AAPT PhysicsBowl — Tian2 Library

An introduction

The most accessible physics paper on this shelf.

The AAPT PhysicsBowl is the American Association of Physics Teachers' annual high-school physics multiple-choice exam. The paper contains 50 numbered questions, but each student answers only 40: Division 1 students answer Q1–Q40, Division 2 students answer Q11–Q50, and the thirty questions Q11–Q40 form a shared bridge appearing in both divisions' answered range. Forty-five minutes. Five lettered choices per question. No penalty for a wrong answer — so you should never leave a question blank.

The paper is the most accessible physics contest for US schools that already participate in AAPT programming. The cost is low ($10 per student), the format is familiar, and past exams with official solutions are published free on the AAPT website going back to 2007.

Division structure — what we verified on disk

Three exam years (2013, 2024, 2025) are byte-validated on disk, each showing the same skeleton: 50 numbered stems with A–E choices, a 45-minute / 40-answered budget, D1 = Q1–Q40, D2 = Q11–Q50, the shared bridge Q11–Q40, g = 10.0 m/s² (not 9.8), and a tie-break rule comparing answers from the end of the test forward. The cover reads "40 QUESTIONS – 45 MINUTES" because that is what each student actually answers.

The two-division architecture

One paper; two starting points.

Division	Answers	Who sits it	Pacing
Division 1	Q1–Q40	First physics course	~67 s per question
Shared bridge	Q11–Q40	Both divisions	Most of the points live here
Division 2	Q11–Q50	Second-or-later course, or any student seeking a challenge	~67 s per question

A common error: earlier guides (including a draft of our own Student Edition) claimed ~54 s per question for Division 2. That was wrong — it counted all 50 questions instead of the 40 a D2 student actually answers. The correct budget is 67 seconds per question for both divisions.

The 2025 topic surface

What the verified 2025 paper actually tested.

This is a one-year topic checklist from the 2025 exam — evidence, not a multi-year syllabus. Use it as a "have I seen this?" inventory:

Topic bucket	2025 questions
1-D kinematics & relative motion	Q1, Q3, Q9, Q10
2-D motion / projectile	Q2, Q23
Newton's laws & free-body diagrams	Q5, Q16, Q31, Q32, Q35
Work–energy / friction	Q13, Q20, Q27
Momentum & impulse / collisions	Q10, Q18, Q21, Q29, Q37, Q44
Rotation & rolling	Q11, Q36
Pendulum & oscillation	Q12, Q24
Gravitation & circular motion	Q20, Q35
Thermodynamics / Carnot / radiation	Q17, Q25, Q33, Q40
DC circuits & resistor networks	Q22, Q46
E-field / point charges	Q38, Q49
Waves, standing waves, sound	Q34, Q41, Q50
EM waves & Poynting direction	Q42 (D2-only)
Geometric optics	Q43
Modern / quantum / atomic / units	Q14, Q30, Q39, Q45, Q47
Special relativity (length contraction)	Q48 (D2-only)
Physics-history items	Q4, Q14, Q19, Q26

The D2-only tail (Q41–Q50) concentrates the harder modern and advanced-EM items — and the end-forward tie-break means those late items decide rank. D1 students never see Q41–Q50.

The seven test-day conventions

Taken from the verified 2024 and 2025 cover instructions: (1) g = 10.0 m/s², not 9.8. (2) Five lettered choices, A–E — never four. (3) 45 minutes total. (4) No penalty — never leave a blank. (5) Tie-break is from the end of the test forward — late items decide rank. (6) Calculator memory cleared; not shared. (7) Only the provided formulas and constants are usable.

A 6-week preparation plan

From diagnostic to contest day.

Week 1 — Diagnostic: Sit the 2025 exam under timed conditions (45 min, your division's range). Log how many of your last 10 answered items you reached and got right. That single metric is the highest-leverage number in PhysicsBowl prep.
Week 2 — Mechanics core: Drill 1-D kinematics, Newton's laws, work–energy, momentum, rotation, oscillation across the 2025 and 2024 bridge questions (Q11–Q30).
Week 3 — Fields, circuits, waves: E-fields, DC circuits, gravitation, waves, geometric optics. Timed 20-question half-paper from 2024.
Week 4 — Thermo + modern: Thermodynamics / Carnot, modern / quantum / atomic / units, special relativity (D2 students). Sit the full 2024 exam.
Week 5 — Late-paper rehearsal: Two short timed sets targeting Q35–Q40 (D1) or Q41–Q50 (D2) from both verified years. These are the tie-break items.
Week 6 — Third paper + recovery: Sit 2013 as a full timed paper. Re-sit any paper where you fell below target. Stop hard 24 hours before the exam.

One question per minute. There is no time to think; there is only time to recognise. — Editor's note

References & resources

Where to go from here.

Resource	What it is
Official PhysicsBowl site ↗	Dates, eligibility, regional structure, contest information
Practice & past exams (free) ↗	AAPT's own past-exam and solutions PDFs — 2021–2025 confirmed by filename
Full FAQ ↗	Rules, divisions, scoring, negative marking, proctor requirements
Tian2 Student Edition (PDF) ↓	Independent prep guide — division structure, topic checklist, 6-week plan, worked examples
Tian2 Instructor Edition (PDF) ↓	School-side guide — registration, curriculum map, 8-week classroom schedule, coaching notes