International Physics Olympiad

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The International Physics Olympiad (Engl. International Physics Olympiad , IPhO) is an international competition for students, which is about solving challenging theoretical and experimental physics goes tasks under exam conditions. The IPhO takes place annually and is held alternately in different participating countries.

procedure

The International Physics Olympiad takes place each summer in the respective host country. An Olympiad typically lasts nine to ten days. The two exams, which are previously translated into the respective mother tongue, take place on two days of this relative to the beginning. The students have to work individually on the theoretical and practical tasks in five hours each. The tasks are carefully crafted well in advance by the host country so that they are both engaging and challenging.

In the following days, the tasks will be corrected by the jury of the hosts as well as the supervisors, and a discussion about the final score will be decided so that the results are fixed by the end. During this time, students can look forward to an extensive supporting program with excursions and events. This includes cultural program items, visits to important sights and interesting lectures by often well-known scientists. Another important aspect is the encounters and actions between the students.

The Olympics will i. d. Usually carried out at universities where there is enough space for the many hundreds of participants and attendants. The Olympics were partly organized by educational institutions themselves (e.g. in 1975 by the Pedagogical University in Güstrow or in 1986 by the Harrow School), and partly by government agencies.

Attendees

Each participating country (currently more than 80) sends a team of a maximum of five students, accompanied by two supervisors. The team may be accompanied by other people (observers, visitors). The pupils may not have reached the age of 20 on June 30th of the year of the event.

preparation

The IPhO requires students to have knowledge and skills that are not taught in such detail in school. Additional preparation is necessary to be successful in competition. Most participants train beforehand at least with tasks from previous years and with specialist literature.

In some - but not all - participating countries there is also a special preparation program for students. In some countries there are preparatory seminars lasting a few days, in others even up to several months. Some teams are selected before the training, others only in the course of it.

In Germany there is a three-day experimental internship for the team, which takes place in June in Heide (Schleswig-Holstein). During the internship, experiments are set up in various stations, which the students can then carry out and evaluate.

German selection process

Logo of the German selection process for the IPhO since 2008

The German team is determined in a four-stage competition held by the Institute for Science Education ( IPN ). All rounds are carried out nationwide.

1 round

The first selection round takes place in the year before the Olympics from April to mid-September. Four tasks from classical physics are set, which are publicly displayed in many schools and published on the Internet. In order to give younger students a chance, the Olympiad has been supplemented by a 5th task (junior task) since 2011. The tasks may be solved by individual students in housework and are corrected by the subject teacher. Every year around 800 students take part in the first round.

2nd round

The second selection round takes place on a day in November as an exam in schools. The pupils of the first round are allowed to take part if they have achieved at least 30 of the 40 possible points (or 50 with the junior task), as well as successful pupils of some other science competitions. The exam lasts three hours and is supervised by teachers. It consists of short multiple choice and some longer theoretical tasks. The second round of housework took place up to the IPhO 2018. The much more difficult tasks, including experiments, were worked on by around 150 students each year.

3rd round

Experimental exam in the 3rd round for the IPhO 2020

The 50 or so best participants in the second round will be invited to the third round selection seminar. During the one-week seminar at the end of January, four multi-hour selection exams will be written and seminars will be held to deepen physical knowledge. In addition to scientific and other excursions, there is ample opportunity to puzzle together with other participants. The third selection round is currently being held at a research institution such as the DLR in Göttingen or the DESY in Hamburg.

4th round

The fourth round is the final selection for the German IPhO team and will take place in April before the Olympics (right after Easter). The 15 best of the third round will be invited one more time. The seminar is similar to the third round, but offers even more challenging tasks. The venue changes between various exciting scientific institutions such as the Jülich Research Center or the AWI in Bremerhaven.

Swiss selection process

The Swiss team is determined in two elimination rounds. Training events are organized in between.

1 round

The preliminary rounds for the first round take place locally in the schools. The participants take a 40-minute multiple-choice exam. The best 100 or so participants qualify for a one-week physics camp and for the second round.

2nd round

The examination of the 2nd round will take place simultaneously in different places in Switzerland in mid-January. This one-day elimination consists of theoretical tasks at a higher secondary school level and serves to select the best students for the SwissPhO, the Swiss national championship.

