Physics Formula Sheet for NEET & JEE (All Key Formulas)

What a formula sheet is (and isn't) for

A formula sheet is a condensed, personal reference of the key relationships in Physics, built so you can revise the essentials in minutes rather than flipping through textbooks. Its power is in frequent, quick revision - glance, recall, check - especially in the final weeks before an exam when you need everything fresh at once.

What it isn't is a substitute for understanding. Physics questions rarely just ask you to plug numbers into a formula; they test whether you know which formula applies, when, and why. So treat the sheet as a memory aid layered on top of real conceptual understanding, not as a shortcut around it.

Organise it topic by topic

The most usable formula sheets are organised by topic, mirroring the high-weight chapters of NEET and JEE. A practical structure:

• ✓Mechanics - kinematics equations, Newton's laws, work-energy, momentum, circular motion, gravitation, rotational motion.
• ✓Properties of matter, SHM and waves - elasticity, fluids, oscillations, wave equations, sound.
• ✓Heat and thermodynamics - gas laws, laws of thermodynamics, kinetic theory, heat transfer.
• ✓Electrostatics and current - Coulomb's law, electric field and potential, capacitance, Ohm's law, circuits.
• ✓Magnetism and EMI - magnetic force, fields due to currents, induction, AC basics.
• ✓Optics and modern physics - lens/mirror formulas, wave optics, photoelectric effect, atomic and nuclear relations.

Mechanics formulas

Mechanics is the foundation of Physics and one of the highest-weight areas in both NEET and JEE. Keep these on your sheet - and remember the kinematics equations only hold for constant acceleration:

• ✓Kinematics (constant a): v = u + at; s = ut + ½at²; v² = u² + 2as; average velocity = (u + v)/2.
• ✓Projectile motion: time of flight T = 2u·sinθ/g; maximum height H = u²sin²θ/2g; range R = u²sin2θ/g.
• ✓Newton's second law and momentum: F = ma; momentum p = mv; impulse = F·Δt = Δp.
• ✓Friction: limiting friction f = μN, where μ is the coefficient of friction and N the normal force.
• ✓Work, energy and power: W = F·s·cosθ; kinetic energy KE = ½mv²; gravitational PE = mgh; power P = W/t = F·v.
• ✓Circular motion: centripetal acceleration a = v²/r = ω²r; centripetal force F = mv²/r.
• ✓Gravitation: F = Gm₁m₂/r²; g = GM/R²; orbital velocity v = √(GM/r); escape velocity = √(2GM/R).
• ✓Rotational motion: torque τ = Iα; angular momentum L = Iω; rotational KE = ½Iω².

Thermodynamics, SHM and waves

This cluster mixes conceptual and formula-heavy chapters. Use kelvin for every temperature in thermodynamics:

• ✓Ideal gas law: PV = nRT (and P₁V₁/T₁ = P₂V₂/T₂ for a fixed amount of gas).
• ✓Heat: Q = mcΔT (specific heat c); Q = mL (latent heat L for a phase change).
• ✓First law of thermodynamics: ΔU = Q - W, where Q is heat added and W is work done by the gas.
• ✓Carnot (maximum) efficiency: η = 1 - T_cold/T_hot, with both temperatures in kelvin.
• ✓SHM: displacement x = A·sin(ωt + φ); spring period T = 2π√(m/k); simple pendulum T = 2π√(L/g).
• ✓Waves: wave speed v = fλ; speed on a stretched string v = √(T/μ); speed of sound in a gas v = √(γP/ρ).

Electrostatics, current and magnetism

Electrodynamics is consistently one of the heaviest scoring areas in both exams. The core relations to keep close:

• ✓Coulomb's law: F = k·q₁q₂/r², where k = 1/4πε₀ ≈ 9 × 10⁹ N·m²/C².
• ✓Electric field and potential: E = F/q = kq/r²; potential V = kq/r; potential energy U = kq₁q₂/r.
• ✓Capacitance: C = Q/V; parallel-plate capacitor C = ε₀A/d; energy stored = ½CV² = ½QV.
• ✓Current and resistance: Ohm's law V = IR; resistance R = ρL/A.
• ✓Electric power: P = VI = I²R = V²/R.
• ✓Magnetic force: on a moving charge F = qvB·sinθ; on a current-carrying wire F = BIL·sinθ.
• ✓Fields from currents: long straight wire B = μ₀I/2πr; solenoid B = μ₀nI.
• ✓Electromagnetic induction: magnetic flux Φ = BA·cosθ; Faraday's law EMF = -dΦ/dt.

Optics and modern physics

These chapters deliver reliable marks and reward a handful of well-remembered relations - apply the correct sign convention for mirrors and lenses:

• ✓Mirror formula 1/v + 1/u = 1/f and lens formula 1/v - 1/u = 1/f; magnification m = -v/u (mirror), m = v/u (lens).
• ✓Lens maker's formula: 1/f = (n - 1)(1/R₁ - 1/R₂); power of a lens P = 1/f (f in metres), in dioptres.
• ✓Refraction (Snell's law): n₁·sinθ₁ = n₂·sinθ₂; refractive index n = c/v.
• ✓Photoelectric effect: photon energy E = hf = hc/λ; maximum kinetic energy KEₘₐₓ = hf - φ (φ = work function).
• ✓de Broglie wavelength: λ = h/p = h/mv.
• ✓Bohr model of hydrogen: energy of the nth level Eₙ = -13.6/n² eV.
• ✓Mass-energy and radioactivity: E = mc²; decay N = N₀·e^(-λt), so N = N₀·(½)^(t/T½) after time t (half-life T½).

Include meaning and units, not just symbols

A formula written as bare symbols is easy to misremember and misuse. For each entry, note what the quantities mean, their units, and the conditions under which the formula holds (for example, equations of motion apply only under constant acceleration). This extra context is what lets you recognise when a formula applies in an unfamiliar problem - the actual skill the exams test.

Keeping units on your sheet also gives you a built-in error check: dimensional consistency catches many mistakes. Understanding a formula's derivation, at least roughly, further cements it and helps you reconstruct it if your memory slips in the exam.

Memorise with active recall, not staring

Here's where most students waste their formula sheet: they re-read it passively and assume it's sinking in. It isn't. To actually memorise formulas, test yourself - cover the sheet and try to write each formula from memory, then check; or have someone quiz you; or, best of all, practise problems that force you to retrieve and apply the formula in context.

Combine this with spaced repetition: revisit the sheet at increasing intervals so the formulas move into long-term memory. Applying a formula to solve real MCQs is the strongest form of active recall, because it cements both the formula and the judgment of when to use it. A formula sheet drilled this way is worth ten that are merely admired.