IYPT Sweden’s Ranking of the IYPT

2024 Problems
To be used internally in Sweden by teachers, supervisors and participants. Not to be shared
outside of Sweden.

Other useful resources are:

https://gypt.org/aufgaben.html The German Young Physicists’ Tournament Reference Kit

KEY
Green highlight = Recommended (fairly easy setup and theory okay)
Orange highlight = 2nd Choice (either too hard experimentally or too hard theoretically)
Red highlight = Avoid (Too hard experimentally and too hard theoretically)

1. Invent Yourself ()................................................................................................................ 1

2. Droplet Microscope (4.08)................................................................................................. 1
3. Rigid Ramp Walker (3.92).................................................................................................. 2
4. Charge Meter (3.85)............................................................................................................2
5. Ping Pong Rocket (3.69).................................................................................................... 2
6. Non-contact Resistance (3.54)..........................................................................................3
7. Giant Sounding Plate (3.54).............................................................................................. 3
8. Another Magnetic Levitation (3.46).................................................................................. 3
9. Juicy Solar Cell (3.46)........................................................................................................ 4
10. Magnetic Gear.................................................................................................................. 4
11. Pumping Straw (3.38).......................................................................................................4
12. The Soap Spiral (3.31)......................................................................................................5
13. Shooting Rubber Band (3.31)..........................................................................................5
14. Ruler Trick (3.31).............................................................................................................. 6
15. Wet Scroll (3.15)............................................................................................................... 6
16. Cushion Catapult (3.08)................................................................................................... 7
17. Quantum Light Dimmer................................................................................................... 7
1. Invent Yourself (??)

Take a box (e.g. a matchbox), filled with identical objects (e.g. matches, balls, …). Find a
method to determine the number of objects in the box solely by the sound produced while
shaking the box. How does the accuracy depend on the properties of the objects, the box,
and the packing density?

2. Droplet Microscope (4.08)

By looking through a single water droplet placed on a glass surface, one can observe that
the droplet acts as an imaging system. Investigate the magnification and resolution of such a
lens.
References:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-9120/36/2/301/pdf
https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.5145539

3. Rigid Ramp Walker (3.92)

Construct a rigid ramp walker with four legs (e.g. in the form of a ladder). The construction may
begin to ‘walk’ down a rough ramp. Investigate how the geometry of the walker and relevant
parameters affect its terminal velocity of walking.

4. Charge Meter (3.85)

A lightweight ball is suspended from a thread in the area between two charged plates. If the ball
is also charged it will be deflected to one side at a certain angle. What is the accuracy of such a
device for measuring the amount of charge on the ball? Optimise your device to measure the
smallest possible charge on the ball.
References:

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5. Ping Pong Rocket (3.69)
A ping pong ball is placed in a container of water. When the container is dropped, the ping pong
ball will get launched to a great height. What maximum height can you reach with up to 2 liters of
water?

Demo video: https://youtube.com/shorts/98EoAtjflmU?feature=share

Literature: https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.06713

6. Non-contact Resistance (3.54)

The responses of a LRC circuit driven by an AC source can be changed by inserting either a
non-magnetic metal rod or a ferromagnetic rod into the inductor coil. How can we obtain the
magnetic and electric properties of the inserted rod from the circuit’s responses?

Permittivity

7. Giant Sounding Plate (3.54)

When a large, thin and flexible plate (e.g. plastic, metal or plexiglass) is bent, it may produce a
loud and unusual howling sound. Explain and investigate this phenomenon.

Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFvy0T_s9O4
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~cross/Wobble%20Boards/WobbleBoard.htm

8. Another Magnetic Levitation (3.46)

Place a large disk-shaped magnet on a non-magnetic conductive plate. When a smaller magnet
is moved under the plate, the magnet on top may levitate under certain conditions. Investigate
the levitation and the possible motion of the magnet on top.

Video: https://youtu.be/sENgdSF8ppA?t=3m33s

Additional comments: Eddy currents are the major factor here, so varying the thickness of the
plate or its conductivity to change the strength of these eddy currents would be important.
The plate should also be non-ferromagnetic such that magnets do not stick to it.

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The motion of the bottom magnet in the video is done by hand, so periodic motion patterns (eg.
circular, up-down, combination of the two) could be specified for a more closed problem, though
this could be left up to the discretion of the students.

