The Chemistry Olympiad is an international competition for high school students. Talented chemistry students compete at the local level, with winners moving on to national competitions. Four winners from each country go on to compete against teams from around the world.
* History
The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) started in the former nation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 as an extension of national competitions then being held within Soviet bloc countries. Due to various rifts between the countries, only Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary participated in the competition’s first year.
As the years passed, other Eastern European countries joined in. Western European countries started entering the competition in 1974, and the United States joined in ten years later.
The Olympiad continues to attract more countries from around the world. The 43rd International Chemistry Olympiad, held in Ankara, Turkey, July 9-18, 2011, had 72 countries participating and an additional seven countries observing.
* Local competitions
Approximately 10,000 students compete each year in the first round of competition in the United States, which takes place in March. The competition consists of a multiple-choice exam. The U.S. exams from 2000 to 2011 are available online, if you’d like to try one yourself.
Students are selected to go on to the national level by a combination of their competition test scores and teacher recommendations.
* U.S. national competition
Approximately 1,000 students make it to the national level of competition in the U.S. They take a three-part exam. Two parts are written, one multiple-choice and the other free response, and the third part takes place in a lab, where contestants must demonstrate their problem-solving skills.
The top twenty scorers are invited to a two-week study camp held in the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
Four team members and two alternates are chosen from the study camp group to represent the United States in the international competition.
* International competition
Students compete at the international level with a five hour written test and a five hour laboratory test.
Problem sets from prior years are available online.
* Goals of the competition
Like the Olympics for athletes, the Olympiad for promising chemistry students is intended not only to celebrate and reward outstanding achievement, but also to bring people together from around the world to promote international friendship and cooperation. On the local level, the competitions help motivate talented students to pursue careers in science.
