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AppendixtotheStatutesoftheInternationalPhysicsOlympiads

General
a.Theextensiveuseofthecalculus(differentiationandintegration)andtheuseofcomplexnumbersor
solvingdifferentialequationsshouldnotberequiredtosolvethetheoreticalandpracticalproblems.
b.QuestionsmaycontainconceptsandphenomenanotcontainedintheSyllabusbutsufficientinformation
mustbegiveninthequestionssothatcandidateswithoutpreviousknowledgeofthesetopicswouldnotbe
atadisadvantage.
c.Sophisticatedpracticalequipmentlikelytobeunfamiliartothecandidatesshouldnotdominateaproblem.
Ifsuchdevicesareusedthencarefulinstructionsmustbegiventothecandidates.
d.TheoriginaltextsoftheproblemshavetobesetintheSIunits.

A.TheoreticalPart
Thefirstcolumncontainsthemainentrieswhilethesecondcolumncontainscommentsandremarksif
necessary.

1.Mechanics
a)Foundationofkinematicsofapointmass

Vectordescriptionofthepositionofthepointmass,
velocityandaccelerationasvectors

b)Newton'slaws,inertialsystems

Problemsmaybesetonchangingmass

c)Closedandopensystems,momentumandenergy,
work,power

d)Conservationofenergy,conservationoflinear
momentum,impulse

e)Elasticforces,frictionalforces,thelawof
gravitation,potentialenergyandworkina
gravitationalfield

Hooke'slaw,coefficientoffriction(F/R=const),
frictionalforces,staticandkinetic,choiceofzeroof
potentialenergy

f)Centripetalacceleration,Kepler'slaws

2.MechanicsofRigidBodies
a)Statics,centerofmass,torque

Couples,conditionsofequilibriumofbodies

b)Motionofrigidbodies,translation,rotation,
Conservationofangularmomentumaboutfixedaxis
angularvelocity,angularacceleration,conservationof only
angularmomentum
c)Externalandinternalforces,equationofmotionof
arigidbodyaroundthefixedaxis,momentofinertia,
kineticenergyofarotatingbody
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Parallelaxestheorem(Steiner'stheorem),additivity
ofthemomentofinertia
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d)Acceleratedreferencesystems,inertialforces

KnowledgeoftheCoriolisforceformulaisnot
required

3.Hydromechanics
Nospecificquestionswillbesetonthisbutstudentswouldbeexpectedtoknowtheelementaryconceptsof
pressure,buoyancyandthecontinuitylaw.

4.ThermodynamicsandMolecularPhysics
a)Internalenergy,workandheat,firstandsecond
lawsofthermodynamics

Thermalequilibrium,quantitiesdependingonstate
andquantitiesdependingonprocess

b)Modelofaperfectgas,pressureandmolecular
kineticenergy,Avogadro'snumber,equationofstate
ofaperfectgas,absolutetemperature

Alsomolecularapproachtosuchsimplephenomena
inliquidsandsolidsasboiling,meltingetc.

c)Workdonebyanexpandinggaslimitedto
isothermalandadiabaticprocesses

Proofoftheequationoftheadiabaticprocessisnot
required

d)TheCarnotcycle,thermodynamicefficiency,
reversibleandirreversibleprocesses,entropy
(statisticalapproach),Boltzmannfactor

Entropyasapathindependentfunction,entropy
changesandreversibility,quasistaticprocesses

5.Oscillationsandwaves
a)Harmonicoscillations,equationofharmonic
oscillation

Solutionoftheequationforharmonicmotion,
attenuationandresonancequalitatively

b)Harmonicwaves,propagationofwaves,transverse
andlongitudinalwaves,linearpolarization,the
classicalDopplereffect,soundwaves

Displacementinaprogressivewaveand
understandingofgraphicalrepresentationofthe
wave,measurementsofvelocityofsoundandlight,
Dopplereffectinonedimensiononly,propagationof
wavesinhomogeneousandisotropicmedia,
reflectionandrefraction,Fermat'sprinciple

c)Superpositionofharmonicwaves,coherentwaves,
interference,beats,standingwaves

Realizationthatintensityofwaveisproportionalto
thesquareofitsamplitude.Fourieranalysisisnot
requiredbutcandidatesshouldhavesome
understandingthatcomplexwavescanbemadefrom
additionofsimplesinusoidalwavesofdifferent
frequencies.Interferenceduetothinfilmsandother
simplesystems(finalformulaearenotrequired),
superpositionofwavesfromsecondarysources
(diffraction)

