Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1910.03290

The IYPT and the Ring Oiler Problem

Martin Plesch·Samuel Plesník·Natália Ružičková
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) continued in 2018 in Beijing, China and 2019 in Warsaw, Poland with its 31\ts{st} and 32\ts{nd} editions. IYPT is a modern scientific competition for teams of high school students, also known as the Physics World Cup. It involves long time theoretical and experimental work focused on solving 17 publicly announced open ended problems in a teams of five. On top of that, teams have to present their solutions in front of other teams and scientific jury and get opposed and reviewed by their peers. Here we present a brief information about the competition with a specific focus on one of the IYPT 2018 tasks - the Ring Oiler. This seemingly simple mechanical problem appeared to be of such a complexity that even the dozens of participating teams and jurying scientists were not able to solve all of its subtleties.

Explore related subjects

physics.ed-phphysics.class-ph

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Martin Plesch, Samuel Plesník, Natália Ružičková. 2019-10-08. The IYPT and the Ring Oiler Problem. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404%2Fab6414

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Addressing misconceptions in university physics: A review and experiences from quantum physics educators

Students often begin physics courses with misconceptions rooted in everyday experience and intuition, which can be resistant to change. While research has identified strategies for addressing misconceptions across physics, it remains unclear whether different domains, like classical and quantum physics, require different approaches. Quantum concepts can pose different representational and mathematical demands, while both domains require instructors to elicit and develop students' reasoning. To support discussion of these instructional challenges, we organize selected literature on addressing misconceptions in physics education and summarize instructors' accounts. The overview groups 122 distinct works into four categories, with further subcategories. A preliminary framework developed from existing review literature informed the interview guide. We interviewed 12 instructors from the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing and the Perimeter Institute, who have collectively taught over 100 quantum courses. The accounts describe difficulties involving instructional representations, prerequisite knowledge, and the interpretation of students' reasoning, alongside reported diagnostic and instructional responses. We draw these accounts and the literature together as questions for instructional planning. The report does not resolve the intended classical--quantum comparison or establish comparative instructional effectiveness.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2026

Johann Bernoulli's analysis of elastic collisions (a teaching sequence to introduce the dynamic law thereby inspired)

In order to explain an elastic collision, Johann Bernoulli considered two bodies connected by a spring. Motion is defined as a succession of states of rest. Then, considering the spring to be a lever with a body at each extremity, the laws of equilibrium imply that `motion' is described by the time variation of the (common) quantity of motion of the bodies; the dynamic law is thus deduced. This inspires a teaching sequence to introduce the dynamic law (in one dimension) in introductory physics course; we call it ``bernoullian sequence''.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2026

Design and Initial Evaluation of a Photovoltaics-focused Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience in Physics

Traditional physics laboratory courses often focus on experiments with well-known results, limiting students' engagement in authentic scientific practices. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), where students engage in real research with unknown outcomes, have been shown to support positive student outcomes, such as increased self-efficacy, persistence, and engagement in scientific practices. However, discipline-specific studies of CUREs in physics remain limited. We describe the development, structure, and initial implementation of a photovoltaics-focused CURE in a second-year undergraduate physics laboratory course at the University of Colorado Boulder. To examine how students experienced the course, we analyzed end-of-semester reflection assignments using the five CURE components (i.e., scientific practices, discovery, relevance, collaboration, and iteration), as well as established dimensions of research authenticity, as analytic frameworks. Students described experiences associated with all five CURE components, with collaboration, relevance, and scientific practices appearing most prominently in their reflections. Students also associated authentic research with meaningful scientific contribution, engagement in authentic scientific practices, and navigating the uncertainty and setbacks inherent in research, although fewer explicitly identified themselves as researchers or scientists. A subset of students additionally connected the course to their immediate thinking about future academic and professional pathways. This work contributes both a discipline-specific model for implementing CUREs in experimental physics laboratory courses and provides insight into how students interpret and experience authentic research within this course context.

physics.ed-ph↗