Saturday, June 1, 2013

Physics Olympiad: Preparation

The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is an annual physics competition for high school students. Each national delegation is made up of at most five student competitors plus two leaders, selected on a national level.

Bangladesh Physics Olympiad

Bangladesh Physics Olympiad Committee organizes BDPhO every year, and selects Bangladesh team for International Physics Olympiad (IPhO). Bangladesh Physics Olympiad usually takes place between November to January. Bangladesh Physics Olympiad has 3 Phases.

Phase I : Divisional Round.
 Phase II : National Round.
 Phase III: IPhO Team Selection Camp.

Important Links:
Bangladesh Physics Olympiad Website.
Bangladesh Physics Olympiad Facebook Group.
Syllabus of the BDPhO.
Past Papers of the BdPhO. 

If you want to compete at the national or upper level physics olympiad, you should at least complete the book "Physics, Volume 1 & 2 by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Kenneth S. Krane"

This is an undergraduate level textbook, and you need to have a decent knowledge of univariate calculus to sink your teeth into it. If you can solve 80% of the problems of Halliday, Resnick and Krane - you can start with the Past IPhO Question Papers. Note: As the scope of the syllabus has changed, it is a waste to try to handle question papers from pre-1998 era.


Suggested By: Professor Arshad Momen, Coach, Bangladesh Physics Olympiad Team.


International Physics Olympiad : Preparation 

If you are a beginner you can start with non-calculus physics textbooks:
  • "College Physics" by Alan Giambattista, Betty McCarthy Richardson, and Robert C. Richardson
  • "Physics", 7th Edition by John D. Cutnell, Kenneth W. Johnson

Study first year level university physics.
  • "Physics", Volume 1 & 2 by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Kenneth S. Krane
  •  "University Physics with Modern Physics with Mastering Physics™", 12th edition, by Hugh D. Young and Roger A. Freedman
  • "Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics" by Raymond A. Serway and John W. Jewett, Jr.
  • Upgrade Your Physics by The British Physics Olympiad

Interesting Resources for General Physics and Mathematics:

Textbooks on specific topics:
  • "An Introduction to Mechanics" by Kleppner and Kolenkow
  • "Classical Mechanics" by John R. Taylor
  • "Introduction to Classical Mechanics with Problems and Solutions" by David Morin
  • "Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems" by Jerry B. Marion and Stephen T. Thornton
  • "Special Relativity" by A.P. French
  • "Vibrations and Waves" by A.P. French
  • "Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd ed." by David J. Griffiths
  • "Electricity and Magnetism" by Edward M. Purcell
  • "Electromagnetic Fields and Waves" by Paul Lorrain and Dale Corson

Practice working out theoretical problems

Practice doing experiments

Courtesy: How to Prepare for Physics Olympiad


Physics Olympiad Interesting Textbook/Course Download Links

Physics Olympiad: Basic to Advanced Exercises

This book contains some of the problems and solutions in the past domestic theoretical and experimental rounds of Japan Physics Olympiad. Through the exercises, this book aim at introducing the appeal and interest of modern physics to high-school students. 


In particular, the problems for the second-round of competition are like long journey of physics, beginning with fundamental physics of junior-high-school level, and ending with the forefronts of updated physics and technology.

You can download the book from here.


MIT OCW: Physics I and II

Physics I is a first-year physics course which introduces students to classical mechanics. This course has a hands-on focus, and approaches mechanics through take-home experiments. Topics include: kinematics, Newton's laws of motion, universal gravitation, statics, conservation laws, energy, work, momentum, and special relativity.

Physics II is the second semester of introductory physics. The focus is on electricity and magnetism.

MIT OCW has selected relevant material from MIT's introductory physics courses to support students as they study for the AP Physics curriculum. The videos are extremely helpful for beginner level understanding of Physics. 

To download all the videos, click here DOWNLOAD LINK.


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