The Olympic Events
#Participants
Prior
Construction
Day
Points
1st
Points
2nd
Points
3rd
Points
4th
Points
5th
There’s a
Hole in My
Bucket
5
no
At games
1
6
5
4
3
2
Pole Position
5
no
At games
1
5
4
3
2
1
Aquarium
Shoot
5
no
At games
1
6
5
4
3
2
Palm Pipe
Opus
5
no
At games
1
6
5
4
3
2
The Sinking
Ship
5
no
At games
1
6
5
4
3
2
The Vortex
Cannon
5
yes
At games
2
5
4
3
2
1
The Egg Slug
5
yes
At games
2
5
4
3
2
1
Hovercraft
5
yes
At games
2
6
5
4
3
2
Slow
Bike Race
2
no
At games
2
5
4
3
2
1
Fermi
Questions
5
no
At games
2
6
5
4
3
2
Olympic
Video
5
yes
1
4
3
2
Olympic
Theme Song
5
yes
1
3
2
1
Event
Materials
Available
* Video and theme song are optional events which, if produced, must be presented to the
Olympic Committee by 3:00 PM on Wednesday, February 18, in room 215 or 217.
Specific Event Descriptions and Rules
I. There’s a Hole in My Bucket: Fill an elevated bucket with water to the correct level
so that the water projects from a hole in the sidewall and strikes a target on the floor.
Materials Provided: One bucket with hole in sidewall, water, ruler, tape measure, and
collection tray with coordinate system
Time Limit: Five minutes
Description: A three-gallon bucket with a ¼” diameter hole drilled through its sidewall
(near the bottom) will be placed on a table surface at some specified height above the floor.
The horizontal distance from the hole to a location on the floor (the target) will be given.
Teams will position the origin of a coordinate system on the floor at the given location of
the target and then place a transparent collection tray directly over it. Teams must
determine the required depth of water in the bucket so that when the hole is unplugged, the
water will project out the side of the bucket and strike the collection tray at the location of
the target. After the team has filled the bucket, the judge will unplug the hole and measure
the horizontal distance between the coordinate system origin and the point where the water
actually strikes the floor.
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams having the five lowest
distances between the coordinate system origin and the point where the water strikes the
floor.
Physics Connection: Projectile motion, Bernoulli’s equation, conservation of energy.
Planning: Practice with your own bucket.
II. Pole Position: Direct a bar magnet through a given course in the least amount of time
using only repulsive forces from another bar magnet.
Materials Provided: Two bar magnets (approximately 15.5 cm x 1 cm each), marked
course
Time Limit: Five minutes
Description: A bar magnet will be directed through a course laid out on the floor, whose
width will be the width of a single floor tile (approximately 30-cm). The exact edges of
the course will be marked by tape. The course will consist of straight and curved and/or
turn sections. The magnet to be moved will be placed with its front edge on a starting line
and a stopwatch will be started at a verbal signal given by the judge. The magnet will then
be propelled through the course by another identical bar magnet operated by one of the
team members.
The two magnets may not physically contact each other at any time. Also, no part of the
magnet being directed through the course may contact the boundary tape at any time.
Either of these errors will result in the magnet being returned to the start position without
restarting the stopwatch. Timing will end when the entire magnet has passed the finish
line. A team may repeat the course as many times as time permits during the allotted five
minutes, with only the lowest time being recorded. However, each attempt must be fully
completed before beginning a new attempt (i.e., a team may not restart the clock without
first completing the course).
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest
times to complete the course.
Physics Connection: magnetic forces, ferromagnetism, friction
Planning: Practice using your own bar magnets.
III. Aquarium Shoot: Predict where a laser beam will strike a wall after passing through
a water-filled aquarium.
Materials Provided: Laser, protractor, tape measure, string
Time Limit: Five minutes
Description: The judges will direct a laser beam to strike the sidewall of a water-filled
aquarium, as show below. The laser will initially be turned off. Teams may use a
protractor and/or string to measure the angle at which the beam strikes the sidewall.
