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
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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 righthand 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 Questions
The 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