Studying Competing in the International Physics Olympiad

[DeltaForce]

As I stated in the title, I'm trying to compete at the physics Olympiad and hopefully walk away with a decent ranking. I am currently a sophomore at a mediocre high school; I'm taking this Olympiad physics class for preparation. The course is once a week for 3 hours that is covering algebra-based physics. My math level is at pre-calculus whereas my peers in that class are 8th graders that are already learning about calculus. This overwhelms me because if that's the type of people I'm up against at the Olympiad, I'm so screwed. The pacing of the lectures isn't helping either. We would do one chapter per two weeks (which is 6 hours), and I would struggle to keep up (like the teacher would be talking, and I would doze off because I don't understand anything). All the while my peers are going through example problems after example problems with relative ease. After I get home, I would spend an absurd amount of time doing physics homework and studying for a test, often requiring me to use the internet to get answers. This worries me heavily as I will have to do problems independently at the Olympiad. Even after studying for a long time, when tested on, I'd usually score around 7/12. This disappoints me.

I'm seeking for ways so that I can boost my physics learning to the point that I can keep up with the pacing of the class and ACTUALLY learn. So far we've covered Kinematics, Projectile motion, laws of motion and their application, energy, momentum, and collision. I am currently studying rotational motion and the laws of gravity. I do have to admit that there are gaps in my understanding of those topics due to the pacing of how I study.

I have so many other details of my endeavor, but I cannot put them into this thread cohesively. However, feel free to ask me questions.

The resources I have for physics right now are lecture notes, college physics textbook, and the internet.

Here's a list of question that I compiled.

What resources are recommended for people like me?

What's a good routine for studying this subject given my circumstances?

How should I review for the stuff my class already covered? (I really need a deeper understanding of the topics besides math formulas)

How do I dominate over my peers? Is there hope for me?

P.S sorry for this lengthy post. Feel free to point out anything that you don't understand.

 

[verty]

What resources are recommended for people like me?

Irodov's Problems in General Physics
University Physics by Young & Freedman (for those learning calculus)

What is a good routine for studying this subject given my circumstances?

How should I review for the stuff my class already covered?

I think it is important not to have gaps in one's knowledge. If something is unsettling you because you don't think you understand it, try to find the answer. Pause there and research online until you find the answers you need.

That said, I think a lot of learning for olympiads is learning the formulas so you don't have to derive them. So for example, for projectile motion you should know all the formulas like height, range, etc. But once you learn calculus, you can also derive the formulas which can help you to remember them.

I really need a deeper understanding of the topics besides math formulas.

I think for now you'll just have to learn the formulas. That said, you also need to know when to use them. So focus on that, drawing a diagram, understanding exactly what the problem is asking, how it relates to similar problems, what formulas might you apply and what assumptions do they use. Then, apply the formulas in a chain that gives you the answer.

How do I dominate over my peers?

For now, know how and when to use the formulas. For example, what assumptions must be satisfied to use the formula $s = t(u+v) \over 2$? Continue like that.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[DeltaForce]

Thanks for the response!
I'm planning on working about 30 problems per day each chapter in my textbook. I hope that can fill in my gap in knowledge, and it will click for me. Is that too much or nah?

 

[verty]

Thanks for the response!
I'm planning on working about 30 problems per day each chapter in my textbook. I hope that can fill in my gap in knowledge, and it will click for me. Is that too much or nah?

It sounds like a lot. I think I'd do 25 at the most.

I want to emphasize how important drawing a diagram is. If you can get the diagram right, the problem becomes easy. If you get it wrong, you might catch your mistake but it's wasteful. For example, in a recent thread a question was asked about a car on a banked curve, what would happen if the car went slower than the bank was designed for. The right diagram led me to a simple formula because I could leverage my knowledge once I had a good diagram. So definitely do that. Especially if you use Irodov, the right diagram will be crucial, I think.