We introduce the USAYPT—the United States Association for Young Physicists Tournaments, Inc. Our motto is “Better teaching and learning by doing research in your high school.” We believe that all high school teachers can improve their knowledge of physics by forming small groups that perform non‐trivial—but not cutting edge—research. In order to drive that process, the USAYPT sponsors a yearly tournament at which student teams hold debates over the results of their teacher‐guided research into four nontrivial physics problems.

1.
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Horton
and
M.
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Creating and maintaining a high school physics research program
,”
Phys. Teach.
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,
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2004
).
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T.
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,”
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,
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&–
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, “
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,”
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,
8
&–
9
(
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). The Mr. Wizard materials and other information can be viewed at http://www.mrwizardstudios.com/index.htm.
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Physics for secondary schools
,”
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,”
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,
286
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5.
See especially F. Crawford, Waves—Berkeley Physics Course Volume III (McGraw‐Hill, New York, 1965). Recently, Tata‐McGraw Hill has started reprinting the entire series.
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,
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7.
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8.
R. Bruman and Exploratorium Staff, Exploratorium Cookbooks, Volumes I, II, and III, available at http://store.exploratorium.edu/.
9.
J. Walker, The Flying Circus of Physics, 2nd ed. (Wiley, New York, 2006).
10.
International Young Physicists Tournament 2005, Problem #8.
11.
In fact, from 1995 through 2001 there was a science fair in Japan devoted to building water cars and win dcars: “The Water and Wind Power Design Festival,” sponsored by the Kanagawa Institute of Technology each August. This may have stopped in 2002. Our last record of accessing their site was 9 October 2004 and that English page is no longer available.
12.
Consult http://www.iypt.org for the latest information.
13.
Consult http://www.jyu.fi/kastdk/olympiads/ for the latest information.
14.
H.
Haskell
,
C.
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, and
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,”
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,
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and
R.
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The 14th International Young Physicists Tournament
,”
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).
16.
Our international exploits were reported in 2007:
B.
Oldaker
, “
USA team ties for third position at 20th International Young Physicists Tournament
,”
Phys. Teach.
45
,
451
(Oct.
2007
)
and
T.
Feder
, “
Physics competitions held in Iran, South Korea
,”
Phys. Today
60
,
36
(
2007
);
T.
Feder
,
2006
: “
USA team ties for third position at 19th International Young Physicists Tournament
,”
Phys. Teach.
44
,
437
(Oct.
2006
)
and
T.
Feder
Singapore, Slovakia host high‐school physics competitions
,”
Phys. Today
59
,
31
(
2006
);
T.
Feder
,
2005
: “
Can high school students do physics research?
Phys. Teach.
43
,
478
(Oct.
2005
),
T.
Feder
, “
High schoolers debate physics at international tournament
,”
Phys. Today
58
,
31
(
2005
), and NSTA Reports, Sept./Oct. 2005.
17.
USAYPT webpage is at http://www.usaypt.org.
18.
See Ref. 17. Access the link on the left titled “USAYPT Juror Rubrics.”
19.
See Ref. 17. Access the links on the left titled “What's a Physics Fight?” and “What's a Young Physicists Tournament?”
20.
B.
Oldaker
, “
Have you been to a good physics fight lately?
Phys. Teach.
45
,
299
(May
2007
);
B.
Oldaker
, “
USAYPT holds annual February tournament
,”
Phys. Teach.
46
,
295
(May
2008
);
B.
Oldaker
et al., “
USAYPT holds 2009 annual February tournament
,”
Phys. Teach.
47
,
270
(May
2009
).
21.
R. Chabay, Professor of Physics, North Carolina State University, during a taped interview after being a juror at USIYPT2008, North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics, Durham, NC, 8 February 2008.
22.
R. Chakamoukos to Dr. P. Bertrand, Oak Ridge High School USIYPT2008 Team, 8 February 2008.
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