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\title{Overview: Syllabi in other Science Olympiads}
\maketitle

\begin{abstract}
This article contains an overview of how 
other Science Olympiads handle the Syllabus issue.
\end{abstract}

The international olympiads in physics~(IPhO~\cite{ipho}),
chemistry (IChO~\cite{icho}), and biology (IBO~\cite{ibo}) have officially defined syllabi,
somehow connected to their regulations.
On the other hand,
the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO~\cite{imo})
does not have an official syllabus,
and this has been a deliberate decision.
It appears that the younger international olympiads in
astronomy (IAO~\cite{iao}), geography (IGeO~\cite{igeo}), and linguistics (ILO~\cite{ilo})
do not have an official syllabus.

\section{International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)}

\noindent
The ``General Regulations for an IMO'' state in C1:
\begin{quote}
``The problems should, if possible,
cover various fields of pre-university mathematics and
be of different degrees of difficulty.''
\end{quote}
In current IMO practice,
only four general topics occur:
%\begin{itemize}
%\item 
  Geometry,
%\item 
  Number Theory,
%\item
  Algebra,
%\item
  Combinatorics.
%\end{itemize}
(This is not an official policy.)
Note that these topics are often not covered extensively (if at all)
by mathematics curricula for secondary education in many countries.

\section{International Physics Olympiad (IPhO)}

\noindent
The IPhO Statutes state in~\S5:
\begin{quote}
``The theoretical problems should involve at least four areas of physics
taught at secondary school level, (see Syllabus).
Secondary school students should be able to solve the competition problems
with standard high school mathematics and without extensive numerical calculation.''
\end{quote}
And the IPhO Regulations to~\S5 state:
\begin{quote}
``The examination topics should require creative thinking and knowledge
contained within the Syllabus.
Factual knowledge from outside the Syllabus may be introduced
provided it is explained using concepts within the Syllabus.''
\end{quote}
The IPhO Syllabus seems to cover all physics generally taught in secondary education.
The \emph{Theoretical Part\/} is divided into 11~subfields:
%The Theoretical Part deals with:
%\begin{enumerate}
%\item
  Mechanics,
%\item
  Mechanics of Rigid Bodies,
%\item
  Hydromechanics,
%\item
  Thermodynamics and Molecular Physics,
%\item
  Oscillations and Waves,
%\item
  Electric Charge and Electric Field,
%\item
  Current and Magnetic Field,
%\item
  Electromagnetic Waves,
%\item
  Quantum Physics,
%\item
  Relativity,
%\item
  Matter.
%\end{enumerate}
The \emph{Practical Part\/} elaborates on
measurement, instruments, errors, approximation and curve fitting,
graphing, and safety in laboratory work.

\section{International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)}

The IChO Syllabus classifies topics on three levels:
\begin{description}
\item[Level~1]
  These topics are included in the overwhelming majority of secondary school chemistry programs
  and need not to be mentioned in the preparatory problems.
\item[Level 2]
 These topics are included in a substantial number of secondary school programs
 and maybe used without exemplification in the preparatory problems.
\item[Level 3]
 These topics are not included in the majority of secondary school programs
 and can only be used in the competition if examples are given in the preparatory problems.
\end{description}
The IChO Regulations state in~\S10 item~(3):
\begin{quote}
``The organizer cannot give theoretical problems of level~3 (Appendix~C)
from more than 3~fields and
a minimum of 6~tasks should be presented in the set of preparatory problems from each field.
Subjects assigned to level~3 can be classified as level~2
if sufficient background is included in the formulation of the problem
(e.g.\ formulas, graphs, structures, equations).''
\end{quote}
Also the IChO Syllabus seems to cover all chemistry generally taught in secondary education.
The general part of the (new) syllabus is divided into 12 subfields (10~pages in total):
%\begin{enumerate}
%\item
  The atom,
%\item
  Chemical bonding,
%\item
  Chemical calculations,
%\item
  Periodic trends,
%\item
  Inorganic chemistry,
%\item
  Physical chemistry,
%\item
  Chemical kinetics,
%\item
  Spectroscopy,
%\item
  Organic chemistry,
%\item
  Polymers,
%\item
  Biochemistry,
%\item
  Analytical chemistry.
%\end{enumerate}
A major part of the syllabus is devoted to safety and the handling and disposal of chemicals.
The \emph{Syllabus for the experimental part of the IChO competition\/} covers:
%\begin{enumerate}
%\item
  Synthesis of inorganic and organic compounds,
%\item
  Identification of inorganic and organic compounds (general principles),
%\item
  Determination of some inorganic and organic compounds (general principles),
%\item
  Special measurements and procedures,
%\item
  Evaluation of results.
%\end{enumerate}

\section{International Biology Olympiad (IBO)}

\noindent
The IBO Rules state in~\S4.1, concerning the selection of topics for the competition:
\begin{quote}
``All disciplines of biology are acceptable for the IBO.''
\end{quote}
In Appendix~I,
it is stated that ``the Theoretical test [\ldots] should cover the following
7~topics in the indicated proportions'':
%\begin{enumerate}
%\item
  Cell biology~(20\%),
%\item
  Plant anatomy and physiology~(15\%),
%\item
  Animal anatomy and physiology~(25\%),
%\item
  Ethology~(5\%),
%\item
  Genetics and Evolution~(20\%),
%\item
  Ecology~(10\%),
%\item
  Biosystematics~(5\%).
%\end{enumerate}
Each of these topic areas is described in more detail (8~pages in total).
The section on \emph{Basic Skills for the Practical Part of the IBO\/}
covers such things as science process skills,
basic biological skills, biological methods,
physical and chemical methods, microbiological methods,
statistical methods, and handling of equipment.


\begin{thebibliography}{99}

\bibitem%[IAO(2006)]
{iao}
IAO, \emph{International Astronomy Olympiad},
Internet WWW-site.\\
{\small\verb"http://www.issp.ac.ru/iao/"}
(accessed February~2006).

\bibitem%[IBO(2006)]
{ibo}
IBO, \emph{International Biology Olympiad},
Internet WWW-site.\\
{\small\verb"http://www.ibo-info.org/"}
(accessed February~2006).

\bibitem%[IChO(2006)]
{icho}
IChO, \emph{International Chemistry Olympiad},
Internet WWW-site.\\
{\small\verb"http://www.icho.sk/"}
(accessed February~2006).

\bibitem%[IGeO(2006)]
{igeo}
IGeO, \emph{International Geography Olympiad},
Internet WWW-site.\\
{\small\verb"http://www.geoolympiad.org/"}
(accessed February~2006).

\bibitem%[ILO(2006)]
{ilo}
ILO, \emph{International Linguistic Olympiad}.\\
Wikipedia:
{\scriptsize\verb"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Linguistic_Olympiad"}
(accessed February~2006).

\bibitem%[IMO(2006)]
{imo}
IMO, \emph{International Mathematical Olympiad}.\\
Wikipedia:
{\scriptsize\verb"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mathematical_Olympiad"}
(accessed February~2006).

\bibitem%[IOI(2006)]
{ioi}
IOI,
\emph{International Olympiad in Informatics},
Internet WWW-site.\\
\verb"http://www.IOInformatics.org/"
(accessed February~2006).

\bibitem%[IPhO(2006)]
{ipho}
IPhO, \emph{International Physics Olympiad},
Internet WWW-site.\\
{\small\verb"http://www.jyu.fi/tdk/kastdk/olympiads/"}
(accessed February~2006).

\end{thebibliography}

\end{document}
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