ACADEMIC THE BRITISH PHYSICS OLYMPIAD (BPHO) Every year, the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO) runs a plethora of competitions; the most unique of them is the experimental project. To take part in the competition one must figure out the best-suited apparatus to carry out the experiment, and then use the results to produce an analytical report. There are two categories in this competition: GCSE and A Level. From each category, one report is chosen by the DC Physics Department, and these winning reports are then sent to the BPhO as official entries where they are marked against reports from all the other competing schools. At DC, we have an ECA which dedicates one lunchtime every week to the planning and execution of our experiment under the supervision of Ms O’Dwyer. In our very first session, we received a document giving us a brief introduction to the topic of the experiment (in this year’s case, seiche waves) as well as the objectives for carrying out the experiment. In this year’s project we were given the following things to do: Observe the behaviour of waves in a tray as you tip it up and the water sloshes from end to end. Make a set of measurements of the period of the waves and the depth of the water, to obtain a relation between the dimensions of the body of water and the period of the sloshing motion. Although we are given a general idea of how to conduct the experiment, we had to decide on the specifics to maintain precision and accuracy. Once the experiment was conducted, the participants set out to produce a report of up to 12 pages long. Some of the basic components that are to be covered in the report include an introduction, procedure, precautions, theory, results, conclusions, and improvements. The report created a unique opportunity where we were able to explore published research to help understand and improve our own analysis. For example, some of us took inspiration from the Merian Formula to help equate and find a relationship for our water seiches. This year, the reports chosen from DC were those of Shrish Janarthanan for the A Level category and Pranav Sangwan for the GCSE category. Results from the BPhO are still awaited. After completing the experimental project, some of our students took on a new challenge: the BPhO exam. This year was quite different as the 84
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exam was sat in an online format with only multiple-choice questions. DC had record participation with an excellent set of results and awards at the end. We would like to thank the entire Physics Department for their continual support, in particular Ms O'Dwyer and Mr Briggs for their guidance in the experimental project and Olympiad exam. Pranav Sangwan, 11AYO Shrish Janarthanan, 12LHO
YEAR 11 BRITISH PHYSICS OLYMPIAD Ten Year 11 students recently volunteered to take on the task of competing in the British Physics Olympiad Intermediate Challenge as part of DC’s academic extension programme. The BPhO runs these competitions as motivation for the best and brightest physics students to stretch themselves intellectually. Dubai College students pulled off a very impressive performance with 5 Gold Awards, 4 Silver Awards, and 1 Bronze. Considering that only the very best physics students in the world take this test, achieving the top awards becomes an even greater achievement. We in the Physics Department are all very proud of them. The students are: Pranav Sangwan - Gold, Aditya Sridhar - Gold, Nicholas Tsen - Gold, Maharu Gunasekara - Gold, Aman Burman - Gold, Advay Chawla - Silver, Soumil Mukherjee - Silver, Viha Kedia - Silver, Sanaa Carrimjee - Silver, Sahil Kewalramani - Bronze
