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PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
Dear Students, Parents, and Teachers.
We are happy to introduce our Physics & Astronomy Olympiad. This Olympiad has 2 Rounds: the Preliminary Round and the Global Round.
Schools, Parents, and Students can register themselves through our website, or by contacting us. The registration deadline is September 10, 2024. Students from Grade 08 to 12 & (O & A-Levels) can participate in this Olympiad.
The Preliminary Round will be held on the following date: September 30, 2024. The exam will have 25 multiple-choice questions. The contest will start at 10 am at your own School under you principal's supervision and will last 60 minutes. Students need to choose only one Preliminary Round to participate.
To qualify for the Global Round which will be held physically from 09 - 13 January 2025 at Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States. The students need to score 40% and higher in the Preliminary Round.
Students will be given a Certificate of Participation in the Preliminary Round, a Certificate of Achievement in the Preliminary Round, and Medals according to the following progress:
Top 10% – Gold Medal
Next 15% – Silver Medal
Next 25% – Bronze Medal
Next 10% – Honorable Mention Certificate
- Students who get at least 40% in the Preliminary Round become eligible to participate in the Global Round.
- Regardless of score, all participants of Preliminary Round will receive a Certificate of Participation.
***Hard copies of Medals will be distributed after the Global Round.
SYLLABUS
| Syllabus | Physics | Astronomy |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 (Grade 7 and 8) | • Newton’s laws of motions • Types of forces • Speed, velocity, and acceleration • Simple machines • Forms of energy • Energy transformation • Conservation of energy • Properties of sound waves • Sound dispersion and the Doppler effect • Properties of light • Behavior of light • Lenses and their application • Electromagnetic spectrum • Electric circuits and components • Heat transfer • Properties of fluids • Fluids dynamics • Buoyancy and Archimedes principle | • The Sun • Moon, asteroids, and planets • Asteroid belt and Kuiper belt • Celestial motions • Day and night, seasons, and moon phases • Eclipses • Stars and their characteristics • Constellations and their cultural significance • Life cycle of stars • Types of galaxies • The Big Bang Theory • Meteor showers • Auroras |
| Category 2 (Grade 9 and 10) | • Kinematics (motion in one and two dimensions) • Circular motion and gravitation • Work, power, and energy • Temperature, heat, and thermal expansion • Laws of thermodynamics • Conduction, convection, and radiation • Electric circuit and Ohm’s law • Electric potential, voltage, and current • Magnetic fields and electromagnetism • Wave properties • Sound waves, their characteristics, and behavior • The Doppler effect and wave interference • Electric charges and fields • Coulomb’s law and electric potential energy. • Electric flux and Gauss’s law • Quantum mechanics and the behavior of subatomic particles. • The photoelectric effect and wave-particle duality. • Nuclear physics (atomic structure, radioactivity) • The behavior of gases and gas laws (Boyle’s law, Charles’s law, etc.). • Ideal gas law and kinetic molecular theory | • Detailed study of the Sun and its properties. • The life cycle of stars, including their birth, evolution, and death • Stellar properties, such as luminosity, temperature, and size. • Stellar classification and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. • Types of galaxies (spiral, elliptical, irregular). • Galactic structure and the Milky Way. • The concept of the expanding universe and its implications • The Big Bang theory and the origin of the universe. • Dark matter and dark energy. • The cosmic microwave background radiation • The study of exoplanets and their potential habitability. • The search for extraterrestrial life. • The Drake Equation and the Fermi Paradox • Supernovae and black holes. • Gamma-ray bursts and quasars. • The study of cosmic phenomena using telescopes and space missions |
| Category 3 (Grade 11 and 12) | • Conservation laws (momentum, angular momentum) • Impulse and collisions • Rotational motion and torque • Gravitation beyond basic concepts • Kinetic theory of gases • Thermodynamic processes (isothermal, adiabatic, etc.) • Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics • Electromagnetic induction • Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. • Lenz’s law • Alternating current (AC) circuits • Interference and diffraction of light • Polarization of light • Modern optics, including wave-particle duality. • Quantum mechanics in the context of light and photons • Special theory of relativity. • Quantum mechanics, wave functions, and probability. • Atomic and molecular physics. • Nuclear physics and particle physics | • Stellar formation and evolution, including the life cycles of various types of stars • Stellar nucleosynthesis and the creation of elements • Supernovae and neutron stars • The structure and dynamics of galaxies • Active galactic nuclei, including quasars and blazars • Galaxy clusters and the large-scale structure of the universe • The expanding universe and the Hubble law • Cosmic microwave background radiation • Dark matter, dark energy, and the fate of the universe • Inflationary theory and the Big Bang |
Last Updated: July 22, 2024 |
PAST PAPERS
Students will receive the followings:
-Certificate of Participation in Preliminary Round,
-Achievement Medals in the Preliminary Round (Gold, Silver and Bronze)
-Certificate of Participation in Global Round (Paper Certificate),
-Certificate of Achievement: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Honorable Mention (Paper Certificate)
-Achievement Medals: Gold, Silver and Bronze (Based on their performance)
Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in the Global Round will be awarded based on the following percentages:
⁃ The top 10% will receive a Gold Medal
⁃ The top 11-30% will receive a Silver Medal
⁃ The top 31-60% will receive a Bronze Medal
⁃ The top 61-75% will receive an Honorable Mention Certificate
Moreover, the top three students of each category of Global Round will get special prizes listed below:
