Cracking - Physics Tournament Handbook - Weizmann UK
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Get
Cracking
Physics Tournament Handbook
2017/18
Competition
M I LE STON E S
FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2017
Registration Closes
FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER 2017
Checkpoint 1: Initial design deadline (Designs sent before
this deadline will receive feedback sooner)
FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2017
Checkpoint 2: Progress check – You must have sent your
revised ideas to your team coordinator
SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER 2017
Checkpoint 3: Info Day – location tbc
FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER 2017
Checkpoint 4: Your team must demonstrate to your coordinator
that you have started building some of your concepts
WEEK BEGINNING 8 JANUARY 2018
Date to be confirmed to participants.
Tech day or evening at Dulwich College
WEEK BEGINNING 22 JANUARY 2018
Checkpoint 5: Final checkpoint with your physics coordinator
SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2018
UK Physics Tournament at Dulwich College
DON’T
18-22 MARCH 2018 MISS OU T!
ION
REGISTRAT
UK winners go to the International Shalhevet
Freier Physics Tournament 2018 (including a day CLOSES:
29 SEPTEMBER
of special events at the Weizmann Institute) 2017
Let’s get
Cracking
THE CHALLENGE WHAT’S THE PRIZE?
Teams of five students, from Year 12 Weizmann UK will award travel grants
physics classes, design and build a safe to enable three teams from the UK
with two locking-mechanisms which competition to travel to Rehovot, Israel,
are based on the principles of physics. and participate in the Weizmann Institute
The safes should be opened in less of Science International Tournament.
than 5 minutes by their creators but The Weizmann UK travel grant for
must keep opponents stumped for at flights and accommodation will be
least 10 minutes! awarded to the top three teams in the
At the UK tournament, teams swap UK tournament. This prize is subject
and attempt to crack each other’s safes, to terms and conditions. Please see
solving the physics riddles which are page 04 for further information.
keeping them locked.
SCORING CRITERIA
Originality and elegance Aesthetics and durability Points awarded
of the riddle of the safe design based on peer vote
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 01
The UK
Competition
DESIGN AND BUILD CHECKPOINT 4
Friday 8 December 2017
CHECKPOINT 1
Teams must demonstrate to their coordinator
Friday 13 October 2017
that they have started building some of their
Initial designs to be sent for feedback.* safe concepts.
Your initial designs will be reviewed by your
physics coordinator who will give you feedback. CHECKPOINT 5
You will then be able to develop your ideas Week beginning 22 January 2018
further, try out some of the mechanisms and Safe progress check with your physics
be ready for checkpoint 2. coordinator.You will need to provide photos
*This should be done via the Safe Concept Form. or videos via email or Skype with your physics
coordinator to show that you will be ready for
CHECKPOINT 2 the UK Tournament. If you do not meet the
Friday 17 November 2017 progress requirements at this checkpoint, you
Based on feedback received from will not be allowed to enter the tournament.
Checkpoint 1 you need to submit your
revised ideas to your coordinator.
CHECKPOINT 3
Sunday 3 December 2017
Info Day – location tbc.
Bring your teams and teacher
along to our Info Day to meet
your mentor and ask any questions
to best prepare your team for
the competition.
Remember
Keep your physics coordinator up to date,
and ask questions, as you develop your safe.
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 02
FAQs
Can my team have more
than five people?
No. Due to an increase in interest in the
competition and teams from different countries
participating, the Weizmann Institute of Science
will only permit a maximum of five members per
team and one teacher.
Can students who are not in
TEST Year 12 compete?
UK COMPETITION DAY No. Students must be in Year 12 (aged 16-17)
and must be studying AS-Level Physics.
Sunday 4 February 2018
Dulwich College, SE21 7LD Can multiple teams from one
Cracking school enter?
Your team will participate in rounds of safe We can permit a maximum of two teams from
cracking, breaking into other teams’ safes the same school to enter the competition.
and test how hard to crack your safe is. Where this occurs one teacher can supervise
the designing/building phase however, due to the
Exhibition way the tournament day runs, we will require an
While the judges calculate your scores, extra teacher to attend the competition day.
there will be a safe exhibition where we invite
other teachers, parents/guardians and special Should more than two teams from the same
guests to come and see your safes. school wish to participate, we suggest a
preliminary design stage where the Weizmann
Winners Physics Coordinator can assist in deciding which
After the exhibition our special guest will two teams should go through to the build phase.
announce the winning teams. The top three Please contact us for more information.
teams from the Weizmann UK competition
will win travel grants to enable them to compete I can’t make it to the launch or
in the International Tournament in Israel. Tech Day. Do we have to attend?
