IPhO Syllabus 2026: Topics, Skills and Preparation Guide

The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is an annual competition for secondary school students. It tests your ability to understand physics concepts and apply them to unfamiliar situations through theoretical and experimental problems. The IPhO Syllabus covers the major areas of physics along with mathematics and experimental skills required for the competition.

The syllabus goes beyond formula-based preparation. It gives importance to physical reasoning, mathematical modelling, suitable approximations, symmetry, experimental thinking, and interpretation of results. You are expected to use standard high-school mathematics to solve theoretical problems.

Knowing the syllabus can help you plan your preparation in a structured way. It also helps you identify the concepts and skills that require regular practice.

IPhO Syllabus: Major Areas of Physics

The syllabus covers a wide range of physics topics. These include mechanics, electromagnetic fields, oscillations and waves, optics, relativity, quantum physics, thermodynamics, and statistical physics.

It also includes experimental skills and mathematics. These areas support both the theoretical and experimental examinations.

Mechanics

Mechanics is a major part of the IPhO Syllabus. It covers motion, forces, energy, momentum, rotation, gravitation, and fluid mechanics.

The major areas include:

• Kinematics of point particles

• Velocity and acceleration

• Linear and angular motion

• Centripetal and tangential acceleration

• Motion of rigid bodies

• Centre of mass

• Equilibrium and torque

• Friction and tension

• Hooke's law

• Stress, strain, and Young's modulus

• Newton's laws of motion

• Kinetic and potential energy

• Momentum and angular momentum

• Conservation of energy and momentum

• Work and power

• Moment of inertia

• Parallel axis theorem

• Inertial and non-inertial frames

• Gravitational potential and energy

• Kepler's laws

• Elliptical orbits

• Pressure and buoyancy

• Continuity equation

• Bernoulli equation

• Surface tension and capillary pressure

You should be able to apply these concepts to unfamiliar physical situations. The syllabus also expects you to use suitable approximations while modelling real-world problems.

Electromagnetic Fields and Circuits

Electromagnetism covers electric charges, currents, electric and magnetic fields, electromagnetic interactions, and circuits.

The ipho syllabus includes:

• Electric charge and current

• Charge conservation

• Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws

• Coulomb force

• Electric field and potential

• Magnetic fields

• Lorentz force

• Ampère's force

• Biot-Savart law

• Gauss' law

• Ampère's law

• Faraday's law

• Boundary conditions for electric fields

• Grounded conductors

• Superposition of electric and magnetic fields

• Method of image charges

• Resistivity and conductivity

• Dielectric and magnetic permeability

• Energy density of electric and magnetic fields

• Ferromagnetism and hysteresis

• Eddy currents

• Lenz's law

• Motion of charged particles in magnetic fields

• Cyclotron frequency

• Drift in crossed electric and magnetic fields

• Magnetic dipoles

Circuit concepts include resistors, capacitors, inductors, batteries, current sources, measuring instruments, and nonlinear circuit elements.

You should also understand AC circuits, impedance, phasor diagrams, resonance, time constants, mutual inductance, and active power.

Oscillations, Waves and Optics

Oscillations, waves, and optics form another important part of the IPhO Syllabus. These topics cover mechanical and electrical oscillators, wave propagation, interference, diffraction, electromagnetic waves, and optical systems.

Oscillations

You should understand:

• Harmonic oscillations

• Frequency, angular frequency, and period

• Physical pendulum

• Reduced length

• Damped oscillations

• Forced oscillations

• Resonance

• Amplitude and phase shift

• LC oscillations

• Mechanical-electrical analogy

• Positive feedback

• Generation of sine waves

Waves

The syllabus includes harmonic wave propagation and the properties of waves.

Key areas include:

• Phase and wavelength

• Wave vector

• Phase velocity

• Group velocity

• Transverse and longitudinal waves

• Wave damping

• Doppler effect

• Fermat's principle

• Snell's law

• Sound waves

• Mach cone

• Wave energy

• Energy flux

Interference and Diffraction

This section focuses on wave superposition and optical interference.

The major concepts include:

• Coherence

• Beats

• Standing waves

• Huygens' principle

• Thin-film interference

• Single-slit diffraction

• Double-slit diffraction

• Diffraction grating

• Bragg reflection

You should understand the physical conditions that lead to interference and diffraction patterns rather than relying only on formulas.

Electromagnetic Waves and Geometrical Optics

Optics includes the interaction of electromagnetic waves with matter and the formation of optical images.

You should study:

• Refractive index

• Dispersion

• Polarisation

• Brewster angle

• Polarizers

• Malus' law

• Optical images

• Thin lenses

• Lens equation

• Ray diagrams

• Shadows

• Luminous flux

• Illuminance

• Luminous intensity

Optical devices such as telescopes, microscopes, diffraction gratings, and interferometers are also included. Their magnification and resolving power are relevant areas of study.

Relativity and Quantum Physics

Modern physics is also covered in the syllabus. Relativity focuses on concepts needed to understand high-speed particles and relativistic systems.

Important areas include:

• Principle of relativity

• Lorentz transformations

• Space-time interval

• Rest mass

• Mass-energy equivalence

• Time dilation

• Length contraction

• Relativity of simultaneity

• Addition of parallel velocities

• Photon energy and momentum

• Relativistic Doppler effect

• Relativistic equation of motion

• Conservation of energy and momentum

Quantum physics introduces the wave nature of particles and the structure of matter.

