The 2026 PhysicsBowl continued its stable, well-layered style: mechanics and electromagnetism still lead, thermodynamics and waves stay friendly, and modern physics holds steady coverage. Scan the QR code for the complete 2026 paper, answer key and step-by-step 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.2026 Physics Bowl paper overview and exam highlights.
The 2026 PhysicsBowl, organized by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), kept to the usual calendar: the exam takes place in spring (around late March to early April), with registration deadlines per the official announcement. The format was unchanged: 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, entirely in English, calculators allowed, points for correct answers and no penalty for wrong ones.
The division structure stayed the same: Division 1 for first-year and beginning physics students (no calculus), Division 2 for second-year and AP Physics C students, ranked and awarded separately with no double entry. The paper continued to lean on mechanics and electromagnetism with a moderate calculation load, kept thermodynamics and gas-law items in their high-yield slot, and revisited modern-physics staples such as the photoelectric effect, atomic energy levels and introductory relativity.
Scan the QR code for the complete 2026 paper, reference answers and step-by-step solutions, then use the 25 original practice questions on this page to locate and fix weak areas topic by topic.
2026 Physics Bowl main topic areas, weights and emphasis.
About 40%: kinematics, momentum-energy and basic rigid-body rotation all appear; still the scoring base.
About 24%: circuit analysis and induction hold steady, with a capacitor item keeping its fixed spot.
About 15%: sound, refraction and interference-diffraction rotate in, with light calculations.
About 11%: heat balance, specific heat and gas laws form a dependable easy section.
About 10%: the photoelectric effect, atomic levels and basic relativity are familiar faces.
2026 Physics Bowl-style mock questions (Basic · Medium · Hard) — submit to grade and view step-by-step solutions.
A delivery drone flies in a straight line at constant speed, covering 3.6 km in 6 min. What is its speed in m/s?
Correct answer: B
Convert first: 3.6 km = 3600 m and 6 min = 360 s, so v = 3600/360 = 10 m/s. Choice A stops at the km/min figure (0.6). Core: convert to SI units before dividing.A 15 kg instrument lands on a planet where the surface gravitational acceleration is 4 m/s2. What is its weight on that surface?
Correct answer: E
W = mg = 15 × 4 = 60 N. Choice B uses an Earth-like g = 10 and C divides instead of multiplying. Core: weight = mass × local gravitational acceleration.A worker pushes a crate with a constant horizontal force of 50 N, and the crate moves 8 m in the direction of the force at constant speed. How much work does the pushing force do?
Correct answer: D
W = Fd = 50 × 8 = 400 J. Choice A confuses zero net force with zero work by the push: constant speed does not mean the push does no work. Core: work = force × displacement along the force.A small lamp runs normally with 0.5 A through it and 6 V across it. What is its resistance?
Correct answer: C
R = V/I = 6/0.5 = 12 Ω. Choice A multiplies voltage by current and B reverses the division. Core: R = V/I.A 12 Ω resistor and a 24 Ω resistor are connected in parallel. What is the equivalent resistance?
Correct answer: B
R = (12×24)/(12+24) = 288/36 = 8 Ω. Choice A is the halving shortcut, C the average, D the series sum. Core: parallel resistors combine as product over sum.How much heat raises 0.5 kg of aluminum from 20 ℃ to 60 ℃? (specific heat of aluminum c = 900 J/(kg·℃))
Correct answer: A
Q = mcΔT = 0.5 × 900 × 40 = 18000 J = 18 kJ. Choice C drops the 0.5 mass and B halves the temperature change. Core: use the temperature change in Q = mcΔT, not a temperature reading.How much heat melts 0.2 kg of ice at 0 ℃? (latent heat of fusion L = 3.3×105 J/kg)
Correct answer: E
Q = mL = 0.2 × 3.3×105 = 6.6×104 J. Choice A amounts to using 0.1 kg, and C is a power-of-ten slip. Core: phase-change heat = mass × latent heat, at constant temperature.Green light has a wavelength of 500 nm. What is its frequency? (c = 3×108 m/s)
Correct answer: D
f = c/λ = 3×108/5×10-7 = 6×1014 Hz. Choice B is a unit-conversion power slip and A echoes the wavelength digit. Core: frequency = speed of light divided by wavelength.A microwave oven emits waves at 2.5×109 Hz. What is the energy of a single microwave photon? (h = 6.6×10-34 J·s)
Correct answer: C
E = hf = 6.6×10-34 × 2.5×109 = 1.65×10-24 J. Choice A keeps the exponent of h, and B matches a frequency of 108 Hz. Core: every photon of electromagnetic radiation carries E = hf.A 12 V bulb draws 0.25 A in normal operation. What power does it consume?
