43
At this YSU student competition, physics matters
By Bob Jackson
YOUNGSTOWN
Ask a physics kid the age-old question about the chicken crossing the road, and chances are pretty good you won’t get a clear answer as to why it happened.
But ask a physics kid how to get the chicken across the road, and odds are that he or she will come up with any number of intriguing methods of getting the bird from one berm to the other.
By definition, physics is the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy, focusing on mechanics, heat, light, sound, electricity, magnetism and the structure of atoms.
Nope, it’s not for everybody.
But for those who understand and appreciate the science behind it, physics opens their eyes to a new perspective of the world around them.
“Because of physics, I look at things all the time now and relate them back to what we learned in class,” said Hannah Hiscox, a senior at Lisbon’s David Anderson High School. She was one of dozens of high-school pupils who participated in the 38th annual Physics Olympics on Saturday at Youngstown State University.
The use of torque, and how it comes into play when deciding something as simple as placement of a handle on a car door, and how it can be used to help lift heavy amounts of weight, catch her eye on a regular basis, Hiscox said.
Event coordinator Cynthia Smotzer said students from 15 high schools in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, as well as two schools from western Pennsylvania, took part in the competition.
The kids matched wits in various projects that included making flying machines and building a house of cards, heating water, making race cars from mousetraps, launching pingpong balls from a homemade catapault, and creating music with unusual items.
“These are budding scientists,” Smotzer said. “They can take something they’ve created and compete with it in an event against a wider pool of their peers. It’s a friendly competition.”
Taylor Siefke, also a senior from Lisbon, took second place in the bridge-building competition. She created a bridge that supported 100 pounds, using only wood and Elmer’s glue.
The secret to her success, Siefke said, was making sure the bridge had a solid foundation with sturdy legs, and that it was supported in the middle. She built the bridge in a lab at DAHS and carried it to YSU, feeling good about her chances.
“I was confident in it,” she said, smiling.
Jodi McCullough, Lisbon’s team coach, said the annual event is a highlight for students because it allows them to put classroom lessons into real application in a fun environment. Lisbon had 16 kids on its team this year.
“Physics has a bad rap because it’s hard,” McCullough said. “A lot of kids will shy away from it because it’s difficult, but if they’re motivated, they can do physics.”
Nicole French, a junior at Hickory High School in Hermitage, Pa., said she enjoys the hands-on philosophy of physics, building things and seeing how they work. She said the study of sound gave her new appreciation for the flute she plays in the school band.
“Now I know and understand how it actually works,” said French, who besides being an outstanding student, holds down a part-time job, enjoys ice skating and is a third-degree black belt in tae kwan do. “I realize now what’s going on inside the flute that causes the sounds and the notes to come out the way they do.”
Her father, Bill French, said all three of his children have always taken an interest in the sciences.
“They take it all real seriously, and we try to support and encourage that as much as possible,” he said.