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United States · Admissions test

OAT physics: topics, timing and practice

Physics is the third test on the Optometry Admission Test (OAT), with 40 items in 50 minutes, taken after the optional break. The OAT Program calls it an achievement test covering content from a two-semester physics course. OAT physics questions come from 13 listed topics, from units and vectors to optics.

  • 40Physics items
  • 50 minutesTime for the physics test
  • Two semestersOf college physics the test covers
Where to study

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What topics are on OAT physics?

  • Units and vectors
  • Linear kinematics
  • Statics
  • Dynamics
  • Rotational motion
  • Energy and momentum
  • Simple harmonic motion
  • Waves
  • Fluid statics
  • Thermodynamics and thermal energy
  • Electrostatics
  • Direct current (D.C.) circuits
  • Optics

Both US customary and metric units appear on the OAT. The Candidate Guide says advanced physics isn’t required.

How the OAT physics section counts

You get a separate Physics score. Its 40 items are also part of Total Science, alongside the 100 natural sciences items, and the Physics score is one of the six averaged into the Academic Average.

OAT scores and 2025 averages →

How OAT physics scores compare

In 2025, Physics had the lowest mean of the six OAT test scores, and 0.8% of Physics scores were 400, the top of the range. By our count from the OAT User’s Guide tables, 1,246 of the 3,571 Physics scores, about 34.9%, were 300 or higher.

OAT physics practice and review

The OAT Program’s Physics 201 module has 40 items, the same length as the real test, and is part of its paid practice test. For review, its reference text list names six physics textbooks, including Giancoli’s Physics and Urone and others’ College Physics from OpenStax.

The official OAT practice test →The OAT reference text list →
Sources: OAT Program and 3 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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