The 2019 paper sticks to the 40-question, 45-minute format with separate awards for each division, favoring core concepts over tricks. Scan the QR code for the full paper, answers and bilingual solutions.
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.2019 Physics Bowl paper overview and exam highlights.
The 2019 Physics Bowl, hosted by AAPT, followed the customary schedule of a spring sitting (around late March to early April) with registration deadlines per the official announcement. The paper held 40 multiple-choice questions in a 45-minute limit, with no penalty for wrong answers, calculators permitted, and everything in English.
In style the paper emphasized direct testing of core concepts. The mechanics chain of kinematics, Newton laws and momentum-energy was the densest part; electromagnetism balanced basic models of electricity and magnetism; heat and waves-optics stayed friendly; and modern physics focused on conceptual checks of atoms and quanta.
The division rules were unchanged: Division 1 fits freshmen and first-year physics students, Division 2 fits sophomores and AP Physics C students, and each division is ranked and awarded on its own. Scan the QR code for the complete 2019 paper with answers and solutions, ideally used alongside the 25 original practice questions on this page.
2019 Physics Bowl main topic areas, weights and emphasis.
The largest share of the paper, stepping from uniform motion up to rotation and gravitation.
Ohm law and circuit networks form the base, with transformers and induced emf in the middle and later parts.
Refraction and interference formulas lead, and acoustics scenarios stay close to daily life.
Heat calculations and gas laws appear reliably, the highest-value block on the whole paper.
Photoelectric and matter-wave concepts recur, and relativity stays at the level of basic results.
2019 Physics Bowl-style mock questions (Basic · Medium · Hard) — submit to grade and view step-by-step solutions.
A drone flies in a straight line at constant speed, covering 600 m in 40 s. What is its speed?
Correct answer: A
v = s/t = 600/40 = 15 m/s. Answer A. Core: speed = distance divided by time.An 8 kg cart is given an acceleration of 2.5 m/s2. What net force is required?
Correct answer: D
F = ma = 8×2.5 = 20 N. Answer D. Core: Newton second law, F = ma.A stone is dropped from rest from a height of 20 m (g = 10 m/s2). What is its speed just before landing?
Correct answer: B
v = √(2gh) = √(2×10×20) = 20 m/s. Answer B. Core: free fall, v2 = 2gh.A horizontal mass-spring oscillator has a period of 2 s. Keeping the spring the same, the mass is made four times larger. What is the new period?
Correct answer: C
T scales with √m, so four times the mass doubles the period to 4 s. Answer C. Core: the period grows with the square root of the mass.A resistor connected across a 12 V supply dissipates 60 W. What current flows through it?
Correct answer: A
I = P/U = 60/12 = 5 A. Answer A. Core: electric power P = UI.Three 6 Ω resistors are connected in parallel. What is the equivalent resistance?
Correct answer: C
Three identical resistors in parallel: R = 6/3 = 2 Ω. Answer C. Core: n equal resistors in parallel divide by n.A 10 μF capacitor is charged to 6 V. How much energy does it store?
Correct answer: B
E = ½CU2 = ½×10×36 = 180 μJ. Answer B. Core: stored capacitor energy is ½CU2.Ocean waves are observed with a period of 10 s and a wave speed of 12 m/s. What is the wavelength?
Correct answer: E
λ = vT = 12×10 = 120 m. Answer E. Core: wavelength = speed × period.A 0.5 kg aluminum block warms by 20 ℃ (c = 900 J/(kg·℃)). How much heat does it absorb?
Correct answer: C
Q = mcΔT = 0.5×900×20 = 9000 J. Answer C. Core: heating formula Q = mcΔT.A metal has a work function of 2.0 eV and is lit by photons of energy 3.5 eV. What is the maximum kinetic energy of the emitted electrons?
Correct answer: E
The maximum kinetic energy is 3.5−2.0 = 1.5 eV. Answer E. Core: photoelectric KEmax = hν − W.A soccer ball is kicked at 40 m/s at an angle of 30° above the horizontal (g = 10 m/s2). How long is it in the air?
Correct answer: A
Flight time is t = 2v·sin30°/g = 2×40×0.5/10 = 4 s. Answer A. Core: the time of flight is set by the vertical component.A sled is pulled along horizontal snow by a 150 N force directed 60° above the horizontal for 20 m. How much work does the pulling force do?
Correct answer: B
W = Fd·cos60° = 150×20×0.5 = 1500 J. Answer B. Core: work by a constant force, W = Fd·cosθ.Two carts at rest on a frictionless track are pushed apart: the 60 kg cart moves left at 2 m/s. What is the speed of the 40 kg cart?
