
So
let’s come to the main point. In order to win a medal at the Physics Olympiad,
you don’t have to be a superhuman or something. People who participate in PhO and
win there are all normal people just like you. So, how do they manage to
triumph over the battle? In
this post, I will try to answer your question. First of all, there are three
categories in BDPhO, and I will divide my post in three segments based on each
category.
Three categories in the Bangladesh Physics Olympiad
are Category A (Class 7-8), Category B (Class 9-10) and Category
C (Class 11-12).
Category
A

As
a beginner, you can also start with non-calculus physics textbooks like
"College Physics by Alan Giambattista, Betty McCarthy Richardson, and
Robert C. Richardson” or "Physics by John D. Cutnell, Kenneth W. Johnson”.
Category
B
If
you are in Category B, your first and foremost task will be finishing the class
9-10 Physics textbook properly. You can also have a look at the older version
of the textbook, which used to be little more comprehensive. When you’re done
with 9-10 textbook, you can move on to building up good problem solving skills.
You can find previous problems here (Click
Here).
Pause.

You can use MIT OCW Single Variable calculus
course taught by Prof. David Jerison(https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-01-single-variable-calculus-fall-2006/).
Watch the first 20 lectures and you will know most of the basic stuff you need.
Category
C
Now
it’s time for Category C. Well, if you are in category C and wish to do well in
BDPhO, you should have finished HRK or University Physics by now. You should
start studying An Introduction to Mechanics (Kleppner and Kolenkow),
Electricity and Magnetism Third Edition (E.M Purcell and David Morin), and
Thermal Physics (Schroeder) to strengthen your understanding on particular
topics.
While
books are essential lecture series might be more helpful to master stuff.
Walter Lewin’s video series is a gem of any physics lover. My most favorite
physics teacher and favorite of most physics students.
Here are Walter Lewin's Lecture Series 8.01(Mechanics)[Link],
8.02(Electromagnetism)[Link], 8.03(Vibrations
and Waves)[Link] Ramamuri Shankar’s lectures are very handy to master
topics. His lecturer series Mechanics [Link],
Electromagnetism and Quantum Mechanics[Link].
Also,
you should start solving the past IPhO Problems , which can be found here (Click
Here).
A lot of other stuffs can be found at the BdPhO website (Website) and Science Olympiad
Blog's server (Click
Here).
Quora (Link) has a lot of nice answers
on Physics Olympiads ranging from national to IPhO. You may want to check
those.
If you
want to ask any questions you can reach me at my mail(munirulalam15@gmail.com) or Facebook(www.facebook.com/munirul15)
Hope
that you’ll rock on the Physics Olympiad! All the very best.
Written
by Munirul Alam.
Edited
by Shahreer Zahan.