Deducting One Point Because You're Too Much of a Show-Off

The number of participants advancing to the semi-finals from the CPhO preliminary round is generally set at 6%.

The preliminary round is open to all, with no entry requirements. High school students who love physics and have some basic physics knowledge are welcome to register for the CPhO preliminary round.

The difficulty of the semi-finals and national finals will increase significantly, and the requirements for the contestants' physics level will become increasingly higher.

Similar to math competitions, achieving good results in physics competitions, as well as chemistry, biology, and essay writing competitions, can also lead to admission to prestigious universities.

"A score of 120 or above in the preliminary round should be enough to advance to the semi-finals. 200 points multiplied by 0.6 equals 120 points, which is the passing mark," Shen Qi chatted with his two teammates.

"Shen Qi, do you know that what you consider the passing grade is the lifeline for most people?" Bai Lingye disagreed with Shen Qi's point of view. He was a boy, although his name was androgynous and had a cross-dressing style.

Lin Xingyu said, "Shen Qi's vision is definitely higher, after all. What do you know, Bai Lingye?"

"Okay, okay, I don't understand. I should be grateful that I made it to the semi-finals."

Lin Xingyu and Bai Lingye are both high school sophomores. Of course, they fantasized about taking a shortcut through the physics competition and being admitted to Peking University or Tsinghua University like Shen Qi.

"Keep it up, you two! I'm rooting for you!" As the Boss in the senior year, Shen Qi encouraged his two junior brothers.

"I really hope to follow in your footsteps and go to Peking University to fight alongside you," Lin Xingyu said to Shen Qi with envy.

"Even if you go to Peking University, Xingyu, you'll be going to the Physics Department, right? To the place where Teacher Mu once fought," Shen Qi said.

"Mathematical Physics are inseparable, they're the same, we fight together." Lin Xingyu's eyes were filled with piety. "Brother Shen Qi, do you know that for us physics competition participants, the Physics Department of Peking University is like a holy land?"

"I know, so you need to work even harder." Shen Qi was certainly aware of the strength of the Physics Department at Peking University.

"The National Physics Olympiad Team has been entrusting the Physics Department of Yenching University with training for many years. In a mysterious corner of Yenching University, there is a Yenching University Physics Experimental Class. As long as you can get into that experimental class, even if the national team doesn't take you to the Ipho, Yenching University will keep you there." Lin Xingyu's expression was full of longing.

Shen Qi laughed and said, "It's not 'you,' it's 'me.' Come on, say it again."

Lin Xingyu stammered, "I... as long as I can get into that experimental class, even if the national team doesn't take me to IpohO, Peking University will keep me."

"That's right, Lin Xingyu, that's more like it. I'll be officially enrolling at Peking University in a few months, and I'll be waiting for you at Weiming Lake," Shen Qi said.

"My god... this is a bit too difficult." Lin Xingyu seemed unsure of himself. He had investigated and found that none of Shen Qi's teammates on the school's Math Olympiad team had been selected by Peking University or Tsinghua University. Among Shen Qi's teammates on the provincial Math Olympiad team, some went to Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, Tongji University, but none of them were selected by Peking University or Tsinghua University.

"Lin Xingyu, if we want to get into the Physics Experimental Class at Peking University, we at least need to advance to the CPhO National Final, right?" Bai Lingye had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up.

Lin Xingyu nodded solemnly. "Not only do you have to make it to the national finals, you also have to win an award. The physics experimental class at Yanda University only has 20 to 30 students who are rotated, and you have to win first prize in the national finals to be eligible to enter the physics experimental class at Yanda University."

"The national finals usually award 50 first prizes, so not only do you have to win the national finals first prize, but you also have to be in the top 30 in the total score for Yanda University's Physics Experimental Class to even glance at us, bro."

Bai Lingye: "My God..."

A few days later, the online self-service score checking system for the CPhO preliminary round was launched, and the preliminary scores of contestants across the country were released one after another.

Shen Qi entered his exam number and checked; damn it, 199 points.

Who graded the papers?

I, Old Shen, have fought my way up from the provincial level to the national level in math competitions, and then from Asia to the world. I've been through thick and thin, and the process has been arduous, but the results have been good. I've gotten full marks in math competitions at all levels, and even some bonus points.

