USAPhO
The USA Physics Olympiad (USAPhO) is a physics competition run by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). The competition consists of the preliminary F=ma contest in mechanics, followed by the USAPhO exam which covers nearly all areas of physics.
Preparation
F=ma
The number one recommended preparation book for the F=ma competition is David Morin's Problems and Solutions in Introductory Mechanics. Doing the problems in this book should prepare you to qualify for USAPhO, assuming you already have some background in mechanics. However, knowing the mechanics chapters in any standard calculus-based physics textbook well should ensure you get a decent score. It's also a good idea to do the past tests so you can get used to the competition format.
USAPhO
Books
For the USAPhO you will need a more general physics knowledge base. Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker is recommended for breadth of knowledge. An alternative is Young's University Physics.
Once you have a solid foundation, move onto books like Kleppner and Kolenkow's An Introduction to Mechanics, Morin's Introduction to Classical Mechanics, Purcell and Morin's Electricity and Magnetism, and Schroeder's An Introduction to Thermal Physics.
Problems
Do the past tests to get a sense of the types of questions asked, and time yourself so you know how long it takes you to solve each problem. POPTOR is another good resource for olympiad-style problems in almost all areas of physics.
Dates
F=ma
The registration deadline for F=ma is around the second week of December, so sign up well before that. The F=ma is administered in early February.
USAPhO
The USAPhO testing date is usually sometime in mid April.
Camp
The training camp takes place at the University of Maryland, in late May. It lasts 11 days.
IPhO
In 2023, the 53rd IPhO will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
LHS participation
The following past and present LHS students have qualified for the USAPhO semifinal exam. Many of them have also won medals on that exam since the practice began in 2013. A few have qualified for the training camp.
2022
- Tanmay Gupta (bronze)
- Kevin Zhao (honorable mention)
- Teng Tu
2021
- Alex Li (honorable mention)
2020
In 2020, the USAPhO was not scored and camp was not held.
- Tanmay Gupta
- Alex Li
- Brandon Li
- Ashish Puri
- Daniel Zhang
2019
- Anka Hu (honorable mention)
- Nathan Ramesh (honorable mention)
- Hyun Jun (Danny) Heo
- Arthur Hu
- Ashish Puri
- Yiming Zheng
2018
- Joshua Park (gold)
- Louie Golowich (silver)
- Derik Kauffman (silver)
- Peter Rowley (bronze)
2017
- Anka Hu (honorable mention)
2016
- Clive Chan (silver)
- Eric Xia (bronze)
- Maxwell Shen Molesky
2015
- Videh Seksaria (gold) - Camper
- Henry Li (silver)
- Clive Chan (honorable mention)
2014
- Videh Seksaria (gold)
- Rohil Prasad (silver)
- Henry Li (bronze)
2013
- Jonathan Tidor (gold) - Camper
- Peijin Zhang (bronze)
- Alan Zhou (honorable mention)
- Kyu Lee
2012
- Matthew Arbesfeld
- Yoshiaki Kuida
- Jason Li
- Amy Zhang
2011
- Kathleen Donahue
- Keegan Go
- Carl Lian
2010
- Jaeyoon Lee
- Theodore Liu
- Michael Watterson
2009
None (though some quarterfinalists)
2008
2007
- Daniel Fudenberg
2006
- Malcolm Campbell
2005
None
2004
- Xinpeng Huang - Camper
- Li-Mei Lim
- Adam Rosenfield
- Rebecca Taft
2003
- Xinpeng Huang - Camper
- Jacob Bernstein
- Mark Lipson
