Teams' reports from 2022
Report from the team
PhysMath
Hello. Wow! The contest was so fast, sorry for my late attendance, I lost almost an hour. But, I have a very good judgment about the competition: fast-thinking problems, easy ones and very creatives and applier ones. Good job, organizers!!! See you next year. Regards and continue this great job.Note: For my next participation, I'm gonna expand my team hahaha.
Report from the team
We Love Isaac Physics
Thank you so much for putting together such an amazing competition.The "We Love Isaac Physics" Team was formed after a year of problem-solving for a UK summer camp run by the Isaac Physics Project, a free physics and maths problem site run by the University of Cambridge. All members of our team had answered very many tough questions on the site and subsequently were invited for a week of university-style quantum physics lectures and fun practicals at the University of Cambridge. United by a love of physics problem-solving, we had promised to keep in touch and continue practising physics! As we were separated geographically, this was going to be a challenge!
However, when we discovered Physics Brawl, we realised that this was a perfect opportunity to unite again and solve some problems together. Our team had been meeting online weekly to practise and prepare, and we found that the Physics Brawl Problems were both fun and extremely stretching.
Then, on Wednesday 23rd November, it was finally time to give the competition a go! We talked about team tactics in the minutes leading up to the start and decided to split up and tackle the problems in smaller groups. This approach proved to be working very well until the Hurry-Up Round was released and we quickly realised we needed to team up. We managed many of these questions but were hindered by a lack of lens knowledge and sadly just missed out on a bonus by a couple of minutes. Despite this, we thoroughly enjoyed the questions, and although we did not place very highly, we had lots of fun. Overall, it was a great bonding experience and reunited some friends in doing what they love most - physics!
Team We Love Isaac Physics- Esme Somerside Gregory, Moosa Saghir, Mia Stamatova, Vinson Pang, Adrian Fernandes.
Thanks again for this amazing opportunity,
Esme Somerside Gregory
Report from the team
Sherlock Ohmz
Participation in Physics Brawl Online was an exciting new experience for all of us. It was our first international competition and in the beginning, admittedly we were a little bit nervous about it. Fortunately as the tournament progressed, most of the pressure we felt has alleviated and we became increasingly confident in ourselves as a team. This change in attitude was in large part thanks to the fact that the competition was well organized and had an easy to navigate system. We worked together dynamically, and the smooth communication between team members ensured that we never stalled at a problem and always had a clear plan for every stage of the tournament, even if it meant the strategic abandonment of certain exercises in favor of others that better suited our skillset. Being able to work togehter well, has allowed us to solve problems with solutions way more complicated, than what the hungarian curriculum had prepared us for.To summarize, taking part in this competition was a unique experience for all of us. We took home loads of personal and technical experience, but what matters the most is that we had great fun and we would gladly take part in this competition next year.
Report from the team
Einstein's Paradox
3:50 (GMT) - the team assembles and eagerly awaits the start of the competition. We had just become recently acquainted with each other, and together with over 100 other teams from across the globe, were about to embark upon a 3 hour marathon of physics problem solving. The countdown clock is ticking. Wish us luck!4:00 (GMT) - the time starts and we leap into action. After quickly scanning the questions, we divide the problems amongst ourselves and get to work.
4:30 (GMT) - having bagged several correct questions after a promising initial dash, we hit a roadblock. A couple of difficult questions halt us in our tracks and our progress dwindles.
5:00 (GMT) - the hurry up set is now unlocked and we all jump on the opportunity to score bonus points, a crucial strategy in our path to victory.
5:30 (GMT) - having secured some bonus points, we now attack both problem sets with a new found confidence. A flurry of activity ensues as we quickly make ground, knocking down problems left and right. As the points come in, we can see our team name moving up the leader board in real time.
6:30 (GMT) - with only half an hour left to go, we prepare for a final push. One last chance to get ahead in the rankings.
7:00 (GMT) - a last minute answer pushes us up 5 more points just before our time runs out, giving us the extra boost needed to secure our place in the top 40. It was a valiant effort, and while we didn't quite make it to the top, we were still very pleased with how far we'd come.
The brawl had emphasised the need for good communication and efficient allocation of time, and in hindsight we probably should've skipped more questions and been more selective of how long to spend on each question. But most importantly we all had fun challenging ourselves and in the process had gotten to know each other better. Maybe next year we'll return and reach the summit, but for now it was off to celebrate and enjoy a well earned meal...
Report from the team