Tasks

Click on the task titles to download the .doc version of the task.

Crossing the Bruinen River

Hollywood is always looking to make a buck with the weirdest remakes. This time a producer wants to make a modern-day version of ‘Lord of the Rings'. As he envisions one of the scenes, he's got Frodo on a dune buggy, being pursued by Ring Wraiths, attempting to cross the Bruinen River to get to safety in Elrond's place. As a proof of concept for this scene, you are in charge or figuring out what would be the best set up so the crew can shoot this scene from the opposite side of the river (opposite to Frodo and the bad guys, that is).

Directions

You must give the angle at which to launch Frodo's Dune Buggy to cross the river moving at a certain speed, so that the buggy experiences the least amount of drift. Information you will get from the referee:

• Speed of the River
• Dune Buggy Number
• Which river your buggy will be crossing

Your team will be scored on two parameters:

• How close to the correct speed of the buggy you get.
• How close to the correct angle you get

Both scores will be combined so they are equally weighed into the final score for the task.

Materials

• Constant Velocity Buggy
• String
• Masking Tape (to mark the width of the river)
• Stopwatch
• Graph Paper
• Pencil
• Blank Paper

Aqua Tower

Soon, another season of The Deadliest Catch will be airing on the Discovery Channel. This reality show depicts crab king fisherman in the Bering Sea who defy nature fighting cold, waves and storms and bring back the spoils of a 4 week long crabbing season. Unfortunately, every year almost every captain loses a crew member in the process. So, it was suggested to make a new design for a boat, based on a tower design that stores its cargo above the deck. You have been hired to make this new design a reality.

Directions

Create a FLOATING boat out of the materials given. Requirements for the structure:

• The boat must be freely floating (cannot be attached in any way to the tub of water)
• The cargo (masses) must be located at the TOP of the boat
• You will be judged on the height of your floating tower multiplied by the amount of mass held.

Other considerations:

• You do not have extra or additional materials- what you see in front of you is all the team gets.
• You can use the materials in any way you wish.
• Only the masses above zero height will be counted towards the scoring.
• Zero height is the water line on your structure.
• Weight must be held stably for at least five seconds.
• Only mass and height combinations that work in the presence of the referee will be counted as scored.
• You can ask the referee to take up to three total measurements – the maximum product will be used for the final scoring.

Materials

• Tub of Water
• 14x14 sheet of aluminum foil
• Foam Sheet
• 50 popsicle sticks
• 15 knotched sticks
• 1 m of string
• Scissors
• Assorted Masses

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Ever wonder why when you were a kid, certain toys had the same amount of batteries, but some lasted longer than others? Or sometimes they required four batteries but in 2 different toys they were arranged in much different configuration inside the toy? Was this all due to toy design or something much deeper? Thus, you and your friends are having the high school sophisticated equivalent of a school yard fight. Your classmate believes that certain arrangements are more efficient than others, while you believe it is more like toy feng-shuei.

Directions

You must build the circuit by combining all the elements available to you so that you get the most total current flowing through the circuit. The limitations are as follows:

• The two batteries cannot be back to back
• Must have one connection in parallel
• Must have one connection in series
• Must use all 5 light bulbs and both batteries

Your team can have the referee take a reading up to three times, and the highest current reading will be the one used for the final scoring. In between readings, you can play with the equipment and make any changes you would like.

Materials

• Two D-Cell Batteries
• Two Battery Holders
• 5 light bulb holders/sockets
• 2 x 1 ohm lightbulbs
• 3 x 4 ohm lightbulbs
• Assorted wires
• Alligator clips
• Digital Multimeter (or an Ammeter)

Warning to Teachers!

Lots of shorts are possible. We found that it was difficult to find where the shorts were- we knew the current could not be that high, but it was hard to track down the circuit and find where the shortcircuits were happening. Also, we had some problems with some of the highly creative circuits- either because students looped out some of the elements, or becuase it was difficult to determine where the total current would/should be measured.

Labyrinth

Due to the ever growing video game market, you, the avid video game tester have been asked to design a new deadly dungeon for the new RPG Physics Phantasy II, Einstein Strikes Back! In this final dungeon, players are able to move freely along the map, but must determine where Einstein is hiding. Now this is not as simple as it sounds since Einstien has completed his parallel universe theory and is standing in one exact location on the map, but in another dimension. Thus, players must locate what they think is his location in this world, and use the Parallel Universe Plunger, to pull Einstien out of his ultimate hiding spot. But there is a catch. If they do not use the plunger in the proper location then instead they will pull one of Einstien's many minions out of the other dimension and have to fight an epic battle and then start over. You must the directions given by Newton the Betrayer, Einstein's fallen minion, and see if you can plunge out Einstein. Be wary, he is very crafty and his hair is very deadly!

Directions

Starting at the X, use the compass to orient yourself. Once you have oriented yourself, the compass MUST BE RETURNED TO THE REFEREE. The compass is to be used once and only once at the start of the task. You cannot start moving around the ‘dungeon' until you return the compass.

Follow the directions (these directions are different for each group and were specific to the layout of our courtyard- if you plan on doing this in your school, you'll have to measure your area yourself. An easy locale would be a sports field within the school).

Your team will be scored by your distance to the actual location. When you have followed all of the instructions, use the balloon to mark the location and call a referee over to record your result. There will be one and only one recording of your result, so make sure you've got your final answer before you call the referee to take a measurement.

Materials

• Large Compass
• Masking Tape
• Meter stick
• Balloon with anchor (to mark the final spot)
• LONG tape measure (to mark the distance between the students' final spot and the actual final destination)
• Umbrellas - just in case you do this when it's raining :)

To Infinity and Beyond…

Everyone is well aware that the situation in Iraq is out of control. At this point the government is willing to entertain any idea about what can be done. The Hippies Empowerment Movement in Politics (H.E.M.P) has made its way into the House and proposed the following plan. All Hippies know that the two most enjoyable (and legal) activities are Ultimate Frisbee and Hackeysack. Due to the fear of UFO sightings, the Frisbees were ruled out so the hippies decided to implement a plan to get the insurgents in IRAQ to stop fighting and get addicted to hackeysack. Thus, 5 battalions of tanks will be fitted with a new projectile cannon, firing massive amounts of hackeysacks into enemy territory. Predictions show that casualties will be reduced to zero, and the Hippies promise that within a week we should see signs of procrastination and slacking in the enemy ranks. It is up to you, my friends, to make this a reality. Design the new H.E.M.P. Cannon and make it a green day for us all!

Directions

Build a projectile launcher. You can use any combination of the materials available to you. Considerations:

• Only hackeysacks, bugs and/or neon balls can be launched as a projectile.
• Safety goggles must be worn at all times.
• A referee will take up to three measurements of the distance traveled by your projectile – the longest shot will be used for final scoring.
• Changes to your design can be made in between refereed shots.
• You will not get replacement equipment – what you have is all you get.

Materials

• PVC Pipe (about 2.5 inch diameter) with random 1 inch holes along the tubing
• PVC Tubing (1 inch diameter), between 6 and 12 inches in length
• 6 #64 rubber bands
• Assorted miscellaneous rubber bands
• Neon Ball
• Hackey Sack
• Plush Bug
• Trundle Wheel or LONG Tape measure
• Safety Goggles (rubber bands do break!)

To view last year's tasks, click here, or visit the 2006 Olympiad page.

If you have any concerns about the tasks or the Olympiad, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Last updated: May 25th, 2007.