 2 · Magnetostatics | Overview | Biot–Savart · Ampere & ∇·B | 6 |
| 3 · EMI | Overview | Faraday & Lenz · L, M, energy | 11 |
| 4 · Maxwell & waves | Overview | Equations & wave eqn · Poynting & numerics | 9 |
| 5–7 · Waves | — | Beats · Lissajous · Huygens | 6 |
| 8 · Interference | Overview | YDSE & energy · Newton rings · Biprism | 12 |
| 9 · Diffraction | Zone plate & grating | (single page) | 4 |
| 10 · Polarization | Full chapter | (single page) | 6 |
| Borderline | — | GE-2 extras · GE-4 extras | 11 |
Theory 40 + Practical 20 + IA 15 = 75 marks. Total: 78 core + 11 borderline = 89 PYQs (129 appearances).
Do these first (highest ×n)
- ×5 Maxwell’s equations — 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
- ×4 Gauss theorem + ∇ form — 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023
- ×3 each D = ε₀E + P · Ampere law · Biot–Savart · straight-wire B · Poynting · Huygens · refractive-index numerics