How Id Prepare for a Physics Olympiad - Nuclear Physics @zhelyo_physics

How Id Prepare for a Physics Olympiad - Nuclear Physics @zhelyo_physics

Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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In this video we solve a problem from the International Physics Olympiad, IPhO. The problem looks at Binding Energy and a model of it.

We also derive the formula for the nuclear radius commonly used in A Level Physics.
This problem is excellent practice for Physics Olympiads but also can be used as a challenge problem for A Level Physics for all exam boards including AQA A Level Physics, OCR A Level Physics, Edexcel, iEdexcel, CIE, Eduqas, WJEC etc.

The original problem can be found here: ipho.olimpicos.net/pdf/IPhO_2010_Q3.pdf
Ans the official mark scheme: ipho.olimpicos.net/pdf/IPhO_2010_S3.pdf

Chapters:
00:00 the model of closely packed nucleons
03:36 Average Mass Density of the Nucleus
06:16 Average Charge Density of the Nucleus
07:44 Nuclear Radius Derivation
10:07 Binding Energy - volume and surface terms
22:00 Derivation of the electrostatic potential energy of a sphere for fun
29:22 Electrostatic Effects of the binding energy

How Id Prepare for a Physics Olympiad - Nuclear Physics

How was Paper 1 A Level Physics?

ALL of A Level Electricity in 1 hour

$ALL of AQA Waves in 72 Minutes - Paper 1 A level Physics Revision My Physics Tutoring: https://zphysicslessons.net/physics-tutoring Prepare for Paper 3: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3L5MO3gJTlB09wmmHGW5Qg/join In this video we go over the whole of AQA waves specification in A Level Physics. It is also applicable to other exam boards such as OCR A Level Physics, Edexcel, Eduqas, WJEC, CIE etc. In this video we cover: 00:00 Oscillation of particles in medium - basic terms 01:38 Phase of a Wave 03:13 Phase Difference 03:57 Example Question - Phase Difference 05:41 Phase Difference Formulae 06:45 Transverse and Longitudinal Waves 07:48 Polarisation 09:30 Polarisation application - Polaroids 12:00 Polarisation application - aerials and transmitters 13:15 Stationary Waves - Formation 13:41 Differences between stationary and progressive waves 15:40 Phase in Stationary Waves 17:53 Harmonics 20:42 Example Problem - Stationary Waves 22:55 The First Harmonic Equation 26:13 Mass per unit length 27:44 The principle of superposition 29:07 Path Difference 31:19 Coherence 33:06 Youngs Double Slit Experiment 35:23 Conditions for Interference 36:51 Fringe Separation Equation 37:57 Derivation of Fringe Separation Equation 42:08 Superposition Example Problem 44:13 Conditions for a Maximum - Example 45:43 Conditions for a Minimum - Example 46:43 Fringe Separation Equation Example 48:40 Interference using white light 50:34 What is diffraction? 51:06 Diffraction from a single slit from monochromatic source 51:54 Diffraction from a single slit from white light 52:51 Variation of Central Maximum Width 53:58 Diffraction Grating Equation 57:35 Maximum number of Fringes in diffraction grating 01:00:14 Derivation of Diffraction Grating Equation 01:02:30 Safety in Lasers 01:03:22 Refractive Index 01:07:12 Snells Law of Refraction 01:07:33 Total Internal Reflection and Critical Angle 01:10:12 Fibre Optic Cables - modal and material dispersion$ $Physics Misteaks that cost A Grades To try everything Brilliant has to offer—free—for a full 30 days https://brilliant.org/Zphysics The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant’s annual premium subscription. This video is sponsored by Brilliant. Huge thanks to them! Join my Physics Tutoring: https://zphysicslessons.net/physics-tutoring My Physics Workbooks: https://zphysicslessons.net/my-workbooks Join my free Physics Newsletter: https://zphysicslessons.net/about Here are some extremely common A level Physics mistakes as based on the 2022 papers from all exam boards including OCR, AQA, Edexcel, CIE etc. Please note these are not official solutions and I am not affiliated with an exam board. If you spot a more efficient way of solving something or a mistake, please let me know! These topics are excellent for physics revision and they are crucial for ways to learn physics well, problem solve and analyse a-level physics solutions. Chapters: 00:00 2D Momentum 01:52 Weight Newtonian Pair 02:52 Multi Step Calc - diffraction and doppler 05:30 Try this! 06:37 Mass of a volume of fluid 07:50 Newtons 2nd Law for variable mass 08:47 Trick I wish I learned earlier! Units 09:45 Radioactive Decay and Half Life 11:03 Beta Decay Graph 12:26 Explanation Questions - refractive index 13:48 Potential Divider Trick 15:23 My Physics Tutoring 15:34 When you cant use SUVAT Some of the questions are from the 2022 Modelling Physics Paper from OCR as credited in the video. Please find the original paper here: https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/676906-question-paper-modelling-physics.pdf And the Mark Scheme: https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/677043-mark-scheme-modelling-physics.pdf Examiners report: https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/687915-examiners-report-modelling-physics.pdf To support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3L5MO3gJTlB09wmmHGW5Qg/join$

IMPORTANT A Level Physics Topic

$All of Edexcel Waves in 67 Minutes My Physics Tutoring: https://zphysicslessons.net/physics-tutoring Extra Help: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3L5MO3gJTlB09wmmHGW5Qg/join Join my Free Mailing List: https://zphysicslessons.net/about In todays video we cover the whole of Edexcel and iEdexcel A Level Physics Waves. We cover everything from superposition to optics and rays for the Edexcel and international Edexcel syllabus/specificaiton. Please note that these solutions are not official and there may be mistakes. Please check the official Edexcel website for official mark scheme solutions: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-a-levels/physics-2015.html The amazing standing wave animation shown: https://www.walter-fendt.de/html5/phen/standingwavereflection_en.htm Chapters: 00:00 Wave Definitions 01:58 The Wave Equation 02:46 Transverse and Longitudinal Waves 03:55 Longitudinal Waves Displacement Distance Graphs 07:26 Transverse Waves Graphs 08:10 Core practical speed of sound 11:13 Wavefront coherence path and phase difference 12:48 Phase Difference deep dive 15:50 Superposition 16:45 Interference and conditions 18:34 Superposition problems 20:46 Stationary Waves visualisation 22:08 Standing Wave on a string 23:26 Standing Wave problem 24:55 The speed of a wave on a string 27:05 Harmonics 28:20 Intensity 29:49 Refractive Index 31:37 Snells Law 34:07 Total Internal Reflection and Critical Angle 37:08 Critical Angle Problem 40:51 Focal Length of Converging and Diverging Lenses Edexcel Only 42:54 Ray Diagram Convering Lens Edexcel Only 44:04 Real and Virtual Image Edexcel Only 46:05 Diverging Lens Diagram Edexcel Only 46:44 Power of a Lens 48:35 Power of a Lens submerged in water 49:40 The Lens Equation 50:56 Lens Practice question 54:21 Polarisation 58:47 Diffraction Huygens Principle 01:01:37 Huygens Principle Sample Problem 01:02:56 Diffraction Gratings$

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How I'd Prepare for a Physics Olympiad - Nuclear Physics