Physics License Test Study Plan: 8 Weeks

Last verified: 30 October 2026. The weights come from the candidate guide for physics teachers (pp. 6–7), and the standards from the physics teacher standards document. This guide is independent: it is not affiliated with ETEC, Qiyas (the National Center for Assessment), the Ministry of Education or any government body.

In short: an eight-week plan that splits your time by domain weight: two weeks on mechanics and fluids, two on electricity and magnetism, one on modern and nuclear physics, one on waves and light, one on heat and properties of matter, with physics teaching and the two small domains worked in between. The next sitting is expected in late January 2027, so adjust the plan to finish before your date (dates).

How we split the time

If a domain is strong for you from daily teaching, shorten its time and add it to your weakest one after the week-1 diagnostic.

Rules for every week

• Calculate without a calculator: the test bans it. Solve problems on paper from the start, and practise multiplying, dividing, powers of ten and simple integration.
• Write the equation before the numbers: ETEC's questions measure one indicator each, and often one equation and an easy substitution is enough, such as F = ma or v = f\lambda.
• Read the graph before the question: velocity-time and pressure-volume curves and waveforms recur in the guide's examples, so ask what the slope means and what the area means.
• Read the explanation of every option: a wrong option tells you the common misconception, so write down what you got wrong.
• Review your mistakes: redo last week's wrong questions on Sunday each week.
• End of every week: unit practice for that week's topics, or a full timed mock exam in weeks 4, 7 and 8.

Week 1: Diagnosis and the two small domains

• Day one: the free questions to see where you stand in the eight domains.
• Nature and history of physics (6.6.1, 6.6.2, 6.6.16): hypothesis vs law vs theory, variables and control groups, measurement accuracy and sources of error, applications of physics in medicine and astronomy.
• Practical work and mathematical skills (6.6.3, 6.6.4): lab safety and reading measuring instruments, reading graphs, vectors (components, dot and cross products), dimensional analysis, basic calculus.
• End of the week: practice on these two domains, and note your three weakest standards from the diagnostic.

Week 2: Mechanics (1)

• 6.6.5, motion: equations of motion in one dimension, free fall, projectiles, and reading velocity-time and acceleration-time graphs. Solve the guide's example with acceleration a(t) = 6t^2 yourself first.
• Newton's laws, force analysis and equilibrium, and relative motion.
• Energy: the work-energy theorem, energy transformations and losses.
• End of the week: practice on these topics.

Week 3: Mechanics (2) and fluids

• 6.6.5, the rest: conservation of momentum and collisions, circular motion, torque and equilibrium of a rigid body, and the law of gravitation (what happens to the force when the distance doubles?).
• 6.6.6, fluids: buoyancy and Archimedes' principle, Pascal's principle and the hydraulic press, the continuity equation A_1 v_1 = A_2 v_2, Bernoulli's equation, cohesion and adhesion.
• End of the week: practice on all of mechanics and fluids.

Week 4: Heat and properties of matter, and the first full mock

• 6.6.7: Hooke's law, stress and strain (the guide's example with a spring of original length 20 cm), states of matter and crystals, thermal and electrical conduction.
• 6.6.11: heat transfer, Q = mc\Delta T, the ideal gas and gas laws, the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
• A short session on 6.6.17: common misconceptions in physics (such as heavier objects falling faster, or motion needing a force) and how to address them in class.
• End of the week: practice on the two standards, then the first full timed mock exam in two hours with no phone and no calculator. Compare it with the week-1 diagnostic domain by domain, and expect the domains the plan has not reached yet to be weaker.

Week 5: Electrostatics and circuits

• 6.6.8: Coulomb's law, the electric field, electric potential (V = Ed).
• 6.6.9: current, resistance and Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits, capacitors, Kirchhoff's laws, device power and energy used in kW·h.
• Damped oscillating circuits and diode rectification (half-wave and full-wave), both of which appear among the guide's examples.
• End of the week: practice on standards 6.6.8 and 6.6.9.

Week 6: Magnetism and electromagnetic induction

• 6.6.10: the magnetic force on a moving charge and on a current-carrying wire (F = qvB and F = BIL) and finding its direction with the hand rule.
• The magnetic field of a wire and a coil, magnetic flux, Faraday's and Lenz's laws, generators and transformers.
• How the two changing fields relate: a changing magnetic field produces an electric field, and the reverse. This appears among the guide's examples.
• A short session on 6.6.18: inquiry learning and its levels (confirmation, structured, guided, open), the 5E learning cycle, formative and summative assessment.
• End of the week: practice on all of electricity and magnetism.

Week 7: Waves and light, and a second full mock

• 6.6.12: simple harmonic motion (pendulum and spring), v = f\lambda, sound, superposition, interference, standing waves and beats, the Doppler effect.
• 6.6.13: reflection and refraction and Snell's law, mirrors and lenses \dfrac{1}{f} = \dfrac{1}{u} + \dfrac{1}{v}, total internal reflection, Young's double slit, diffraction and polarization.
• End of the week: practice on the two domains, then a second full mock exam, then review its mistakes.

Week 8: Modern and nuclear physics, and review

• 6.6.14: special relativity (Einstein's two postulates and time dilation), the electromagnetic spectrum, the photoelectric effect K_{max} = hf - \phi, de Broglie wavelength, the uncertainty principle.
• 6.6.15: nuclear structure, alpha, beta and gamma radiation, half-life, fission and fusion, mass defect E = mc^2, radiation protection.
• The rest of the week: go back to the weakest domains in the two mocks, and keep the most time for mechanics and electricity if they are weakest, because they are 44% of the test.
• Two days before the test: a third full mock exam, then a light review. Do not start a new topic on the last day.
• Test day: review the required ID and what is allowed, sleep early and arrive early.

If you have less time

If fewer than eight weeks remain, start with the diagnostic and then compress the plan in this order: mechanics and fluids and electricity and magnetism first (44% of the test), then modern and nuclear physics, then waves and light, then the rest. Keep the last three days for two full mock exams and a review of their mistakes.

This plan is our suggestion for organising your time and does not guarantee any score, and your mock exam score is an estimate of readiness, not an official result. Start unit practice with mechanics and electricity (44% together), and keep the full mock exam for the end of the plan.