Day 5

The theoretical round consisted of two major tasks. The first task was about vision: students had to demonstrate knowledge of the eye’s structure and explain how vision is corrected using glasses and lasers. The second concerned blood circulation in the human body, viewed through the prism of physics and biology.

For Howard Valero Hansen, an Indonesian student, the biology questions were the easiest part of the theoretical round, as they were mostly related to his current passion — genetics.

"I am studying physics hard. And in the theoretical part, the most difficult question was related to this discipline. Participating in IJSO is a real test of my knowledge. In the future, I want to become a mechanical engineer or work in robotics. International Olympiads are always about new knowledge and acquaintances. I’m really happy to have time to get both," said the participant of the Indonesian team.​

Yu-Chen Ma, a participant from Taiwan, admits that despite having enough time provided by the IJSO organizers, none of the members of his team was able to fully complete the tasks.

"In today’s round, I particularly liked the tasks related to fluid dynamics. My favorite subject is physics because I prefer to analyze and process information rather than just memorize facts. I’ve recently started getting interested in programming. The IJSO results will greatly help me decide on my future profession," he said.​