May 2008
135 students, 30 teams, and 17 high schools competed in the fourth annual JPEC—the largest so far. The events were:
- Crack Attack
- Zipline Bomber
- Heavy Rock (Mystery Event)
There were heroes in every event, but when the final tally came up, West Point Grey Academy placed a solid 2nd in each part of the competition, thus becoming "Undisputed Champions" for 2008.
This year we consumed 47 large pizzas in under 6 minutes—yet another JPEC record!
Crack Attack
Build a widget that will fit into a parallel-sided crack and hold as much weight as possible before ripping out (contest rules here). Score is how much weight is held compared to the mass of your device.
This event saw all sorts of designs enter; some looked to beat the scoring method by choosing super light designs that held a bit of weight but, in the end, slightly heavier widgets won the day.
- Winners: Sir Winston Churchill Secondary D
- 2nd: West Point Grey Academy
- 3rd: Magee Secondary
Zipline Bomber
Build a device that will roll down a 12 metre clothes-line and drop an egg into a pool of water. Score was a combination of speed and egg dropping accuracy (contest rules here). This was a tough one! Only 1/3 of the teams managed to cross the finish line.
Of 90 possible egg drops, only 3 made it into the pool (geez louise!) and two of them were both dropped by the same, lone contestant from Howe Sound. Fantastic effort!
- Winners: Howe Sound Secondary (7:63 seconds and a bull's eye!
- 2nd: West Point Grey Academy (1:29 seconds—fastest time)
- 3rd: Southridge Secondary B (bull's eye only)
Heavy Rock (Mystery Event)
Using only a meter stick, rubber bands, and several known masses, determine the mass of a hand-sized rock. Score was based how close the teams were to the true weight of the rock. This was far and away the most successful event, with 1/2 of the teams accurate to within the magic 10% of the correct weight. In this case, beating the top team would have been hard—they were only 1 gram away from the correct weight. HOLY COW.
- Winners: Sir Winston Churchill D (1 gram error)
- 2nd: West Point Grey Academy (2 grams)
- 3rd: Point Grey Secondary c (6 grams)
UBC Physics Show
Dr. Waltham and Dr. Kotlicki were on hand once again to shed a little light on the topic of radiation with an entertaining and thought provoking show, complete with liquid nitrogen and infrared cameras. All the while, judges worked hard to tally the final scores. Awards were given and, not to be missed, Dr. Peets was waiting outside to end the show with his cannon of destruction. Talk about starting the weekend with a bang!