Quantum Physics Topics

You should study:

• Relationship between frequency and energy

• Relationship between wave vector and momentum

• Energy levels of hydrogen-like atoms

• Quantisation of angular momentum

• Uncertainty principle

• Emission and absorption spectra

• Molecular spectra

• Spectral width and excited-state lifetime

• Pauli exclusion principle

• Properties of elementary particles

• Compton scattering

• Atomic nuclei

• Nuclear energy levels

• Alpha, beta, and gamma decay

• Nuclear fission and fusion

• Neutron capture

• Mass defect

• Half-life

• Photoelectric effect

The focus is on understanding the physical meaning of these concepts and applying them to appropriate problems.

Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics

Thermodynamics covers heat, work, internal energy, entropy, gases, heat engines, and phase transitions. The IPhO Syllabus includes:

• Thermal equilibrium

• Reversible processes

• Internal energy

• Work and heat

• Kelvin temperature scale

• Entropy

• Open, closed, and isolated systems

• First and second laws of thermodynamics

• Kinetic theory of ideal gases

• Avogadro number

• Boltzmann factor

• Gas constant

• Ideal gas law

• Degrees of freedom

• Equipartition theorem

• Internal energy of ideal gases

• Root-mean-square speed

• Isothermal processes

• Isobaric processes

• Isochoric processes

• Adiabatic processes

• Specific heat

• Carnot cycle

• Heat engine efficiency

You should also study phase transitions, latent heat, saturated vapour pressure, humidity, boiling, Dalton's law, and heat conduction.

Statistical physics includes Planck's law at a qualitative level, Wien's displacement law, and the Stefan-Boltzmann law.

Experimental Skills for IPhO

The experimental examination tests more than your ability to take measurements. You need to understand the setup, select suitable methods, analyse observations, and estimate uncertainties.

The syllabus includes practical measurement and data-analysis skills.

Measurement Techniques

You should be familiar with common laboratory instruments such as:

• Vernier scales

• Calipers

• Stopwatches

• Thermometers

• Multimeters

• Voltmeters

• Ammeters

• Ohmmeters

• Potentiometers

• Diodes

• Transistors

• Lenses

• Prisms

• Optical stands

• Calorimeters

You may also encounter equipment such as oscilloscopes, counters, signal generators, function generators, and photogates. When such equipment is used, appropriate instructions should be provided.

Accuracy and Uncertainty

You should understand how instruments and measurement methods can affect experimental results.

Important areas include:

• Random errors

• Systematic errors

• Dominant sources of error

• Absolute uncertainty

• Relative uncertainty

• Repeated measurements

• Uncertainty propagation

• Linear approximation

• Addition by modulus

• Pythagorean addition

• Significant figures

• Correct rounding

You should also be able to judge whether an estimated uncertainty is reasonable for a measurement.

Data Analysis and Graphs

Data analysis is an important experimental skill. You should know how to transform a relationship into a suitable linear form and analyse experimental data.

The main areas include:

• Plotting experimental data

• Selecting suitable graph scales

• Drawing error bars

• Linear regression

• Gradient and intercept

• Estimating uncertainty

• Graphical methods

• Statistical calculator functions

Graphs should have suitable titles, labelled axes, units, data points, and error bars when required.

Mathematics Required for IPhO

Mathematics provides the tools needed to express and solve physics problems. However, the competition is not intended to test mathematical speed or advanced mathematical techniques.

Algebra

You should know:

• Factorisation and expansion

• Linear equations

• Systems of equations

• Quadratic equations

• Biquadratic equations

• Arithmetic series

• Geometric series

You should also be able to identify physically meaningful solutions.

Functions and Geometry

The required functions include:

• Trigonometric functions

• Inverse-trigonometric functions

• Exponential functions

• Logarithmic functions

• Polynomial functions

Geometry includes degrees and radians, similar triangles, areas and volumes, circles and ellipses, spheres, cylinders, cones, prisms, sine and cosine rules, inscribed and central angles, Thales' theorem, medians, centroids, and conic sections.

Vectors and Complex Numbers

You should understand vector addition, dot products, cross products, double cross products, and scalar triple products.

Complex numbers are also included. You should know their algebraic, trigonometric, and exponential forms and be able to work with complex roots of quadratic equations.

Statistics and Calculus

Statistics includes basic probability, mean values, standard deviation, and standard deviation of group means.

Calculus covers:

• Derivatives

• Integration

• Definite and indefinite integrals

• Substitution

• Geometrical interpretation of derivatives and integrals

• Constants of integration

• Gradient vectors

Basic approximation and numerical methods include Taylor-based approximations, linearisation, perturbation methods, and numerical integration.

How to Prepare Using the Syllabus

You can use the syllabus as a checklist while preparing for the Olympiad. Start by building a strong understanding of each major physics area. Then solve problems that require you to apply more than one concept.

For theoretical preparation:

• Revise concepts instead of memorising formulas alone.

• Practise problems involving multiple physics concepts.

• Work on modelling and approximation.

• Improve your mathematical application skills.

• Solve previous Olympiad-level problems.

• Check the physical meaning of your final answers.

For experimental preparation:

• Practise taking accurate measurements.

• Learn how to identify major sources of uncertainty.

• Work with repeated measurements.

• Practise plotting and interpreting graphs.

• Revise error propagation and significant figures.

• Learn to explain your experimental reasoning clearly.

You can also refer to the official IPhO syllabus PDF when creating a detailed topic checklist for preparation.

The IPhO Syllabus covers a broad range of physics and supporting skills. Mechanics, electromagnetism, waves, optics, relativity, quantum physics, and thermodynamics form the major theoretical areas. Experimental skills, uncertainty analysis, data handling, and mathematics are also important.

You should use the syllabus as a preparation framework rather than as a list of formulas to memorise. Combine conceptual study with problem-solving, mathematical application, experimental practice, and careful analysis of results. This approach can help you build the skills required to handle unfamiliar physics problems in the Olympiad.

Preparation Resources:

• PW Olympiad Online Batches

• Olympiad Test Series