Teams will then determine the direction at which the beam will emerge from the top of the
aquarium. Using this information along with the provided horizontal distance from the
aquarium to the wall, they will predict the vertical location on the wall where the beam will
strike it, and place a target there. The judge will then turn on the laser and determine the
position of the center of the beam where it actually strikes the wall.
wall
aquarium
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest
vertical distances from the target location to the center of the refracted beam pattern on the
wall.
Physics Connection: Refraction, Snell’s law
Planning: Practice with your own laser and aquarium, review geometry and trigonometry
required
IV. Palm Pipe Opus: Cut plastic pipe to the correct lengths to play a simple tune when
tapped against the palm of the hand.
Materials Provided: 5 feet of ½ inch diameter plastic PVC pipe, hack-saw, meter stick,
musical score (written in such a way as to be read by anyone), thermometer
Time Limit: Five minutes
Description: Teams must cut PVC pipe into four sections of the correct lengths to play
four specific frequencies (notes) when one end is tapped against the palm of the hand.
After the pipes have been cut, students will “play” each individually for the judge, who
will use electronic instrumentation to determine the actual frequency. The team members
will have the remaining time to practice using the four pipes to play an assigned song using
these notes. The team will later perform the song using their pipes before a live audience.
Judging: Judging will consist of both physical and artistic components. For the physical
part, the score will be determined using the following formula:
score  100  Given Frequency  Measured Frequency ,
for each pipe. A combined physical score will be determined by adding the scores for each
of the pipes.
For the artistic part, each team will perform the same song (one conductor, four players per
team). Judging will be based upon timing, relative pitch, dynamics, and stage presence for
a maximum score of 100. First through fifth place awards for the event will be based upon
the five highest total scores for the two judging components.
Physics Connection: Closed-pipe resonance
Planning: Research equations for resonance frequency for a closed pipe. Practice playing
pipes, using your own materials.
V. The Sinking Ship: Predict the maximum load that a solid, rectangular Styrofoam
barge can support without sinking.
Materials Provided: Rectangular Styrofoam barge, digital balance, ruler, wet pennies,
water-filled tank.
Time Limit: Five minutes
Description: Each team will determine the dimensions of the provided boat to find the
volume of water it can displace. They will also measure the mass of the empty boat.
Using this information, they will predict the maximum safe load the boat will be able to
support without sinking (defined as the point at which water first begins to spill over the
top surface of the boat). After measuring this mass of pennies on the balance, they will
begin loading them onto the boat. Team members must load the entire predicted mass of
pennies onto the boat. They may load them one at a time, or all at once, and may place
them at any desired location on the top surface of the boat. If, at any time, water begins to
cover the top surface of the boat, the team will be disqualified. Provided pennies will be
wet. If teams wish to dry them before use, they may do so provided they don’t exceed the
5 –minute time limit.
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest
predicted penny loads that do not sink the boat.
Physics Connection: Archimedes Principle
Planning: Test buoyancy principles using your own boat and pennies.
VI: The Vortex Cannon: Construct a device that produces a donut-shaped air pulse that
will travel the greatest distance with the most accuracy.
Materials Provided: Five lighted candles, tape measure
Time Limit: 1 minute at each firing location
Description: Teams must construct a vortex cannon prior to the games. There are no
limitations on construction materials, but the device must be fully supported and operated
by a single team member. Commercially produced vortex cannons may not be used. A
simple model can be made from an empty coffee can by cutting a hole in the bottom and
placing the plastic lid on the top. By striking the lid, air pulses can be directed out of the
hole.
To test the cannon, five candles will be placed approximately 20 cm apart on a lab table.
The team member operating the cannon will begin by standing 1.5 m from the table. From
a single standing location, he/she will have seven tries (within a time limit of one minute)
to extinguish all five candles. If the team member is successful, he/she will move to a
fixed location 2.0 m from the table and repeat the process. This will continue at 0.5 m
increments until fewer than five candles are extinguished from a given location.
Substitution of team members will be permitted only when moving to a new location away
from the table.
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest
total numbers of candles extinguished.
Physics Connection: Waves and fluid dynamics
Planning: Build and test your vortex cannon.
