F = ma Exam Attention: There have been significant changes to the scheduling rules for the F=ma Exam beginning in 2018. In order to enhance exam security, in 2020 the exam can be given ONLY on Thursday, January 23 or Tuesday, January 28. The exams are different on each day and will have differing cutoffs for advancement to the semifinal based on each exams distinct statistics. Though differences in statistics are inevitable, AAPT intends to adjust the cutoffs to make them comparable. AAPT permits students to take BOTH exams, making this similar to the practice of the MAA regarding the A or B dates for the AMC 10 & 12. This year all students will be accommodated in a single session on each date. Each session will be in the same room and proceed by the same timetable; the only difference will be the dates, and, of course, the exam content. "A" Date: Thursday, January 23, 2020 Location: Center Hall, Room 109, UCSD Campus Arrive: 7:00pm Arrive on time and immediately fill in personal information on scantron forms. Begin exam: 7:20pm Late arrivals will be allowed to join the exam in progress, but will not receive additional time. End exam: 8:35pm "B" Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 Location: Center Hall, Room 109, UCSD Campus Arrive: 7:00pm Arrive on time and immediately fill in personal information on scantron forms. Begin exam: 7:20pm Late arrivals will be allowed to join the exam in progress, but will not receive additional time. End exam: 8:35pm Bring: #2 pencils, a quality eraser, and a scientific calculator. Warning: Parking is NOT free anywhere on campus at any time during the exam periods, and there is no parking available near the exam rooms. Please consult the UCSD maps tool here: maps.ucsd.edu and plan your arrival carefully, allowing extra time for parking and walking to the exam rooms. In most parking areas, permitting and payment is now easily handled through the ParkMobile phone app. If you are not yet familiar with this method, please look up Parkmobile in your app store and familiarize yourself with it. SDMC is authorized by the American Association of Physics Teachers as a higher education site for the US Physics Olympiad. This means that we will be authorized to administer the exam for any San Diego area students who do not have any other way to participate. The first stage of the US Physics Olympiad sequence is the "F=ma" exam, a 25 question, 75 minute, multiple choice exam focused on mechanics. The cost of the Physics Olympiad exams is greater than that of the corresponding AMC - AIME - USAMO sequence and is charged by AAPT on a per-student basis. At present there are wide uncertainties in the numbers of students who may wish to participate, which translates into wide uncertainties in cost. Students should anticipate that we may need to pass some or all of the per-student cost ($6) on to the students if turnout is large. Registration Registration is informal, but necessary. Copy/Paste the following template into an email message: Signing up for: F=ma SDMC ID Code: (if not an SDMC member, leave blank.) Student name: Student email: School grade: School name: Parent name: Parent email: Home phone: Preferred session choice: 1/23 1/28 Secondary session choice: 1/23 1/28 Please include "F=ma" in the subject line of your signup message and send it to: Students do not have to be SDMC members to participate in the F=ma competition. |
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