APSMO

FAQ: Olympiad Contests

How do we receive Olympiad Questions?

Olympiad questions are either sent by mail to the school approximately one week before the official Olympiad date, or can be accessed from the Members' Area of this website.

A single copy of the question sheet is provided. The school is responsible for duplicating the question sheet for each student within the team(s).

Can the Olympiad Questions be emailed to me?

NO. For security reasons we do not email the Olympiad questions to schools.

The questions can be printed in the Members' Area.

How many Questions are in each Olympiad?

There are 5 questions in each Olympiad.
What is the time limit for each Olympiad?

The time limit for each Olympiad varies between 20 and 30 minutes depending on the difficulty level of the questions.

Each question has a recommended time.
Are calculators allowed?

No.
Are the Olympiads held during school time?

The Olympiads can be held during school time or outside of school time depending on the school time-table.
Do the Olympiads have to be held on the official Olympiad date?

We prefer that the Olympiads are held on the official date, however we do realise that the date may clash with timetables, excursions etc. For this reason the Olympiad may also be held on either the day before or the day after the official date.

Should it not be possible to hold the Olympiad on the allowed dates, an application for a date change can be made in advance.
How are the Olympiads marked?

The Olympiads are marked by the team PICO. Answers and solution methods are included with each Olympiad.

The results are submitted to APSMO Inc either in the Members' Area or via postal mail.
Can we appeal the official Olympiad answers?

Yes. If you believe that the official answer to an Olympiad question is incorrect, or there is another possible answer, appeals can be made in writing to APSMO Inc.

All appeals are considered by the APSMO Inc Board and the results are notified in the following newsletter.
How are the Olympiads scored?

Each question is worth 1 point, a total of 5 points for each Olympiad. There is an overall possible student score of 25 for the 5 Olympiads.
How do we submit Olympiad results?

Once the Olympiad papers have been marked, results can be submitted online in the Members' Area.

If internet access is not available, a results summary sheet can be completed and mailed to APSMO Inc.

Please note that these are the only accepted methods for results submission.
How are the scores for the Olympiad awards calculated?

Individual student scores are calculated from the sum of all 5 Olympiad results. The maximum possible student score is 25.

Team scores are calculated from the sum of the top 10 overall student scores. The maximum possible team score is 250.

Awards are issued based on the above calculations.