The aim of this contribution is to present the experimental part of the Slovenian national physics competition for the 2023/24 school year, focusing on tasks for 9th-grade students (age 14) and their achievements. The first physics competition for primary school students in Slovenia was organized in 1981. Since then, the competition has consisted of three levels: the school level with a large number of participants (around 8000), the regional level, and the national level. The final stage always includes both, theoretical and experimental part, which is a special feature compared to other competitions.

Designing the experimental component is a significant challenge for the organizers. It requires identical sets of often expensive equipment, more space, and a complex grading process. Despite these challenges, the experimental part is a distinctive and integral feature of the competition.

The main theme for this year’s national competition focused on graphite and its electrical conductance. The experimental section comprised 10 tasks, which students had 90 minutes to complete. On average, students scored 21 out of 28 points, with one student achieving all scores. A brief analysis of the obtained data will be presented, offering insights into the difficulty level of the questions.

Keywords: Competition, experiment, primary school.