2011 Physics Olympics

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Power Puzzle

Overview

Western Kentucky Physics Olympics is a half-day competition consisting of a pentathlon of challenging problem-solving activities that reward teamwork, creativity, and communication. The WKU Department of Physics & Astronomy invites each high school to send one or more teams of four to compete in the 2011 Western Kentucky Physics Olympics. This year's event will be held Saturday, February 26 from 8:30 a.m. until about 2:00 p.m. in the Thompson Center, Central Wing on WKU's Bowling Green campus.

The competition will commence with two activities that involve competitors arriving at the event ready to compete with devices they have designed, constructed, and tested. The competition entitled Solar Photovoltaics requires each team to design and construct an energy generation circuit using provided solar photovoltaic cells. The Raingutter Regatta event requires each team to bring to the competition a sailboat that they designed and constructed. The sailboats will compete in head-to-head races down a short indoor course. This year's "Calculation/ Communication Challenge" is entitled Alternative Energy Generator, and will have participants cooperating to design and construct a device to generate electrical energy from some other energy source.

 

Event 1: Solar Photovoltaics

The object of this Do-Ahead Project is to design and construct an optimized efficient solar electric power supply unit that can arrive intact after being sent through the U.S. Mail.

Rules:

1. After completing the registration process, each team will receive a number of solar cells from the event organizers. Your team must design and construct a power supply unit from the provided solar cells, any wires on the solar cells, and other wires provided by the team.
2. The cells may be connected in any multiple series, parallel or other configuration so as to produce the most power between two clearly identified “terminals” or wires, one marked as positive and one marked as negative.
3. Carefully pack your unit for safe delivery and to be able to be successfully unpacked upon arrival. Enclose a card inside the package that identifies your team. Using the U.S. Postal Service, mail your solar power supply unit to the address below for delivery on or before Thursday, February 24th, 2011. Late deliveries will not be judged.

     Western Kentucky Physics Olympics
     c/o Richard Gelderman
     Department of Physics and Astronomy
     Western Kentucky University
     Bowling Green, KY 42101-1077

1. A judge will carefully unpack and remove your solar power supply unit from all containers and wrappings.
2. The judges will measure the effectiveness of your power supply unit by illuminating it with a standard 100 W, 120 V, 1750 Lumen, tungsten filament incandescent frosted bulb placed 0.50 m above the highest point of the solar power supply unit.
3. Your team should designate the point on the solar power supply unit that should be directly under the light bulb with a clearly marked “X.” The judges will mount the naked and unhooded light source vertically with the bulb oriented so the light is directed down onto the solar power supply unit above the designated point. If no point is indicated, the judges will do their best to center the solar power supply unit under the bulb.
4. Once in place under the illuminated light source, the solar power supply unit will be simultaneously attached to a voltmeter and an ammeter on the identified positive and negative terminals to determine the power of the unit.
5. Rankings will be determined by the measured electrical power delivered across the identified terminals.
6. Ties will be broken based on the mass of the unopened package.
7. All contestants will ensure that their entry works through the application of physics principles and generally follows the spirit of the competition.

 

Event 2: Raingutter Regatta – the Do-Ahead Project

CONSTRUCTION: 

All boats must be made from the Raingutter Regatta kits, sold for the Boys Scouts of America event with the same name. One kit will be provided to each registered team. Replacement kits can be purchased online or wherever Cub or Boy Scout supplies are sold. Each entry must comply with the following construction guidelines.

1. The hull, mast, keel, rudder and sail provided in the kit must be used in the boat construction.
2. Length: Maximum length of 7-inches (maximum). Any bowsprits or spars projecting forward from the stem are counted as part of the length of the boat.
3. Hull: The hull must be constructed from the balsa wood boat body supplied with the kit. Modifications are allowed. The completed hull cannot be wider than 3-inches.
4. Rudder and Keel: The provided keel and rudder must be securely attached to the bottom of the boat. Any portion of the rudder that extends beyond the hull will be included in the measurement of the boat’s length.
5. Mast: Supplied in kit. There are no restrictions on dividing the provided mast into two smaller masts, nor on the placement of the mast(s).
6. Sail: The sail supplied in the kit may be trimmed but not enlarged. There are no restrictions to its shape or placement.
7. Decorations/Additions: Hull should be painted, stained, or otherwise finished to minimize water-logging during the race. Objects such as sailors, cannons, etc. may be added. All such decorations must be firmly fastened to the boat, and may not be placed in such a manner as to exceed the boat dimensions as listed above.

