Stage V: IChO- International Chemistry Olympiad
The trained 4-member student team, 2 teacher leaders and 1 scientific observer constitute the delegation to represent India at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO).
Eligibility
- Students must be under the age of 20.
- They must not be enrolled as regular students in any post-secondary education institution.
Exam Structure and Pattern:
- IChO consists of two examinations- a theoretical exam and a practical exam.
- The exams have durations of up to 5 hours individually, and are held on different days, with the practical exam usually being before the theoretical exam.
- The theoretical exam has a value of 60 points and the practical examination has a value of 40 points which make the total 100 points.
- Theory and practical, both exams are evaluated independently from each other and the sum of the results of the examinations determines a participant's overall performance.
- A scientific jury, installed by the host country, suggests the tasks for the practical exam.
- An international jury, which consists of the 2 mentors from each of the participating countries, for e.g. India in your case, discusses the competition tasks and translates them into the language of their students' preference.
- The participating students receive the examinations translated into their languages of preference as mentioned prior. The mentors have the duty to translate the examinations from English to preferred language of the participants, before they are given to the participants.
- Once the exams get finished and are evaluated by a committee appointed by the host country, and before awards are presented to the toppers, the mentors discuss the evaluation of the exams with judges of the committee to assure fairness in their evaluation pattern.
- As the mentors review the examinations before they are given to participant students, any communication between the mentors and the students is strictly forbidden prior to the completion of both exams. Also, the students are required to surrender any mobile phones and laptop computers to the organizer.
Theoretical Exam:
The questions asked in the IChO theoretical exam are basically of 3 levels:
- Level 1: Constituent topics are included in the overwhelming majority of secondary school chemistry course and need not to be mentioned in the preparatory problems given out by the host country.
- Level 2: Constituent topics are included in a substantial number of secondary school course and maybe used without exemplification in the preparatory problems as laid by the host country.
- Level 3:Constituent topics are not included in the majority of secondary school course and can only be used in the competition if examples are given in the preparatory problems as issued by the host country.
Following is the detailed account of topics which are covered in the IChO. If anything apart from these arises, it has to be laid out in the preparatory guidelines by the host country prior to the competition.
Practical exam
The questions asked in the IChO practical exam are also of 3 levels:
- Level 1:Constituent topics are included in the overwhelming majority of secondary school chemistry course and need not to be mentioned in the preparatory guidelines given out by the host country
- Level 2:Constituent topics are included in a substantial number of secondary school course and maybe used without exemplification in the preparatory guidelines as laid by the host country.
- Level 3:Constituent topics are not included in the majority of secondary school course and can only be used in the competition if laid out properlyin the preparatory guidelines by the host country
Following are the topics for practical exams which are covered in the IChO. If anything apart from these arises, it has to be laid out in the preparatory guidelines by the host country prior to the competition and will be treated as level 3.