All honors physics students must do at least one long term project with research. This project will consist of two components. The first component is a modest research paper relating to the physics, science and/or engineering of a given field of study. This part of the project must be completed independently. The second part of the project is a build piece. Students will be allowed to choose a partner, if he or she chooses, from any honors physics class at Albemarle.
Note: As details of each contest and the grading rubrics are developed, they will be posted online. In the future, you will be able to click on the contest logo or contest sub headings to find out details of each contest. With the exception of the first contest, our goal is to have the rules and rubrics posted before each nine weeks.
Research paper component requirements:
- The research paper is to be word processed
- 1" inch margins
- Font: Arial, Helvetica, Times, or Times New Roman
- Size: 12 point
- MLA Citations
- 2 graphics
- At least 2.5 pages of text
- No more than 5 pages of text
- At least 5 sources
- At least 2 must come from printed material not printed from the Internet or from an encyclopedia or dictionary.
- The paper will be graded according to a rubric to be handed out later.
- If you are missing your citations, your paper will not be graded. it will be returned and the highest grade you can earn is a 45 out of 50.
- You must work on the paper independently. You may have others proof read it but you may not have others do your research or compose the paper.
MLA format for the paper's "Works Cited List"
The work cited list is an alphabetical listing of the sources you used in the paper. Click here for a link to a helpful page from the University of North Carolina. This is the page supplied to you at the begining of the year. The link will open in a new page.
The how to do it section. Picking a Topic, Organization, MLA citations and more
Project's build component requirements:
- You may work with another honors physics student at Albemarle.
- It must adhere to the rules to get credit.
- You may seek outside advice, but you (and your partner) are to be the only ones making decisions about and constructing the project.
- This shall be graded by a rubric to be handed out later.
- Each component of the project will be graded separately.
Failure to turn in both components of a project, by the appropriate due date, will result in a zero test grade on the fourth nine weeks.
This assignment can count as an extra credit assignment if either component is done at a contest time other than the assigned time. You can only get extra credit for one component of the project. You are confined to doing the project assigned during that quarter and you must meet the same deadlines as the students doing the project as part of his or her requirement. The project will be graded and will count as an extra grade. It will not add points to a specific grade. You may do up to 3 extra credit projects during the year and no more than one per nine weeks.
Project Summaries
 Due: October 8/9, 2007
Click to view the rules and regulations for the construction component of the project.
The goal is to model a roller coaster ride that takes exactly 6 seconds to travel from start to finish. The ride is to have at least one big drop, one loop and one 180*+ turn. It must be built on a platform no larger than 80 cm by 80 cm by 200 cm high. (So we can get it into the room.)
Research: Physics, safety, engineering, history, changes in some aspect of roller coaster design or rides.
Contest Due Date: December 3/4, 2007
Click here to view the rules for the construction and competition component of the project.
The goal is to build device that is not powered by the energized electric charges from a battery, to deliver a beanbag as quick as possible to a hole in a straight track. The vehicles will compete head to head in a class competition. Immediately before each competition run, each vehicle must fit inside a box that is 10 inches wide, 12 inches long and 10 inches wide. The vehicle must start from rest without a person touching it other than to trigger it to make it work. (No pushing or pulling by people during the race).
Research: Physics, engineering, history of ancient weapons (before 1500 C.E.). Take a look at how something is built or works and follow its evolution. Look at a military defense and examine how the military offense changed through changes in weaponry.
Contest Due Date: February 25/26, 2007
Click here to view the rules for the constructionand completion of the project.
In this contest you are to build the lightest, smallest, least expensive car crash barrier with the most effectiveness. You are to build your barrier out of 3"x 5" index cards and staples. The colliding vehicle is a small cart on wheels about the size of a small boot. The passenger of the car will be ejected from the vehicle at impact. The more effective the barrier at safely stopping the car, the less distance the passenger will travel.
Research: Physics, science, engineering and/or history of keeping passengers safe during accidents. You could focus on trains, subways, amusement park rides, cars trucks, etc.
Annotated Works Cited: Not required due to the end of year calendar changes.
Research paper: Monday, April 21, 2008
Contest Due Date: Friday, April 25, 2008 (Same week as the paper)
Click here to view the rules and see a slide show and videos of the Sumo base's construction
In this contest you will build a small, simple, tether controlled robot. Your robot will go head to head against another robot for 120 seconds in an effort to wrangle as many ping pong balls as possible to your "home." The robots come from $20 kits that each team must purchase.
Research: Physics, science, engineering, technology and/or history aspects of robots, automation, and their applications
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