Kinematics & Dynamics
BPhO Round 0
30 questions
Answer key
Projectiles, inclined planes and friction, Atwood machines, collisions and momentum, circular motion, power and impulse.
BPhO Round 0 Past Papers & Solutions
British Physics Olympiad Round 0
BPhO Round 0 sample paper and official information — the new 1-hour, 25-question multiple-choice qualifying round introduced before BPhO Round 1.
- Eligibility
- Year 12–13 students
- Format
- 25 multiple-choice questions — knowledge, calculation, elimination and problem solving
- Duration
- 1 hour
- Scoring
- Non-calculator; answers on a scanned MCQ sheet; Round 1 entry decided from the mark distribution
BPhO Round 0 is the new first step of the UK physics olympiad. Introduced because Round 1 entries outgrew what could be marked, it is a one-hour, non-calculator paper of 25 multiple-choice questions — a few at middling A-Level standard, a few at harder A-Level extension, leading on to genuinely challenging problems. Performance on Round 0 now decides who is invited to sit Round 1 in November, so MCQ speed, estimation and elimination technique matter as much as the physics itself.
BPhO Round 0 past papers and solutions by year
Every link below opens the official BPhO PDF directly. Sit the paper timed, mark it against the solutions, then read the extended solutions once you have written up your own attempt.
BPhO Round 0 Mock Papers
Full-length practice papers, free to download. Worked solutions unlock with your email and WhatsApp.
BPhO Round 0 Mock Paper 1
Full-length BPhO Round 0 style mock paper 1 — free to download. Worked solutions available.
BPhO Round 0 Mock Paper 2
Full-length BPhO Round 0 style mock paper 2 — free to download. Worked solutions available.
BPhO Round 0 Mock Paper 3
Full-length BPhO Round 0 style mock paper 3 — free to download. Worked solutions available.
BPhO Round 0 Mock Paper 4
Full-length BPhO Round 0 style mock paper 4 — free to download. Worked solutions available.
BPhO Round 0 Practice Worksheets
Topic-by-topic multiple-choice worksheets written by One Mentor Academy physics mentors, following the BPhO Round 0 syllabus. Every PDF includes a full answer key.
Mechanics
Materials
Materials & Solid Mechanics (Foundation)
Foundation
30 questions
Answer key
Density, basic Hooke's law, interpreting force-extension graphs, defining stress and strain, and calculating the Young modulus.
Materials & Solid Mechanics
BPhO Extended
30 questions
Answer key
Density, Hooke's law, spring networks, elastic and plastic deformation, tensile stress, strain, strain energy density and Young modulus.
Electricity
Current, Potential Difference, Resistance and Ohm's Law
BPhO Round 0
31 questions
Answer key
Current, potential difference, resistance, resistivity, Ohm's law, EMF and internal resistance, drift velocity and meters.
Electricity & DC Circuits
BPhO Round 0
30 questions
Answer key
EMF and internal resistance, series and parallel networks, potential dividers, potentiometers, Wheatstone bridges and Kirchhoff's laws.
Capacitance & Energy Stored
BPhO Round 0
30 questions
Answer key
Capacitor networks, parallel-plate capacitors, dielectrics, charge sharing and energy stored. Time-dependent RC charging/discharging is excluded.
Waves & Optics
Progressive Waves
BPhO Round 0
30 questions
Answer key
Wave equation, phase difference, wave speed, transverse and longitudinal waves, intensity and the electromagnetic spectrum.
Superposition & Standing Waves
BPhO Round 0
30 questions
Answer key
Stationary waves on strings and in pipes, Young's double slit, diffraction gratings, single-slit diffraction, coherence and beats.
Refraction & Total Internal Reflection
BPhO Round 0
30 questions
Answer key
Snell's law, refractive index, critical angle and total internal reflection, optical fibres, prisms and dispersion, apparent depth.
Modern Physics
Quantum Physics
BPhO Round 0
30 questions
Answer key
The photoelectric effect, photons, work function, threshold frequency and de Broglie wavelength.
Stuck on a BPhO Round 0 question?
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Other official BPhO Round 0 resources
What the paper tests
Mechanics
Circular motion, momentum, energy and Newtonian reasoning.
Electricity & fields
Circuits, fields and the photoelectric effect.
Waves & modern physics
Year 12 core topics stretched into problem solving.
MCQ technique
Estimation, unit checks and eliminating impossible options at speed.
Where it leads: Round 0 results determine entry to BPhO Round 1 in November — the first step on the road to the UK IPhO team. See our coaching programme.
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Past papers show you the gap; a mentor closes it. Our BPhO Round 0 mentors are medal winners who walk through every solution 1-to-1, then set targeted practice on the archetypes you lost marks on.
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Frequently asked questions
- What is BPhO Round 0?
- Round 0 is a new one-hour, 25-question multiple-choice paper that BPhO introduced before Round 1. It mixes knowledge, calculation, elimination and problem-solving questions, and Round 1 entry is now based on Round 0 performance.
- Where can I find BPhO Round 0 practice papers?
- BPhO publishes official sample questions on its Round 0 page — linked directly from this page. Because the round is new, the sample set is the best practice material; supplement it with F=ma and Physics Challenge multiple-choice papers for speed training.
- Is Round 0 a calculator paper?
- No — Round 0 is non-calculator. Your public-exam formula booklet is allowed. Train estimation and symbolic manipulation so arithmetic never costs you time.