IMAT Physics: Why It Costs Most Students the Seat

Why Physics is not like the other sections

Biology and Chemistry on the IMAT are mostly about knowledge. You learn the content, you recall it, you pick the right answer. Physics doesn't work like that.

Physics on the IMAT is a problem-solving test under time pressure. You are given a scenario and you need to identify which formula applies, plug in the numbers, and get the answer in under 90 seconds. That is a completely different skill from knowing what Newton's second law says.

This is why students who study Physics by reading through a textbook and making notes struggle. They understand the content but they can't execute under pressure. The only preparation that actually builds that skill is doing problems — a lot of them, from early on, under time pressure.

The topics that come up every year

The Physics syllabus looks long but the same areas appear on almost every paper. Based on every past paper from 2020 to 2025, these are the ones that matter:

•       Kinematics — uniform and accelerated motion, projectile problems. Know the five equations and when to use each one.

•       Forces and Newton's Laws — F=ma applications, tension, friction, inclined planes. IMAT loves multi-body setups.

•       Energy — kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, conservation of energy. These are often the fastest marks on the paper if you know the approach.

•       Electricity — Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits, calculating resistance and current. One or two questions every year without exception.

•       Thermodynamics — ideal gas law, heat transfer. Usually one question. Know the formula, it's straightforward.

If you are short on time, master these six areas before touching anything else on the syllabus.

What to actually do to prepare

Start with a one-page formula sheet. Write out every formula for the six topics above. Learn what each variable means. Then — and this is the part most students skip — start solving past paper questions immediately, even if you feel like you're not ready.

The discomfort of attempting a question you can't solve yet is more useful than reading about it for another hour. Look at the solution, understand the method, try a similar question. That cycle is how Physics actually sticks.

 Once you can solve the question types consistently, start timing yourself. Target 90 seconds per question. If you're at three minutes right now, that's fine — you'll get faster. But you need to find out what 90 seconds feels like before you're in an exam hall.

 The Italian past papers from 2023 and 2025 are the most important materials you can use. The style changed significantly when Italian organisations took over writing the exam from Cambridge. The new format is more applied, less theoretical. Prioritise those papers over older ones.

The mistakes I see most often

After tutoring over 100 students, the same problems come up repeatedly:

•       Leaving Physics until the last three weeks. By that point there's no time to build the problem-solving speed the section needs.

•       Studying theory without doing problems. These are different activities. Doing one doesn't develop the other.

•       Not checking units. I can’t stress enough the importance of knowing all of the SI units. IMAT questions sometimes give values in non-standard units. Miss the conversion and the formula gives the wrong answer even if your method is correct and that’s the worst way in which you can lose points

•       Skipping questions that look complex. Physics questions often look harder than they are. A diagram or an unusual setup causes panic and students give up marks they could have taken.

A rough four-week plan if Physics is your weakest section

Week 1: Build your formula sheet. Do five questions per topic per day from past papers. Don't time yourself. Focus on understanding the solution method, not the speed.

Week 2: Start timing. Aim for two minutes per question. Find the two or three question types where you're slowest and drill those specifically.

Week 3: Full section practice. Do the Physics section of past papers under timed conditions, roughly 18 minutes for the 15 Physics and Maths questions combined. Review every wrong answer properly, not just glance at the solution.

Week 4: Review what's still costing you marks. One full Physics section per day. By the end of this week you should be close to your ceiling.

Physics is the section that separates students who get in from students who don't. Not because it's the hardest, but because it requires a different approach from the rest of the exam, and most students figure that out too late.

 Start now. Solve problems every day. Time yourself from week two. The points are there.