The Physics Olympics, which is free and open to the public, will now be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, in Parents Hall at Olmsted Center, 29th Street and University Avenue. The physics students could be on the verge of developing solutions to California's energy crisis. They're designing and building student-powered water heaters as well as miniature cars powered only by the force of a mousetrap spring. These energy-efficient devices will be put to the test during the competition sponsored by Drake's School of Education and the Heartland Area Education Agency. The competition consists of a series of six events testing the students' ingenuity, their understanding of physics-related principles and their construction skills.
Students build a toy race car powered only by a mousetrap spring.
The winning car will be selected on the basis of a formula that rewards the greatest distance traveled and the greatest speed in the first 5 meters of the course. Student-Powered Water Heater. Each team is given a measured amount of water and has five minutes to raise its temperature using human power only. The team whose technique raises the temperature the most wins this event. Falling Mass-Powered Car.