The 2011 Physics Bowl plays it steady: mechanics and circuits carry most of the weight, with gravitation, SHM and lens imaging worth extra drills. Scan the code for the 2011 paper and answer 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.2011 Physics Bowl paper overview and exam highlights.
The 2011 contest keeps the established format: 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, an all-English paper, calculators allowed, one point per correct answer and no penalty for wrong guesses. Division 1 serves first-year and beginning students without calculus; Division 2 serves second-year and AP Physics C students, ranked and awarded separately, with no double entry. The exam runs in spring (around late March to early April) and registration deadlines follow the official announcement.
The paper leans steady rather than tricky: mechanics remains the largest block, dense with setups built on Newton's laws, momentum and energy, plus gravitation and simple harmonic motion ideas; Ohm's law and electric power carry solid weight in electromagnetism, alongside steady basics of capacitance, inductance and magnetic forces; optics focuses on lens imaging and interference; thermodynamics tests the ideal gas law and heat balance; modern physics spans half-life, E = mc2 and time dilation. Most items solve within two steps, which makes this a good paper for consolidating fundamentals.
Treat it as a diagnostic: sit it under timed conditions, review topic by topic, and check every step of your reasoning against the key. Scan the QR code for the 2011 paper and answers, and use the 25 original mock questions below to close the gaps.
2011 Physics Bowl main topic areas, weights and emphasis.
Newton's-law setups and momentum conservation hold steady; gravitation and SHM ideas deserve attention.
Ohm's law and electric power carry the block, with steady items on capacitance, inductance and magnetic forces.
Lens imaging and double-slit interference stand out, with occasional sound and harmonic concepts.
The ideal gas law and heat balance share the load; watch the kelvin conversion.
Half-life calculations and basic relativity appear steadily, with occasional E = mc2 work.
2011 Physics Bowl-style mock questions (Basic · Medium · Hard) — submit to grade and view step-by-step solutions.
A track runner holds a steady 5 m/s through a 1500 m race. How long does the run take?
Correct answer: C
t = s/v = 1500/5 = 300 s; 75 s halves the distance. Core: time = distance over speed for uniform motion.A shopper pushes a 5 kg cart with a 25 N horizontal force. What is the acceleration of the cart?
Correct answer: D
a = F/m = 25/5 = 5 m/s2; choice A divides m by F. Core: a = F/m.A metal block has mass 540 g and volume 200 cm3. What is its density?
Correct answer: B
ρ = m/V = 540/200 = 2.7 g/cm3, matching aluminum; choice D inverts m and V. Core: density = mass over volume.A child drags a sled 15 m across level ground with an 80 N horizontal pull. How much work does the pull do?
Correct answer: E
W = Fd = 80 × 15 = 1200 J; choice A divides F by d. Core: work by a constant force in line with the motion is Fd.A soldering iron runs on 9 V and draws 0.5 A. What is its resistance?
Correct answer: B
R = V/I = 9/0.5 = 18 Ω; choice A multiplies V and I. Core: resistance = voltage over current.A lab capacitor stores 1.2×10-4 C of charge when charged to 12 V. What is its capacitance?
Correct answer: D
C = Q/U = 1.2×10-4/12 = 1×10-5 F = 10 μF; choice A misses the unit conversion. Core: capacitance = charge over voltage, with the farad-to-microfarad step.Two 12 Ω loudspeakers are wired in parallel. What is the equivalent resistance?
Correct answer: E
Two equal resistors in parallel halve: R = 12/2 = 6 Ω, while 24 Ω is the series result. Core: identical parallel resistors give R/2.An observer sees lightning and hears thunder 3 s later (speed of sound 340 m/s; light travel time negligible). How far away was the strike?
Correct answer: A
d = vt = 340 × 3 = 1020 m. Core: distance = sound speed times the delay.A kettle heats 3 kg of water by 10 °C (c = 4200 J/(kg·°C)). How much heat does the water absorb?
Correct answer: C
Q = mcΔT = 3 × 4200 × 10 = 126000 J = 1.26×105 J; choice B omits the mass. Core: Q = mcΔT.A nuclear reaction converts a mass defect of 2×10-29 kg into energy (c = 3×108 m/s). How much energy is released?
Correct answer: B
E = mc2 = 2×10-29 × (3×108)2 = 1.8×10-12 J; choice A forgets to square c. Core: mass-energy conversion follows E = mc2.A soccer player kicks a ball at 20 m/s, 30° above the horizontal (g = 10 m/s2, sin 30° = 0.5). How long is the ball in the air?
Correct answer: B
Flight time t = 2v sinθ/g = 2×20×0.5/10 = 2 s; choice D wrongly uses cos 30°. Core: the vertical launch component sets the flight time.A 60 kg figure skater at rest throws a 3 kg ball horizontally at 10 m/s. What is her recoil speed?
Correct answer: D
Momentum conservation: 3×10 = 60v, so v = 0.5 m/s opposite the throw. Core: recoil speed = ball momentum over skater mass.A satellite circles Earth in a circular orbit of radius r with period T. Its orbit is raised to radius 4r, still circular. What is the new period?
