Physics Bowl

Physics Bowl

Physics Bowl is a national physics competition coordinated by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). The test is taken during the first half of April each year by approximately 10,000 physics students. Competitors must attempt 40 physics-related multiple choice questions in a 45 minute long time period. First-year physics students take the Division I test, while second-year physics students take the Division II test. The test can be administered physically on paper, but it is now also offered digitally by the online instructional application WebAssign.

 

History

Originally based on the American Chemical Society's general chemistry test, PhysicsBowl was used as an external benchmark for physics teachers to assess student performance starting in 1983. The contest was first administered nationally in 1985 as the "Metrologic Exam," named after its original sponsor, and was renamed to "Physics Bowl" in 1990. In 2002, the test expanded to include a second division. Division I students complete questions 1 through 40, while Division II students complete questions 11-50. The Division 2 contest contains more difficult questions and is made for students with advanced conceptual understanding of physics. Students participating in the Division 2 contest usually take more than a year of physics while students who participate in the Division 1 contest usually take a year or less of physics. Thus the whole test is 50 questions long, but each student must only complete 40, and the middle 30 questions overlap between divisions.

2017 Physics Bowl Winners: Division 1

Rank Score Student School State
1 38 LIU, PATRICK Y SpringLight Education Institute CA
2 36 WANG, LU Beijing New Oriental Foreign Language School at Yangzhou Jiangsu
3 36 LIU, JASON Stamford Polytechnic at Beacon CT
4 36 BIAN, VINCENT W Poolesville High School l MD
5 36 ZHAO, TONGYU Beijing New Oriental Foreign Language School at Yangzhou Jiangsu
6 36 ZHU, YIFAN Shanghai Foreign Language School Shanghai
7 35 YANG, HAICHUAN The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Beijing
8 35 ZHU, JUNZHE Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School Shanghai
9 34 CHEN, YAO Jiangsu Provincial Liangfeng Senior Middle School International Department Jiangsu
10 34 GONG, KEYUAN Jiangsu Provincial Liangfeng Senior Middle School International Department Jiangsu

2017 Physics Bowl Winners: Division 2

Rank Score Student School State
1 40 HUANG, JONATHAN J University HS - Irvine CA
2 36 NASH, WILLIAM K King And Low-Heywood Thomas School CT
3 34 XIE, CHENGXI Pomona College CA
4 34 XU, JACK Y Ivy Path School ON
5 34 WANG, YANZHEN Chengdu Foreign Languages School Sichuan
6 33 ZHAO, MINGXUAN Beijing New Oriental Foreign Language School at Yangzhou Jiangsu
7 32 YI, JOO SUNG Taft School CT
8 32 ZHANG, NANQING Beijing New Oriental Foreign Language School at Yangzhou Jiangsu
9 31 YE, MING YANG Bayview Secondary School ON
10 31 MO, GEORGE B Bayview Secondary School ON

 

2016 Physics Bowl Winners: Division 1

Rank Score Student School State
1 37 LIU, YANWEI Wuhan Foreign Language School Hubei
2 36 YAN, YANG Nanjing Foreign Language School Jiangsu
3 36 CHEN, PHIL H University HS CA
4 36 XU, YUHENG Olympiads School ON
5 35 ARRIETA, ANDREW J Palos Verdes Peninsula High School CA
6 35 VITTALA, AADITH S Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Tech VA
7 35 ZENGXU, ZHAOQIU High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University Jiangsu
8 35 MANSOUR, OMAR B Mentor HS OH
9 34 MERCHANT, SOPHIE E Memphis Univ School MS
10 34 HANG, YUXIAO Shandong Experimental High School Shandong

2016 Physics Bowl Winners: Division 2

Rank Score Student School State
1 40 LU, JASON Adlai Stevenson High School IL
2 39 ZHENG, GUO Olympiads School ON
3 38 HUANG, JONATHAN J University HS CA
4 38 SHANG, JIAXUAN Yali High School Hunan
5 38 ZHANG, SHUANGYI Nanjing Foreign Language School Jiangsu
6 38 LI, GONGQI Shenzhen Middle School Guangdong
7 38 OUYANG, XIAOYI The First Middle School of Jiujiang Jiangxi Province Jiangxi
8 37 CHEN, PANYU High School Affiliated To Nanjing Normal University Jiangsu
9 37 ZHAI, GAN Shanghai High School Shanghai
10 37 LIU, YIRAN Nanjing Foreign Language School Jiangsu

 

2015 Physics Bowl Winners: Division 1

Rank Score Student School State
1 33* ZHANG, XIAOXUAN Wuhan Foreign Language School Hubei
2 33* LIU, XIAOLING The Experimental High School Attached To Beijing Normal University Beijing
3 33 ZHANG, SHUANGYI Nanjing Foreign Language School Jiangsu
4 32* LUO, JINXUAN Xi'an Gaoxin NO.1 High School Shaanxi
5 32 XIE, BRIAN B Mission San Jose High School CA
6 31* FENG, SIQIN Hainan Middle School Hainan
7 31* LIU, YIRAN Nanjing Foreign Language School Jiangsu
8 31* GE, LE The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Beijing
9 31* REN, TIANSHU Xi'an Gaoxin NO.1 High School Shaanxi
10 31* ZHENG, GEOFFREY Lincoln Park Academy FL

 

2015 Physics Bowl Winners: Division 2

Rank Score Student School State
1 38 SAMINENI, ANEESH V The King's Academy CA
2 30* LU, JASON Stevenson HS IL
3 30* WINER, MIKE H Montgomery Blair HS MD
4 30 WANGA, YUANHAO International Department of the Affiliated High School of SCNU Guangdong
5 29* AN, SEUNG HWAN Olympiad Academia NY
6 29* SHI, WENZE Nanjing Foreign Language School Jiangsu
7 29 YU, SIQIN High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University Jiangsu
8 28* LI, YIMING Nanjing Foreign Language School Jiangsu
9 28 QINN, GUANGHUI The Affiliated High School of Shanxi University Shanxi
10 27* GAO, JERRY Troy High School MI
  • After calculating scores, question difficulty was used as a tie-breaker to determine ranks for students with same scores.

 

Scoring 

The top ten overall students from each division, as well as the first and second place students in each of 14 geographic regions, are reported each year once the tests are all scored (note that all advanced, magnet, or other special science schools are placed in region one, and therefore do not compete in their geographic regions). The top school team scores are also calculated and reported as the sum of the scores of the top five competing students from that school. The average score, out of 40 points, for the 2014 exam was 17.5 points (43.8%) for Division I and 15.7 points (39.3%) for Division II.

Regions for PhysicsBowl as of the 2014 Contest
Region Geographic Area
01 Specialized Schools of Science, Mathematics, and Technology
02 Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
03 New York, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia
04 New Jersey, Pennsylvania
05 Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
06 Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
07 Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio
08 Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin
09 Arizona, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
10 Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee
11 Texas
12 California with zip codes <= 92500
13 California with zip codes >= 92500
14 Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Manitoba, Mexico, Montana, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Oregon, Washington, Asia, Europe, and Others