6.ElectricChargeandElectricField
a)Conservationofcharge,Coulomb'slaw

b)Electricfield,potential,Gauss'law

Gauss'lawconfinedtosimplesymmetricsystemslike
sphere,cylinder,plateetc.,electricdipolemoment

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c)Capacitors,capacitance,dielectricconstant,energy
densityofelectricfield

7.CurrentandMagneticField
a)Current,resistance,internalresistanceofsource,
Ohm'slaw,Kirchhoff'slaws,workandpowerof
directandalternatingcurrents,Joule'slaw

Simplecasesofcircuitscontainingnonohmic
deviceswithknownVIcharacteristics

b)Magneticfield(B)ofacurrent,currentina
magneticfield,Lorentzforce

Particlesinamagneticfield,simpleapplicationslike
cyclotron,magneticdipolemoment

c)Ampere'slaw

Magneticfieldofsimplesymmetricsystemslike
straightwire,circularloopandlongsolenoid

d)Lawofelectromagneticinduction,magneticflux,
Lenz'slaw,selfinduction,inductance,permeability,
energydensityofmagneticfield

e)Alternatingcurrent,resistors,inductorsand
SimpleACcircuits,timeconstants,finalformulaefor
capacitorsinACcircuits,voltageandcurrent(parallel parametersofconcreteresonancecircuitsarenot
andseries)resonances
required

8.Electromagneticwaves
a)Oscillatorycircuit,frequencyofoscillations,
generationbyfeedbackandresonance

b)Waveoptics,diffractionfromoneandtwoslits,
diffractiongrating,resolvingpowerofagrating,
Braggreflection,

c)Dispersionanddiffractionspectra,linespectraof
gases

d)Electromagneticwavesastransversewaves,
polarizationbyreflection,polarizers

Superpositionofpolarizedwaves

e)Resolvingpowerofimagingsystems

f)Blackbody,StefanBoltzmannslaw

Planck'sformulaisnotrequired

9.QuantumPhysics
a)Photoelectriceffect,energyandimpulseofthe
photon

Einstein'sformulaisrequired

b)DeBrogliewavelength,Heisenberg'suncertainty
principle

10.Relativity
a)Principleofrelativity,additionofvelocities,
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relativisticDopplereffect
b)Relativisticequationofmotion,momentum,
energy,relationbetweenenergyandmass,
conservationofenergyandmomentum

11.Matter
a)SimpleapplicationsoftheBraggequation

b)Energylevelsofatomsandmolecules
(qualitatively),emission,absorption,spectrumof
hydrogenlikeatoms

c)Energylevelsofnuclei(qualitatively),alpha,beta
andgammadecays,absorptionofradiation,halflife
andexponentialdecay,componentsofnuclei,mass
defect,nuclearreactions

B.PracticalPart
TheTheoreticalPartoftheSyllabusprovidesthebasisforalltheexperimentalproblems.Theexperimental
problemsgivenintheexperimentalcontestshouldcontainmeasurements.
Additionalrequirements:
1.Candidatesmustbeawarethatinstrumentsaffectmeasurements.
2.Knowledgeofthemostcommonexperimentaltechniquesformeasuringphysicalquantitiesmentionedin
PartA.
3.Knowledgeofcommonlyusedsimplelaboratoryinstrumentsanddevicessuchascalipers,thermometers,
simplevolt,ohmandammeters,potentiometers,diodes,transistors,simpleopticaldevicesandsoon.
4.Abilitytouse,withthehelpofproperinstruction,somesophisticatedinstrumentsanddevicessuchas
doublebeamoscilloscope,counter,ratemeter,signalandfunctiongenerators,analogtodigitalconverter
connectedtoacomputer,amplifier,integrator,differentiator,powersupply,universal(analoganddigital)
volt,ohmandammeters.
5.Properidentificationoferrorsourcesandestimationoftheirinfluenceonthefinalresult(s).
6.Absoluteandrelativeerrors,accuracyofmeasuringinstruments,errorofasinglemeasurement,errorofa
seriesofmeasurements,errorofaquantitygivenasafunctionofmeasuredquantities.
7.Transformationofadependencetothelinearformbyappropriatechoiceofvariablesandfittingastraight
linetoexperimentalpoints.
8.Properuseofthegraphpaperwithdifferentscales(forexamplepolarandlogarithmicpapers).
9.Correctroundingoffandexpressingthefinalresult(s)anderror(s)withcorrectnumberofsignificant
digits.
10.Standardknowledgeofsafetyinlaboratorywork.(Nevertheless,iftheexperimentalsetupcontainsany
safetyhazardstheappropriatewarningsshouldbeincludedintothetextoftheproblem.)

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