SwissPhO

The SwissPhO, the Swiss Physics Olympiad or national championship, takes place in Aarau in March / April. During two days, the participants are tested with experimental and theoretical tasks. The two days will be framed with lectures, a joint evening and the award of medals. The five best are allowed to take part in the International Physics Olympiad.

Team training

The team training will take place in Aarau at the beginning of June. During this weekend the participants of the IPhO will be familiarized with the peculiarities of the tasks of the IPhO.

Austrian selection process

The Austrian team is determined in a four-stage selection process. There are no costs for the students from participating in the Physics Olympiad. These are mainly covered by the BMUKK and also by sponsors.

1st stage - school

(around March)

In a three-hour internal school competition (called: course competition), in which two theoretical and one experimental tasks are to be worked on, the best four of those students who are taking part in a Physics Olympiad preparatory course in the current school year are determined. These are sent by the school to the so-called state competition. Students with additional physical education, e.g. B. Physics elective subject, can enter the Austrian Physics Olympiad via the so-called qualification competition, even if they have not attended a preparatory course. All participants receive diplomas, and the best also receive book or material prizes.

2nd stage - land

(around April)

A four-hour competition takes place at the level of the nine federal states (the so-called state competition), with three theoretical and one experimental task to be worked on. The theoretical tasks are carried out by a team from the University of Linz and the experimental task is worked out by a Styrian team and kept sealed in all federal states until they start at the same time. Each federal state has an assigned number of fixed starting places for the federal competition I. In addition, a number of students qualify according to points, so that the best 35 students from all over Austria qualify for the next higher competition level (traditionally the Upper Austrians, Styrians and Viennese have the highest contingents). All participants receive diplomas, many participants win book or material prizes and the very best receive small gold, silver or bronze medals.

3rd stage - Bund I

(Late April / early May)

At the federal competition I (always in Linz, at the Europagymnasium Auhof ) the 16 best, which are determined in a five-hour theory test, qualify for the federal competition II. All participants receive a participation diploma signed by the Minister of Education. The University of Linz invites following the test to a tour of their Physics Institute.

4th stage - Federal II

(mostly 15 days at the end of May / beginning of June or between the written and oral Matura)

The Federal Competition II is preceded by ten days of intensive training, for which the participating students are released from lessons by the BMUKK. The subsequent competition itself consists of a five-hour experimental part and a five-hour theoretical part, which are held on two consecutive days. There are four experiments in the experimental part and six theoretical problems in the theoretical part. All participants receive a prize diploma signed by the Minister of Education and a book or material prize. The best two win gold medals, the following three receive silver medals and the next four bronze medals. The top five qualify to participate in the International Physics Olympiad. In the days before the competition, the participants receive special training as a final preparation.

Prices

According to the number of points achieved, gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded, whereby the points key is created in such a way that the following prizes or, better, at least the following proportion of participants are achieved:

gold 8th %
silver 25%
bronze 50%
Honorable Mention 67%

The medal table was last raised at the IPhO 2009 by 6%, 18%, 36%, 60% in order to give more students a prize.

In addition, special prizes will be given for the best participant, the best theoretical work, the best experimental work and other prizes at the request of the organizer. The participants who just missed a bronze medal receive a certificate of recognition (Honorable Mention). Attractive prizes are also often given.

The participants in the German selection process receive additional prizes such as book vouchers, certificates as well as language trips and research internships. In addition, participation in the IPhO i. d. R. took several more trips, such as company visits, honoring at the DPG annual conference or participating in the day of talents .

The five German team members receive the DPG student award for the following year. At the same time, you will go through the admission procedure for the German National Academic Foundation .

The participants in the Austrian selection process receive prizes in kind and / or cash, depending on the federal state. The winners of the state competition in Styria receive, for example, cash prizes and holiday internships, in other federal states such as B. Vienna, however, there are only small prizes to be won

Venues

The host countries change annually and are determined many years in advance.

Previous venues

The "Countries" column indicates the number of countries that participated with students in the competition.