Unexpectedly, his undefeated record was broken in the preliminary rounds of the physical competition.

The feeling of losing one's virginity is a little painful.

Nangang Second High School Physics Competition Team.

"Shen Qi got 199 points, amazing!" Lin Xingyu said sincerely. His preliminary score was 138 points, which was about what he had predicted.

"Not at all, I always get full marks in math competitions," Shen Qi stated calmly, without any hint of boasting.

"It's because you were too pretentious, Brother Shen Qi, that the examiner deducted one point from your score as a warning," Bai Lingye said. His preliminary score was 112, about ten points lower than his estimated score.

Lin Xingyu retorted, "Forced showing off will deduct points, but subtle showing off should add points; the skill level is different."

"You two are really a pair of idiots, they're so damn funny." Shen Qi laughed speechlessly.

The scores for the CPhO preliminary round are out. The school Physics Competition Team originally had 15 members, but now there are 13 left, with two eliminated.

The cutoff score for advancing to the semi-finals in the preliminary round was 98 points. The team led by Mu Rong had an 87% advancement rate in the preliminary round, far exceeding the national average of 6%.

But Mu Rong was still a little sad. In her opinion, it would be reasonable for 100% of the students who had received her physics competition training to pass the preliminary round. Even if there were unexpected circumstances, at most one person would be eliminated.

Now that two players have been eliminated, Mu Rong asked the team members, "Was it because I didn't teach them well?"

The team members replied, "No, Teacher Mu teaches very well."

"Then where did the problem lie?" Mu Rong asked unhappily.

"Teacher Mu, you've asked the wrong person. You should ask the two brothers who left," Shen Qi said. "Ask the rest of us. Who would dare say you're a bad teacher?"

"That's true." Mu Rong snapped out of the shadow of her bad start. She had persuaded the two team members who failed the preliminary round to go back to class. "You two can focus on your college entrance exams. This is for your own good."

Shen Qi asked, "Teacher Mu, if I use Gauss's Theorem to solve the last 25-point calculation problem, will the examiner deduct one point?"

Mu Rong shook her head. "No, who says you can't use Gauss's Theorem? Gauss's Theorem is included in the IPhO competition syllabus, and CPhO naturally follows the IPhO competition syllabus to align with international standards. Shen Qi, stop making excuses. You lost a point because one of your steps was not rigorous enough."

Shen Qi remained silent and did not argue. Teacher Mu was right; a mistake is a mistake. Deducting one point was because I didn't do well enough, and there was no need to make excuses.

"Although I haven't been leading this team for long, I sincerely hope that all of you will achieve great results in the Physics Competition and have a bright future. The preliminary rounds are over, and you've taken the first step, which is good news in any case."

Mu Rong walked around the lab with a folder in her hand. When she reached a team member, she handed out an A4 sheet of paper.

The A4 paper was densely covered with text on both sides:

Orders of magnitude of atoms and molecules

Molecular thermal motion and collisions, Brownian motion

Quantitative calculation of Maxwell's rate distribution (bold black text, underlined)

Sublimation of solids

Methods of heat transfer

Entropy increase (bold black text, underlined)

The concept of blackbody radiation, the Stepan- Bohr law, and Wien's displacement law (bold black text with underlines)

Coulomb's Law

Uniform electric field

Gauss's Theorem and its Applications in Symmetric Charged Systems (Bold Black Text with Underline)

A basic introduction to the Solar System, the Milky Way, the universe, and black holes (bold black text with underlines)

Mathematical foundation: All elementary mathematics at the secondary school level (including Analytic Geometry)

Simple rules involving single-variable calculus (bold black text, underlined)

It was obvious that Mu Rong had distributed a knowledge outline, and the remaining 13 Physics Competition Team each received one.

After distributing the outline, Mu Rong said, "Based on the preliminary exam papers, I have reorganized the CPhO competition outline. I have already covered 99% of the knowledge points in this outline during the initial theoretical training. I will supplement the remaining 1% within a week. The key points are highlighted in bold black; these are the points that will help you score higher."