Physics Fun Day!

By  Tooba Ghias, Staff Writer

On Thursday, March 2, physics students from all over Southern California journeyed to Knott\’s Berry Farm to take part in physics-related competitions, festivities, and, of course, some rides.

The theme park opened for the students at 8 AM, two hours earlier than usual, with a total of 5,000 teenagers in attendance. Students scurried around the park with their lab packets measuring the angles, heights, and speeds of different rides.

“It was kind of hard measuring acceleration on the roller coasters because we were moving so fast!” says senior Mariyam Ahmed. “Luckily, the calculations were short, so we got to enjoy our time without having to solve  problems all the time.”

Not only did students calculate measurements, but they also participated in numerous all-day competitions against other high schools. Such competitions included an airplane making tutorial in the morning, followed by the paper tower contest, Fermi questions, an airplane throwing contest, and a buoyancy competition. Fountain Valley teams gave it their all in the competition, with one team placing first in the Fermi questions.

Senior Jennifer Duong says, “This competition was interesting and fun. It was a bit of a challenge because you had to give estimations on the sizes of different things based off of your former knowledge. What made it harder was that we couldn\’t use a calculator.”

Until closing time at 6 PM, students enjoyed the short lines that justified the $22 ticket price. Sadly, the popular rollercoaster Xcelerator was closed, much to the dismay of many physics students.

“It was like senior ditch day without the ditching,” recalls senior Anh-Vu Nguyen.

As for the seniors who didn’t attend, it was a free day for them. Some classes, such as Advanced Placement courses (AP’s) had mini parties with six students or played board games to pass the time. This was probably the only day prior to AP exams when AP students could stop to smell the roses.