Please note:
The launch event is an opportunity to learn
• Teams are responsible for getting to and from the more about the competition and is not
competition with their safe. mandatory for participation.We strongly
• All teams will need to be accompanied by at least recommend you attend the Tech Day as it will
one teacher, who will be required to act as a timekeeper help with the design and build of your safe.
for the competition.
• The tournament takes place between 9:00am- 4:30pm. However if you feel it is not necessary or
Lunch and refreshments provided. unfeasible for your team, you do not need to
• Weizmann UK will only provide travel grants to Israel attend.You will be able to contact your physics
for the winning teams of the UK competition. Travel coordinator throughout the design and build
grant prizes are for a team (five students) and one teacher. phase for help.
This is the maximum number of people that can be
accommodated by the International Tournament Coordinators.
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 03
International
Competition
Winning teams from the UK competition will be awarded a travel
grant to enable them to participate in the annual Shalhevet
Freier International Physics Tournament which will be held at
the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel from 18-22 March 2018.
TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is at the Weizmann Institute
FLIGHTS of Science Youth Village and is included as part
Depart: Sunday 18 March 2018 of the travel grant prize.
Return: Thursday 22 March 2018
ADDITIONAL COSTS
In order to secure the best rates, Weizmann
Required:
UK has reserved seats via an independent travel
agent. By entering the competition, your team 1. S
afe transport – These will need to be
agrees to travel on these reserved seats or to checked-in as oversized/excess luggage
take responsibility for covering any lost deposits and will cost approx. £100-£150 (return)
associated with cancellation. Flights will depart 2. T
ravel insurance – your Weizmann UK
from a London airport. travel grant will not cover travel insurance.
Teachers from winning teams will be given the 3. T
eams will also need to budget for extra
relevant information and will be responsible for meals which are not included. Winning teams
collecting names and passport information by will be given more information about this
the date specified. after the UK competition.
4. U
K passport holders do not require visas
for travel to Israel. Participants who hold
passports for other countries will be
responsible for acquiring their own visas
where necessary.
FOR TRAVEL Optional:
TO ISRAEL , Weizmann UK can help you organise
S AND any extra excursions. Previous groups have
PARTICIPANT visited Jerusalem and Jaffa.
ING
ACCOMPANY
IL NEED
L Note: Schools requiring a second teacher chaperone
TEACHERS W to accompany teams are welcome to do so but will need
RT
A VALID PASSPO to fund the costs of this themselves.
WITH AT LEA ST
FT
6 MONTHS LE
PI RY.
UNTIL EX
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 04
Prizes at the International Competition
Educational prizes
are awarded by the
Weizmann Institute
to the top 3 teams
after the International
Tournament.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS • A team report (approx. 500 words) about
To enable us to continue to run the their participation in the tournament
competition we need teams to help us • Send Weizmann UK your pictures from
to promote the competition and provide the International Tournament
information and feedback for the donors
who make the competition possible. • Pictures/reports in school newsletters
Weizmann UK therefore requires the and social media channels
following from students who go to the • Share your experience with students
International Tournament: who are in the school year below them,
to encourage them to participate.
E.g. displaying your safe at science week.
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 05
Design and construction
instructions
1. PRINCIPLES 3. ROBUSTNESS AND RELIABILITY
The locking mechanism should rely on The ‘safe’ and its locking mechanism should
secondary school physics. Details are provided function for at least several hours of repeated
via our website: https://www.weizmann.org.uk/ cracking attempts, unlocked when the correct
education/introduction sequence of steps is applied and remaining
Any design relying on material beyond locked otherwise.
this curriculum has to be approved by the 4. SAFETY
coordinators and a short explanation should The safe should be harmless. Any use of high
be attached to the safe allowing those who voltage, gas, chemical agent or any other
are not acquainted with the principle to hazardous material should comply with the
comprehend the design and crack the safe applicable safety regulations and have the
within the allocated 10 minutes. prior approval of the coordinator.
Safe cracking should rely on solving no more
5. SIMPLE MAINTENANCE
than two non-trivial (as perceived by the
The safe should be ready for a new cracking
coordinators) physics riddles within 10 minutes.
team within 5 minutes following the conclusion
Generally speaking all parts should be visible. of the previous attempt. Thus safe maintenance
Sketches of any unseen parts should be attached and reset time should both be simple and reliable.
along with their functions (e.g. ‘amplifier’, An alternative, quick ‘safe’ opening procedure
‘voltage generator’) and relevant characteristics should be devised for maintenance.
(e.g. power, voltage).
