Terms of use

The short version: this is an independent guide, it is not the contest, and nothing here overrides what AAPT publishes.

Non-affiliation

The PhysicsBowl is a contest of the American Association of Physics Teachers. This website is independent: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or operated by AAPT. “AAPT” and “PhysicsBowl” are used here only to describe the contest this guide is about. Official contest information is published at aapt.org.

What this site is

A plain-language guide to a physics competition, plus preparation support offered separately by its publisher. It exists because the published rules are spread across a number of pages and are easy to misread, particularly for students sitting the exam outside the United States.

Accuracy, and its limits

Every factual claim here is written from what AAPT has published, and we correct errors as soon as we find them. But rules, fees, dates and regions change from cycle to cycle, and a page that was right last season may be out of date by the next. Before you rely on anything here for a decision — entering, paying, or arranging a proctor — confirm it against aapt.org. If this site and AAPT disagree, AAPT is correct and we are wrong.

Where AAPT has not published something, this site says so rather than filling the gap with a guess. Any figure we derive ourselves is labelled as derived.

What we do, and do not, do

We offer a registration service: on request, we arrange a student’s entry through the official channel for their region — AAPT, or for Asia and the Middle East the registration body AAPT routes those regions through. The entry itself is always made through that official channel, and the exam fee follows the test centre’s notice.

We do not operate a test centre, proctor exams, mark papers, issue certificates, or influence results or awards in any way. Nothing on this site creates any entitlement to entry, to a particular score, or to an award.

No guarantees of outcome

Nothing here is a promise about results, awards, rankings, or university admission. Where this site discusses what the contest asks of a student, that is a description of the exam, not a prediction about how any individual will perform or where it will lead.

Preparation services

Where this site describes preparation courses offered by its publisher, those are commercial services of the publisher, wholly separate from the contest and from AAPT. Buying one confers no advantage in, or relationship with, the contest itself.

Content and use

The text and design of this site are its publisher’s. You are welcome to read it, link to it, and quote short passages with attribution. Republishing pages wholesale is not permitted. Material referenced from AAPT remains AAPT’s.

External links

Links to aapt.org and to registration bodies are provided because they are the correct destination for the matter at hand. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content.

Changes

These terms may change; the date above tracks the current version. Continuing to use the site after a change means the current version applies.

Questions

If anything here is unclear, or you believe something on this site is wrong, tell us — see the contact page. Corrections are welcome and are acted on.