THE COMPETITION:

1. Boats will be submitted to the Harbormaster during the registration period. The Harbormaster will inspect each boat to ensure that the entry meets all specifications and then assign a race number. Boats that fail to meet the official rules may be modified by the team, as long as all modifications are complete by 8:30 am on the day of the event. The event organizers are not responsible for supplying any tools or materials for modifications. No entries will be accepted after 8:30 am on the day of the event.
2. Teams are allowed to test their boats on the course up until fifteen minutes before the close of the registration period. No more than one boat is allowed in a practice race lane at any time.
3. At the close of the registration period, all boats will be impounded in the designated marina area. Each team is responsible for supplying a (cardboard, plastic, etc.) box, clearly labeled with the team name, for storage of the boat while it is in the marina area. Between the close of registration and the beginning of the race, no impounded boat may be handled by any person other than designated race officials.
4. Each team is allowed to register one boat for use in all the races. Repairs may be made to this boat during the competition, as approved by the Harbormaster. The event organizers are not responsible for supplying any tools or materials for repairs.
5. The competition will be a head-to-head format, with the elimination details announced by the Commodore at the beginning of the regatta. During the regatta, each boat will compete in at least three head-to-head races consisting of two heats (one on each side of the course). The boat with the fastest time for either heat will be deemed the winner of that race.
6. Each team shall appoint a single pilot to propel the boat during each race. Other pilots can be assigned for other races, but the appointed pilot must complete all heats in a given race.
7. The racecourse will be consist of two side-by-side, ten to fifteen foot long sections of water-filled raingutter, placed on a 3-foot high table. Each pilot will only have access to one side of the raingutter in which her/his boat is competing, with at least 30-inches of clearance for walking alongside the course.
8. Prior to each race the Harbormaster will announce the lane assignments for that race and which boats are on deck for the next race. Pilots will take their boats from the marina area and place them in the designated lane. The Commodore will make sure that the sterns of both boats are against the end of the raingutter and give a countdown to start the race.
9. At the command to begin, each pilot will propel her/his boat by blowing against the boat's sail. The time for each boat is the elapsed time required for the boat to touch the other end of the raingutter. Two members of the Admiralty Board will judge the results of each heat and record the times. If they cannot agree a measurement for the boats’ times, that heat will be re-run.
10. A pilot may propel her/his boats only by blowing on the sail; any contact with any part of the by any part of the pilot's body, clothing, or hair will result in a re-race.
11. Pilots must keep their face, clothing, and hair out of the water at all times. Any contact with the water will result in a re-race.
12. Any pilot who causes more than two re-races in a heat will forfeit that heat and receive a last place ranking for that heat.
13. If a boat becomes damaged and is unable to compete when called, the team will forfeit that heat. The next heat will be called to start between one and three minutes after a forfeit.
14. At the conclusion of each race, the boat is to be returned to the marina area and is subject to inspection by the Harbormaster.
15. The overall rankings will be determined by results of the round-robin results and any subsequent single-elimination races that may be necessary.
16. Unsportsmanlike conduct by any participant or spectator may be grounds for expulsion from the competition and/or the race area. All rulings by the Harbormaster, Admiralty Board and the Commodore are final.

 

Event 3: Alternative Energy Generator - the Calculation-Communication Challenge

The goal of this contest is to construct a device that will generate electrical energy from some alternative form of energy. Each team will be divided into two groups: two members responsible for identifying a design and for writing a plan for the construction of that device using only the available parts, and the other pair responsible for following the written plan and constructing the alternative energy generator.

 

Event 4: Impromptu Team Physics Activity

Activity is the key word for this competition, with the goal being for each team to achieve the desired result as quickly as possible. The situation is designed to reward teamwork and common sense thinking as well as knowledge of physics and the ability to work with formulae. Every team will come away with smiles and good memories regardless of how well they master the particular challenge.

 

Event 5: Fermi Questions: Order of Magnitude Quiz

Arrive at a reasonable approximation for the value of a complex situation with very little to no information available to directly compute the answer. In this quiz, the contestants will need to quickly make assumptions for values to use in simple calculations in order to arrive at the "correct" answer, stated as the power of ten of the number that fits the accepted value.

Teams will receive 7 questions to complete within 15 minutes. The teams can divide the work in any way they see fit, but only one answer per question per team will be accepted. Answers will be judged according to how many orders of magnitude the team's answer is from the judge's solution. The lowest score wins -- 0 points awarded for the answer accepted by the panel of judges, with 1 point scored per order of magnitude from the accepted value.