Thursday, May 15, 2025
UNT faculty helping students learn about physics-based formulas being applied to building items such as bridges
DENTON (UNT), Texas 鈥� Giant catapults and eggs drops were just some of the hands-on challenges high schoolers tackled during the annual Physics Olympics at the .
Students tested bridges made of popsicles sticks at The University of North Texas
Hosted by the , Professor organized the spring event with a team comprised of the Physics Olympics faculty committee, physics staff and (SPS) officers. The event took physics beyond the classroom and showed that it can be fun.
This year the Olympics welcomed five teams total from Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Grand Prairie and Prosper Independent School Districts. A full day of activities ran from about 9 a.m. to past 5 p.m. and included the catapult launch, egg drop, bridge-building challenge and a physics-themed scavenger hunt.
鈥淭he catapult was definitely the best part,鈥� said 11th grader Henry Craft from Boswell High. 鈥淲atching them launch was awesome.鈥�
Student-built catapults while at at The University of North Texas needed to hit targets 40 meters away
For the catapult contest, each team designed their own machine, which had to use an 8-foot arm, bungee cords for torque and a way to launch from five feet away. Teams had three shots to hit a target 40 meters away, with the best two scores averaged and plugged into a physics formula.
鈥淓very activity score involved a physics-based formula,鈥� said Ariel Dumond, of SPS treasurer. 鈥淲e really wanted to show the high school students how physics can be applied to everything.鈥�
Throughout the day, students participated in live physics demonstrations and visited campus labs that work with nanowires, laser spectroscopy and ion beams. They also viewed the 鈥淪eeing!鈥� show in the 天美传媒app免费版下载 Sky Theater, presenting the journey of a photon from a star to the retina of a person鈥檚 eye.
鈥淭he whole day has been a great opportunity for the kids,鈥� said South Grand Prairie High School teacher Erick Berdugo. 鈥淚t gives them a chance to show off what they鈥檝e learned and see what else they can still learn.鈥�
The most dramatic event was the scavenger hunt. Teams raced through UNT鈥檚 Physics building, solving physics problems to reveal the next room and question. They were timed, and their score depended on the number of attempts to answer correctly and how many they got right in ~30 minutes.
鈥淭hat was actually crazy,鈥� said Sergio Rebeles from South Grand Prairie High School as he caught his breath in the student lounge afterwards. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe that just happened.鈥�
Before the day ended, students participated in more demonstrations, including a Rubens
tube, which uses flames to visually show sound wave patterns.
Team Boswell came in first place at the UNT 2025 Physics Olympics
After scores were tallied by Professor Arkadii Krokhin, gold medals went to the 11th-grade team from W. E. Boswell High School. As part of their prize, each member of the team received a $1,000 scholarship to UNT if they pursue a physics degree. Though some said they aren鈥檛 thinking about college yet, all agreed the Olympics was a great way to spend their Saturday and expressed interest in starting a physics club back at their high school.
鈥淚t was really exciting to use everything I鈥檝e learned this year in a competition,鈥�
said Skylar Gurley. 鈥淚 know I want to keep studying physics.鈥�
A team of students enjoying themselves after a catapult launch at UNT
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