Physics Olympiad! (1 Viewer)

[Mark576]

Hey, who here is currently training for the physics olympiad? How is it? Were there any requirements for you to participate? i.e. rank or marks?

 

[undalay]

Not studying for the physics olympiad, but normally your teacher would nominate you to do it. You can ask your teacher if nothing has been mentioned i guess.

To actually pass the national qualifying exam, you would need to know the entire prelim and hsc course and more.

I hear camp is an amazing experience and making the actual team is even better.

 

[alez]

im going in all 3 and they say the best way to study for it is to study past exams. they choose top 3 in state for each subject. which i think is crap cuz nsw kicks ass they should do it nationally then i'd have more of a chance. ive just got prelim textbooks and im gunna read thru those cuz at the moment i dont have a competent physics teacher (srs no joke my physics and chem teachers got jobs elsewhere) and my new chem teacher is a dick and doesnt know what hes saying.
but u wouldnt need to know hsc course just prelim cuz its only for yr 11s. but go on the website. pretty much got no chance unless ur asian and love bio. check out the team on there. the bio one is so much easier than chem and physics. i saw the team and was like fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. it would be so awesome to get in tho. just for the camp. lol science camp. like the youth science thing with a "science disco"

 

[undalay]

You do need to know the HSC course. Infact the NQE's test to even greater detail then required than the HSC syllabus.

According to some(those who made camp and physics team)

To get into camp for chemistry, a mark of about 50%+ is required, i guess this reflects the level of difficulty for the test.

edit: Camp is also a grueling 3 weeks with lessons/exams from 9am - 8pm (can't remember exact times) every day.

 

[Mark576]

Hey undalay, do you know the required mark to get in for physics?

 

[undalay]

No sorry i am not sure of the mark. If i had to take a guess i would say about 60%+ ?

The Physics NQE date is quite early (some time in august), i recommend learning all of the prelim content in the next couple of weeks.

 

[PrettyVacant]

im going in all 3 and they say the best way to study for it is to study past exams. they choose top 3 in state for each subject. which i think is crap cuz nsw kicks ass they should do it nationally then i'd have more of a chance. ive just got prelim textbooks and im gunna read thru those cuz at the moment i dont have a competent physics teacher (srs no joke my physics and chem teachers got jobs elsewhere) and my new chem teacher is a dick and doesnt know what hes saying.
but u wouldnt need to know hsc course just prelim cuz its only for yr 11s. but go on the website. pretty much got no chance unless ur asian and love bio. check out the team on there. the bio one is so much easier than chem and physics. i saw the team and was like fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. it would be so awesome to get in tho. just for the camp. lol science camp. like the youth science thing with a "science disco"

Nah.

You have to know some HSC content.

And in many cases, go far beyond that.

And it's a lot easier having a competent teacher or tutor to help you prepare for the qualifying exams. I think you've really got the wrong idea.

And btw, is doing 3 hard?

=P I reckon it'd be a bit of a pain in the arse, and besides, the olympiad syllabus goes way beyond the prelim & HSC in many cases. So reading textbooks won't help, lol.

 

[PrettyVacant]

Hey undalay, do you know the required mark to get in for physics?

=\ Would it just be the top *something* in the state?

 

[undalay]

Yes it would be the top 20 or so in Australia. The percentage is just a ball park figure that should help determine how your going in relation to the past papers.

 

[Mark576]

Yeah, it would ...just curious as to what sort of mark that would usually equate to

 

[Zephyrio]

Some of my friends will be doing the physics olympiad.

They are really smart. They topped the half yearly physics exam.

 

[cccclaire]

screw physics.
biology all the way.

I'm not sure about physics, but for bio you not only have to learn pre-lim and HSC but a whole bunch of first year uni stuff too.

 

[z600]

ye i do it, and my teacher is pushing me with the international syllabus. i have go thermodynamics, and matter and quantum physics to go!

Errr...what do u mean u physics dont do first year uni stuff....i think all the olympiad does some first year uni stuff.

 

[DayOT]

screw physics.
biology all the way.

I'm not sure about physics, but for bio you not only have to learn pre-lim and HSC but a whole bunch of first year uni stuff too.

Yer, screw physics, biology ftw =P

After learning Olympiad material one cannot regard the corresponding HSC course in any way but with utter contempt. So be warned.

 

[undalay]

I'm doing the chemistry olympiad ^__^.

If anyone wants to help me / chat about it tell me

A couple questions;
*Would it be easier to be selected to do this if one were to attend a 'worser' school?

I guess it would seem like that, however ultimately i think its up to the teacher, so at a 'worse' school if your coming first and still not performing that well, the teacher still wouldn't recommend you. At james ruse/north sydney boys/girls,etc they have entire olympiad classes, so i'm assuming that a large amount (relative) of people would be able to compete.

edit: p.s chemistry <3

 

[cccclaire]

I heard its only 5 from every school that can compete in each olympiad, although they do many exceptions.

 

[mortal1ty]

I'm doing it. I'm just doing it to learn the physics, anything more is just a bonus. At my school anyone who will take it seriously is allowed to do it. Our tutor is Dr. Mark Butler. So we're pretty much set teacher wise. I've heard also that it overlaps most of first year physics, also if you make the national team you're basically guaranteed a scholarship. I heard the marks to make the team was more like 40%.

 

[vulgarfraction]

To actually pass the national qualifying exam, you would need to know the entire prelim and hsc course and more.

Not true. I got HD in Year 10 and I still don't know anything in the actual HSC course. You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Anyway, 'passing' is insignificant. Your rank counts, not your raw marks. Unless you meant in a metaphorical sense...

(The mark to get into camp isn't that high.. unless it's a really easy paper.)

 

[undalay]

Not true. I got HD in Year 10 and I still don't know anything in the actual HSC course. You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Anyway, 'passing' is insignificant. Your rank counts, not your raw marks. Unless you meant in a metaphorical sense...

(The mark to get into camp isn't that high.. unless it's a really easy paper.)

Oh please, learn to read. To Pass the NQE (this is to make camp) you need to know alot. Obviously a HD is not a pass. Obviously if the test was highly based on prelim content or whatever, alot more people would gain higher marks, but like you've said; they don't.

In the grade above me, 2 people made camp, 1 person made ISO team and won a medal. (For physics btw).

They tell me the info. they know more then you. so plz stfu.
If i've got something wrong they're telling me something wrong.


edit: The chemistry papers go into much greater detail in terms of advanced content than physics.

For example topics in the chemistry syllabus not in prelim:

Gases and gas laws
Electrochemistry
Acids bases and pH
Organic chemistry
Industrial chemistry

 

[cccclaire]

Would it be easier to be selected to do this if one were to attend a 'worse' school?
It'd be extremely difficult if the selection process if by mark/rank and you're at, say, the best Physics/Chem/Bio/Maths school or something, agreed? Yes?

if you were at a highly competitive or very large school, yes it would be harder to be selected to sit the actual test, but it would have absolutely no impact on whether you were selected for the camp. If you were at a 'worse' school, you would have more chance of being selected to sit the test (obviously, because you have dumber competitors)

Also, I would like to know about the required knowledge for the exams.

http://www.aso.edu.au/www/docs/Physics%20NQE%20Syllabus.pdf
http://www.aso.edu.au/www/docs/chemsyllabus.pdf
http://www.aso.edu.au/www/docs/biosyllabus.pdf

(I've got a straight-A, top X record for science, and I'm terribly interested in this.)

you should probably talk to your science teacher or head of science at your school.