Correct answer: A
Total momentum stays zero: 40v = 60×2, so v = 3 m/s. Answer A. Core: internal forces cannot change the total momentum.A planet has twice the mass and twice the radius of Earth (surface gravity on Earth is 10 m/s2). What is the surface gravity on the planet?
Correct answer: E
g scales with M/R2, so g′ = 10×2/4 = 5 m/s2. Answer E. Core: surface gravity is proportional to M/R2.A battery of emf 12 V and internal resistance 1 Ω drives a 5 Ω resistor. What is the voltage across the resistor?
Correct answer: C
I = 12/(5+1) = 2 A, and the terminal voltage is 12−2×1 = 10 V. Answer C. Core: subtract the internal-resistance drop to get the terminal voltage.An ideal transformer has 100 primary turns and 500 secondary turns. The primary is driven at 20 V. What is the secondary voltage?
Correct answer: D
U₂ = U₁·N₂/N₁ = 20×500/100 = 100 V. Answer D. Core: the voltage ratio equals the turns ratio.A light ray in air strikes calm water (n = 1.33) at an incidence angle of 53°. What is the refraction angle? (sin 53° = 0.8, sin 37° = 0.6)
Correct answer: B
sinθ₂ = sin53°/n = 0.8/1.33 ≈ 0.6, so θ₂ = 37°. Answer B. Core: Snell law, n₁sinθ₁ = n₂sinθ₂.A diffraction grating has 5000 lines per centimeter and is lit by 600 nm light at normal incidence. What is the highest order visible on each side of the central maximum?
Correct answer: D
The grating spacing is d = 10-2/5000 = 2×10-6 m, and d/λ = 3.33, so the highest order is 3. Answer D. Core: the highest order is the integer part of d/λ.A fixed amount of gas at constant pressure is heated from 300 K to 450 K. Its initial volume is 0.8 m3. What is the final volume?
Correct answer: C
At constant pressure V ∝ T: V₂ = 0.8×450/300 = 1.2 m3. Answer C. Core: Charles law keeps V/T constant.In each cycle a heat engine absorbs 1500 J of heat and does 450 J of work. What is its efficiency?
Correct answer: A
η = W/Q = 450/1500 = 30%. Answer A. Core: engine efficiency = work output divided by heat input.A 1.2 m rod slides at a steady 5 m/s along horizontal rails in a downward 0.5 T uniform field, with total circuit resistance 6 Ω. What external force keeps the rod moving at constant speed?
Correct answer: D
ε = BLv = 3 V, I = ε/R = 0.5 A, and F = BIL = 0.5×0.5×1.2 = 0.3 N. Answer D. Core: the external force balances the magnetic force for constant speed.A spring of stiffness 800 N/m is compressed 0.5 m and launches a 2 kg block up a frictionless ramp (g = 10 m/s2). What maximum height does the block reach?
Correct answer: D
The spring stores ½kx2 = 100 J, all of which becomes gravitational energy: h = 100/(2×10) = 5 m. Answer D. Core: elastic potential energy converts to gravitational energy.A figure skater spins with moment of inertia 4 kg·m2 at 6 rad/s. Pulling her arms in reduces her moment of inertia to 2 kg·m2. What is her new angular speed?
Correct answer: B
Angular momentum is conserved: 4×6 = 2×ω, so ω = 12 rad/s. Answer B. Core: with no external torque, Iω stays constant.A particle carries momentum of 6.6×10-24 kg·m/s (h = 6.6×10-34 J·s). What is its de Broglie wavelength?
Correct answer: E
λ = h/p = 6.6×10-34/6.6×10-24 = 1×10-10 m. Answer E. Core: de Broglie wavelength λ = h/p.A resonance tube closed at one end is 1.7 m long, with the speed of sound inside at 340 m/s. What is its fundamental frequency?
Correct answer: E
The closed-pipe fundamental is f = v/4L = 340/6.8 = 50 Hz. Answer E. Core: a closed pipe fundamental fits a quarter wavelength.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 2019 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 2019 Physics Bowl.
Open your prep with one full past paper under a strict 45-minute clock, then spend an evening reviewing every item. Knowing whether each miss came from concepts, formulas or reading makes later study targeted.
Review in the order kinematics, Newton laws, momentum and energy, with ten short items per link. Papers of this style concentrate on that chain, and once it flows the whole section opens up.
Progress from plain series-parallel networks to items with internal resistance and transformers. The keys are simplification order and unit discipline; holding this block secures half the electricity marks.
Copy refraction, imaging, specific heat and gas laws onto cards and pair them with practice items. Most questions are direct substitutions, so fluency frees time on exam day.
Keep two or three core results for the photoelectric effect, matter waves and basic relativity, and learn to spot which one a stem is testing. Skip deep derivations and save energy for the heavier computations.
Frequent questions about the 2019 Physics Bowl papers and answers.
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