What the board asks
We went through the ISC board papers, question by question, and matched each question to a topic. Here is what was asked, how often, and what was never asked.
Physics: 427 topics in the 2027 syllabus, across 9 units. The board has asked 269 of them at least once. 158 were never asked in the papers we checked.
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P5 Electromagnetic Waves
All the topics in Physics: Electromagnetic Waves
Asked topics first, the most asked at the top. Tap a topic to see what to write, the result, the years, and the real board questions.
8 topics shown
| # | Topic | Type | Marks | Times asked | Last asked | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uses and special properties of each region (table)Draw a table with one row for each of the seven regions giving two uses and one or two special properties (for example microwaves: short wavelength, travel in straight lines as a narrow beam, reflected by metal, absorbed by water). | Comparison | 2 | 7 papers | 2026 | Asked |
| 2 | Features common to all electromagnetic wavesList at least five features shared by every region of the spectrum: produced by accelerated or oscillating charges, need no material medium, transverse with E and B oscillating in phase at right angles to each other and to the direction of travel, all travel with the same speed c in vacuum, carry energy and momentum, are not deflected by electric or magnetic fields, and show reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction and polarisation. | Statement | 1 | 5 papers | 2026 | Asked |
| 3 | Name the wave from a situation, with reasonGiven an everyday device, picture or task (radar, satellite dish, TV remote, baggage scanner at an airport, studying a crystal, sterilising instruments, treating a tumour, a stated frequency or wavelength), name the region of the spectrum used and give the property that makes it suitable. | Give reason | 1 | 5 papers | 2026 | Asked |
| 4 | Seven regions in order with approximate rangesWrite the seven regions in increasing order of frequency (which is decreasing order of wavelength) and beside each its approximate wavelength or frequency range; give the wavelength limits and colour order of visible light. | Statement | 2 | 2 papers | Specimen 2027 | Asked |
| 5 | Numericals: wavelength to frequency, then name the regionUse c = f lambda to change a given wavelength (in nm, mm or m) into frequency or the reverse, with the powers of ten handled correctly, and name the region of the spectrum the answer falls in. | Numericals | 1 | 2 papers | 2025 | Asked |
| 6 | Sketch a plane EM wave showing E, B, cDraw a wave travelling along the x-axis with E oscillating along y and B along z, both in phase, label E, B, the direction of travel and one wavelength, and write one sentence on how the three vectors are oriented; given any two of the three directions, find the third. | Diagram | 1 | 1 paper | 2023 | Asked |
| 7 | Sources and detectors of the seven regions (table)Draw a table with one row for each of the seven regions giving how it is produced (its source) and one way it is detected. | Comparison | 1 | 1 paper | 2020 | Asked |
| 8 | Displacement current: basic idea and expressionSay in three or four sentences what displacement current is (the current linked with a changing electric field or electric flux, as in the gap of a capacitor while it charges), why Maxwell needed it (Ampere's circuital law gives two different answers for a charging capacitor without it), write its expression, and state that it equals the conduction current in the connecting wires and sets up a magnetic field just as a conduction current does. | Statement | 2 | never | Never asked |
This list was made from the 2027 syllabus and checked with 9 board papers, including the 2027 specimen paper. It is not yet checked with the textbook.
The 10 topics Physics papers ask most
Counted on the board papers from 2018 to the 2027 specimen paper, which every unit has been checked against.
- 1.Numericals: peak, rms, mean, frequency from an ac equationP4 Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents · asked 7 times since 2018
- 2.Uses and special properties of each region (table)P5 Electromagnetic Waves · asked 7 times since 2018
- 3.State Bohr's postulates for the hydrogen atomP8 Atoms and Nuclei · asked 7 times since 2018
- 4.Magnetic force on a moving charge and Lorentz forceP3 Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism · asked 6 times since 2018
- 5.Numericals: average power and power factorP4 Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents · asked 6 times since 2018
- 6.Doping, n-type and p-type, donors, acceptors, carriersP9 Electronic Devices · asked 6 times since 2018
- 7.Numericals: two-loop network with two batteries (Kirchhoff)P2 Current Electricity · asked 5 times since 2018
- 8.Derive B at the centre of a circular loopP3 Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism · asked 5 times since 2018
- 9.Numericals: B at the centre of a circular coilP3 Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism · asked 5 times since 2018
- 10.Ampere's law: derive B near a long straight wireP3 Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism · asked 5 times since 2018