Physics Olympiad Exams

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published by the American Association of Physics Teachers

The Physics Olympiad Screening Exams are used each year by the American Association of Physics Teachers to help select members for the United State Physics Team. Each year there are two or three rounds of exams consisting of both multiple choice and open response questions. The exams cover a broad range of topics in physics including mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, waves, and optics.

The exams linked below provide examples of the Olympiad screening tests from several previous years. In most cases both exams and exams with solutions are provided.

download 139kb .pdf
Published: February 2, 2009
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8 supplemental documents are available

2008 Olympiad F=ma Preliminary Test
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This is the preliminary US Physics Olympiad contest for 2008. Solutions are provided on the final page.
.pdf file (148 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2008
Rights: Copyright AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

2008 Olympiad Quarter Final Questions
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This file contains the free-response quarter-final questions for the 2008 US Physics Olympics team.
.pdf file (39 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2008
Rights: Copyright AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

2008 Olympiad Quarter Final Solutions
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This file contains the solutions to the open-response quarter-final questions for the US Physics Olympic Team.
.pdf file (86 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2008
Rights: Copyright AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

2008 Olympiad Semi Final Questions
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This file contains the open-response semi-final questions from the 2008 US Physics Olympics Team selection.
.pdf file (100 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2008
Rights: Copyright AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

2008 Olympiad Semi Final Solutions
In order to access this file, please Login to the Compadre Portal collection.
This file contains the solutions to the open-response semi-final questions from the 2008 Physics Olympics Team selection competition
.pdf file (141 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2008
Rights: Copyright, AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

2007 Olympiad Tests
In order to access this file, please Login to the Compadre Portal collection.
This archive contains all the tests used for the 2007 US Physics Olympics selection. It includes the preliminary and semi-final tests and the solutions.
.zip file (410 kb Compressed File)
.pdf file (458 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2007
Rights: Copyright AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

2004 Olympiad Tests
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This file contains the multiple choice, preliminary, and semi-final tests for the 2004 US Physics Olympics contest.
.zip file (597 kb Compressed File)
.pdf file (647 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2004
Rights: Copyright, AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

2003 Olympiad Tests
In order to access this file, please Login to the Compadre Portal collection.
This archive contains the multiple choice, preliminary open-response, and semi-final test for the 2004 US Physics Olympics Team selection contest. Answers to the Multiple Choice questions are available at the end of that test.
.zip file (199 kb Compressed File)
.pdf file (233 kb Adobe PDF Document)
Published: January 1, 2003
Rights: Copyright AAPT. Freely available for non-commercial use with attribution.

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Assessment = Instruments = Standardized Tests General Physics - Collections	- High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Problem/Problem Set - Assessment Material = Test

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners - Educators	- application/pdf	Currently 4.5/5 Rated 4.5 stars by 17 people Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 1993 AAPT
Keywords:: advanced placement, standardized evaluations
Record Creator:: Metadata Instance Creation Date October 16, 2003 by Bruce Mason
Record Updated:: February 24, 2016 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: February 2, 2009
Other Collections:: The PSRC

The Physics Front

Questions show remarkable ignorance of physics

Author: Nona Busen
Posted: December 22, 2011 at 1:54PM
Source: The PSRC collection

I worked through the first dozen questions of the 2007 test, and I'm dismayed at how little knowledge of physics the question-writers appear to have had. Calling gravitational binding energy "gravitational potential energy" is not a trivial mistake (question 8), nor is asking a question about what happens during a specific time period, and then expecting an answer about what has happened in total from zero to the end of that time period (question 4).

These tests are useless for learners, and their only use for educators would be as a potential source for sample questions.

» reply

Re: Questions show remarkable ignorance of physics

Author: Bruce, ComPADRE Dir
Posted: Dec 22, 2011 11:34PM UTC

Nona, the US Physics Olympics Team, the source of these tests, is organized by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics each year, with the tests provided here written by experienced physicists and physics teachers. The results of these tests have been quite good, with the US Physics Team doing well in international competitions. I don't know precisely the way the tests are written and approved, but I'm sure they are carefully vetted. They are provided mostly for teachers to use in their classes.

As to your specific questions, the term "gravitational potential energy" is standard for the gravitational energy between objects and is used in most textbooks. The question about what happens in a second time period given a first time period is a standard conceptual question that tests student understanding of kinematics.

> On Dec 22, 2011, Nona Busen posted:
>
> I worked through
> the first dozen questions of the 2007 test, and I'm
> dismayed at how little knowledge of physics the question-writers
> appear to have had. Calling gravitational binding
> energy "gravitational potential energy" is not a trivial
> mistake (question 8), nor is asking a question about
> what happens during a specific time period, and then
> expecting an answer about what has happened in total
> from zero to the end of that time period (question 4).
>
>
> These tests are useless for learners, and their
> only use for educators would be as a potential source
> for sample questions.

» reply

thanks

Author: salvatore viva
Posted: June 26, 2009 at 7:27AM
Source: The PSRC collection

i hope to use this in phisycs summer school in Lecce, Italy

( sorry for my English )

» reply

Re: thanks

Author: Bruce, ComPADRE Dir
Posted: Jun 27, 2009 3:38PM UTC

I'm glad this can help you out with your class.

Bruce

> On Jun 26, 2009, salvatore viva posted:
>
> i hope to
> use this in phisycs summer school in Lecce, Ital
>
>
> ( sorry for my English )

» reply

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=390">American Association of Physics Teachers. Physics Olympiad Exams. College Park: American Association of Physics Teachers, February 2, 2009.</a>

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(American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, 1993), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=390&DocID=961).

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Physics Olympiad Exams (American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, 1993), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=390&DocID=961>.

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American Association of Physics Teachers. Physics Olympiad Exams. College Park: American Association of Physics Teachers, February 2, 2009. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=390&DocID=961 (accessed 3 May 2025).

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