Dashboard · Exams · NSEP
National Standard Examination in Physics
HBCSE/IAPT Stage-1 physics olympiad. 80 MCQs (60 single-correct + 20 multi-correct) in 3 hours covering Class 11+12 physics and olympiad-style problem solving.
Sourced
Source: official exam authority notification · refreshed weekly. How this works →
Free NSEP preparation on Shishya
Take expert-curated mocks, practise previous year papers, and Ask Shishya when you're stuck — verified by students who cleared the same path. All free, no credit card. Sign in with Google to begin.
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10 questions across the syllabus to see where you stand.
Verified against the official notification. Source ↗ · last reconciled 2026-05.
Historical cutoffs are a guide, not a prediction. Use them to set a realistic target, not to predict next year's exact number.
HBCSE picks top ~300 candidates nationally for INPhO. Exact cutoffs vary by year and by Part A vs Part B performance balance.
| Year | Category | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | All India MAS (Minimum Admissible Score) | 40% of average of top 10 scores |
| 2024 | Indicative qualifying score (top ~300) | ~120 – 150 |
Source: official ↗ · verified 2026-05.
We are sourcing PYQs from the official notification PDFs. Coming soon.
Take any mock in your preferred language — use the language picker inside the mock to switch (Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, and 15 more).
NSEP — Quick Practice
FULL20 questions · 180 min
Start mock →Take a mock to see where you stand on the leaderboard.
What can I get from NSEP?
Mock-score → expected rank → likely outcome. Use the mocks below to find your current band, then plan how many marks you need to climb.
Elite tier — IPhO medal prospects
95–100% · Post-based exam (no numeric rank)
Topic-by-topic weightage averaged across 2022-2024 papers. Use this to decide where to invest study hours, not where to skim. Source ↗ · verified 2026-05.
50/216 marks avg
Kinematics + Newton's laws + rotation + gravitation
25/216 marks avg
Laws of thermodynamics + kinetic theory + heat engines
55/216 marks avg
Electrostatics + magnetism + EM induction + circuits
30/216 marks avg
Geometrical + wave optics + waves + sound
35/216 marks avg
Quantum + atomic + nuclear + relativity basics
21/216 marks avg
Experimental physics + error analysis
Top 50 — IPhO team track
90–95% · Post-based exam (no numeric rank)
OCSC contention range
82–90% · Post-based exam (no numeric rank)
Strong INPhO prospects
70–82% · Post-based exam (no numeric rank)
INPhO qualification likely
55–70% · Post-based exam (no numeric rank)
State merit list range
35–55% · Post-based exam (no numeric rank)
Below qualifying threshold
0–35% · Post-based exam (no numeric rank)
AI-curated from historic cut-off patterns. Always verify with the latest official notification before making decisions.
The Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) typically opens NSEP registrations through affiliated schools during the June-August window. Students are advised to coordinate with their school coordinators for timely enrollment in this year's physics olympiad cycle.
Source →IAPT continues to maintain NSEP question patterns that align broadly with higher secondary physics curricula, though olympiad problems require deeper conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills beyond standard board exam preparation.
Source →The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education released the list of students who qualified from NSEP to the Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO) in the recently concluded cycle. Top performers will advance to orientation-cum-selection camps.
Source →Updated specimen question sets covering mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, and modern physics have been made available to help students familiarize themselves with the olympiad examination pattern and difficulty level.
Source →School coordinator registration window opens
19 days awayMon, 15 Jun, 2026
Schools must register through IAPT portal to nominate students
Student enrollment period begins
34 days awayTue, 30 Jun, 2026
Students register through their respective school coordinators
Last date for student registration
89 days awayMon, 24 Aug, 2026
Final deadline for enrollment through schools
📌NSEP examination day
149 days awayFri, 23 Oct, 2026
National Standard Examination in Physics conducted at school centers
NSEP results declared
179 days awaySun, 22 Nov, 2026
Qualifying students become eligible for INPhO
📌NSEP 2026 — exam day
180 days awayMon, 23 Nov, 2026
Click any topic to read study notes
Units and Measurements
SI units, dimensional analysis, significant figures and error analysis.
Kinematics
Motion in 1D and 2D — velocity, acceleration, projectile and relative motion.
Laws of Motion
Newton's laws, friction, circular dynamics and dynamics of connected systems.
Work, Energy and Power
Work-energy theorem, conservative forces, potential energy and elastic/inelastic collisions.
System of Particles and Rotational Motion
Centre of mass, torque, angular momentum, moment of inertia, rolling motion.
Gravitation
Newton's law of gravitation, gravitational potential, orbital motion, Kepler's laws and escape velocity.
Mechanical Properties of Solids
Stress, strain, elastic moduli and Poisson ratio.
Mechanical Properties of Fluids
Pressure, Pascal's law, buoyancy, surface tension, viscosity and Bernoulli's principle.
Thermal Properties of Matter
Temperature, thermal expansion, calorimetry, heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and blackbody laws.
Thermodynamics
Zeroth, first and second laws, isothermal/adiabatic processes, heat engines, refrigerators and entropy at school level.
Kinetic Theory of Gases
Ideal gas law, pressure of ideal gas, equipartition of energy and mean free path.
Oscillations
Simple harmonic motion, energy in SHM, simple/compound pendulum, damped and forced oscillations.
Waves
Transverse and longitudinal waves, superposition, beats, standing waves, sound, Doppler effect.
Electrostatics
Coulomb's law, electric field, potential, Gauss's law and capacitance.
Current Electricity
Ohm's law, drift velocity, Kirchhoff's laws, Wheatstone bridge, potentiometer and meter bridge.
Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism
Biot-Savart and Ampere's laws, force on a current-carrying conductor, moving-coil galvanometer, magnetic materials.
Electromagnetic Induction
Faraday's and Lenz's laws, motional EMF, self/mutual inductance, eddy currents.
Alternating Current
RMS values, LCR circuits, resonance, power factor and transformers.
Electromagnetic Waves
Maxwell's equations qualitative, displacement current, EM spectrum and wave properties.
Ray Optics and Optical Instruments
Reflection, refraction, total internal reflection, lenses, mirrors, microscope and telescope.
Wave Optics
Huygens principle, interference (Young's double slit), diffraction at single slit and polarisation.
Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter
Photoelectric effect, Einstein's equation, de Broglie waves and Davisson-Germer experiment.
Atoms and Nuclei
Rutherford and Bohr models, hydrogen spectrum, nuclear binding energy, radioactivity and decay laws.
Electronic Devices
Semiconductors, p-n junction, diode rectifiers and transistor basics as in NCERT Class 12.
Olympiad-style Problem Solving
Multi-concept problems, dimensional reasoning and order-of-magnitude estimation typical of NSEP.
📌INPhO examination date
Wed, 6 Jan, 2027
Indian National Physics Olympiad for NSEP qualifiers
INPhO results announcement
254 days awayFri, 5 Feb, 2027
Selection for Orientation-cum-Selection Camp (OCSC)
Physics OCSC camp begins
294 days awayWed, 17 Mar, 2027
Intensive training and final selection for International Physics Olympiad team