Physics Tells
Structural patterns in how NSB Physics questions are written — not physics facts, but tells that let you narrow or guess an answer from wording alone.
These hold across every Physics subtopic — mechanics, E&M, waves/optics, thermodynamics, nuclear/particle alike.
1. "Which is NOT true / does NOT" flips the logic
The single most common MC template in Physics: three choices state real, correct physics, and one is wrong — that wrong one is the answer. It shows up across every subtopic, so before answering, confirm the question wants the false statement, not the true one.
2. A named scientist, law, or effect locks in one fixed answer
Short Answer questions very often describe a phenomenon and ask what law, principle, or effect it is. There's no reasoning to do — just a memorized name-to-concept pairing. This is arguably the dominant Physics Short Answer template.
3. "Identify all of the following that..." is a bonus format, not a fact
This exact phrasing shows up constantly in Physics bonuses. The moment you hear it, you know the answer is a numbered subset of the list — and unlike a random guess, "ALL" or "NONE" are genuinely common answers here, accounting for roughly one in six or seven instances of this format.
4. "What is the SI unit of X" wants a single fixed vocabulary word
A direct-lookup template: whatever the underlying physics, the answer is always one specific, memorizable unit name. You don't need to understand the quantity, just recall the unit paired with it.
5. Numeric problems are "plug into a named formula," not real problem-solving
The vast majority of numeric Short Answer questions are recognizable by their setup shape — what's given, what's asked — and resolve to one standard formula regardless of the specific numbers used. Recognizing the shape tells you which formula to reach for, even under time pressure.
6. "BEST describes / MOST directly" rewards the mechanistically precise choice
In positively-framed "BEST" or "MOST" questions, the correct choice is usually the technically precise, complete description; wrong choices tend to be vaguer, over-general, or describe a different but related concept.
7. In dynamics "NOT true" questions, look for a reversed direction
Specifically within mechanics and circular-motion questions, the false statement is very often a directional or magnitude reversal of a true relationship — you can often catch it without solving anything, just by noticing a choice flips a relationship the physics would demand.
8. The "-ic" thermodynamic process vocabulary is a small closed set
A short list of adjectives describes constant-quantity thermodynamic processes, tested directly and repeatedly: isobaric = constant pressure, isothermal = constant temperature, isochoric = constant volume, adiabatic = no heat exchanged. Recognizing the root word (the "constant thing") answers the question without deriving anything.
Exact tally across all 708 Physics multiple-choice questions in the sample sets. Only reach for this if you are completely out of ideas and the clock is about to run out — Physics is close to flat, so this is weaker than most other subjects.
Essentially flat with only a very mild X/Y lean — the weakest last-resort signal of any NSB subject. Barely worth using at all.