6. MATERIALS
2. REVERSIBILITY Safes should measure 60cm x 30cm x40cm,
Irreversible changes by a reasonable potential or 24’’x 12’’ x 16’’ with a wooden box and
cracker that would block any further cracking transparent door. Crackers shouldn’t be able
attempt should be prevented, allowing unlimited to simply reach in and take the ‘treasure.’
number of attempts to break in. The Weizmann Institute can provide a lock
if required. Any changes to the dimensions
should be discussed and agreed with the team’s
Physics Coordinator.
Please take some time to look at past
Remember examples from the Davidson Institute’s
If you win the UK competition, you will online archive as part of your preparation:
need to transport your safe on a plane. http://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/en/archive
Can your safe be packaged to travel?
For more information please contact:
scienceeducation@weizmann.org.uk
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 06
Official scoring
criteria for
competition
1. PHYSICS EXPERTS – 3. SCIENTIFIC COORDINATORS RANKING
REFEREEING COMMITTEE* The attitude of the team during the preparation
A typical referee committee may include period and its meeting of the milestones and
senior physicists, a physics teacher and a Ph.D. their timetable are the main ingredient of the
Research student. The referees review all safes, coordinators marking.
interview each team and examine the locking (weight = 10%)
mechanism. They are entitled to evaluate how
well the team members comprehend the theory 4. NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL CRACKING
and the practicality of their lock. ATTEMPTS WITHIN THE ALLOCATED
(weight = 45%) 10 MINUTES PER SAFE
(weight = 15%)
Criteria of the refereeing committee:
• Essence of the theoretical physical concept 5. NUMBER OF FALSE ATTEMPTS OF
OTHER TEAMS TO CRACK TEAM’S SAFE
• Original application of the concept
(weight = 10%)
• Structure, functionality and aesthetic quality
• Sophistication and elegance of the physics riddle
• Understanding the scientific and technological
structure of the locking mechanism and
its function.
2. PEER RANKING
Each team marks its 5 favourite safes,
thus an overall favourable ranking is generated.
(weight = 20%)
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 07
Get
Cracking
and earn a Silver CREST Award
CREST is a UK award scheme for 11-19 To enter your project for a CREST Award, you
year olds recognising success, building must register by contacting your CREST local
skills and demonstrating personal coordinator. They will liaise with you regarding
achievement in STEM (science, technology, what is required for a CREST Award and help
engineering and maths) project work: you through the simple registration process.
www.britishscienceassociation.org/crest You can find your CREST local coordinator:
CREST is an easy-to-run UK wide STEM www.britishscienceassociation.org/
enrichment scheme. It is endorsed by UCAS crestcontacts
for use in personal statements and can For more information about how you can
contribute towards a ‘skill’ section in the earn a CREST Award by participating in
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) scheme the ‘Get Cracking’ Tournament then please
at the corresponding level. contact please contact:
scienceeducation@weizmann.org.uk
Tell us about how you are
getting on building your safe:
WEIZMANN UK
WEIZMANNUK
WEIZMANN UK VIDEOS
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 08Last
year’s
1ST
winners
ST PAUL’S SCHOOL
Under Pressure Safe
2ND 3RD
ELTHAM COLLEGE KING DAVID HIGH SCHOOL
Cracking Fiends Safe Number Cruncher Safe
For more examples please visit:
http://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/en/safecracking
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 09Case
Study1
St Paul’s School
HOW IT WORKS cross section. Once all three lasers have been
obscured for a short while, a lamp flashes on,
The safe consists of two challenges, the ultimate
notifying the burglars that they have completed
objective of which is to remove a ball bearing
the first challenge.
named Barry from being stuck at the top of a
broken roller coaster. Burglars have access to RIDDLE TWO:
one side of the safe, which contains two useful For the second challenge, the burglars must
objects, which they should remove: a small model first use the nitinol wire to push a small switch
train carrying a cargo of ball bearings, for the first once the safe has finished rotating. This causes
task; and a flag pole with a piece of nitinol wire, the lamp to turn on permanently and a small
for the second. servo motor to slide the broken part of the
roller coaster into place, repairing it for Barry.