No. year Host country city countries student date Notes, web links
1. 1967 PolandPoland Poland Warsaw 5 15th 25.06. - 01.07. Initiation of the IPhO by Eastern European countries
2. 1968 HungaryHungary Hungary Budapest 8th 24 June 23 - 29.06. Preparation of the articles of association
3. 1969 CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Brno 8th 40 June 23 - 02.07.
4th 1970 Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union Moscow 8th 48 05.07. - 15.07.
5. 1971 Bulgaria 1971Bulgaria Bulgaria Sofia 7th 35 02.07. - 11.07. final determination of a maximum of five students per team
6th 1972 Romania 1965Romania Romania Bucharest 9 45 08.07. - 18.07. first participation of western and non-European countries
7th 1974 PolandPoland Poland Warsaw 8th 40 08.07. - 07/20 first participation of the Federal Republic of Germany
8th. 1975 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic Guestrow 9 45 07.07. - 17.07. Organized by and carried out at the " Liselotte Herrmann" college of education in Güstrow
9. 1976 HungaryHungary Hungary Budapest 10 50 01.07. - 08.07.
10. 1977 CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Königgrätz 12 60 07.07. - 17.07.
11. 1979 Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union Moscow 11 02.07. - 10.07. In 1978 and 1980 no IPhO took place because no participating country could / wanted to organize it.
12. 1981 Bulgaria 1971Bulgaria Bulgaria Varna 14th 01.07. - 10.07.
13. 1982 Germany Federal RepublicFederal Republic of Germany BR Germany Malente (Schleswig-Holstein) 17th 84 19.06. - 29.06. First event in a non-socialist country. Manfred Lehn from Fulda takes first place.
14th 1983 Romania 1965Romania Romania Bucharest 16 80 05.07. - 14.07.
15th 1984 SwedenSweden Sweden Sigtuna 18th 83 June 24th - 01.07.
16. 1985 Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia Yugoslavia Portorož 20th 99 June 23 - 30.06.
17th 1986 United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom London 21st 105 07/13 - 07/20
18th 1987 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR German Democratic Republic Jena 25th 125 05.07. - 13.07. Organized by the Friedrich Schiller University Jena
19th 1988 AustriaAustria Austria Bad Ischl 27 132 June 23 - 02.07.
20th 1989 PolandPoland Poland Warsaw 29 150 July 16 - 24.07. The team from the Federal Republic of Germany achieved the best result of all 29 participating countries.
21st 1990 NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands Groningen 32 160 05.07. - 13.07. Two German teams will take part for the last time.
22nd 1991 CubaCuba Cuba Havana 31 149 01.07. - 09.07.
23. 1992 FinlandFinland Finland Helsinki 38 177 05.07. - 13.07.
24. 1993 United StatesUnited States United States Williamsburg 42 201 07/10 - 18.07. Harald Pfeiffer from Wiesentheid is the best student.
25th 1994 China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China Beijing 46 229 07/11 - 19.07.
26th 1995 AustraliaAustralia Australia Canberra 51 255 05.07. - 12.07. http://www.anu.edu.au/Physics/IPhO/ ( Memento from October 2, 2000 in the Internet Archive )
27. 1996 NorwayNorway Norway Oslo 55 260 30.06. - 07.07. http://www.fys.uio.no/biofysikk/ipho/ ( Memento from April 21, 2002 in the Internet Archive )
28. 1997 CanadaCanada Canada Sudbury 56 265 07/13 - 21.07. 28th International Physics Olympiad, Sudbury.
29 1998 IcelandIceland Iceland Reykjavík 56 266 02.07. - 10.07. http://www.hi.is/pub/ipho/ ( Memento of April 30, 2001 in the Internet Archive )
30th 1999 ItalyItaly Italy Padua 62 291 07/18 - 07/27 http://www.pd.infn.it/Olifis/
31. 2000 United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom Leicester 63 296 08.07. - 16.07. http://www.star.le.ac.uk/IPhO-2000/ ( Memento from August 16, 2000 in the Internet Archive )
32. 2001 TurkeyTurkey Turkey Antalya 65 306 28.06. - 06.07. http://www.ipho2001.org.tr/ ( Memento from November 28, 2001 in the Internet Archive )
33. 2002 IndonesiaIndonesia Indonesia Bali 66 296 07/21 - 07/30 http://www.fi.itb.ac.id/~ipho33/ ( Memento from November 5, 2002 in the Internet Archive )
34. 2003 TaiwanRepublic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan Taipei 54 238 08/02 - 11.08. http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/ipho2003/
35. 2004 Korea SouthSouth Korea South Korea Pohang 71 328 07/15 - 23.07. http://www.ipho2004.or.kr/ ( Memento from April 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
36. 2005 SpainSpain Spain Salamanca 72 352 07/15 - 23.07. http://helveticanet.com/ipho36/ ( Memento from January 6, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
37. 2006 SingaporeSingapore Singapore Singapore 82 388 08.07. - 17.07. http://www.ipho2006.org ( Memento of November 30, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
38. 2007 IranIran Iran Isfahan 69 327 07/13 - 22.07. http://www.ipho2007.ir/ ( Memento from November 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
39. 2008 VietnamVietnam Vietnam Hanoi 82 376 07/20 - 29.07. http://ipho2008.hnue.edu.vn/ ( Memento from April 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
40. 2009 MexicoMexico Mexico Merida 68 316 07/11 - 07/20 http://ipho2009.smf.mx ( Memento from August 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Increase in the number of medals awarded
41. 2010 CroatiaCroatia Croatia Zagreb 79 367 07/17 - 25.07. http://ipho2010.hfd.hr/
42. 2011 ThailandThailand Thailand Bangkok 83 393 07/10 - 18.07. http://mpec.sc.mahidol.ac.th/ipho2011/
43. 2012 EstoniaEstonia Estonia Tallinn and Tartu 80 378 07/15 - 24.07. http://www.ipho2012.ee/
44. 2013 DenmarkDenmark Denmark Copenhagen 82 374 07.07. - 15.07. http://www.ipho2013.dk/
45. 2014 KazakhstanKazakhstan Kazakhstan Astana 85 383 07/12 - 21.07. http://ipho2014.kz/
46. 2015 IndiaIndia India Mumbai 83 382 05.07. - 12.07. http://www.ipho2015.in/
47. 2016 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland Zurich 84 398 07/11 - 17.07. http://www.ipho2016.org/
48. 2017 IndonesiaIndonesia Indonesia Yogyakarta 84 395 July 16 - 23.07. http://www.ipho2017.id ( Memento from September 27, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
49. 2018 PortugalPortugal Portugal Lisbon 86 396 07/21 - 29.07. http://ipho2018.pt
50. 2019 IsraelIsrael Israel Tel Aviv 78 360 07.07. - 15.07. https://www.ipho2019.org.il