VII. Egg Slug: Package an egg such that after being struck by a baseball bat, it travels the
greatest linear distance while remaining unbroken.
Materials Provided: One large, raw chicken egg, one T-ball tee, one baseball bat
Time Limit: A maximum of four minutes will be allowed to insert the egg in the package
and prepare it for competition.
Description: One team member will place the package on the T-ball tee and, using the
baseball bat, attempt to move the package the greatest linear distance from the tee using a
single swing (if the bat does not contact any part of the package, the swing may be
repeated). Each team will be given only one attempt. The package must be opened and
the unbroken egg produced within two minutes of impact with the ground.
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the entries which travel the
greatest linear distance (remaining unbroken) as measured from the edge of the base of the
tee nearest the landing point to the nearest point of the package at its final resting position.
Any team whose egg cracks will be disqualified from this event.
Physics Connection: Impulse and momentum
Planning: Design, build, and test package to house egg.
VIII. Hovercraft: Design and build a model hovercraft that will sail a racecourse
carrying the maximum possible load in the shortest possible time.
Materials Provided: Racecourse, 20” circular fan, optional 12 VDC power supply
Time Limit: Four minutes to prepare hovercraft for launch and run course
Description: Contestants will design and build a hovercraft using a maximum of two
computer cooling fans (must operate at a maximum of 12 VDC and have a maximum
diameter of 120 mm). The fan(s) may be powered by an onboard battery pack, an external
power supply with trailing wires you provide, or a provided external power supply with
trailing wires (from the olympic committee). The hovercraft must be constructed by the
contestants themselves and may not consist mainly or exclusively of any sort of prepurchased model kit or device. The sole source of lift for the hovercraft must be the
computer cooling fan(s). The hovercraft must hover; it must ride on a cushion of air
produced by the operation of the cooling fan(s) at all times during the race. It must visibly
rise when powered on (it may not move from the wind provided by the race course fan
unless the computer fans are turned on). Supplemental wheels, bearings or other devices
that reduce the effects of friction are not allowed and will result in disqualification.
The hovercraft (excluding the adapter and connecting wire) must be able to fit into a 50cm
length by 50cm width by 30 cm height box at all times during the event. All parts of the
hovercraft must finish the race together. Propulsion of the hovercraft can come only from
the computer cooling fans or wind from the box fan provided by the organizers.
The hovercraft will race on a drag strip approximately 1 meter wide and 2 meters long on
the floor. There will be an approximately 1 meter square area behind the starting line for
setup of the hovercraft. An optional source of energy for propulsion of the hovercraft is
provided by a standard 20” diameter circular fan at low speed 2-3 meters behind the start
line. This fan is provided by the event organizers. Organizers will turn off the fan for
duration of the race by request of contestants.
Teams will have a total of 4 minutes to set up and run their race. Only one trial will be
allowed. No part of the hovercraft can be in front of the starting line before the start of the
trial. No external intervention is allowed after the start of the trial. All parts of the
hovercraft must stay in bounds during the entire race to receive a time. The timer will start
when the hovercraft crosses the starting line and triggers the timing gate and will stop
when the same part of hovercraft crosses the finish line and triggers the timing gate.
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest
scores given by the following:
Score =2*B*(m+.1)/t
m = the mass of the hovercraft (in grams), t = the time (in seconds) and B = 2 if the
hovercraft has an onboard power supply, 1.5 if team provides its own external power
supply, and 1 otherwise.
If the hovercraft does not cross the finish line, the final score will be modified to
Score =D*B*m/300
where D = shortest distance (in m) from the front edge of the hovercraft to the starting line.
If the hovercraft goes out of bounds at any time before crossing the finish line, the shortest
distance from the point at which the hovercraft exits to the starting line will be used.
Physics Connection: Fluid dynamics, Newton’s 3rd law, DC electrical systems
Planning: Design, build, and test your hovercraft.
IX. Slow Bike Race: Ride a bicycle over a fixed course in the longest interval of time.
Materials Provided: One bicycle.
