Training materials
This page contains our very own handouts that we have crafted for the physics club sessions (running every Saturday since September 2024), along with resources that we recommend for anyone who wants to practice for the Rwandan Physics Olympiad (or any other physics olympiad, for that matter).
Our handouts are designed to be accessible, but often cover problems that are more advanced than the Rwandan Physics Olympiad problems - so don't be discouraged if you find them hard! Some of the other resources below, such as Isaac Physics, serve as a great bridge between high school physics and olympiad physics, and you can practice your skills there first and then proceed to our handouts, and many of the other excellent resources listed below.Our handouts will often have an introduction/preface written by me which contains some physics olympiad advice and/or ruminations on the physics topic at hand (We may get some things wrong in this, if you do see anything that looks odd don't be afraid to reach out and let us know). The handouts are still very much a work in progress, and will grow over time. If you have any questions/comments/corrections, just reach out!
Nota bene: The vast majority of the questions are from other (excellent) sources! We have yet to attribute them properly in all of the handouts, and will instead list all the references I used here below (along with some other helpful resources). We highly encourage you to check them out if you are interested, and that they will forgive me for not providing closer citation within the handouts themselves.
Kinematics Mechanics- Introduction to Forces
- Geometric Force Techniques
- Introduction to Rotational Motion
- Introduction to Energy
- Generalized Coordinates
- Introduction to Circuits
- Circuits - Symmetries
- Introduction to Capacitors and Inductors
- Olympiad Tricks for Capacitors and Inductors
References
Books/texts
- Jaan Kalda's handouts
- Kevin Zhou's handouts
- Problems in General Physics, I.E. Irodov
- Aptitude Test Problems in Physics, S.S. Krotov
- 200 Puzzling Physics Problems, P. Gnädig & G. Honyek & K.F. Riley
- 200 More Puzzling Physics Problems, P. Gnädig & G. Honyek & M. Vigh
- Selected Problems in Physics, Shaskol'skaya & Eltsin
- Selected Problems on Physics, S.P. Myasnikov & T.N. Osanova
- Feynman Lectures - Exercises, R. Feynman
- Physics Olympiad - Basic to Advanced Exercises, Japan Physics Olympiad
- Problems & Solutions in Introductory Mechanics, David Morin
- Physics, D. Halliday & K. Krane & R. Resnick
- Introduction to Classical Mechanics, D. Morin
- Fundamental of Physics, D. Halliday & R. Resnick
- Physics Olympiad Hub