Physics Jamb Topics 2026

1. Measurements and Units

• Length, area and volume

• Mass

• Time

• Fundamental physical quantities

• Derived physical quantities and their units

• Dimensions

• Limitations of experimental measurements

• Measurement, position, distance and displacement

2. Scalars and Vectors

• Scalar and vector quantities

• Examples of scalar and vector quantities

• Relative velocity

• Resolution of vectors into two perpendicular directions

3. Motion

• Types of motion

• Relative motion

• Causes of motion

• Types of force

• Linear motion

• Projectiles

• Newton's laws of motion

• Motion in a circle

• Simple Harmonic Motion (S.H.M)

• Definition and explanation of Simple harmonic motion

• Examples of systems that execute S.H.M

• Period of S.H.M

• Frequency of S.H.M

• Amplitude of S.H.M

• Velocity and acceleration of S.H.M

• Simple treatment of energy change in S.H.M

• Simple treatment of force vibration and resonance

4. Gravitational field

• Newton’s law of universal gravitation

• Gravitational potential

• Conservative and non-conservative fields

• Acceleration due to gravity

• Variation of g on the earth’s surface

• Distinction between mass and weight; escape velocity

• Parking orbit and weightlessness

5. Equilibrium of Forces

• Equilibrium of particles

• Principles of moments

• Conditions for equilibrium of rigid bodies under the action of parallel and non-parallel forces

• Centre of gravity and stability

6. (a) Work, Energy and Power

• Work, Energy and Power

• Definition of work, energy and power

• Forms of energy

• Conservation of energy

• Qualitative treatment between different forms of energy

• Interpretation of area under the force-distance curve

• Energy and society

• Sources of energy

• Renewable and non-renewable energy

• Uses of energy

• Energy and development

• Energy diversification

• Environmental impact of energy

• Energy crises

• Conversion of energy

• Devices used in energy production

• Dams and energy production

• Location of dams

• Energy production

• Nuclear energy

• Solar energy

• Solar collector

• Solar panel for energy supply

7. Friction

• Static and dynamic friction

• Coefficient of limiting friction and its determination

• Advantages and disadvantages of friction

• Reduction of friction

• Qualitative treatment of viscosity and terminal velocity

• Stoke's law

8. Simple Machines

• Definition of simple machines

• Types of machines

• Mechanical advantage, velocity ratio and efficiency of machines

9. Elasticity

• Elastic limit

• Yield point

• Breaking point

• Hooke's law

• Young's modulus

• The spring balance

• Work done per unit volume

10. Pressure

• Atmospheric Pressure

• Definition of atmospheric pressure

• Units of pressure (S.I) units (Pa)

• Measurement of pressure

• Simple mercury barometer

• Aneroid barometer

• Manometer

• Variation of pressure with height

• The use of barometer as an altimeter

• Pressure in liquids

• The relationship between pressure, depth and density

• Transmission of pressure in liquids

• Application

11. Liquids At Rest

• Determination of density of solids and liquids

• Definition of relative density

• Upthrust on a body immersed in a liquid

• Archimedes' principle and law of floatation and applications

• Ships and hydrometers

12. Temperature and Its Measurement

• Concept of temperature

• Thermometric properties

• Calibration of thermometers

• Temperature scales

• Celsius and Kelvin

• Types of thermometers

• Conversion from one scale of temperature to another

13. Thermal Expansion

• Solids

• Definition and determination of linear

• Definition and determination of volume

• Definition and determination of area expansivities

• Effects and applications

• Relationship between different expansivities

• Liquids

• Volume expansivity

• Real and apparent expansivities

• Determination of volume expansivity

• Anomalous expansion of water

14. Gas Laws

• Boyle's law (isothermal process)

• Charles' law (isobaric process)

• Pressure law (volumetric process)

• Absolute zero of temperature

• General gas equation

• Ideal gas equation

• Van der waal gas

15. Quantity of Heat

• Heat as a form of energy

• Definition of heat capacity of solids and liquids

• Definition of specific heat capacity of solids and liquids

• Determination of heat capacity of substances

• Determination of specific heat capacity substances

16. Change of State

• Latent heat

• Specific latent heats of fusion and vaporization

• Melting, evaporation and boiling

• The influence of pressure and of dissolved substances on boiling and melting points

