Olympaids - next round

Thats awesome well done, my teacher said he should get the marks back soon. About the exam how did u find it, did u asnwer all the Questions?

Reply 3

coldfusion

2

Apricots

Hi,
I did the Chemistry Olympiad before half term and didn't think much more of it. However, today my teacher got a call and I have got through to the next round. All I know is that this is a weekend at Keele university and I will have to do practical and written exams. Has anyone else got through either this year or previous years. I would be very intereseted to know what to expect, if/how I should prepare, how many of us will be there etc

Many thanks

Was that the second olympiad cos I did something similar in biology...I won't make it through the second round though to get to go to some university (I think Birmingham) to do some practicals and the likes. If you made it through you didn't just do well, you're like a genius!!

Reply 4

sal33m

true, its very tough getting to the next round, i hadnt even done half the syllabus when i sat it, but i still managed half marks, so i guess im happy with that.

Reply 5

Narin

in biology, only 12 people get invited to do the practical stage of the olympiad, not sure if it's the same in chemistry though.

Reply 6

coldfusion

2

Narin

in biology, only 12 people get invited to do the practical stage of the olympiad, not sure if it's the same in chemistry though.

Really...i expected more...anyway i wont be in one of those 12

Reply 7

Apricots

OP

Yeah I got some more details through, there will be 12 of us at Keele of which 5 go through to anothr training weekend and four of these go to Korea. I also have some revision topics and a link to some preparatory questions set by Korea - to be honest they all look pretty impossible.

Reply 8

iceman_jondoe

18

damn i wish i had done this olympiad thing for biology...sounds like fun

Reply 9

JitsuCol

How do students prepare for this? It must be far beyond the expected syllabus (deep into degree grade material). I've always found it impressive.

Reply 10

Twiglet

2

we havent been told results yet :frown:

Reply 11

JitsuCol

How do students prepare for this? It must be far beyond the expected syllabus (deep into degree grade material). I've always found it impressive.

The stuff they give you to learn for the olympiad further rounds is genearlly 1st year undergrad chemistry stuff. They don't expect you to know it all (or even learn it all), that is part of it - it's seeing how much you can work out. If you get through to the final 5, you go on a training weekend as Apricot said, this not only selects the team of 4, but also teaches you the stuff that you need to know which is above A level (it is generally Cambridge Chemistry lecturers that teach you). NB the topics to concentrate on are dictated by a set of practise questions that the international chemistry olympiad sets each year (from a different country depending on who's hosting it). In 2009 the international chemistry olympiad will actually be hosted by the UK (for the first time ever) in Cambridge.

The biology one is slightly different in that there are 2 large rounds before narrowing it down to a small group of people - Chemistry does this in one round.

There is some olympiad trivia for you :smile:

Reply 12

franks

we havent been told results yet :frown:

The results for the first round should have been sent to teachers over the easter holiday so you should find out when you go back. Only the 12 people who got through to Keele will know their results already.

Reply 13

Rofl

8

Apricots

Hi,
I did the Chemistry Olympiad before half term and didn't think much more of it. However, today my teacher got a call and I have got through to the next round. All I know is that this is a weekend at Keele university and I will have to do practical and written exams. Has anyone else got through either this year or previous years. I would be very intereseted to know what to expect, if/how I should prepare, how many of us will be there etc

Many thanks

That's why you're going to Oxford! :wink:

(Ace)

Reply 14

Rofl

That's why you're going to Oxford! :wink:

(Ace)

Although most years, most of the chemistry team end up going to Cambridge to do NatSci :rolleyes:

(they obviously haven't seen the light!) :wink:

Reply 15

cubanarmy

I've never heard of this Olympiad thing. What is it exactly?

Reply 16

cubanarmy

I've never heard of this Olympiad thing. What is it exactly?

Basically every year there are international competitions in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computing, Maths and Astrology (I think), where 4 students (pre-university) from each of about 60 countries competes in a certain country.

To select the teams of 4, the UK runs it's own internal olympiads which are basically exams! So lots of A level students up and down the country sit various rounds of exams and then can be awarded medals (gold, silver, bronze) if they do well. The top so many get through to the next round. The end result is a team of 4 to compete in the international competition.

Their aim is to stretch the brightest students and although it is mainly based on A level material it requires you to think about it in a different way to the A level exam. They are quite nice exams to sit as you don't need to worry about failing!

Reply 17

Narin

oxymoron

Although most years, most of the chemistry team end up going to Cambridge to do NatSci :rolleyes:

(they obviously haven't seen the light!) :wink:

haha, this year most (10) of the bio 12 were going for cambridge too. Conclusion: Cambridge attracts better scientists :aetsch:

Reply 18

Narin

haha, this year most (10) of the bio 12 were going for cambridge too. Conclusion: Cambridge attracts better scientists :aetsch:

Yeah, whatever! I don't believe that's a fair test :p:

.
Go Oxford. :wink:

Sorry, I'll try and keep the cambridge-bashing to the Oxford subforum.

PS in my year, only about half the 10 were going for cambridge, although 4 of the final 5 were.

Reply 19

cubanarmy