The USA Physics Olympiad (USAPhO) is the one of the best best opportunities for high school students based in the United States to do physics at the highest level.

The two things that make it stand out are the challenging nature of the competition, as well as the prestige associated with the competition.

Doing well in the competition will allow you to qualify for a training camp, from which participants are selected to join the US team for the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).

This also signals to top-tier universities your ability to deal with some of the most academically challenging environments in the world.

This guide is designed to help you perform as well as possible in the competition.

Eligibility and Registration Eligibility Criteria To be eligible for the USAPhO, students must meet the following requirements: Academic Standing: Participants must be enrolled in a high school (grades 9-12) in the United States.

Home-schooled students are also eligible, provided they meet equivalent academic standards.

Age Limit: Students must be under 20 years of age on July 1st of the year in which they participate in the competition.

Citizenship and Residency: While U.

S. citizenship is not a strict requirement, participants must be legal residents of the United States and attending a U.

S. high school.

This includes students on F-1 visas and other international students residing in the country.

The most important eligibility criteria for the USAPhO is earning a qualifying score on the F=ma exam, which is the competition's "opens" round.

This score changes from year to year, with about 400 people invited to participate in USAPhO annually from a pool of roughly 6,000 test takers.

Registration Process The registration process for the USAPhO is straightforward and involves the following steps: School Registration: Schools must first register with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) to become a recognized testing center for the F=ma exam, the initial stage of the USAPhO.

This is typically done by a physics teacher or another school official who will serve as the exam coordinator.

Student Registration: Once the school is registered, students can sign up for the F=ma exam through their school.

Registration usually opens in the fall, with deadlines typically in December or January.

Students should consult their physics teacher or the school's exam coordinator for specific registration details.

Exam Fees: There is a nominal fee associated with the F=ma exam to cover administrative costs.

This fee is often paid by the school or the students, depending on the school's policy.

Some schools may offer financial assistance or fee waivers for students in need.

Exam Administration: The F=ma exam is typically administered in late January or early February.

Schools are responsible for proctoring the exam and ensuring it is conducted under standardized conditions to maintain the integrity of the competition.

Distribution of Invitations: After about a month, exam scores are released to the school.

Students who earn a qualifying score are invited to participate for the USAPhO, which is also proctored by the school.

This typically takes place in early April Structure F=ma Exam The journey to the USAPhO begins with the F=ma exam, which serves as the preliminary qualifying round.

Here’s what you need to know about this crucial first step: The F=ma exam primarily assesses mechanics, covering topics such as kinematics, Newton’s laws, energy, momentum, and rotational motion.

The exam consists of 25 multiple-choice questions that must be completed in 75 minutes.

Calculators are not allowed, so students must be proficient in solving problems analytically.

Each correct answer earns points, while incorrect answers typically do not incur penalties.

The top scorers on the F=ma exam, usually the top 400 to 500 students nationwide, advance to the USAPhO semifinals.

Typically, you need to be getting 12 to 18 questions correct on the exam.

The exact cutoff is adjusted annually and announced after the exam to ensure that there are a similar number of qualifiers each year.

USAPhO Those who excel in the F=ma exam move on to the USAPhO semifinals, which are significantly more comprehensive and challenging.

This exam consists of free response questions that require written work.

You need to show your steps logically in these questions, but they are not as strict with proofs as the math Olympiad.

Topics to Study There are two sets of topics in physics that you will need to study in order to perform well in USAPhO.

First, you need to study the areas that will appear in the F=ma.

After that, you will need to study the additional areas that will appear in USAPhO.

F=ma Topics Kinematics Newton’s Laws of Motion Work, Energy, and Power Momentum and Impulse Rotational Motion Gravitation Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM) Statics Fluid mechanics USAPhO Topics In addition to physics topics, you will need to be able to perform calculus for this competition.

Electromagnetism Electrostatics Electric Circuits Magnetism Thermodynamics Laws of Thermodynamics Kinetic Theory of Gases Optics Geometrical Optics Wave Optics Modern Physics Quantum Mechanics Atomic Physics Nuclear Physics Relativity Conclusions If you are interested in physics, you have probably thought about doing research in the field at some point, as well as competitions that assess your skills in the subject.

One way you can pursue this is by registering for the International Research Olympiad.

This nonprofit competition had over 1000 participants last year and an in-person finals event at Harvard University.

The Olympiad aims to meritocratically assess research capabilities.

Full disclosure: While I am on the board of the IRO, I do believe that it is a genuinely valuable competition.

Board members are not compensated monetarily by the IRO.