A four-person team from Darlington School placed first in the private school category and third overall in the 33rd Annual Alabama High School Physics Contest on Jan. 30, sponsored by the University of Alabama.
Participants included Kevin Shen, who placed third individually out of more than 200 contestants; Spencer Carroll, who placed fourth; Ziyang Chen, who placed seventh; and Beau Kanskulthorn. The first part of the contest was an individual examination that included 32 challenging AP Physics questions. Next, the four-person team participated in a Ciphering Contest, where one team member sits in the “hot seat” and answers four questions during a specified amount of time. If the question is answered correctly in less than 40 seconds, the student scores a five. In less than 80 seconds, he or she scores a 3; in less than 120 seconds, he or she scores 1, and no other scores are given.
“All scores are displayed on a screen along with the problem, and it puts real pressure on the students to be fast and yet not make a mistake,” said Donald Sweeney, AP Physics teacher. “Spencer was our first contestant, and he scored the maximum allowed (20 points) for his four questions. Ciphering is a great challenge for the students as they must relax and be very confident in their abilities in order to get the full amount of points.”