Correct answer: A
P = VI = 12 × 0.25 = 3 W. Choice B divides voltage by current (12/0.25 = 48). Core: electrical power = voltage × current.A hiker throws a stone horizontally at 15 m/s from the top of a 20 m cliff (g = 10 m/s2). How far from the base of the cliff does it land?
Correct answer: E
The fall time is set by the height: t = √(2h/g) = √(2×20/10) = 2 s, and the range is x = 15 × 2 = 30 m. Choice C amounts to using 4 s, skipping the square root. Core: in projectile motion the vertical motion fixes the time.A simple pendulum swings in small-angle simple harmonic motion with a length of 0.9 m (g = 10 m/s2). What is its period, roughly?
Correct answer: D
For small angles the pendulum moves in simple harmonic motion with T = 2π√(L/g) = 2π√(0.09) = 2π × 0.3 ≈ 1.9 s. Choice A drops the 2π, B keeps only π, and E shifts the decimal point. Core: the pendulum SHM period = 2π√(L/g).A 50 kg sledder starts from rest at the top of an 8 m-high slope and reaches the bottom at 10 m/s (g = 10 m/s2). How much work does friction do during the descent?
Correct answer: B
The potential energy lost is mgh = 50×10×8 = 4000 J while the kinetic energy gained is ½mv2 = 2500 J, so friction removes 4000 − 2500 = 1500 J. Choice C counts only the potential energy and A only the kinetic energy. Core: the work of friction equals the kinetic-energy gain minus the potential-energy loss.In a circuit, a 4 Ω resistor is in series with a parallel pair of 6 Ω and 3 Ω, and the combination is connected to a 12 V battery. How much power does the 4 Ω resistor dissipate?
Correct answer: C
The parallel pair gives 2 Ω, the total is 6 Ω, the main current is I = 12/6 = 2 A, and P = I2R = 22 × 4 = 16 W. Choice B is the total battery power (12 × 2) and D puts the full 12 V across the 4 Ω resistor. Core: find the main current first, then use I2R.A straight wire 0.5 m long carries a current of 4 A perpendicular to a uniform 0.25 T field. What magnetic force acts on the wire?
Correct answer: A
F = BIL = 0.25 × 4 × 0.5 = 0.5 N. Choice C amounts to dividing the current by the length, and D drops the current. Core: magnetic force on a wire = BIL when the current is perpendicular to the field.A 4 μF capacitor and an 8 μF capacitor are connected in parallel across a 12 V source. What total charge does the combination store?
Correct answer: E
In parallel, C = 4 + 8 = 12 μF, so Q = CU = 12 × 12 = 144 μC. Choice A treats them as series (about 2.67 μF), while B and C charge only one capacitor. Core: parallel capacitances add and share the same voltage.Laser light of wavelength 600 nm passes through a single slit of width 2 μm. At roughly what angle does the first diffraction minimum occur?
Correct answer: D
The first minimum obeys a·sinθ = λ: sinθ = 600×10-9/2×10-6 = 0.3, so θ ≈ 17°. Choice A reads the sine value (0.3) directly as an angle. Core: a·sinθ = λ for the first minimum.Light travels from glass (n = 1.5) toward air. What is the critical angle for total internal reflection, roughly?
Correct answer: B
The critical angle satisfies sinθc = 1/n = 1/1.5 ≈ 0.67, giving θc ≈ 42°. Choice A takes the complementary angle (90° − 42°), mixing up sine and cosine. Core: the critical angle comes from sinθc = 1/n.An air bubble of volume 2 cm3 rises slowly from a depth where the absolute pressure is 300 kPa to the surface at 100 kPa, at constant temperature. What is its volume at the surface?
