UHS physics students accomplish feats of Olympic proportions

While not quite as physically demanding as downhill skiing or long-distance running, Utica High School’s third annual Physics Olympics nevertheless offered students a glimpse into the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

The school’s Advanced Placement physics students organized and ran 17 different events and served as judges for the “Olympians” – first year physics students who put their knowledge to the test during the day-long venue.

According to teacher Bryant Sebastian, the light-hearted competition between classes is designed to challenge students to apply the knowledge they learned throughout the school year while having fun.

Teacher Jim Konnie added that his twelfth grade Advanced Placement students “competed the previous year, which allows them to make adjustments and improvements making the Olympics better each year. It enables all five physics classes to be involved in a culminating end-of-year physics project. The kids do a lot of preparation and really look forward to it.”

Scott Cazares, a senior planning to study at Macomb Community College in preparation for a career in entertainment technology, said he enjoyed take part in various events. “It’s fun to be up and moving and to see what other people have come up with,” he said.

Events along this year’s theme “Adventures through Time” ranged from creating time-travel videos; to designing a rocket that can carry an egg, stay aloft and return safely to Earth; to a spirited game of “Physics Pheud” modeled after the Family Feud game show.

In the “Take Me Home” event, teams of two contestants imagined themselves abandoned in a forest and had to blindly navigate their way while under a teleportation device (otherwise known as a large box). After following given vectors to reach home, they were awarded points for the fastest time, final position and device creativity.

Another contest, “Beethoven’s Bash,” had students perform tunes for their classmates, playing musical instruments they made and singing physics-related lyrics they had written.

In “Test of Time,” students constructed three-tiered towers with toothpicks and marshmallows while vying for the quickest time.

“Home Run Derby Training” had students build Rube Goldberg-type machines that completed multiple energy transfers with the last transfer launching a ball for distance.

“Revolution Launch” called for students to apply knowledge learned about projectile motion to design a slingshot that could accurately fling water balloons at a target 40 meters away.

Senior Paula Terenzi, who will attend Oakland University to study physical therapy, thinks having students compete by practicing what they have learned makes understanding physics more fun. “You will remember more,’ she said.

Her Advanced Placement classmate, Kaitlyn Vogt, who is headed to Grand Valley State University in the fall, agreed that “games and creative ideas are more interesting than just reading and doing problems” to understand physics.

Winners were announced at the closing ceremony during sixth hour. While Mr. Konnie’s first hour students won the gold and Mr. Sebastian’s fourth hour class the silver, everyone involved finished the day a winner.