On Saturday, February 28, the Harriton Physics Olympics team placed first in their final meet of the year. This win moved them up to second in the final year standings of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Physics Olympics League, placing just below local rival, Penncrest High School.

Led by coach Ms. Harvey and captains Felix Serlin and Sam Davis, Physics Olympics is an extracurricular activity in which students apply their knowledge of physics to various events. Some require students to build devices, such as the Electric Car event, where students build a small car capable of carrying a heavy sled solely using the power of two 9-volt batteries. Other events test students’ knowledge of physics concepts, like Physics Pictionary, where students play a game of Pictionary with their team using a predetermined list of physics words and phrases, such as “Coulomb’s Law” and “shock wave.”

The club is open for anyone to join; current physics students receive extra credit for their participation in both preparation and the competition itself.

This year, the Physics Olympics team has been plagued by schedule conflicts that have weakened their team at competitions. In particular, the last two competitions have overlapped with Science Olympiad events, which many members of the Physics Olympics team also participate in.

Despite these setbacks, the team still managed to be successful on Saturday. The team was led by Lukas Serlin’s first place finish in the Bridges event, which qualifies him for the International Bridge Competition in April. The team’s impressive performance on the problem set also contributed to their victory.

“I’m really happy with how the team finished strong,” said captain Felix Serlin. “After an unsatisfying placing last meet it was great to send a message to the other schools, especially Penncrest.”

The team now hopes to carry this year’s strong finish into next year. If you like physics and want to try to apply what you have learned in class, head down to Ms. Harvey’s RAM next year!