Time Limit: None
Description: The course will be 15 m long and 0.75 m wide. The course will not be
sloped, and will be clearly marked. No part of the competitor's body (or anything touching
the competitor’s body, other than the bicycle itself) may touch the floor at any time during
the race. The bicycle must maintain forward motion and stay completely within course
boundaries at all times. Each team will be given two attempts to complete the course
(same or different riders), with the longest time being recorded. Additional apparatus may
be added to the rider, but not to the bicycle.
Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the five teams with the longest
times.
Physics Connection: Conservation of angular momentum, stability, and center of gravity
Planning: Practice using your own bicycle. Experiment with modifying the rider in some
manner.
X. Fermi Questions: Estimate the order of magnitude of a quantity which is difficult or
impossible to measure.
Materials Provided: List of Fermi questions
Time Limit: 15 minutes
Description: Each team will be provided with a list of Fermi questions. A single sheet of
answers will be submitted by each team. All answers must be recorded in order of
4
4
magnitude format (e.g., 10 , not 3 x 10 ). No calculators or reference materials may be
used.
Judging: Ten points will be awarded for each correct answer and one point will be
deducted for each order of magnitude the answer differs from the accepted. The minimum
score per question is zero. First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with
the five highest scores on the test.
Physics Connection: Estimation, orders of magnitude
Planning: Example question: "How many drops of water are there in Lake Erie?" Team
would need to estimate the volume of one drop and, knowing the approximate dimensions
of Lake Erie, estimate its volume. Divide volume of lake by volume of one drop (use the
factor-label method), make sure units are consistent, and round answer to the nearest order
of magnitude. Practice multiplying and dividing orders of magnitude without the use of a
calculator.
XI. Olympic Video: Produce a five-minute video which teaches some physics
concept/application at the high school level.
Materials Provided: Physics apparatus as requested and available
Time Limit: 5 minutes
Description: This is an optional event, which will provide the top video teams with
additional team points, as outlined in “The Olympic Events” table. Videos must be turned
into the committee (room 215 or 217) by Wednesday, February 18. Acceptable video
formats are MPEG, .wma, .avi, or .mov (please use raw video format—do not convert to
DVD). Videos will be judged prior to the games and shown to any interested students
during the day 1 events. To aide the judges, each video lesson should begin with at
statement of the lesson objective(s). Students may choose to teach any topic/application of
physics which would be appropriate for physics classes at Dallastown High School. They
may use any method/style of presentation to accomplish this goal (e.g., traditional lecture,
demonstration, experiment, drama, etc.). Videos containing or implying profanity of any
type or inappropriate dress will be disqualified.
Judging: Videos will be judged based upon the following criteria:
 technical quality (quality of props, audio/video clarity, acting ability):
entertainment value (holds viewers attention, fun to watch):
educational value (quantity/quality of material taught, teaching techniques):
physics value (depth and correctness of the physics):
25 pts.
25 pts.
25 pts.
25 pts.
First through third place awards will be given to the teams with the top three scores for
their videos.
Physics Connection: Any physics topic!
Planning: Be watching (videos, classroom, etc.) for creative ways to teach physics!
XII. Olympic Theme Song: Compose and produce a musical recording that promotes the
study of physics and/or the physics Olympics.
Materials Provided: None
Time Limit: None
Description: This is an optional event, which will provide the top teams with additional
team points, as outlined in “The Olympic Events” table. Songs must be between one and
three minutes in length and recorded as a CD audio file. A written transcript of the song
lyrics must also be provided. All songs must be turned into the committee (room 215 or
217) by Wednesday, February 18. They will be judged prior to the games and played as
deemed appropriate by the Olympic committee. They may use any artistic style of
presentation to accomplish the goal of promoting the study of physics. Songs containing
or implying profanity will be disqualified.
Judging: Songs will be judged based upon the following criteria:



promotional value of lyrics:
musical/recording quality:
Creativity:
25 pts.
25 pts.
25 pts.
First through third place awards will be given to the teams with the top three scores for
their song.
Physics Connection: Promote the study of physics.
Planning: Design and create song.