Competitions · Physics · ASOP
ASOP, the Australian Physics Olympiad.
Two hours of physics with ten minutes of reading time before it starts - a small detail that tells you what the paper is for. ASOP tests whether a student can carry physical reasoning into a described situation, not whether they can recall a result.
At a glance
What the olympiad is, and where it sits.
ASOP is the physics component of the Australian Science Olympiads, run by Australian Science Innovation from the Australian National University. The series also covers chemistry, biology, and earth and environmental science.
- Organiser
- Australian Science Innovation (ASI), headquartered at the Australian National University
- Part of
- The Australian Science Olympiads - physics, chemistry, biology, and earth and environmental science
- What it selects for
- The Australian national teams for the international physics, chemistry, biology and earth science olympiads
- Who can enter
- High-school students in any year with the ability to attempt it
- Format
- Individual. Sat online or on paper
- Duration
- 130 minutes in total - 10 minutes reading time, then 120 minutes of exam
- Language
- English
- Where
- At partner schools
- When
- Mid-October, with registration closing about ten days earlier
- What it tests
- Applying physical reasoning to the scenario a question describes, across a wide range of physics concepts
The reading period
Ten minutes before you may write.
A dedicated reading period is rare in a physics competition, and it changes how the paper should be approached.
The scenarios take reading
ASOP builds questions around described situations rather than bare statements. Ten minutes exists because understanding what is being asked is a genuine part of the work.
Use it to plan, not to start
The value of the period is deciding which questions to take and in what order. A candidate who spends it re-reading question one has wasted the one moment of the paper with no time pressure.
And to spot the physics
Most ASOP questions turn on recognising which principle applies. That recognition is easier without a clock running, which is precisely what the reading period provides.
Then two hours to write
The exam itself is 120 minutes. Knowing the shape of the paper before it starts is worth more than the ten minutes costs.
What it asks
Reasoning applied, not knowledge recited.
The organisers are explicit that this is a reasoning paper. That framing is the most useful guide to preparing for it.
Physical reasoning in a described scene
Questions set out a situation and ask what physics governs it. The difficulty is in the modelling step rather than in the algebra that follows.
Broad rather than deep
The paper covers a wide range of physics concepts, so gaps are exposed more readily than on a narrow syllabus. Breadth of foundation matters here.
A solid base is assumed
The organisers expect a firm grounding in school physics and the ability to solve genuine problems with it. This is not a paper to enter as a first competition.
Part of a national selection series
Because ASOP feeds Australia’s international team selection, it is calibrated against students who intend to compete internationally.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares students for ASOP.
A reasoning paper cannot be prepared for by covering more content. What can be trained is the step from a described situation to the physics that governs it.
Modelling described situations
Practice uses problems stated as scenarios rather than as equations, because turning the first into the second is the skill being assessed.
Rehearsing the reading period
Ten minutes of planning is only useful if a student knows what to do with it. Timed practice includes the reading period so it is used deliberately.
Closing breadth gaps
Because the paper ranges widely, preparation audits the whole foundation rather than deepening a strong area. A gap anywhere is likely to be met.
Two hours of sustained work
The full length is sat before the day. Concentration across 120 minutes of problem-solving is a separate matter from being able to do the problems.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for ASOP at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for ASOP is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own ASOP students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast papers, every year the organiser has released
- PDFWorked solutions, where the organiser publishes them
- PDFThe syllabus on one page - every topic, and how heavily it is examined
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Huang
A College Board-accredited AP teacher. Read mathematics and physics in Southeast University's honours programme, took a master's in aerospace engineering at George Washington University under the lead of NASA's Sigma programme, and a second master's in robotics and AI at Melbourne. Five years teaching international curricula and competitions.
Ding
Master's in physics from Brown University after the physics honours programme at Central China Normal University, with a Berkeley BISP exchange. Two years as a graduate teaching assistant, then teaching alongside Professor Enrico Pajer (cosmology) and Professor Anastasia Romanou (exoplanets). College Board-accredited.
Lu
Master's in astrophysics from UCL after an astronomy degree at Xiamen University. In international education since 2019, teaching for logical structure and framework first - efficient methods and flexible problem-solving over rote coverage.
Student results
What Hanlin students got.
Taken from Hanlin's published record of student honours and rewritten in English. Figures are as the organisers reported them.
ASOP
- 2025One student was selected for the Australian physics olympiad national training camp, having also been offered a place at the chemistry camp
The full record, across every subject and year, is on the student honours page.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for ASOP, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
Or call +86 21 6352 6630FAQ
ASOP, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
What is ASOP?
The physics component of the Australian Science Olympiads, run by Australian Science Innovation from the Australian National University. The series also covers chemistry, biology, and earth and environmental science.
Who can enter?
High-school students in any year who are able to attempt it. Because the series selects Australia’s international teams, the paper is calibrated for students competing at that level.
How long is the exam?
130 minutes in total: ten minutes of reading time followed by 120 minutes of examination.
What is the reading time for?
ASOP builds questions around described scenarios, so understanding what is being asked takes real reading. The period is best used to decide which questions to take and in what order.
What does the paper test?
Applying physical reasoning to the situation a question describes, across a wide range of physics concepts. The modelling step matters more than the algebra.
Is it sat on paper or online?
Either. It is an individual paper sat at partner schools, available in both formats.
What language is it in?
English.
Should this be a first competition?
Generally not. The organisers assume a firm grounding in school physics and the ability to solve genuine problems with it, so a student is better served entering something broader first.
Related
Other physics contests.
What students commonly enter alongside ASOP.
ASOP enquiries
Ten minutes of reading is part of the paper.
ASOP asks students to find the physics inside a described situation, and gives them time to read before they start. Tell us the student’s year group and what they have already sat, and an advisor will map the October entry.