The 2010 Physics Bowl rewards clean basics: single-formula items and concept checks dominate, with mechanics close to half the weight. A friendly first past paper — scan the code for the 2010 paper and key.
The 25 online practice questions start instantly; the full past-paper & answers PDF is available free from an advisor via the QR code — it is not a direct download on this page.2010 Physics Bowl paper overview and exam highlights.
The 2010 contest follows the standard format: 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, an all-English paper, calculators allowed, one point per correct answer and no penalty for wrong ones. Division 1 (first-year and beginning students, no calculus) and Division 2 (second-year and AP Physics C) are ranked and awarded separately with no double entry; the exam sits in spring (around late March to early April) and registration deadlines follow the official announcement.
Basics carry the paper: mechanics spans kinematics, Newton's laws, work and energy, torque balance and simple harmonic motion, nearly half the total; electromagnetism concentrates on Ohm's law, electric power, capacitance and point-charge fields, with induction in its basic forms; waves and optics test the wave relation and interference fringes; thermodynamics includes heat mixing and engine efficiency; modern physics adds the EM spectrum, the photoelectric effect and length contraction. The numbers stay tidy, so this year trains speed and accuracy.
Use it as your first timed paper: finish in 45 minutes, log time and accuracy per topic, and let that set your review priorities. Scan the code for the 2010 paper, key and solutions, and warm up with the 25 original mock questions on this page.
2010 Physics Bowl main topic areas, weights and emphasis.
Nearly half the paper: kinematics formulas, Newton's laws and torque balance cover the widest area, with occasional SHM.
Ohm's law, electric power, point-charge fields and induction concepts lead the block.
The wave relation and interference fringe analysis are the focus, often in propagation scenarios.
Heat mixing and heat-engine efficiency concepts dominate, with moderate computation.
The EM spectrum, photoelectric effect and length contraction all make appearances.
2010 Physics Bowl-style mock questions (Basic · Medium · Hard) — submit to grade and view step-by-step solutions.
A cyclist covers a 900 m course at steady speed in 3 minutes. What is her average speed?
Correct answer: D
3 minutes = 180 s, so v = 900/180 = 5 m/s; 300 m/s forgets the minute-to-second conversion. Core: unify units before dividing.By universal gravitation, the gravitational acceleration at the Earth surface (distance R from the center) is 10 m/s2. At an orbital altitude of 2R from the center, what is the gravitational acceleration?
Correct answer: B
The acceleration from universal gravitation is g = GM/r2, falling with the square of the distance from the center: at 2R it is one quarter of the surface value, 10/4 = 2.5 m/s2; 5 m/s2 assumes a 1/r falloff. Core: gravitational acceleration goes as 1/r2.A 4 kg shot rolls along at 5 m/s. What is its kinetic energy?
Correct answer: E
KE = ½mv2 = ½×4×25 = 50 J; 100 J drops the factor ½. Core: kinetic energy is half of mv2.A diver holds a 500 cm3 metal block fully submerged in lake water (ρ = 1000 kg/m3, g = 10 m/s2). What is the buoyant force on it?
Correct answer: C
F = ρVg = 1000 × 5×10-4 × 10 = 5 N; 0.5 N slips one power of ten in the volume conversion. Core: buoyancy = fluid density times displaced volume times g.A headlight filament of resistance 3 Ω carries 2 A. What voltage is across it?
Correct answer: A
V = IR = 3 × 2 = 6 V; choice B divides instead of multiplying. Core: rearrange Ohm's law as V = IR.A dashboard lamp of resistance 4 Ω sits across a 12 V supply. What power does it dissipate?
Correct answer: A
P = V2/R = 144/4 = 36 W; 144 W stops before dividing by R. Core: power from voltage and resistance is V2/R.A long straight wire runs perpendicular to the page carrying current out of the page. What is the direction of the magnetic field at a point to the right of the wire?
Correct answer: C
Point the thumb out of the page; the curled fingers circle the wire, and on its right side they run up along the page. Core: the right-hand rule gives the field circling a straight current.An ocean buoy bobs up and down 15 times in 30 s. What is the period of the swell?
Correct answer: E
Frequency f = 15/30 = 0.5 Hz, so T = 1/f = 2 s; 0.5 s confuses frequency with period. Core: period and frequency are reciprocals.A lab thermometer reads 27 °C. What is the absolute temperature?
Correct answer: A
T = t + 273 = 27 + 273 = 300 K; 246 K subtracts instead of adding. Core: kelvin = Celsius plus 273.Which of these electromagnetic waves has the longest wavelength?
Correct answer: B
From longest to shortest: radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma. Core: radio waves sit at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum.A car braking hard from 30 m/s decelerates at a steady 5 m/s2. How far does it travel before stopping?
Correct answer: D
0 = v2 − 2ax gives x = v2/(2a) = 900/10 = 90 m; 180 m forgets the factor 2. Core: stopping distance is v2/(2a).On a seesaw a 30 kg child sits 2 m from the pivot. Where must a 40 kg adult sit on the other side for the seesaw to balance horizontally?
Correct answer: A
Balance torques about the pivot: 30×2 = 40×d, so d = 1.5 m; 2.7 m inverts the ratio. Core: a lever balances when the two torques are equal.A mass on a spring undergoes small-amplitude simple harmonic motion. Within the elastic limit the amplitude is doubled. What happens to the period?
Correct answer: C
The period T = 2π√(m/k) depends only on the mass and the spring constant, not on the amplitude. Core: the period of ideal SHM is independent of amplitude.A billiard ball moving at 4 m/s strikes an identical stationary ball head-on in a perfectly elastic collision. What is the speed of the second ball afterward?