9. Juicy Solar Cell (3.46)

A functional solar cell can be created using conducting glass slides, iodine, juice (eg. blackberry)
and titanium dioxide. This type of cell is called a Grätzel cell. Make such a cell and investigate
the necessary parameters to obtain maximum efficiency

References
https://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Solar-Cells.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G94_Ec1mY-k&list=PLOj89VmvuWRAzEMo1PpeospYscPOn
-UKm&index=3
https://youtu.be/9bYqVNKbiA0

10. Magnetic Gear

Take several identical fidget spinners and attach neodymium magnets to their ends. If you place
them side by side on a plane and rotate one of them, the remaining ones start to rotate only due
to the magnetic field. Investigate and explain the phenomenon.

https://youtu.be/x2ZCxkCAoE4

11. Pumping Straw (3.38)

A simple water pump can be made using a straw shaped into a triangle and cut open at the
vertices. When such a triangle is partially immersed in water with one of its vertices and rotated
around its vertical axis, water may flow up through the straw. Investigate how the geometry and
other relevant parameters affect the pumping speed.

Figures:
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/sites/default/files/media/CentrifugalPump-pump2.png.pages
peed.ce.0H5QF3qN5_.png

Origins of the problem: https://youtu.be/yf1tSFXhnjw?t=99

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/get-naked/experiments/pumping-straw-centrifugal-pump

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12. The Soap Spiral (3.31)
Lower a compressed slinky into a soap solution, pull it out and straighten it. A soap film is formed
between the turns of the slinky. If you break the integrity of the film, the front of the film will begin
to move. Explain this phenomenon and investigate the movement of the front of the soap film.

Origins of the problem: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JmRH647dpfs

13. Shooting Rubber Band (3.31)

A rubber band may fly a longer distance if it is non-uniformly stretched when shot, giving it spin.
Optimise the distance that a rubber band with spin can reach.

Origins of the problem: Shooting rubber bands is a common act by many but has received very
little attention with regard to its trajectory, with present studies concentrating on details of the
initial behaviour when the band has only flown a few centimetres [1][2]. Such a study could
contribute to the manufacturing of aircraft as well as enhance the student's understanding of the
conservation of angular momentum as well as the Magnus effect.
In my own experiments, I have found that when the stretch is uniform, the band will start to flip
once it begins its flight, greatly increasing the air resistance and therefore giving it a shorter
range than one shot with a small amount of un-uniform stretch on either side of the thumb which
can be performed by stretching one side more than the other. Such techniques of shooting
rubber bands can be easily found on the Web. The un-uniform stretch gives the rubber band an
amount of spin which helps stabilise the band during its course of flight, minimising the windward
area and thereby increasing its range.
However, when most of the stretch is used to give the band angular velocity instead of linear
velocity, its range will drop again. Therefore, a maximum range must lie within those two
extremes which can be determined from experiment.
[1]Oratis, A. T., & Bird, J. C. (2019). Shooting rubber bands: Two self-similar retractions for a
stretched
elastic wedge. Physical review letters, 122(1), 014102.
[2] Oratis, A. T. (2016). Shooting rubber bands: dynamic buckling in unconstrained elastic ribbons
(Doctoral dissertation).
[3]https://sites.google.com/site/carolineawade/Rubber-Band-Trajectory-Project
[4]https://sites.google.com/site/jsiegler226/rubber-band-projectory

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[5]https://boingboing.net/2016/11/10/how-to-shoot-a-rubber-band-twi.html
[6]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea_39SMCL7E

14. Ruler Trick (3.31)

Place a ruler on the edge of a table, and throw a ball at its free end. The ruler will fall. However, if
you cover a part of the ruler with a piece of paper and repeat the throw, then the ruler will remain
on the table while the ball will bounce off it. Explain this phenomenon, and investigate the
relevant parameters.
Origins of the problem: https://youtu.be/VI8C52ueO6c

15. Wet Scroll (3.15)

Gently place a piece of tracing paper on the surface of water. It rapidly curls into a scroll and then
slowly uncurls. Explain and investigate this phenomenon.

Origins of the problem: "How wet paper curls" E. Reyssat and L. Mahadevan EPL (2011)
https://softmath.seas.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2011-05.pdf

16. Cushion Catapult (3.08)

Place an object on a large air cushion and drop several other objects in such a way that the first
object is catapulted away. Investigate how the exit velocity depends on relevant parameters.

Figures: https://youtu.be/iEBsfaZZyX0

17. Quantum Light Dimmer

If you put a flame with table salt added in front of a vapour sodium lamp, the flame casts a
shadow. The shadow can become lighter, if the flame is put into a strong magnetic field.
Investigate and explain the phenomenon.

Additional comments by Author: The dimming of the flame is partly attributed to the Zeeman
effect rooted in quantum mechanics and partly attributed to the interaction between the gas, soot
and the magnetic field. An investigation of the former will require some understanding of the

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quantum theory of electron spin. The latter only needs classical E&M theory. References are
provided.

References:
[1] https://youtu.be/OzkcB1lkgGU
[2] https://youtu.be/iyBjPiRlxzg
[3] https://youtu.be/5ZNNDA2WUSU