Prafull Kumar Sharma (AIR-249, CSE-21) Physics Strategy

Hi All,

Prafull Kumar Sharma is a ‘silent member or observer’ of DecodeCIVILS group. I say so because when I was identifying group members who cleared CSE-21, he DMed me and said he was in. However, I hardly remember him asking any query on group ever!

You can contact Prafull at his Telegram Channel or at his Instagram.

He cleared CSE-21 with AIR-249. His optional is Physics. In this blogpost, he has discussed his Physics strategy:

Strategy for Beginners:

For reference, Rishav Gupta sir Notes and Abhijeet Agrawal sir notes (available online) are excellent starting point for aspirants. They are similar to what is taught at DIAS Coaching. You need to then read standard books and do PYQs to supplement your understanding
At the end of the day, have a summary notes of all key topics and formulaes for revision and consolidation
I have attended DIAS test series for a disciplined answer writing in past attempts. (i did not join this year)

As a General Rule:

Do all solved examples and read chapters which are mentioned directly in syllabus or if such implicit topics have been asked in past in PYQs of last 25 years. (Use Unsolved booklet in market instead of solely relying on DIAS tutorials as some questions may have been missed out in tutorial sheets)
Earlier i used to look down on most of indian author books for their quality but my asessment is UPSC asks from these indian authors based books
Ensure you have summary notes of 20 pages each for each topic in the end for revision

Join Decode Civils Telegram Group For Free UPSC CSE Guidance From Mudit Jain, IRS CSE 2017 (Ex-IPS CSE 2014 & 2015), Author of Decode Ethics and Decode History Books
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We should also ensure we attempt all non compulsory questions first and also solve easier questions which we have solved at home before during actual exam
Always try to pick questions which you have already solved beforehand at home.I think it gives confidence and saves time for difficult questions. I followed this strategy and got quite decent in paper 2 of Physics Optional
Please ensure you write 2 lines in introduction defining key topics of physics in question. Conclude with relevant facts/applications/graph
It needs to be ensured that all graphs used in question are labelled to make answers more presentable
Please understand every question needs to be solved to accurate answers. My understanding is significant marks are provided only for final correct answer especially in 10 marks numerical ones

Physics Paper 1 Booklist:

Mechanics: JC Upadhyay book for all topics mentioned in syllabus , Solved examples of DS Mathur book
Electromagnetism: Satya Prakash book (See Griffiths book only as reference for more understanding)
Thermodynamics: Garg Bansal Ghosh book
Optics: Brijlal and Subramaniam book (See Ghatak’s book for better understanding of some topics)

Physics Paper 2 Booklist:

Quantum Mechanics: HC Verma Book, Schaum’s outline for it’s example
Atomic and Molecular Physics: Rajkumar Book (selective reading of topics mentioned in PYQs and Syllabus)
Nuclear and Particle Physics: SB Patel mainly and selective value addition from DC Tayal book based on PYQs topics
Solid State Physics: Puri n Babbar (do all solved examples of chapters even if chapter is not mentioned in syllabus, dont read irrelevant chapter but do remember their solved examples)
Electronics: Use google to solve some PYQs (Frankly speaking, i did not put much effort in this topic but dont ignore it like me especially you should not miss easy questions in compulsory section)

Resources:

Other CSE 21 Topper Strategies:

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