Posted: Thursday 14 January 2010
Newton's Law of Cooling earns Medal for S5 Pupils
Three pupils at Hutchesons' are among the best school physicists in the UK.
S5 pupil Timothy Heelis has been awarded a Gold Medal in the second round of the British Physics Olympiad and is currently competing for a place in the UK Physics Team for the International Physics Olympiad.
Two further S5 pupils, Marwa Allam and Natasha Britton, won a Silver Medal in the GCSE level British Physics Olympiad Experimental Project, coming top at this level, as no Gold medal was awarded.
Natasha and Marwa's project was based on Newton's Law of Cooling, which has applications in forensic science and food technology, says their teacher, Julie Boyle. Using a hairdryer to blow cold air on to a beaker of hot water, they investigated how the rate of cooling was affected by the distance from the hair dryer. They then analysed their results in Excel and wrote up their findings in the style of an academic paper. "The judging panel described their project as 'outstanding'," says Miss Boyle, "and the competition certainly provided them with the opportunity to highlight their tremendous organisation, practical abilities and ICT skills."
The British Physics Olympiad aims to encourage the study of physical sciences in the United Kingdom by setting four annual stimulating physics competitions. These competitions are designed to test a student's basic understanding of the principles of physics and enable them to compare their attainment with those of pupils from all over the United Kingdom.