12 May 2020

The Physics department challenged the fourth year boys to apply the ideas they had been learning about in remote lessons and to video the results of their investigations as a prep task.

The topic they had been covering was Forces and Momentum which requires them to be able to explain the principles behind crumple zones, air bags and other safety features designed to reduce impact forces. The boys were encouraged to get away from their remote learning devices for a while and do something practical, the most difficult aspect of science lessons to make up for away from the lab.

The challenge was to demonstrate a device or a surface that would totally prevent a ball from bouncing on impact, thereby demonstrating that the impact force had been absorbed gradually and reduced the return force on the ball itself.

Some of the investigations were impressively detailed and some of the solutions very ingenious which resulted in a large number of commendations, Head of Department praises and even a Head’s Praise being issued. There were too many video submissions to show all of them but a compilation of the best bits has been put together which features great ideas, successes and failures and a number of dogs!

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