Team members will work together to answer questions about physics and astronomy. Questions may involve mechanics, waves, electricity and magnetism, optics, fluids, modern physics, famous scientists, or the history of science. Some questions may involve short calculations.
All teams will participate in the preliminary Quizzics! Questions are in multiple-choice format and each team will answer online through the Qualtrics survey. Consultation between team members is allowed. We encourage teams to set up a group video call that includes all team members, so that you can discuss your answers. One team member should be designated to submit your team’s responses in the survey.
The questions will each have a 2 minute time limit (and one minute to see the explanation); a timer will be displayed on each page. Pages will proceed at the end of the time period, and your answers will then be recorded. You will only be able to proceed to the next page when the time is up, with the exception of the last two questions, for which the shortest submission time will be used as a tie-breaker. In all cases, teams should make sure to submit their answers before the time expires. The first 8 questions are worth one point each, and the last 7 questions are worth two points each.
The teams with the highest scores in the preliminary heats will meet in the round of Final Quizzics! using a buzzer system.
The final round will be held in Zoom, with question slides streamed through YouTube. Each team will be in their own breakout room with their team members, and will be brought back to the main room to answer questions once they buzz in. One team member per team should be designated to buzz in and respond for your team.
Final Quizzics! Scoring:
- All questions (except for a selected few) answered correctly will grant the team +2 points. Incorrect questions (or failing to answer within 5 seconds) will lose the team -1 point.
- A random selection of questions in no particular order will follow a wager point style. The team that buzzes in first will be given the opportunity to bet a certain amount of their points on whether or not they’ll answer correctly. After they place their bets, they submit their answer. A correct answer will give the team double the points that they’ve bet. An incorrect answer will take away the amount of points they’ve bet. Teams who have negative points can wager the balance of their points to get back to zero, without penalty.
Video Recording & Privacy
Please note that the Final Quizzics! will be live streamed via YouTube on Canvas and could be recorded by UBC Physics Olympics only for the purpose for score validation. The video will not be made public, and showing personal video/audio is not mandatory.