How To Become An Indian Olympiad Qualifier In Physics

The National Olympiad is conducted every year in Science, Mathematics and Astronomy. The Science olympiad is conducted in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The Physics Olympiad is known as the Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Physics. The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education(HBCSE) and the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) together organise the IOQP 2022. In the year 2022, the Indian Olympiad Qualifier for Physics combines two tests together, the IOQP Part 1 known as the National Standard Examination in Physics (NSEP) and Part 2 known as Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPHO). Both the papers NSEP and INPHO are conducted in a single day. Only those students who qualify for Part 1 will be evaluated for Part 2. The top 5 students of IOQP Part 2 will be selected for the Indian team to appear in the International Physics Olympiad (IPHO).

Part 1 of the Indian Olympiad Qualifier for Physics is conducted for a duration of 75 minutes and Part 2 for a duration of 120 minutes. In between Part 1 and 2, there is a bak of 15 minutes. If students wish to leave after the Part 1 exam they are allowed to do so. Only those who write Part 1 of IOQP can attend Part 2. Part 1 has objective questions while Part 2 has descriptive questions. The number of questions in each section will be updated once it is updated on the official website.

Eligibility Criteria For Indian Olympiad Qualifier For Physics

The eligibility criteria for IOQP are:

• Candidates who are eligible to hold an Indian passport can apply.
• The date of birth should be on or between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2007 to be eligible to appear in IOQP
• Must be studying and residing in India or must be studying in an Indian school system since November 30, 2019 or before.
• Students from Class 8 to 12 are eligible and should not complete or scheduled to complete the Class 12 examination before November 30, 2021 and must not appear in Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Junior Science (IOQJS)
• The candidate must not plan to study in universities or equivalent by June 1, 2022.

Date Of IOQP 2021-2022 Exam

There is a change in the usual cycle of qualifier examinations of Indian Olympiads.The date of the IOQP 2021-2022 examination is March 13, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The date may change according to the prevailing conditions. Frequently visit the IOQP official website for updates on dates.

Syllabus Of IOQP

The syllabus of IOQP Iis equivalent to the Class 11 and 12 CBSE Physics syllabus (Physics up to and including Class 12). The knowledge of Mathematics up to Class 12 is also preferred. The detailed syllabus of IOQP can be downloaded from the official website. The chapters listed in the official syllabus are similar to the NCERT Class 11 and 12 Physics chapters. The link to download the syllabus is given below.

IOQ syllabus download link: https://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2021/09/Syllabus-IOQ-2021-2022.pdf

Previous Years Question Papers Of IOQP Part 1 (NSEP)

Previous 5 Years NSEP Chapter-wise Distribution Of Questions

The IOQP Part 1 also known as NSEP has a syllabus similar to that of NCERT chapters and students should know the basic Mathematics studied till Class 12 to solve problems based on graphs, solutions of equations, calculus etc.

Distribution Of Marks In NSEP

Each paper of NSEP has two parts. Both the parts have objective type questions. Part A contains questions with 3 marks each and have only a single correct answer. Part B has objective questions of 6 marks each and has multiple correct answers. Part A has negative marking and 1 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. Part B has no negative marking. In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 NSEP papers there were 60 questions in Part A and 10 questions in Part B. In 2020 there were 24 questions in Part A and 8 questions in Part B.

