Just got out – my take on this morning's National Physics Olympiad prelim
So yeah, it's September 5, 2026, and I literally just walked out of the exam hall like four hours ago. Brain still buzzing. 9 to 12, three hours, 400 points – it's done.
Figured I'd dump my thoughts here while it's still fresh, partly to process it myself, partly for anyone else who took it or is curious.
The Scene
It was everywhere – same time across the whole country. I'm in Changsha, but I know friends in Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanxi all took it at the same moment. Shanxi apparently had 4000+ people alone. Crazy.
For us, it was pure theory today, 400 points max. Next up is the semifinal on September 19 – that one has lab stuff too, so way harder. But one step at a time.
The Paper Itself
Haven't seen official solutions yet, but from chatting with people afterwards and what some coaches were saying, here's the vibe:
It's not just about "can you solve this" – it's about "can you figure out what's even going on". Lots of problems felt like real-world scenarios you had to strip down to physics.
They really care about:
- Whether you actually understand the basics, not just memorized them
- Whether you can build a clean model out of a messy description
- Whether you can track multiple stages of a process without losing track (collisions, sliding, projectiles, etc.)
- Some people said it felt like a warm-up for the semifinal – which makes sense, because that's in two weeks (Sep 19). Coaches are already saying: grind classic problems, fix your common blind spots.
My Two Cents
Honestly? If you're reading this and you also took it – give yourself a pat on the back. Three hours of that is no joke, no matter how it went.
I definitely hit a couple of walls. That's fine. What matters now is going back, seeing where I tripped, and figuring out if it was concept gaps or just sloppy writing.
If I make it to the next round, I'll start drilling seriously. Also need to double-check calculator rules – apparently the Casio fx-991CN CW is the go-to but you have to know what's allowed.
Anyway – good luck to everyone. Hope I see some of you on the semifinal list.
If you remember any problems from today, drop them below – let's compare scars.