Correct answer: E
Kepler's third law: T2 ∝ r3, so raising the radius 4-fold scales the period by √(43) = 8, giving 8T. Core: the orbital period grows as r to the 3/2 power.A pendulum clock keeps a 1 s period. The pendulum length is made 4 times longer (still small swings). What is the new period?
Correct answer: A
The period T = 2π√(L/g) scales with the square root of length, so 4L gives 2T = 2 s; choice B scales it linearly. Core: pendulum period ∝ √L.A 0.16 kg tennis ball arrives at 20 m/s and is struck straight back at 30 m/s. What is the magnitude of the impulse on the ball?
Correct answer: C
Take the return direction as positive: Δv = 30−(−20) = 50 m/s, so J = mΔv = 0.16 × 50 = 8 N·s; 1.6 N·s misses the sign flip. Core: impulse equals momentum change, sign included.A series circuit contains a 10 V battery, a 5 Ω resistor and an ideal inductor. Long after the switch closes, what is the current?
Correct answer: E
In DC steady state an ideal inductor behaves like a plain wire, so I = V/R = 10/5 = 2 A; choice A treats it as permanently open. Core: the steady-state RL current is set by V/R.A proton (charge 1.6×10-19 C) moves at 2×106 m/s perpendicular to a 0.5 T field in a cyclotron. What magnetic force acts on it?
Correct answer: A
F = qvB = 1.6×10-19 × 2×106 × 0.5 = 1.6×10-13 N; choice B drops the field. Core: magnetic force F = qvB at perpendicular velocity.A space heater draws 5 A from a 220 V outlet. What is its heating power?
Correct answer: D
P = VI = 220 × 5 = 1100 W; 44 W is the resistance V/I. Core: power = voltage times current.A projector lens has focal length 20 cm with the film 30 cm from the lens. How far from the lens does the image form?
Correct answer: E
Thin-lens equation 1/f = 1/do + 1/di: 1/di = 1/20 − 1/30 = 1/60, so di = 60 cm — enlarged and inverted. Core: the thin-lens equation locates the image.Gas in a cylinder expands at constant pressure until its volume exactly doubles, starting from 27 °C. What is the final temperature?
Correct answer: C
At constant pressure V/T is fixed: T2 = (27+273) × 2 = 600 K = 327 °C; doubling the Celsius reading gives the wrong 54 °C. Core: use kelvin in the gas laws.Point charges of +4 μC and +1 μC sit on the x axis at 0 and 0.3 m. How far from the +4 μC charge is the point between them where the net electric field is zero?
Correct answer: B
Set k·4/x2 = k·1/(0.3−x)2, which gives 2(0.3−x) = x and x = 0.2 m, closer to the smaller charge. Core: the null point between like charges lies nearer the weaker charge.In a double-slit experiment the slits are 0.2 mm apart, the screen is 1 m away, and adjacent bright fringes are spaced 2.5 mm. What is the wavelength of the light?
Correct answer: C
Rearranging Δy = λL/d: λ = Δy·d/L = (2.5×10-3 × 2×10-4)/1 = 5×10-7 m = 500 nm. Core: invert the fringe formula and keep SI units throughout.A narrow pipe 0.5 m long is closed at one end, and its air column sounds at 340 m/s. What is the frequency of its second overtone?
Correct answer: A
A closed pipe supports odd harmonics only: f1 = v/4L = 170 Hz, and the second overtone is the 5th harmonic, 5×170 = 850 Hz; 510 Hz is the first overtone. Core: closed pipes resonate at odd multiples of the fundamental.A muon at rest lives 2×10-6 s in its own frame. It flies toward the ground at 0.8c. What lifetime does a ground observer measure?
Correct answer: D
The dilation factor γ = 1/√(1−0.82) = 1/0.6 ≈ 1.67, so the ground measures γτ ≈ 3.3×10-6 s. Core: moving clocks run slow by the factor γ.A hospital receives 6.4×1010 atoms of a tracer with half-life 5 days. After 20 days in storage, how many atoms remain?
Correct answer: A
Twenty days is 4 half-lives, leaving 6.4×1010/24 = 4×109 atoms; choice B halves only three times. Core: n half-lives leave 1/2n of the sample.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 2011 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 2011 Physics Bowl.
Most 2011-style items solve in two moves: write the formula line, then the substitution line. Forcing both lines on paper lifts both speed and accuracy.
For collisions, first label them elastic or inelastic, then choose momentum conservation alone or with kinetic energy. Memorize three classic outcomes of each type for instant recall.
Simplify mixed networks first: collapse parallel branches, find total resistance and current, then return for voltage drops. That fixed order removes nearly all circuit errors.
Grab the numbers, units and the question mark first, then fill in the story. A bank of about 50 frequent physics terms (friction, emission, inverted) noticeably speeds up reading.
Redo wrong items while they are fresh and explain the reasoning aloud. An item you cannot explain signals a concept gap — patch it in the textbook before the next past paper.
Frequent questions about the 2011 Physics Bowl papers and answers.
Scan to add the advisor for 2011 Physics Bowl past papers, answer keys and solutions, plus a custom prep plan.
Note: Name + School + Grade + Year
