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What is Physics Week?
Physics Week at Wallace High School was an exciting and engaging celebration of scientific exploration, designed to inspire students across different year groups. With a diverse range of events, guest speakers, and interactive experiences, the week highlighted the real-world applications of physics and its significance in everyday life.
Careers Event
One of the key highlights of the week was a careers talk from local opticians, Brogans, who provided students with valuable insights into the fascinating field of optics. The talk explored the physics behind vision, lenses, and corrective eyewear, demonstrating how scientific principles are applied in medical and commercial settings. Students learned about the various career pathways within optometry and optical science, as well as the importance of physics in diagnosing and treating visual impairments.
Year 12 Cosmology
For Year 12 physicists, the week featured an enthralling lecture on cosmology and the origins of the universe. The session delved into fundamental questions of existence, exploring the Big Bang theory, cosmic inflation, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The lecture sparked curiosity and debate among students, many of whom were captivated by the vast and mysterious nature of the cosmos. This event reinforced the idea that physics is not just a subject studied in the classroom but a discipline that seeks to answer some of the most profound questions about our universe. We are all stardust at the end of the day.
Year 8 Planetarium Dome Visit
Meanwhile, Year 8 students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a breathtaking astronomical experience with a visit from the Armagh Planetarium Dome. This interactive, inflatable planetarium transported students beyond Earth’s atmosphere, allowing them to journey through the solar system and explore distant planets, moons, and stars. The engaging and visually stunning presentation provided a memorable introduction to space science, leaving students eager to learn more about the wonders of the cosmos.
Year 11 Focus
Year 11 physics students recently put their knowledge of motion and forces to the test with the classic Egg Drop Challenge. Their task? To drop an egg from five metres and analyse its motion using Video Physics technology.
Using high-speed video recording, students tracked the egg’s free-fall motion, calculating its acceleration due to gravity. As expected, they observed that the egg accelerated at approximately 10 m/s² before impact, unless it was significantly affected by air resistance.
However, the real challenge lay in the moment of impact. Depending on their protective designs (or lack thereof), some eggs shattered while others survived the fall. Using frame-by-frame analysis, students measured the deceleration on impact, revealing the immense forces at play. A shorter stopping time resulted in a much greater deceleration, explaining why some eggs met a messy fate! The activity demonstrated why engineers design airbags and crumple zones to protect passengers in car crashes.
Year 10 Challenge
Year 10 physics students recently put their engineering skills to the test in the Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower Challenge. The goal? To build the tallest free-standing tower using only dry spaghetti and marshmallows.
With a mix of creativity and physics principles, students experimented with different structures and shapes to achieve maximum height and stability. Many quickly discovered that triangles provided better support than squares, thanks to their rigid geometry. Some teams focused on wide bases for stability, while others attempted daringly tall but fragile designs.
As the towers grew taller, the challenge intensified—spaghetti beams buckled under pressure, and marshmallow joints became weak supports. Teams that applied concepts from forces, tension, and compression managed to create the most successful structures.
In the end, the tallest tower stood at nearly a metre, proving that a solid understanding of physics (and a little trial and error) can turn simple materials into impressive feats of engineering. Whether their towers stood strong or toppled over, students gained hands-on experience in structural design, problem-solving, and teamwork—essential skills for any future engineer or scientist!
Reflections
Reflecting on the success of Physics Week, Head of Department for Physics, Mr C. Crozier, shared his enthusiasm:
“Physics Week at Wallace High School was a resounding success, bringing science to life for our students in an engaging and interactive way. The careers talk from the optician demonstrated the practical applications of physics in healthcare, while the cosmology lecture for Year 12 expanded their understanding of the universe and its origins. The Armagh Planetarium Dome was a particular highlight, offering our youngest students an inspiring introduction to astronomy. We hope that this week has ignited a passion for physics among our students and encouraged them to see science as a gateway to exciting careers and discoveries.”
Physics Week at Wallace High School was an enlightening experience, reinforcing the importance of scientific curiosity and exploration. By providing students with opportunities to engage with experts, explore cutting-edge topics, and witness the wonders of the universe firsthand, the school continues to nurture a love for physics, its career opportunities, and its limitless possibilities.
Keep up to date with all the opportunities available at Wallace via http://www.instagram.com/wallacehighlisburn
Check out what happened at Wallace during our Biology Week: https://www.wallacehigh.org/news/biology-week-2024/
Last modified: March 3, 2025