Future venues

  • 51st : 2021 in Vilnius , Lithuania (originally planned for July 18-26, 2020, but postponed to July 17-25, 2021 due to COVID-19)
  • 52nd : 2022 in Belarus
  • 53 : 2023 in Tokyo, Japan
  • 54 : 2024 in Iran
  • 55th : 2025 in France
  • 56 : 2026 in Colombia
  • 57 : 2027 in Hungary
  • 58 : 2028 in South Korea
  • 59 : 2029 in Ecuador
  • 71 : 2041 in Bangladesh

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b Schematic representation of the German selection process for the IPhO (PDF file; 3.8 MB)
  2. ^ S Petersen, P Wulff: The German Physics Olympiad — identifying and inspiring talents . In: European Journal of Physics . 38, No. 3, 2017, ISSN  0143-0807 , S. 034005. doi : 10.1088 / 1361-6404 / aa538f .
  3. Exercise sheets for the 1st round
  4. IPhO - information 1st round. Retrieved October 17, 2019 .
  5. tasks of the 2nd round
  6. http://wettbewerbe.ipn.uni-kiel.de/ipho/data/IPhO_Auswahlverfahren_diagram.pdf ( Memento from August 6, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 116 kB)
  7. The winners of the 28th ÖPhO 2009
  8. schedule on physikolympiade.at
  9. ^ Statutes of the International Physics Olympiads , §6
  10. ^ Waldemar Gorzkowski: International Physics Olympiads (IPhO): Their history, structure and future. (PDF file; 390 kB) July 2006, p. 13
  11. IPhO-unofficial : data and statistics on the IPhO