FAQs: Collected from Teachers & Organizers

Physics Olympics is an annual science competition organized by the Department of Physics & Astronomy (UBC Faculty of Science) and the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy (UBC Faculty of Education). Taking place on UBC campus, this full day experience for B.C. high school teams is comprised of two pre-build projects, two labs, Fermi questions and a physics quiz game call “Quizzics!”.

The team with the lowest decibel score at the end of the day receives a trophy for their school, as well as other awards. Up to five students from a team can participate in any given event, with each event being open to the same or a different set of team members. Teams may have between 1 and 30 students.

The competition is a fun and creative challenge for students and teachers, and all teams are supported and celebrated for participating.

Registration: In 2025, we will charge $80 per team, which covers some of our budget expenses, with the competition being partly subsidized by the organizing departments.

Materials/equipment: We will never require expensive parts or select equipment (like a laser cutter or 3-D printer) for creating competitive pre-build designs. There will always be budget-oriented ways to complete pre-build challenges.

Funding: In many BC public schools, PACs have gaming grants (about $200) that can go to registration, materials, etc.

Check out our website! we have multiple pages that aim to help you through the entire process:

• Registration provides sign up information
• The Rule Books outline the pre-build and competition logistics.
• For Teachers page gives additional backgrond on the Physics Olympics competition, along with tips and recommendations on how to prepare your classes
• The Timetable of events shows the day’s schedule.
• And the Home page will alert you to upcoming deadlines.
• For viewing past activities, check out the Gallery.

If you have any questions, or would like to connect with a more experienced teacher, contact Marina Milner-Bolotin for more information.

If you would like to connect with a more experienced teacher for tips, or advice, we can connect you! Please contact Marina Milner-Bolotin to inquire.

Visit physics classes, send out school announcements and set up a communication structure: group chat, meeting schedule, and lots of preparation practice!

This event is open to students in grades 10, 11 and 12. Some teachers recommend that grades 11 and 12 are most appropriate for the competition material. However, exceptional grade 10 students have participated successfully in the past. Teams are generally from 5-10 students.

If you would like to connect with a more experienced teacher for tips, or advice, we can connect you! Please contact Marina Milner-Bolotin to inquire.

Prebuilds: Read the rule books carefully! Ensure that students understand what is not permitted and what is required for the event. Check students’ building progress carefully so there are no surprise disqualifications on the day!

Brainstorm early! Students will need a lot of time to try out different designs, building methods, parts, etc. Many things will fail initially, so test, test, and test!

For examples on prebuilds from previous years, see the rule books from past events here.

Labs: We provide a short description of the general lab topic in the rule book – the details of the lab are kept as a surprise. Student teams will thus receive lab instructions on the day of the competition when they enter the event.

Quizzics: Quizzics questions are physics questions in multiple choice format. Examples are available here, at the UBC faculty of Education Department of curriculum and Pedagogy website, under the “Secondary” tab and then “Physics”.

Fermi questions: Fermi questions are order of magnitude estimation problems. You can find many examples online, including:

• Innovative Teaching Ideas: An Excellent Collection of Fermi Problems for your class
• Wikipedia: Fermi problem – see “External links” at the bottom of the page for Fermi question collections for students and teachers
• STEM Learning: Fermi problems

UBC Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy has Secondary School questions related to physics here. The questions are found under each subtopic, ranging from Vectors to Magnetism to Thermodynamics to Circular Motion and more. These are all examples of “quizzics” questions.

There are many Fermi questions online. Here are some examples:

• Innovative Teaching Ideas: An Excellent Collection of Fermi Problems for your class
• Wikipedia: Fermi problem – see “External links” at the bottom of the page for Fermi question collections for students and teachers
• STEM Learning: Fermi problems

While physics teachers often serve as coaches, there is no requirement for the coach to be a physics teacher. If the physics teacher in your school is unavailable, ask around your school to see if another teacher can coach your team. Depending on your school’s rules, a parent could possibly serve as a coach, too. Should you need to ask a parent to be a coach, please check with your high school Principal to ensure this is allowed, and if so, what the school requires of the parent.

How to approach this event: This competition is about team spirit, community and physics fun! We value everyone’s participation, regardless of scores.

Some teachers have found it helpful to be less competitive and more collaborative/supportive of their students. It is important to practice physics concepts throughout the year in labs and classes that relate to the events.

Prebuilds: Start prebuilds early(!) – this will take up most of your time. It’s fun for students to brainstorm designs, but help direct them to keep it simple – actual builds are hard to do and you need enough time for multiple failures and successes. Remember: Projects can break – be prepared!

The prebuilds will never require expensive equipment, parts, or machinery. *Important note: Glue guns and popsicle sticks can be part of successful builds! 

Communication: Make sure your students are organized (give them group chat, meeting times, communication directions). Check their projects regularly and act like a judge (make sure they are following rules – creatively following the rules is not the same as trying to circumvent them!).

Traveling to UBC from a distant provincial location has its challenges. It takes much organization, time and determination to manage a large student competition trip. So, is it worth it?

We think it is! Our 2023 Physics Olympics hosted 760+ students, teachers and coaches. The energy was electric and the networking was incredible. Apart from our event, there are many things to add on to your trip:

• TRIUMF: Canada’s Particle Accelerator tours (these will be organized beforehand by members of our organizing committee)
• Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute – to inquire about tours please contact outreach@phas.ubc.ca
• ATLAS lab – UBC Department of Physics & Astronomy
• UBC campus tours
• Vancouver! See the sites while you’re here (Grouse Mountain, Downtown, Granville Island, English Bay beach, and more).

If you would like to connect with an experienced teacher who travels from a remote location for this event, we can connect you! Please contact Marina Milner-Bolotin to inquire.

This event is a about team collaboration – support your team! Try your best: you are part of the Physics Olympics family now as a representative of your school, so we will celebrate you just for participating!

*Bring extra parts for your pre-builds* Projects can break and bend (and sometimes can have an unscheduled disassembly through an accidental drop test or getting sat upon). The competition day presents a large, busy and competitive environment, but we got you! Your peers, teachers/coaches and event volunteers are all here for help and support.

One student reported that it was through this event that she clarified her interests in post-secondary education (she’s now in first year engineering) and lost her hesitancy about how to proceed.

A practiced teacher who has been involved in the Physics Olympics since 2007 keeps coming back for the experience for his physics students and the opportunity to be at UBC and its neighbouring physics venues (TRIUMF, SBQMI, PHAS labs).

Another teacher explained that this competition opens different ways to engage with students: to support their ideas, creativity, successes, failures and challenges in a mentorship capacity.  

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