Correct answer: C
At constant temperature P1V1 = P2V2, so V2 = 2 × 300/100 = 6 cm3. Choice A inverts the pressure ratio and D expands by only 1.5 times. Core: at fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional.In a hydrogen atom an electron jumps from level n = 3 to level n = 2. What is the energy of the emitted photon? (the ground-state energy of hydrogen is −13.6 eV)
Correct answer: A
With En = −13.6/n2 eV, E3 = −1.51 eV and E2 = −3.40 eV, so the photon carries 1.89 eV. Choice C matches the n = 4 → 2 jump and D the maximum n → 2 value. Core: the photon energy equals the difference of the two levels.A 0.8 m conducting rod slides at a steady 5 m/s along rails across a perpendicular 0.5 T field, and the loop has a total resistance of 4 Ω. What mechanical power must the external force supply to keep the rod moving at constant speed?
Correct answer: D
The induced EMF is BLv = 0.5 × 0.8 × 5 = 2 V, the current is I = 2/4 = 0.5 A, the retarding force is F = BIL = 0.2 N, and the external power is P = Fv = 0.2 × 5 = 1 W, which matches I2R. Choice E uses v2 in place of v. Core: induced EMF is BLv, and the mechanical power P = Fv equals I2R.A figure skater spinning at 2 rad/s with moment of inertia 4.5 kg·m2 pulls her arms in, cutting her moment of inertia to 1.5 kg·m2. What is her new angular speed?
Correct answer: C
With no external torque, angular momentum is conserved: I0ω0 = Iω, so ω = 4.5 × 2/1.5 = 6 rad/s. Choice A inverts the inertia ratio and E applies the ratio twice. Core: with zero external torque, Iω stays constant.Take g = 10 m/s2 and Earth radius R = 6400 km. A satellite in a circular orbit of radius R (skimming the surface, hypothetically) moves at about what speed?
Correct answer: A
Gravity supplies the centripetal force, so v = √(gR) = √(10 × 6.4×106) = 8×103 m/s = 8 km/s. Choice D is the escape-speed magnitude, confusing orbiting with escaping. Core: the near-surface orbital speed is √(gR).A spaceship of proper length 100 m flies past Earth at 0.6c. What length does an Earth observer measure?
Correct answer: E
Length contracts along the motion: L = L0√(1 − 0.62) = 100 × 0.8 = 80 m. Choice A multiplies by 0.6 directly and C divides by 0.8, turning contraction into stretching. Core: lengths along the motion contract by the γ factor.A pipe 0.85 m long is closed at one end, with the air column vibrating at sound speed 340 m/s. What is its second resonant frequency (first overtone)?
Correct answer: B
The closed pipe fundamental is f1 = v/(4L) = 340/(4 × 0.85) = 100 Hz, and only odd multiples appear: 100, 300, 500 Hz, so the second resonance is 300 Hz. Choice E treats it as an open pipe (second harmonic 400 Hz). Core: a pipe closed at one end supports odd harmonics only.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 2026 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 2026 Physics Bowl.
The PhysicsBowl runs in spring (around late March to early April) and registration deadlines follow the official announcement. Build an 8-10 week plan counting back from exam day: cover topics in the first half, do timed papers in the second, and register well before the deadline.
Division 1 avoids calculus and suits first-year and beginning students; Division 2 targets second-year and AP Physics C students. Rankings and awards are separate and double entry is not allowed, so choose by your course progress.
Calculators are allowed, but scientific-notation entry, squares, roots and trig functions should be second nature before test day, so you never burn time on powers of ten.
Forty questions in 45 minutes means about 67 seconds each. Practice full papers under the clock, learn to let a hard item go and come back, and convert every solvable question into points.
After scanning for the 2026 paper and answers, tally your errors across mechanics, electromagnetism, waves, thermodynamics and modern physics, then return to the matching drills on this page for targeted repair.
Frequent questions about the 2026 Physics Bowl papers and answers.
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