• Application in appliances

17. Vapours

• Unsaturated and saturated vapours

• Relationship between saturated vapour pressure (S.V.P) and boiling

• Determination of S.V.P by barometer tube method

• Formation of dew, mist, fog, and rain

• Study of dew point

• Hygrometry

• Study of humidity

• Study of relative humidity

18. Structure of Matter and Kinetic Theory

• Molecular nature of matter

• Atoms and molecules

• Molecular theory

• Brownian motion

• Diffusion

• Surface tension

• Capillarity

• Adhesion

• Cohesion

• Angles of contact

• Kinetic Theory

• Assumptions of the kinetic theory

• Pressure exerted by gas

• Boyle's law

• Charles' law

• Melting

• Boiling

• Vapourization

• Change in temperature

• Evaporation

19. Heat Transfer

• conduction as mode of heat transfer

• Convection as mode of heat transfer

• Radiation as mode of heat transfer

• Temperature gradient

• Thermal conductivity

• Heat flux

• Effect of the nature of the surface on the energy radiated and absorbed by it

• The conductivities of common materials

• The thermos flask

• Land and sea breeze

• Engines

20. Waves

• Production and Propagation

• Wave motion

• Vibrating systems as source of waves

• Waves as mode of energy transfer

• Distinction between particle motion and wave motion

• Relationship between frequency, wavelength and wave velocity

• Phase difference, wave number and wave vector

• Progressive wave equation

• Classification

• Types of waves

• Mechanical and electromagnetic waves

• Longitudinal and transverse waves

• Stationary and progressive waves

• Waves from springs

• Waves from ropes

• Waves from stretched strings

• Waves from the ripple tank

• Characteristics/Properties

• Reflection

• Refraction

• Diffraction

• Plane Polarization

• Superposition of waves

• Beats

• Doppler effects

21. Propagation of Sound Waves

• The necessity for a material medium

• Speed of sound in solids, liquids and air

• Reflection of sound; echoes, reverberation and their applications

• Disadvantages of echoes and reverberations

22. Characteristics of Sound Waves

• Noise and musical notes

• Quality, pitch, intensity and loudness and their application to musical instruments

• Simple treatment of overtones produced by vibrating strings and their columns

• Acoustic examples of resonance

• Frequency of a note emitted by air columns in closed and open pipes in relation to their lengths

23. Light Energy

• Sources of Light

• Natural and artificial sources of light

• Luminous and non-luminous objects

• Propagation of light

• Speed, frequency and wavelength of light

• Formation of shadows and eclipse

• The pin-hole camera

24. Reflection of Light at Plane and Curved Surfaces

• Laws of reflection

• Application of reflection of light

• Formation of images by plane, concave and convex mirrors and ray diagrams

• Use of the mirror formula

• Linear magnification

25. Refraction of Light Through at Plane and Curved Surfaces

• Refraction of Light Through at Plane and Curved Surfaces

• Explanation of refraction in terms of velocity of light in the media

• Laws of refraction

• Definition of refractive index of a medium

• Determination of refractive index of glass and liquid using Snell's law

• Real and apparent depth and lateral displacement

• Critical angle and total internal reflection

• Glass Prism

• Use of the minimum deviation formula

• Type of lenses

• Use of lens formula

• Magnification

26. Optical Instruments

• The principles of microscopes, telescopes, projectors, cameras and the human eye

• Power of a lens

• Angular magnification

• Near and far points

• Sight defects and their corrections

27. (a) Dispersion of light and colours

• Dispersion of light and colours

• Dispersion of white light by a triangular prism

• Production of pure spectrum

• Colour mixing by addition and subtraction

• Colour of objects and colour filters

• Rainbow

• Electromagnetic spectrum

• Description of sources and uses of various types of radiation

28. Electrostatics

• Existence of positive and negative charges in matter

• Charging a body by friction, contact and induction

• Electroscope

• Coulomb's inverse square law, electric field and potential

• Electric field intensity and potential difference

• Electric discharge and lightning

29. Capacitors

• Types and functions of capacitors

• Parallel plate capacitors

• Capacitance of a capacitor

• The relationship between capacitance, area separation of plates and medium between the plates

