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Physics event marks its 30th
A team from Boardman High School placed first in the overall competition.
YOUNGSTOWN – How many apples does it take to fill up the moon?
How many ladybugs would it take, end to end, to make it around the Earth?
And is it possible to drop an egg from 12 meters without breaking it?
These may not be the kind of questions we all ponder on a regular basis, but the great minds of area high school students got together Saturday to explore the answers and the science behind them.
The Physics Olympics at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly Center marked its 30th year Saturday, pitting area high schools against each other for bronze, silver and gold medals. The contest included 12 events including an egg drop, music making, ping-pong ball launch, hot-water making and bridge building.
One event, called Fermi Questions, seeks a fast, rough estimate of a quantity that is either difficult or impossible to measure directly. Teams were given 20 minutes to answer as many as possible, using calculators.
In answer to the first question about apples filling up the moon, Roy McCullough, an adjunct professor and director of the competition, said the answer is 10 to the 22nd power – or the number 1 with 22 zeroes after it.
And the number of ladybugs needed to make it around the earth is 10 to the 10th power, or the number 1 with 10 zeroes after it.
The purpose of such events “is to give students an opportunity to have real-life experiences with physics,” McCullough explained.
Placing first in the overall Olympics were Boardman students Laura Knecht and Hayley Sabo.
Nick Bailey and Ethan McLaughlin, seniors at West Branch High School, demonstrated how to heat water with a stationary bike, PVC cylinder, a serpentine belt from a car and some steel wool.
The purpose of the event was for teams to mechanically heat 300 grams of water to achieve the greatest change in temperature in the shortest time. They had up to 15 minutes to complete the challenge, which they won.
The two poured water through a funnel into the pipe, which was filled with steel wool to increase the friction. The pipe was then attached to the bike with the belt, and Bailey rode in place while McLaughlin held the pipe.
As the crowd cheered, “Come on, Nick,” the obviously tired student rode harder. In one minute and 49 seconds, the two managed to increase the water’s temperature from 21.5 degrees Celsius to 32.4 degrees Celsius.
Bailey, who said he practiced “some” before the event, admitted to being worn out after. “I can barely walk,” he said with a laugh.
As for whether it’s possible to drop an egg from 12 meters without breaking it, Chaney, West Branch, Poland, Lakeview, Boardman and Lisbon proved it could be done.
High schools that failed to give the egg a safe landing were LaBrae, Hickory, Jackson-Milton, Reynolds, Mineral Ridge, Leetonia and Buckeye Local.
The object was to construct a container from 10 sheets of paper and one meter of transparent tape to protect the egg as it falls.
Jim Morris, of Niles, judged one of the other events but watched the egg drop, calling it the best event of the day.
Students fashion the paper into cones, parachutes and origami-type carriers they hope will float and reduce the impact of landing.
“I’ve seen them float down, just like feathers,” Morris said. “But it is fun to watch them fail.”
Kyle Fithian and Steve Susany, both seniors at Poland, designed their egg carrier together, making it into a cone to absorb the shock, with flower wings and smaller cones on the side to act as airbags.
Both plan to study engineering in college and said that physics lessons they’ve learned so far will no doubt help them in the future.
Their design placed second in the competition, just behind West Branch.
Tina Richards-Pusin, a YSU physics major, got extra class points for showing up to help at the competition but said students participate more because they want to help.
“It’s amazing what these kids do and what they can come up with,” she said. “They can take something we use everyday – something common – and they can do extraordinary things with it.”