RIDDLE ONE:
The lamp used is one commonly found in car
To complete the first challenge they must
side lamps, and has the property of heating
observe that, supported in the centre of the safe,
up substantially during operation, due to its
is a toroidal acrylic tank containing water dyed
high resistance. When the nitinol is touched to
green, with 3 lasers shining through this tank to
the lamp in the correct place, as marked with
LDRs detecting the light level. Tilting the safe will
white paint on the wire, it will be heated past
only obscure at most 2 of 3 the lasers, so they
its activation temperature of ~60C, causing its
must find a way to make the water rise up the
crystalline structure to transform from a flexible
side of the tank on all sides. This is first done
body-centered tetragonal structure known as
by lifting the safe off its base, which contains
Martensite to a more rigid simple cubic structure
a series of circular tracks, which can be filled
know as Austenite. This means that it will return
with ball bearings, and then replacing the safe
to a predetermined shape, in this case a hook,
on the base. The safe can now be spun rapidly,
allowing it to be used to pull a switch that was
causing the water to rise up the sides since the
formerly inaccessible. Once the switch is pulled,
its momentum tangent to the rotation must be
the roller coaster door opens, and Barry rolls
conserved, up until the point where the depth
down the roller coaster and out the side of
of the water on the outside provides sufficient
the safe.
centripetal acceleration to water inside it to
maintain a stable situation, forming a parabolic
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 10Case
Study2
Dulwich College
HOW IT WORKS RIDDLE ONE:
The crackers must remove the aluminium ring
The safe is built of wood and acrylic.
from the base of the clear plastic tower. To do
It also consists of:
this one must first remove the iron ring above it
A metal pole using the magnet provided. After this the solenoid
A solenoid coil below the ring can be connected to the power
pack provided. A.C. current must be used, and a
A copper coil quick change of voltage will cause the ring to be
Decorations including LEDs. jumped up the pole out of the plastic tube.
The code can then be read out from the inside
Potential crackers are provided with: of the ring.
– A 1.5V cell
– An A.C power pack, which can provide RIDDLE TWO:
a variable supply of current (1-15V) The cracker must withdraw the iron ring from
– Two neodymium magnets, one of which the pool of rings inside the safe. To do this
is attached by a piece of string (or wire) the aluminium tube must first be removed
to the safe from inside the coil sticking into the safe. The
neodymium magnets must then be connected
– Wires for connecting the solenoid to the
to the 1.5V cell provided. They must be repelling
power pack. Two combination locks lock
each other and the one attached to string
the safe, each corresponding to a challenge.
should be on the negative end. The cell can
The challenges can be done in either order.
then be inserted into the coil and if it has been
connected correctly it will move by itself and
drop into the pool and attract the iron ring. The
iron ring can then be pulled out using the string.
Again the code is on the inside of the ring.
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 11Case
Study3
Trinity School
HOW IT WORKS Once the door has been shut and the pulley
system has been correctly deployed, the burglar
RIDDLE ONE: can then pull the lever on the top of the safe to
Hook-a-duck Challenge release the 20g ‘duck’ weight and hence lift up
There are two pulley groups. One can be the other 30g ‘duck’.
hooked to the ceiling of the safe and the other
to the weight which, when arranged correctly, If they have been successful, the pressure circuit
have the ability to lift a mass of 30g with will recognize that the 30g ‘duck’ weight has
a counter weight of 20g. The burglar must been removed and it will send a signal to a servo,
successfully and efficiently thread the provided which is locking a different door to the safe,
string into these pulleys in a way which can lift to unlock and hence grant the burglars access
in this ratio of 3:2. This relates to the equation to the next stage of the safe cracking challenge.
Work Done = Force x Distance Moved. RIDDLE TWO:
Once successfully threaded through the pulley Light up the fun fair Challenge
system the string should be hooked to the The next riddle is based around the physics
bottom of the top pulley group (1kg) – that of circuit building, electromagnetic induction
is held up by a pivoting lever. The lever, when and the use of specific electrical components
pulled from the outside of the safe, will allow such as LDR’s and neon lamps. There are two
the ‘duck’ weight to fall. If the burglars have pairs of wires coming out of two holes. One of
done this correctly the 20g ‘duck’ will fall these pairs has a potential divider set up across
and the 30g ‘duck’ will rise off of its base. it.You must apply sufficient voltage to this to
operate the voltage-controlled switch (with a
The base is metal and attached to a metal
wire at a lower potential) which will close a relay
platform which when disconnected will send
switch. The other pair is connected to a light
a message to a circuit. This in turn recognises
emitting device.You must supply 90V to this to
when the ‘duck’ has been lifted up from its
make it light up. When the relay switch is closed
platform. To stop the burglars from cheating
and the light is lit, a bolt will retract for a few
by pulling the string down with their hands,
seconds, and the door will open to reveal the
the circuit will only function when the door
burglar’s prize.
to the safe has been shut (this action completes
the circuit).
The Weizmann UK ‘Get Cracking’ Physics Tournament 12Registration closes: 29 September 2017 Please register your interest in participating in the 2017/18 competition by contacting: scienceeducation@weizmann.org.uk 020 7424 6860
WEIZMANNUK WEIZMANN UK VIDEOS WEIZMANN UK
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