About USAPhO/IPhO
"The mission of the U.S. Physics Team Program is to promote and demonstrate academic excellence through preparation for and participation in the International Physics Olympiad." - USAPhO
"The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is the most prestigious international physics competition for secondary school students. The main aim of IPhO is to test the highest level of knowledge, critical thinking, problem solving, right practices of presentation and analysis, and hands-on skills in theoretical and experimental physics. The IPhO is organized annually in different countries as 9-10-days competition wherein national teams comprising maximum of five of their best physics students and two team leaders participate." - IPhO
USAPhO Site: www.aapt.org/physicsteam/PT-landing.cfm
IPhO Site: www.ipho-new.org/
FAQs (at the bottom): www.aapt.org/Common/forstudents.cfm
"The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is the most prestigious international physics competition for secondary school students. The main aim of IPhO is to test the highest level of knowledge, critical thinking, problem solving, right practices of presentation and analysis, and hands-on skills in theoretical and experimental physics. The IPhO is organized annually in different countries as 9-10-days competition wherein national teams comprising maximum of five of their best physics students and two team leaders participate." - IPhO
USAPhO Site: www.aapt.org/physicsteam/PT-landing.cfm
IPhO Site: www.ipho-new.org/
FAQs (at the bottom): www.aapt.org/Common/forstudents.cfm
Exam Structure
Round 1: F=ma Exam
Round 2: USAPhO Exam
Round 3: US Physics Team Training Camp
Round 4: IPhO
Exam Topic Organization
The F=ma Exam focuses on mechanics, including:
The USAPhO Exam focuses on all topics in introductory physics, including:
- Open to all high school students
- 75-minute exam, 25 MCQ focusing on mechanics
- There are two versions of the exam, F=ma A and F=ma B
- Around 400 top scorers (around top 10%) advance to Round 2
Round 2: USAPhO Exam
- Around 400 students from the F=ma exam take the USAPhO exam
- Entirely FRQ, must justify answers
- 3-hour exam split into two parts of 90 minutes each
- Top 10-12% scorers will receive gold medals, next 14-16% will receive silver, next 19-21% will receive bronze and the next 24%-26% will receive honorable mentions
- 20 students will advance to Round 3 based on their F=ma and USAPhO exam scores
Round 3: US Physics Team Training Camp
- 20 students from Round 2 are invited to attend Training Camp, based on their F=ma and USAPhO scores
- Camp lasts ten days and is held at the University of Maryland
- Occurs at the end of May
- Based on the results of the camp, five students will be selected to compete at the IPhO as a member of Team USA
- The five selected students will return for three days to prepare before IPhO
Round 4: IPhO
- Nine-day competition comprising of countries from all around the world
- Team USA will travel to host country to compete
- Consists of a five-hour theoretical and five-hour practical exam
Exam Topic Organization
The F=ma Exam focuses on mechanics, including:
- kinematics
- statics
- Newton’s laws
- momentum and energy
- oscillations
- orbital mechanics
- fluids
- elementary data analysis
The USAPhO Exam focuses on all topics in introductory physics, including:
- mechanics
- electromagnetism
- thermodynamics
- relativity
- nuclear, atomic, and particle physics
- waves
- optics
- data analysis
2021-2022 Important DatesTBD
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ResourcesPhysics Olympiads Discord Links:
Discord Server: discord.gg/qNd4K9N6pU Website with Resources: physoly.tech/ Discord Server Official Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/Physoly Practice Exams: F=ma and USAPhO Exams: www.aapt.org/Common/pastexams.cfm Textbooks: docs.google.com/document/d/1_TWjFN2NY93eriFxZaGMBZuQy7jZD3y6V3Mb9s4IXpo/edit?usp=sharing Other Materials: Khan Academy (if you don't know basic calculus differentiation and integration techniques, you can learn on KA as well): www.khanacademy.org/science/physics AOPS Post with Comprehensive List of Resources: artofproblemsolving.com/community/c164h2094716_a_comprehensive_list_of_physics_olympiad_resources WWP Physics Olympiad Site: sites.google.com/view/wwpisoclub/physics-olympiad?authuser=0 |