Asian Physics Olympiad [APHO]

The Asian Physics Olympiad (APHO) is one of Indonesia's most prestigious Physics-based competitive exams initiated in the year 2000. The organizers' vision was to create a platform where quality physics education is greatly promoted to develop their problem-solving skills.

A list of countries and areas that have ever participated in APHO are Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

Table of Contents

• What is Asian Physics Olympiad (APHO)?
• APHO Highlights
• APHO Eligibility Criteria
• APHO Registration
• NSEP Registration
• APHO 2024 Exam Dates
• APHO Syllabus
• APHO Sample Papers
• APHO Results
• APHO 2024 Examination Schedules
• APHO Exam Regulations

What is Asian Physics Olympiad (APHO)?

The APHO (Asian Physics Olympiad) is an examination conducted in four stages by IAPT (Indian Association of Physics Teachers), an India-based organization. Interested Students appear in the first stage of the NSEP (National Standard Examination in Physics) exam, followed by the second stage INPho exam.

In AphO, more than 25 countries have participated since the beginning of the competition. It follows the pattern of the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO); just the difference here is mostly eight contestants can participate from each country instead of five.

APHO Highlights

The APHO is a unique Olympiad examination that aims to motivate the student to understand the importance of Physics in academics, in day-to-day life, and its relevance in the Global World. The main focus will be on the theoretical and practical aspects of Physics.

Given below are the highlights of the APHO Examination.

APHO Eligibility Criteria

Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) and Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), also known as Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), will be responsible for conducting the four stages of the APHO program.

The four stages for APHO Examination are given below

• National Standard Examinations in Physics (NSEP)
• Indian National Olympiads in physics (INPhO)
• Pre-Departure Training camps (PDTs) in Physics
• Participation in the Asian Physics Olympiads (APHO)

The first, third, and fourth stages will be conducted by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). The second stage will be conducted by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE).

For appearing in the APHO exam, marks of several students are calculated by adding 40% of the NSEP score and 60% of the INPhO score. From a List of 50 top students, eight students will be selected to appear in APhO.

The eligibility criteria for NSEP are,

• A participant must be studying in classes 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th.
• Students who have passed class 12th are not eligible to enroll for NSEP.
• The student must not attain the age of 20 years on June 30th of the year.

APHO Registration

For APHO, a team of a maximum of eight students and two team leaders registers themselves. Each leader of the participating team will receive an email with his country's name and password to log in to the registration page. The APHO will send the packages to the mail address after a successful registration. The registration is done in April (Tentative). However, if registration cannot be completed on time, the last date may be extended through coordination with the APHO committee.

For registration of students, needed information is

• Students' ID
• Students' Photo
• DOB

For Leaders

• Photo of Front-View Mugshot and surface mail address.

The selection for the students is made based on a four-stage procedure conducted by IAPT. For this, students must apply for the NSEP examination.

NSEP Registration

The application for NSEP is usually available in September every year. The Application Form will be available only at the NSE centre, which will be filled through offline mode.

Locating the nearest NSEP centre mentioned on the IAPT website, students can apply for the NSEP exam.

APHO 2024 Exam Dates

APHO 2024 is an event conducted at the global level in coordination with more than twenty-five countries. The exam timing and dates for the event are based on UTC+8 time zone, and Leaders of the countries coordinate with the APHO Committee for a smooth and hassle-free examination process.

The schedule of the 21st APHO examination is given below.

APHO Syllabus

The foremost goal of the APHO exam is to test the students' level of knowledge in Physics, its critical thinking, problem-solving, the right practices of presentation and analysis, and hands-on skills in both theory and practical aspects, so the paper is divided into two parts: the theoretical part and the practical part.

The theory part of the syllabus includes the basis for the experimental problems and their mathematical interpretations. The development of mathematical formalization and computational protocols comes under the theoretical part for describing all aspects of objects found in the world around us and their interaction.

Learning physics concepts is essential, but the practical sessions are equally important. Unfortunately, most students overlook physics practicals and put their full attention into the Theoretical Part. However, it is crucial to work on your physics Practical session skills to ace the APHO exam.

APHO Sample Papers

APHO sample papers give exposure and clarity on what questions the students can expect in the examination. The APHO sample papers will help the prospective students to prepare better for the final exams.

Students can easily download the previous year papers and sample pacers from the official website of APHO.

APHO Results

APHO results will be announced on the official website of the Asian Physics Olympiad (APHO) by May 2024. Names of medal winners are listed under the different sections, including Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Besides, medals and certificates winners are awarded various other prizes.

APHO 2024 Exam Regulations

Adhering to the guidelines to prevent pandemics, the examination is conducted following the norms provided by the committee and schools; for a smooth examination process, a proper examination schedule is followed.

Some of the key points are listed below.

• Separate rooms should be assigned for translation and examination, with a conference room, meeting room, and equipment.
• The respective team leaders will arrange for a stay and food for the participants.
• A personal computer with the latest Windows 10 operating system and having at least 8GB of RAM should be arranged.
• For communication and monitoring the examination, Microsoft Teams will be.
• A total of 10 hours is allocated, 5 hours each for translation and examination.
• The examination will take place in two sessions, one session starts at 8 am for translation, and another session starts at 12 pm.
• The examination will start right after the completion of the translation process.
• The theoretical and practical papers will be on different dates.

APHO 2024 Exam Regulations

APHO imposes various guidelines for a better code of conduct during examinations. The candidates and team leaders must follow these guidelines as not adhering to them can cause trouble.

Some of these guidelines are listed below: 

• Team Leaders should arrange staff for a smooth examination process, and they will assist the supervisors in uploading the PDF files and other assistance during the written exam.
• Two exam supervisors will be allotted for students in a room.
• After translation, no communication between students and the translator is allowed.
• A camera with an internet connection is used for monitoring the examination process.
• Proper seats will be allotted for each of the eight students and placed following the social distancing norms.
• Exam supervisors will provide the exam paper to the students.
• Common on-site exam rules will be followed for theory examination.
• For the practical exam, students require the PC to operate the experiment simulation software to collect the experimental data.
• After successfully completing the exam, supervisors will ask students to stop and put the papers into the envelopes accordingly.
• The team leader will upload the scanned paper collected from students in PDF form.