OAPT Grade 11 Physics Contest
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
My school is not in the list, what should I do?
Please contact the OAPT contest director to see if your school is eligible for the contest. If it is, your school will be added to the list. In order to expedite this process, please use this link with your school's name and your e-mail address. You may be contacted in order to verify your school's information.
My school is outside of Ontario, can I still participate?
The OAPT physics contest is run for students currently attending school in Ontario, taking SPH3U or SPH4U. Schools outside of Ontario are not eligible to offer the current year's contest to its students, however students are welcome to register as a "Visitor". Visitors are able to look at past contests and run them on their computers.
I've registered as a "teacher" under my school, but I can't access the current contests page. Why is that?
Please contact the OAPT contest director using this link as soon as possible. You will be granted access once your identity has been confirmed. Every school must have one teacher who has been granted contest coordinator privileges in order to participate in the OAPT Grade 11 Physics Contest.
Our computers are not available at 9:00 am, can we write the contest later in the day?
Yes. On the contest date, the contest can be written at anytime that is convenient. If you cannot schedule an available computer lab until lunch time, for example, that is fine.
What materials are the contest participants permitted?
The students can use non-programmable calculators and scrap paper as required for their rough work. The students should not take the used scrap paper away with them when they leave the contest room.
What is the length of time students have to write the OAPT Grade 11 Physics Contest?
The students have 60 minutes to complete it. The contest has 30 multiple choice questions, usually with one or two of those questions based on the previous year's Nobel prize in physics, or current events in physics.
Is there a deadline for students to register by and is there a cost for them?
Because of our sponsor, the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, there is no charge for students to participate. There is no "official" deadline for interested students to register that is set by us. Even on the day of the contest, a school can manually add students using the form which is found at the bottom of the current contests management page. After a student has been added, their name will appear with a "student ID" which they will need in order to write the contest. It is recommended that contest coordinators set a deadline for their students to register at least one week in advance of the contest date.
Is it easier to administer the computer-based contest or the paper-based contest?
Computer Based:
Paper Based:
The START CODE is the secret password that the contest coordinator/teacher types into the computer to unlock the computer-based contest for the students. Because the HTML contest file can be distributed far and wide before the contest date, the START CODE is a way for the teacher to verify that the students are writing the contest, in the correct room, and doing so under supervision. Teachers should not reveal this code to students, otherwise a student could write the contest, unsupervised, anywhere using the HTML file. The START CODE is not case sensitive and the teacher can type it in with caps-on or not.
Students who have started to take grade 12 physics (SPH4U) - or have already completed it - should select 'Grade 12'.
The 'Grade 11' division is for students (of any grade) currently taking, or completed, grade 11 physics (SPH3U) but who have not yet begun grade 12 physics.
Note: once the contest results are out, you will no longer be able to change your division.
