Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee VICTORIANYOUNGPHYSICISTS’TOURNAMENT An initiative of the Australian Institute of Physics (Victorian Branch) Education Committee

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament An event for Year 11 Physics and Year 10 Science students

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament  What do the students do?  How do the students benefit?  What is the teachers’ role?  How does the teacher benefit?  How much class time and out of class time is needed?  How is the competition organised?  Prizes  Experiences so far.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament What do the students do?  In a team of three they conduct three open-ended experimental investigations,  initially in class with follow up research in their own time or as part of an activities program,  and finally they prepare a PPT report, and …

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament What do the students do? in competition …  They describe and defend their methods, results and analysis, and  They challenge the reports of other teams.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament There are three problems which the team should investigate.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament 1. Conductivity of pencil lines The lines, drawn by so-called ‘lead’ pencils, conduct electricity. Investigate the factors that determine the resistance of the line.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament 2.Bouncing ball If you hold a Ping-Pong ball above the ground and release it, it bounces. The nature of the collision changes if the ball contains liquid. Investigate how the nature of the collision depends on the amount of liquid inside the ball and other relevant parameters.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament 3. Rubber motor A twisted rubber band stores energy and can be used to power a model aircraft, for example. Investigate the properties of such an energy source and how its power output changes with time

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament How do the students benefit? They develop: –Experimental research skills, –Presentation skills, –Communication skills, and –Social skills from working in a group.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament What is the teachers’ role? 1.Encourage student participation, 2.Monitor progress, 3.Supervise, when necessary, out of class experimental activities 4.Attend competition 5.Assist in judging

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament How does the teacher benefit? 1.Student motivation, 2.Increased prestige for teacher, subject and school.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament How much class time and out of class time is needed?  Most investigations can be started as part of the normal teaching program,  The topics minimise the need for out of class supervision,  Monitoring of progress may require about an hour or two per topic for three topics over the year.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament How is the competition organised? Registration By the beginning of Term 4 schools will need to register each team including the names of the students. By the beginning of Term 4 schools will need to register each team including the names of the students. There is no charge,

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament How is the competition organised? Competition Day Dates: Tuesday, 2 nd December for Year 10’s Wednesday, 3 rd December for Year 11’s Venue: Quantum Victoria, Macleod West

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament How is the competition organised? Competition Day  The competition is run as a round robin.  It consists of six 30 min sessions of ‘Physics Phytes’.  Two teams participate in a ‘Physics Phyte’.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Competition Each team plays one of the two roles: ReporterReporter OpponentOpponent

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Competition Role of Reporter The Reporter presents the essence of the solution to the problem, attracting the attention of the audience to the main physical ideas and conclusions.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Competition The Role of the Opponent The Opponent puts questions to the Reporter and criticises the report, pointing to possible inaccuracies and errors in the understanding of the problem and in the solution. The Opponent analyses the advantages and drawbacks of both the solution and the presentation of the Reporter.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Competition  Each role has a fixed time for its task and one phyte should be completed within 30 minutes.  Each team has 6 phytes: 3 as a Reporter, 3 as an Opponent.  Each of the three students must report on one topic and oppose on another.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Competition  At the end of the day the two best teams compete in a Final.  The final consists of two phytes with each team being in turn, a reporter and an opponent.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Time allocation Activitymin. Reporter prepares, plugs in USB etc.3 Reporter presents,10 Opponent asks clarifying questions.2 Opponent prepares.3 Opponent critiques report, then argues with reporter.10 Reporter prepares concluding remarks.1 Reporter makes concluding remarks.2 Jury questions and grading.4

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Prizes  A trophy to the school  A book “Flying Circus of Physics” to each student in the final  Money: A cheque to all students

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee Young Physicists’ Tournament Websites There are resources on the website  to assist students and teachers with background research and  To assist students in formulating an experimental design.

Australian Institute of Physics (Vic Branch) Education Committee