Physics / Topic coverage

Thermodynamics/Kinetic Theory

Cycle efficiency, process chains, and KTG numericals under linked stems.

Weight mediumIntensity Core · weeklyTrend Stable300-target 11.3 /100medium

Path to 300

Mark budget for this portion

At ~11.5% of physics weight, this portion should reliably deliver ~12 of your 100 physics marks — treat misses here as rank-droppers.

8.5Floor marks

11.3Target marks

13Stretch marks

11.5%Of subject weight

100Subject target

At a glance

Coverage metrics

27Tagged questions

11.5%Of Physics

3.86Average / year

2020Peak year (5 Q)

7/7Years present

Official · 2026

Syllabus map for this portion

Full Physics syllabus →

Full Thermal Physics unit.

Must cover from syllabus

First law for ideal-gas processes
Carnot efficiency
Cv/Cp mono & diatomic
Wien / Stefan / Kirchhoff radiation

Gaps / exclusions to watch

Newton’s law of cooling numericals

Unit 01

Thermal Physics

high

Exam focusFirst law cycles for ideal gas, Carnot, radiation laws.

Syllabus points

Thermal expansion; calorimetry; latent heat; conduction (1D); convection/radiation ideas; Newton’s cooling
Ideal gas; Cv, Cp mono/diatomic; isothermal/adiabatic; bulk modulus of gases
Heat–work equivalence; First law (ideal gases); Second law; reversible/irreversible; Carnot efficiency
Blackbody: absorptive/emissive powers; Kirchhoff; Wien; Stefan

Do / check

Sign convention for ΔU = Q − W (or stated convention) written once
Plot P–V before computing cycle work

2020–2026

Year-wise appearance

Counts of tagged questions for this topic each year.

205

213

224

235

242

254

264

Reading the pattern

Thermodynamics/Kinetic Theory accounts for ~11.5% of tagged physics questions (2020–2026).
Trend signal: stable (early-window avg 4.0/yr vs recent avg 3.3/yr).
Appears in 7/7 tagged years; peak 2020 (5 Q), low 2024 (2 Q).
Dominant subtopics: Thermo (24), Kinetic Theory (3).
Question-type mix: Numerical 40.7%, Single correct 29.6%, Multi correct 25.9%, Matching 3.7%.

Internal breakdown

Subtopic coverage

Start with the top subtopics — they usually carry most of this portion’s weight.

Thermo24 · 88.9%
Kinetic Theory3 · 11.1%

Subtopic	Count	Share	Years (count)
Thermo	24	88.9%	2020·4 2021·3 2022·4 2023·5 2024·1 2025·3 2026·4
Kinetic Theory	3	11.1%	2020·1 2024·1 2025·1

Exam form

Type & difficulty mix

Question types

Numerical — 11 questions (40.7%)
Single correct — 8 questions (29.6%)
Multi correct — 7 questions (25.9%)
Matching — 1 questions (3.7%)

Difficulty (heuristic)

H — 17 questions
M — 10 questions

Use for planning load only — not an official difficulty label.

Focused study

Plan for this portion

Must know

Carnot & cascaded efficiencies
First law bookkeeping for multi-process loops
Adiabatic relations & work integrals

Common traps

Mixing ΔU=0 assumptions
Wrong n for polyatomic in Cv

Weekly drill checklist

2 cycle problems
1 KTG
1 multi-process linked numerical

Prerequisite chain

Ideal gas→processes→first law→engines→KTG

Often joins with

Mechanics (piston systems)Modern Physics

Paper pointers

Sample tagged questions

Use these as deliberate practice targets from past papers.

Year	Paper	Q	Subtopic	Type	Diff
2020	P1	Q6	Kinetic Theory	SC	M
2020	P1	Q12	Thermo	MC	H
2020	P1	Q16	Thermo	NUM	M
2020	P2	Q6	Thermo	SC	M
2020	P2	Q13	Thermo	NUM	M
2021	P1	Q2	Thermo	SC	M

Physics

Other portions

Mechanics Optics Electrostatics Waves/SHM/Sound Magnetism/EMI/AC Modern Physics Current Electricity Fluid/Properties of Matter

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