Hey everyone! A few people have asked me about my journey to IPhO and for advice on how to prepare. Instead of repeating myself in DMs, I figured I’d just put everything down in one place for anyone interested. To learn more about me, click here: About me
I have compiled useful resources for physics olympiads here: Resources (to be expanded over time)
My name is Eddie Chen, and I am a physics graduate from MIT with a passion for physics, math, and computer science. My journey in physics has been a rewarding one, culminating in a gold medal at the IPhO in 2021 as part of the USA team. I've also achieved success in other competitions, including a gold and platinum in the Physics Cup, a perfect score on the F=ma exam, perfect score on AP Physics C Mechanics, and qualifying for the USAMO 3 times. In addition, I’ve written problems for the F=ma and USAPhO exams. This guide shares the path I took, the resources I used, and the lessons I learned along the way.
Unlike in some other countries, the US doesn't have a super-centralized Olympiad culture right from the start of high school. It’s more of a thing you seek out. I had done many math competitions throughout middle school, and naturally I wanted to try physics. I found physics to be very interesting, and so I prepared for the F=ma exam. In 8th grade I passed the F=ma, but didn’t do well on the USAPhO. I realized I didn’t really have a good grasp of anything besides mechanics. So I studied hard (using textbooks listed below) and was selected to the US Physics Team Training Camp in 10th grade. Finally in 12th grade, I obtained an IPhO Gold medal representing the US Team.
I didn't have a formal program unfortunately, so I spent a lot of time self studying, and had to work very very hard. A cool thing I did in 8th grade was learn Java and then build my own N-body simulator to watch how gravity works. Seeing my code actually simulate planets was what really pushed me to see how far I could take physics.
It did take a lot of focused time and effort, especially since there weren’t that many good physics olympiad programs at the time. I used these undergrad physics books:
And of course, Jaan Kalda’s physics Olympiad handouts as well as Kevin Zhou’s are amazing. Whenever I got stuck on a particular problem, I would make a note of it and come back to it later. The feeling of solving a problem that stumped you for days is way better than just looking up the solution.
The single most memorable experience for me was the USAPhO training camp. It was about 1-2 weeks of intense lectures and labs. Figuring out the lab equipment was sometimes as hard as the exam problems. The camp is a really challenging experience where you get to meet people who are just as competitive and passionate.
But don’t think you have to lock yourself in a room for years. During the pandemic, when we were worried USAPhO might be cancelled, my friends and I created the Online Physics Olympiad (OPhO). We organized the whole thing, from the website to the problems. It was a massive effort but also incredibly fun and a great way to learn. The point is you can still be social and do creative things while chasing your physics goals.
To do well on the F=ma exam, the first step is to have a strong understanding of mechanics, which you can learn from HRK (calculus-based), Giancoli (algebra-based), or Blue Morin (and also do the problems to check understanding!). F=ma does not require calculus, but if you do know some calculus (basic derivatives/integrals), then you might as well start with HRK. If you do not know calculus, then you could learn mechanics with Giancoli and learn calculus on the side. Spend about a couple of months, and 2-3 hours per day of focused study to master the fundamentals. Focus on understanding the physics rather than memorizing formulas: most problems reduce to a small set of core ideas. Although most of the topics on the F=ma are covered in standard physics textbooks, there are some tips and ideas that are more specific to the exam (and physics olympiads in general). I have covered these ideas in my F=ma course!
After you have a good grasp of the theory, you can focus on solving problems for practice. When approaching a problem, always think about a plan for what steps you will take to solve the problem, before actually solving the problem. Don’t just blindly use equations. Look for the simplest valid approach, using conservation laws, symmetry, dimensional analysis, or limiting cases whenever possible. For time management during the actual exam, solve problems you are confident in first, returning to the ones you are unsure about later. Since there is no penalty for wrong answers, make educated guesses by ruling out unphysical options rather than leaving blanks. Do as many practice F=ma exams as you can under real exam conditions to build speed and confidence. Also, review mistakes to identify recurring patterns. It is important to keep a calm mind and trust that you have learned everything needed for the problems (assuming you have the theory down of course): once I realized this in 10th grade, I scored 24 or 25 on all the subsequent F=ma exams I took (10th, 11th, and 12th grade).