On Creating Olympiad Tasks: from Goal to Result

The article discusses the issue of preparing tasks for the chemistry Olympiad that take into account the varying levels of student training. The primary requirement for these tasks is that they should contain three levels of difficulty. The author criticizes the “carousel-type” tasks, which have a difficult entry point and reduce the differentiation of Olympiad tasks and students’ learning activity. Instead, he proposes using more effective problem structures: linear, radial, centripetal, sliding, and puzzle. The article emphasizes the importance of emotional engagement through contextualizing chemistry with real-life examples, which enhances not only the educational but also the learning experience. The article contains the texts of Olympiad problems, along with their solutions and methodological analysis.