USAPhO

Overview

The USA Physics Olympiad (USAPhO) is the second stage in the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) route to the United States Physics Team. The first stage is the F=ma exam, and the route ends with five students being chosen to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympiad.

Who can take it

• F=ma exam: students must be United States citizens, permanent residents (green card holders) or currently attending a United States school, and must be located within the United States.

• USAPhO exam: students must be United States citizens or permanent residents, and must also be located within the United States.

• Physics Team training camp: invited students must be eligible for the International Physics Olympiad, which means United States citizens or green card holders who do not exceed age 20 by 30 June of the competition year. They must be able to attend all 10 days of the camp.

Levels or stages

F=ma exam

A 75-minute exam of 25 multiple-choice questions on mechanics. The scope covers kinematics, statics, Newton's laws, momentum and energy, oscillations, orbital mechanics, rotational dynamics, fluids, dimensional analysis and elementary data analysis. Every problem can be solved without calculus.

USAPhO exam

About 400 students are invited based on F=ma scores. It is a 3-hour free-response exam in two parts of 90 minutes each, and students must justify their answers. It covers introductory physics including mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, relativity, nuclear, atomic and particle physics, waves, optics and data analysis, and problems may need calculus.

Physics Team

About 20 students are invited, based on USAPhO and F=ma scores, to a ten-day training camp at the University of Maryland. At the end of the camp, five students are selected for the International Physics Olympiad.

Marking and results

For the USAPhO, the top 10 to 12 percent of scorers nominally receive gold medals, the next 14 to 16 percent silver, the next 20 to 22 percent bronze and the next 24 to 26 percent honorable mentions. The exact cutoffs vary by year.

Important dates

For 2026, the F=ma exam was on 12 February, in a window from 1 pm to 4 pm Eastern time on that day only. The registration deadline was 20 January 2026, extended to 21 January. F=ma and USAPhO were online only in 2026, and registration for 2027 was due to open in mid-October.

Fees

For 2026, the F=ma registration fee was $75 per school ($37.50 for AAPT members) plus $15.50 per student.

How to apply

A school registers its students online or by mailed form, naming a proctor. The exams must be proctored in person, and for-profit test preparation centres cannot act as proctors from 2026.

Preparation tips

• Practise past F=ma papers under timed conditions; AAPT publishes them with solutions.

• For the USAPhO, set out solutions in a clear, logical order, show the starting equations and box the final result.