The final round of the Road to Olympia 2023 ended with the victory of contestant Le Xuan Manh, grade 12, Ham Rong High School, Thanh Hoa province with 220 points. However, this final match also caused controversy with two questions and answers in the Finishing round.

Controversial Chemistry Question

In the final round of the contestant Nguyen Trong Thanh (Tran Phu High School for the Gifted - Hai Phong), there was a question: "Liquid glass is used to make glass glue, ceramics and many other applications. Please tell me whether liquid glass is a concentrated solution of two compounds (state the molecular formula)?".

This question is worth 20 points and Trong Thanh placed the hope star.

Initially, he gave the answer "Na2SiO3 and K2SiO3", but just a few seconds later he changed the answer to "Sodium Silicate and Potassium Silicate".

The answer was different from the answer given by the Road to Olympia organizers. Therefore, Viet Thanh (Soc Son High School, Hanoi) was allowed to answer the question. With the answer "Na2SiO3 and K2SiO3", MC Ngoc Huy accepted and increased the score for contestant Viet Thanh.

MC Ngoc Huy said the reason Trong Thanh answered incorrectly was because he did not review the question carefully. The question clearly asked for the molecular formula, so the final answer we received was not the molecular formula.

Immediately, Trong Thanh raised his hand to object: "The molecular formula is placed in parentheses so it can be stated or not. Because the question only requires us to point out which two compounds, we can read the names of the substances."

The answer to this question must be given to the advisory board. Associate Professor Dr. Tran Trung Ninh - Head of the Department of Teaching Methods, Faculty of Chemistry, Hanoi National University of Education, said that Trong Thanh's answer was correct and acceptable.

Viet Thanh then said that if both the name and formula were stated, there was no need to include parentheses, and if there were parentheses, the correct molecular formula must be stated.

"Regarding the meaning of substances, you can read the name or read the formula. When talking about a substance, people often use the substance's name. Opening parentheses is just a note for additional details. I think reading the name is enough," said advisor Tran Trung Ninh.

The final decision of the advisory board was to accept Trong Thanh's initial answer, helping him increase his score to 165 points. However, this answer left Viet Thanh somewhat unsatisfied.

1. Controversial question in the Finish Line competition.

Answers to the question Argumentative Literature

Also in the Finish Line contest, the 30-point question of contestant Minh Triet (Hue National High School for the Gifted) asked: "In the poem Dear Mr. Nguyen Du, poet To Huu wrote: "Who knows who in the future will cry with To Nhu?/Tomorrow, no matter when.../The verses of the past, who would have thought today!". Which two verses of the past are the "verses of the past" that the author is referring to and in which poem by Nguyen Du?".

Minh Triet could not answer, the remaining candidates were given the right to answer.

Le Xuan Manh (Ham Rong High School - Thanh Hoa) gave the answer: "I wonder if in three hundred years, will anyone cry for To Nhu?" and gave the excerpts from the poem "Doc Tieu Thanh Ky".

The answer was accepted by the MC, helping Xuan Manh increase from 190 points to 220 points, taking the lead.

Trong Thanh immediately raised his hand to express his opinion that the exam question asked which poem by Nguyen Du had to be read in its original form (Chinese characters), and could not be read in its translation because there were many different translations.

The original Chinese poem by Nguyen Du is "Bat tri tam bach du nien ha/Thien ha ha nhan khau To Nhu".

According to Associate Professor Dr. Ha Van Minh - Head of the Department of Literature, Hanoi National University of Education, the work "Doc Tieu Thanh Ky" is very famous and is included in the general education program. "The answer that the advisory board gave and approved is that you can answer in one of two ways: read the original Chinese version or the translation," said Mr. Minh.

Thanks to this question, Le Xuan Manh won the laurel wreath of Road to Olympia 2023.

Ha Cuong