physics
department news
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The
following items have been extracted from the parents newsletters written
October 2008 Nuffield Bursary Thomas Davidson, in S6, recently attended an event in
Edinburgh to recognise the achievements of all pupils across Scotland
who completed work for the Nuffield Bursary project, over the summer.
This involved Thomas doing paid work at a local university,
carrying out important research as part of their team, and eventually
producing a report on his findings.
Thomas’s project was to investigate what happens during an
earthquake and how soil can ‘liquefy’ under extreme conditions. Thomas really enjoyed his work and we congratulate him on his
achievement. Total E & P Challenge On Thursday 11 September, the Physics department took a group
of 10 S3 pupils to the Webster Theatre in Arbroath to attend the above
challenge. Working in teams of five, the pupils carried out a variety of
quizzes and practical activities, which included operating the pump and
valves on a model oil well in order to pump oil from the sea bed to the
surface, and designing a buggy to carry a banana for the greatest
distance. Both teams were successful. One team (Harry Eggo, Danielle
Marr, Zahra Panchbaya, Katy Robertson, and Feargus Schofield) won
vouchers as runners-up in the oil well challenge and two members of the
other team (Nikolaus Blow and Fatima Rehman) were each awarded a Web cam
for their high scoring answers in the quiz.
June 2008 Westpoint Bridge Design Contest As
part of the ‘Engineering for Life’ activity that Physics and
Technology pupils attended in N November, several pupils were encouraged
to enter an online bridge design competition, organised by West Point
University, USA. The pupils were able to download an excellent piece of free
software which enabled them to design and test their bridge designs on
their home PC. This contest was open to all pupils in Scotland so we were pleased to hear that Naushin Nawar and Channelle Buchan in S3 eventually came in 20th position. The girls received a small prize including Amazon vouchers and we congratulate them on their efforts. Glasgow
Science Centre Trip To enhance the education of the pupils in 4th year studying the Space Physics topic, a trip was arranged to Glasgow Science Centre involving loads of stuff about space. We arrived bang on time, despite the usual Glasgow traffic jams, and enjoyed “Space Station 3D” on the giant IMAX screen, wearing our 3D glasses. Afterwards we had time to explore the “Science Mall” with lots of varied and interesting “hands-on” exhibits, spread across 3 levels, which most pupils seemed to really enjoy. After a quick packed lunch we attended the Planetarium for a whistle-stop tour of our solar system and far beyond. Finally everyone had just enough time to grab some gifts and science-related toys from the gift shop – the 6th year pupils (and Mr. Anderson) were seemingly more interested in the huge LEGO collection – before heading back up the road. Thanks to all who attended for making it such an enjoyable day and thanks to the PTPA whose generous funding allowed this trip to take place.
December 2006 Engineering
for Life On
Tuesday 14th November a group of 40 pupils from Harris
Academy’s Physics and Technology Departments attended the Engineering
for Life event, held at the University of Dundee’s Bonar Hall.
The event comprised a morning full of mini-workshops designed for
the pupils to find out about the diverse range of engineering disciplines,
to let them have “hands-on” experience and to talk to professional
engineers about their work. Each
workshop gave a clear illustration of the impact that engineering has on
the world around us – our buildings, the transport we use and even our
water supply. Activities on
the day included the Royal Engineers, robotics, bridge-building,
computer-aided design and testing, water pumping, road-surface testing,
water pollution and more. Everyone
enjoyed a stimulating and thought-provoking morning and we thank the
Institute of Civil Engineers for organising this event.
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