• Capacitors in series and parallel

• Energy stored in a capacitor

30. Electric Cells

• Simple voltaic cell and its defects

• Daniel cell, Leclanche cell (wet and dry)

• lead-acid accumulator and Nickel-Iron (Nife) Lithium iron and Mercury cadmium

• Maintenance of cells and batteries

• Arrangement of cells

• Efficiency of a cell

31. Current Electricity

• Electromagnetic force (emf), potential difference (p.d.), current, internal resistance of a cell and lost Volt

• Ohm's law

• Measurement of resistance

• Meter bridge

• Resistance in series and in parallel and their combination

• The potentiometer method of measuring emf, current and internal resistance of a cell

• Electrical networks

32. Electrical Energy and Power

• Concepts of electrical energy and power

• Commercial unit of electric energy and power

• Electric power transmission

• Heating effects of electric current

• Electrical wiring of houses

• Use of fuses

33. Magnets and Magnetic Fields

• Natural and artificial magnets

• Magnetic properties of soft iron and steel

• Methods of making magnets and demagnetization

• Concept of magnetic field

• Magnetic field of a permanent magnet

• Magnetic field round a straight current carrying conductor, circular wire and solenoid

• Properties of the earth's magnetic field; north and south poles, magnetic meridian and angle of dip and declination

• flux and flux density

• Variation of magnetic field intensity over the earth's surface

• Applications: earth's magnetic field in navigation and mineral exploration.

34. Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor in a Magnetic Field

• Quantitative treatment of force between two parallel current-carrying conductors

• Force on a charge moving in a magnetic field

• The d. c. motor

• Electromagnets

• Carbon microphone

• Moving coil and moving iron instruments

• Conversion of galvanometers to ammeters and voltmeter using shunts and multipliers

• Sensitivity of a galvanometer

35. (a) Electromagnetic Induction

• Electromagnetic Induction

• Faraday's laws of electromagnetic induction

• Factors affecting induced emf

• Lenz's law as an illustration of the principle of conservation of energy

• A.C. and D.C generators

• Transformers

• The induction coil

• Inductance

• Explanation of inductance

• Unit of inductance

• Energy stored in an inductor

• Application/uses of inductors

• Eddy Current

• Reduction of eddy current

• Applications of eddy current

36. Simple A. C. Circuits

• Explanation of a.c. current and voltage

• Peak and r.m.s. values

• A.c. source connected to a resistor

• A.C source connected to a capacitor - capacitive reactance

• A.C source connected to an inductor inductive reactance

• Series R-L-C circuits

• Vector diagram, phase angle and power factor

• Resistance and impedance

• Effective voltage in an R-L-C circuits

• Resonance and resonance frequency

37. Conduction of Electricity Through;

• Liquids

• Electrolytes and non-electrolyte

• Concept of electrolysis

• Faraday's laws of electrolysis

• Application of electrolysis

• Gases

• Discharge through gases

• Application of conduction of electricity through gases

38. Elementary Modern Physics

• Models of the atom and their limitations

• Elementary structure of the atom

• Energy levels and spectra

• Thermionic and photoelectric emissions

• Einstein's equation and stopping potential

• Applications of thermionic emissions and photoelectric effects

• Simple method of production of x-rays

• Properties and applications of alpha, beta and gamma rays

• Half-life and decay constant

• Simple ideas of production of energy by fusion and fission

• Binding energy, mass defect and Einstein's Energy equation

• Wave-particle paradox (duality of matter)

• Electron diffraction

• The uncertainty principle

39. Introductory Electronics

• Distinction between metals, semiconductors and insulators

• Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors

• Uses of semiconductors and diodes in rectification and transistors in amplification

• N-type and p-type semiconductors

• Elementary knowledge of diodes and transistors