NSEP Class-wise Distribution Of Questions

NSEP Distribution Of Question By Class

NSEP Unit-wise Distribution Of Questions

NSEP Chapter Wise Distribution Of Questions

Class 11 Chapters	Unit	Chapter- wise Distribution Of Questions	Percentage Distribution Of Marks
Units And Measurement	Mechanics	7	1.94%
Motion In A Straight Line		4	1.11%
Motion In A Plane		15	4.17%
Laws Of Motion		10	2.78%
Work Energy And Power		20	5.56%
System Of Particles And Rotational Motion		14	3.89%
Gravitation		7	1.94%
Mechanical Properties Of Solids		3	0.83%
Mechanical Properties Of Fluids		20	5.56%
Thermal Properties Of Matter	Heat And Thermodynamics	15	4.17%
Thermodynamics		10	2.78%
Kinetic Theory		5	1.39%
Oscillations	Oscillation And Waves	18	5.00%
Waves		19	5.28%
Class 12 Chapters	Unit	Chapter- wise Distribution Of Questions	Percentage Distribution Of Marks
Electric Charges And Fields	Electrodynamics	16	4.44%
Electrostatic Potential And Capacitance		13	3.61%
Current Electricity		16	4.44%
Moving Charges And Magnetism		20	5.56%
Magnetism And Matter		5	1.39%
Electromagnetic Induction		5	1.39%
Alternating Current		18	5.00%
Electromagnetic Waves		2	0.56%
Ray Optics And Optical Instruments	Optics	39	10.83%
Wave Optics		12	3.33%
Dual Nature Of Radiation And Matter	Modern Physics	17	4.72%
Atoms		9	2.50%
Nuclei		5	1.39%
Semiconductor Electronics Materials Devices And Simple Circuits		16	4.44%

The chapter-wise distribution given in the third column of the table is done on the basis of weightage. The numbers shown in the third column are not the number of questions. Each question with 3 marks is given a weightage of 1 and of 6 marks is given a weightage of 2, this is how the column ‘chapter wise distribution of questions’ is created. The chapter-wise analysis of papers shows that the chapter Ray Optics and Optical Instruments has higher weightage (10.83%) followed by Work Energy and Power, Mechanical Properties of Fluids and Moving Charges and Magnetism. Each of these chapters has a weightage of 5.56%.

Practice Paper For INPHO

The practice paper can be downloaded from the link: https://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/how-to-prepare/past-papers/

INPHO question papers with model solutions are available on the official website of HBCSE INPHO. Questions in IOQP Part 2 are of descriptive type.

Official Download Link Of IOQP PART 2 Paper And Solutions

INPHO Question Paper	Model Solutions
Question Paper 2021	Model Solution 2021
Question Paper 2020	Model Solution 2020
Question Paper 2019	Model Solution 2019
Question Paper 2018	Model Solution 2018

Previous 5 Years Unit-wise Analysis Of IOQP Part 2

INPHO is another name of the IOQP Part 2 exam. Unit-wise analysis of 5 years papers (2017 to 2021) is given here.. If a question uses concepts of both Class 11 and 12, that question is tagged under Class 12 for analysing.

INPHO Class-wise Distribution of Questions

INPHO Distribution Of Question By Class

INPHO: Unit-wise Distribution Of Questions

INPHO Unit-Wise Weightage

From the unit Mechanics, 30.1% questions are asked followed by Heat and Thermodynamics. The unit Heat and Thermodynamics has only three chapters; Thermal Properties of Matter, Thermodynamics and Kinetic Theory, while the Mechanics part has 9 chapters. The questions in INPHO require knowledge in experimental skills related to the NCERT chapters and also a good basic understanding of Dimensional Analysis, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Calculus.

Books For INPHO

The details of books to be referred to are available from the following link: https://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/how-to-prepare/olympiad-books/

Two books on INPHO theory problems and two books on experimental physics are listed on the HBCSE olympiad website.

INPHO Books

Vijay A. Singh and Shirish R. Pathare Indian National Physics Olympiad – Theory Problems

Training in Experimental Physics Through Demonstrations and Problems by Rajesh B. Khaparde, H. C. Pradhan

Vijay A. Singh and Praveen Pathak Indian National Physics Olympiad – Theory Problems and Solutions

Rajesh B. Khaparde, H. C. Pradhan Collection of Experimental Problems in Physics

Students can prepare for IOQP using the practice papers, NCERT books for Class 11 and 12 Physics and using the books mentioned on the official website of IOQ. These books can be purchased from HBCSE in person or by sending a DD. The details of the Demand Draft and the address are given on the website. The Indian olympiad qualifier is also conducted in the subjects of Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy and Junior Science. Attending IOQ is completely voluntary for the students.