International Baccalaureate Physics

Physics Olympics

Physics Olympics• Students form teams of three.• Teams compete in three events.• One of the events is a “calculation”

event.

Physics Olympics• Students form teams of three.• Teams compete in three events.• One of the events is a “calculation” event.

• Make a team of three• Show me that you can “calculate.”• Sign up with me for your three

events.(visit PO website for more info)

• Plan transportation, meals, shirts, and construction.

Calculation events• Students form teams of three.• Teams compete in three events.• One of the events is a “calculation”

event.– Air track - Centripetal force– Spring constant - Magnetic field– Trajectory * Laser shoot

Calculation events• One of the events is a “calculation”

event.– Air track - Centripetal force– Spring constant - Magnetic field– Trajectory * Laser shoot

• Your team must pre-qualify by solving a related physics problem.

• Here are some practice problems:

Air Track• Your team must pre-qualify by solving a

related physics problem.• Here are some practice problems:• A 50.0 gram load sits on a 200.0 gram

glider. The glider is 15.0 cm long and is 85.0 cm from a photogate. If a 35.0 gram weight pulls on the glider, how long will the photogate be blocked?

Air Track

Centripetal force• Your team must pre-qualify by solving a

related physics problem.• Here are some practice problems:• You hang a 150.0 gram mass from a

string and use it to whirl a rubber stopper in a 45.0 cm radius circle. Your partner times 20.0 revolutions in 7.68 seconds. What is the stopper’s mass?

Centripetal force

Spring constant• Your team must pre-qualify by solving a

related physics problem.• Here are some practice problems:• You hang a 150.0 gram mass from a

spring and observe it oscillate vertically. Your partner times 20.0 cycles in 7.68 seconds. When a different mass is oscillating, the stopwatch reads 9.64 seconds. What is the other mass?

Spring constant

Magnetic Field• Your team must pre-qualify by solving a

related physics problem.• Here are some practice problems:• You hold a magnetic compass 5.0 cm

due north of a wire. When a switch is closed, current in the wire makes the compass deflect 62°. What is the strength of the magnetic field at a distance of 22.0 cm?

Magnetic Field

Trajectory• Your team must pre-qualify by solving a

related physics problem.• Here are some practice problems:• You work on a 75.0 cm tall table. A

marble ball is released from a ramp and rolls along the level table top. Your partner times it with a stopwatch—he says it takes 0.84 seconds to roll a meter. How far from the table will the ball land?

Trajectory• You work on a 75.0 cm tall table. A marble ball is

released from a ramp and rolls along the level table top. Your partner times it with a stopwatch—he says it takes 0.84 seconds to roll a meter. How far from the table will the ball land?

• The ball will be in the air for t = (2y/g)1/2

• t = 0.391 sec• The ball’s speed is v = 100cm / 0.84 sec• v = 119 cm/sec• The range is v*t• Range = 46.5 cm

*Laser shoot• Your team must pre-qualify by solving a

related physics problem.• Here are some practice problems:• You go into a room with a red line on a

table and a post-it note on the wall. Position a semicircular dish of water at the end of the line and a tiny mirror 50 cm away so that when a laser beam is aimed down the red line the beam will hit the center of the post-it note. You have 10 minutes.