The oral exam usually starts from a multidisciplinary prompt proposed by the board (an image, an experiment, a text). Rather than reciting from memory, what counts is being able to connect physics to other disciplines. Four threads of connection that give depth to the discussion.
History of physics. The chapters of the book contain historical interludes precisely to offer narrative cues: the Galilean revolution, Maxwell’s unification, the quantum crisis, the Bohr–Einstein debate. A good knowledge of these events gives substance to the exposition.
Connections with mathematics. Almost every physical law is a differential equation: connecting the harmonic oscillator, decay, and waves shows conceptual mastery. Exponential decay, in particular, recurs in RC discharge, the damped oscillator and radioactivity — the same mathematical structure for different phenomena.
Applications and technology. GPS (relativity), semiconductors (quantum physics), nuclear magnetic resonance, photovoltaic panels, nuclear fusion: perfect topics to show that physics explains the real world.
Philosophy of science. Determinism vs probability, causality, the role of the observer in quantum mechanics: themes that lend themselves to a dialogue with twentieth-century philosophy.
Good luck for the exam
Physics is told better when it has truly been understood, and it is truly understood when it has been told to someone at least once.