originally based on the american chemical society's general chemistry test, physicsbowl was used as an external benchmark for physics teachers to assess student performance starting in 1983. the contest was first administered nationally in 1985 as the "metrologic exam," named after its original sponsor, and was renamed to "physics bowl" in 1990. in 2002, the test expanded to include a second division. division i students complete questions 1 through 40, while division ii students complete questions 11-50. the division 2 contest contains more difficult questions and is made for students with advanced conceptual understanding of physics. students participating in the division 2 contest usually take more than a year of physics while students who participate in the division 1 contest usually take a year or less of physics. thus the whole test is 50 questions long, but each student must only complete 40, and the middle 30 questions overlap between divisions.