Controversial answers at the final round of Road to Olympia 2023

Specifically, in the final round of the Road to Olympia 2023, there was a question: "Liquid glass is used to make glass glue, ceramics and many other applications. Please tell me which two compounds liquid glass is a concentrated solution of (state the molecular formula)?" for Nguyen Trong Thanh (Tran Phu High School for the Gifted, Hai Phong City).

This candidate answered: "Na₂SiO₃and K₂SiO₃" but later corrected to "Sodium Silicate and Potassium Silicate".

The MC noted the following answer (Sodium Silicate and Potassium Silicate - PV) and said that Trong Thanh's answer was incorrect, so the right to answer belonged to the remaining contestants. Immediately, Nguyen Viet Thanh (Soc Son High School, Hanoi) pressed the bell to answer: "Na₂SiO₃and K₂SiO₃".

According to the MC: "Trong Thanh did not read the question carefully. The question clearly required the molecular formula, so the final answer we received was not the molecular formula."

At this time, Trong Thanh raised his hand to argue: "The molecular formula is placed in parentheses, so it is possible to state the molecular formula or not. Because the question only requires pointing out 2 compounds, you can read the name of the substance." After listening, the advisory board representative agreed with Trong Thanh's explanation.

Disagreeing with the advisory board's decision, Viet Thanh also raised his hand to protest: "If both the name and formula are stated, there is no need to cite parentheses. And if there are citations, the correct molecular formula must be stated."

The advisory board representative replied: "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 just reading the name is enough."

In the end, Trong Thanh got 20 points.

After the final of Road to Olympia 2023, 2 answers "Na₂SiO₃and K₂SiO₃" and "Sodium Silicate and Potassium Silicate" have caused controversy among netizens. Many people support Viet Thanh, but there are also opinions supporting Trong Thanh. Another opinion: "The answer must be right or wrong. It cannot be "I think" as the representative of the advisory board said."

Another answer also created controversy from both candidates and netizens. That was the question: "In the poemDear Mr. Nguyen Du, poet To Huu wrote: "Who knows who in later generations will cry with To Nhu?/ In the future, no matter when.../ The verses of the past, who would have thought today!". "The verses of the past" that the author is referring to are which two verses and in which poem by Nguyen Du?" for Nguyen Minh Triet (National High School for the Gifted, Thua Thien - Hue province).

This candidate could not answer. The right to answer belonged to Le Xuan Manh (Ham Rong High School, Thanh Hoa province) and the candidate said: "I wonder in three hundred years/ Will anyone cry for To Nhu?" quoted from the poem "Doc Tieu Thanh Ky".

The show's MC agreed with Xuan Manh's answer, so the young man from Thanh Hoa was awarded 30 extra points.

However, Trong Thanh quickly raised his hand to object. According to Trong Thanh: "If the exam asks for a poem by Nguyen Du, you have to read the original poem ("Bat tri tam bach du nien hau/ Thien ha ha nhan khap To Nhu" - PV) and cannot read the translated poem because there are many different translations."

According to the advisory board representative, the poem "Doc Tieu Thanh Ky" is very famous and is included in the general education program. And the answer that the program has approved can be answered in one of two ways, either reading the original Chinese version or the translation. It could be "I wonder if in three hundred and odd years/ Who in the world will cry for To Nhu?" or "I don't know three hundred and odd years later/ Who in the world will cry for To Nhu?"

And the two "both correct" answers to this question, as shared by the advisory board, continued to make netizens react. Some people agreed with the advisory board as well as Xuan Manh's answer. But besides that, many opinions said that the advisory board's explanation was not convincing, and Trong Thanh's argument was correct.

The final of the Road to Olympia 2023 is considered the first time that contestants directly responded to the MC and the program's advisory board. From that, it can be seen that today's youth, represented by the contestants in the final of the Road to Olympia 2023, have equipped themselves with critical thinking. They know how to use knowledge and reasoning to respond to things that they think are not right.

From the contestants' responses at the final round of Road to Olympia 2023, we hope to make young people reflect, care, practice and improve this skill. So that critical thinking is no longer a weakness of young people as many have previously said.

Besides, from the objections of Trong Thanh and Viet Thanh, the organizers of the program Road to Olympia can reconsider and be more careful in making questions, not allowing controversial questions and answers to appear as happened.

The 23rd Road to Olympia finale has ended with victory belonging to contestant Le Xuan Manh from Ham Rong High School, Thanh Hoa province.

With Le Xuan Manh's victory in the Road to Olympia 2023 contest, this is the first time Thanh Hoa has had a champion in the final round of this contest.

The Organizing Committee awarded the laurel wreath and a prize of 50,000 USD to the 23rd Road to Olympia Champion Le Xuan Manh. This is the highest prize ever. At the same time, the prizes for the second and third prize winners have also doubled compared to last year.