Victorian Young Physicists’ Tournament:
Expression of Interest in Judging with Mentoring as an optional extra
VYPT for 2022 has been cancelled. Vicphysics plans to offer it in 2023.
Vicphysics Teachers’ Network, the Laby Foundation and the AIP Victorian Branch invite you to assist with the VYPT, an event for secondary students.
In VYPT Year 10 and 11 students, in teams of three, during the year experimentally investigate a common set of three topics. Then, on the Saturday, 10th September, in contests with other teams they present their methods and their findings, while the other team questions and challenges the presentation.
The problems for investigation in 2022 were:
- Conical Piles Non-adhesive granular materials can be poured such that they form a cone-like pile. Investigate the parameters that affect the formation of the cone and the angle it makes with the ground.
- Saxon Bowl A bowl with a hole in its base will sink when placed in water. The Saxons used this device for timing purposes. Investigate the parameters that determine the time of sinking
- Falling Tower: Identical discs are stacked one on top of another to form a freestanding tower. The bottom disc can be removed by applying a sudden horizontal force such that the rest of the tower will drop down onto the surface and the tower remains standing. Investigate the phenomenon and determine the conditions that allow the tower to remain standing.
Each contest lasts about 30 minutes. Each team participates in six contests, three as reporter and three as the opponent. Each team member presents on one topic and opposes on another.
The teams in each contest are judged by a panel of three, made up the teams’ teachers, retired teachers and fellow university students.
Your judging task:
- to be member of a judging panel and judge about four contests over the day,
- in the week or two prior to the event, you will need to think about how you might go about investigating each of the three topics and also to read through the two criteria sheets to be used when assessing the reporter and the opponent.
A minimum of 16 teams is expected, which will require about 30 judges, so please consider getting involved.
Duration: You will need to turn up by 9:00am and the announcement of prizes will be about 3:30pm.
Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided.
Would you also like to be a Mentor?
There is also the opportunity to work closely with one or more of the teams as a Mentor. This commitment will receive compensation for the time involved at $50 per hour.
The expectation is that the Mentor would have two one hour meetings with the team, either online or in person. These will be organised with and supervised by the team’s teacher. The first meeting could be early in the process as the team is beginning to start collecting data, while the other would be near the end when the team is finalising the analysis of their data and preparing their presentation. There may be scope at other times for email discussions through the teacher.
If your secondary school enters a team, you may wish to be a mentor for them, in which case please enter your school’s name in the form below.
If you would like to be involved, please complete the details below or email them to Vicphysics.
Important dates:
- The closing date for expressions of interest is Friday, 12th August, 2022.
- VYPT will be held on Saturday, 10th September, 2022 in the Physics Building at the University of Melbourne.
Form to register to join the judging panel and be a mentor