Correct answer: B
Equal masses in a head-on elastic collision exchange velocities: the first ball stops and the second leaves at 4 m/s; 2 m/s would be a totally inelastic outcome. Core: identical elastic head-on collisions exchange velocities.A car rounds a level curve of radius 50 m where tire grip gives a friction coefficient of 0.8 (g = 10 m/s2). What is the fastest speed without skidding?
Correct answer: C
Friction supplies the centripetal force: μmg = mv2/r, so v = √(μgr) = √(0.8×10×50) = 20 m/s; 40 m/s forgets the square root. Core: the cornering limit is v = √(μgr).Resistors of 3 Ω and 6 Ω in series run from an 18 V supply. What is the voltage across the 6 Ω resistor?
Correct answer: D
Total resistance 9 Ω, current I = 18/9 = 2 A, so U = IR = 2×6 = 12 V. Core: series resistors divide voltage in proportion to resistance.What is the magnitude of the electric field 0.2 m from a +2×10-6 C point charge in vacuum (k = 9×109 N·m2/C2)?
Correct answer: B
E = kq/r2 = 9×109 × 2×10-6/0.04 = 4.5×105 N/C; choice A skips the squared distance. Core: point-charge fields fall off as 1/r2.A 4 μF capacitor holds 2×10-4 C of charge. What is the voltage across it?
Correct answer: E
U = Q/C = 2×10-4/4×10-6 = 50 V; choice B inverts Q and C. Core: from C = Q/U the voltage is Q/C.Ocean swell passes from shallow water (wave speed 4 m/s) into deep water (12 m/s); its frequency stays 6 Hz. What is the wavelength in the deep water?
Correct answer: A
Frequency is set by the source and unchanged, so λ = v/f = 12/6 = 2 m; 0.67 m keeps the shallow-water speed. Core: crossing into a new medium changes speed and wavelength, not frequency.Hot water of 0.2 kg at 80 °C is mixed with 0.3 kg of cold water at 20 °C (no heat loss, equal specific heats). What is the equilibrium temperature?
Correct answer: B
Heat balance: 0.2×(80−T) = 0.3×(T−20) gives T = 44 °C; 50 °C is a plain average of the two temperatures. Core: mixing gives a mass-weighted average, not a simple one.A 20 cm × 30 cm rectangular coil lies perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field that grows steadily from 0.1 T to 0.6 T in 0.2 s. What is the magnitude of the induced EMF?
Correct answer: D
Faraday's law: EMF = ΔΦ/Δt = A·ΔB/Δt = 0.06 × 0.5/0.2 = 0.15 V; 0.3 V omits the change in B. Core: induced EMF equals the rate of change of magnetic flux.In a double-slit experiment adjacent bright fringes are 1.2 cm apart. With wavelength and screen distance unchanged, the slit separation is doubled. What is the new fringe spacing?
Correct answer: E
Δy = λL/d is inversely proportional to the slit separation, so doubling d halves the spacing to 0.6 cm. Core: fringe spacing is inversely proportional to slit separation.Each cycle a heat engine absorbs 800 J from a hot reservoir and releases 600 J to a cold one. What is its efficiency?
Correct answer: D
Useful work W = 800 − 600 = 200 J, so η = 200/800 = 25%; 75% is the released-over-absorbed ratio. Core: efficiency = useful work over absorbed heat.A metal has work function 3.1 eV. What is the longest (cutoff) wavelength of light that can eject photoelectrons from it? (hc = 1240 eV·nm)
Correct answer: C
The cutoff wavelength carries exactly the work function: λ0 = hc/W = 1240/3.1 = 400 nm, and longer wavelengths fall short. Core: cutoff wavelength = hc over the work function.A 10 m measuring rod flies past Earth at 0.6c aboard a spacecraft, aligned with the motion. What length does an Earth observer measure?
Correct answer: E
Length contraction L = L0√(1−v2/c2) = 10 × √(1−0.36) = 8 m; 6 m wrongly uses 0.6 as the factor. Core: moving lengths shrink along the motion by √(1−v2/c2).Unified Physics Bowl specs, consistent across years.
Division 1 is for first-year physics students (no calculus); Division 2 is for second-year and AP Physics C students. The two divisions are ranked and awarded separately — students must choose one and cannot take both. Pick based on your level; our advisor can help.
Four steps · Overview / Topics / Practice / Prep
Read the 2010 Physics Bowl overview and format specs to grasp the year’s style.
Review the key topics and weights, and locate your weak areas.
Complete the 25 mock questions; submit for auto-grading and right/wrong marks.
Open the step-by-step solutions, learn from mistakes, and scan for full papers to push for national and global rankings.
Prep tips and score-boosting advice for the 2010 Physics Bowl.
Use the 2010 style to train first-pass speed: set a 45-minute countdown, mark and skip anything that stalls you past 90 seconds. The goal is every solvable item correct, then a return pass for the skipped ones.
Spectrum ordering and field-direction checks yield to elimination: cut the two clearly wrong options, then compare definitions on the rest. It halves the time versus deriving from scratch.
For momentum, impulse and magnetic-force items, fix a positive direction and write signed equations. After computing, run the three checks; these three error types cost the most points.
The blocks are worth fewer points but the syllabus is fixed: heat balance, the gas laws, the photoelectric effect and half-life — one formula set plus one worked example each gives the best return on time.
When drilling past papers, shade A–E on paper to rehearse the full read-compute-mark loop. Unfamiliar bubbling rhythm is what panics students in the final five minutes.
Frequent questions about the 2010 Physics Bowl papers and answers.
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