This is the first chemistry and physics competition hosted by The Petroleum Institute for students of the Glenelg School. The main purpose of the CPLPI is to stimulate interest in physics and chemistry and to develop talent through the excitement of solving challenging problems in a timed format. The problems range from the very easy to the difficult. Students who participate in the CPLPI should find that most of the problems are challenging but within their grasp.
Although the excitement of challenging one’s ability in chemistry and physics is naturally directed toward the contest itself, it is what happens before and after the contests which can have lasting educational value. This might be done by working through previous examinations, participating in similar leagues and, most importantly, studying chemistry and physics more intensely than one normally does in high school. Learning will take place if students singly or jointly strive to solve those contest problems they did not see how to solve in the allotted time as well as to understand the solutions to those problems that they did not solve correctly. The problems on the CPLPI are chosen so that the solutions illustrate important principles specific for each topic. A student’s tool kit for solving problems in chemistry and physics can be greatly expanded by the acquisition of the techniques required for or developed from the contest.