2007-2008 Science Olympiad Events and Descriptions

B(MIDDLE SCHOOL ONLY EVENTS)

Balloon launch glider : Students construct prior to competition a glider of specific dimensions. The glider is then placed on a helium filled Mylar that rises and at some point the students pull the cord to remove the balloon from the glider. Students usually have to build a device that will hold the glider on the balloon as well. Time aloft determines the place. Event is held in a gymnasium.

Bio Process lab: A lab based event with students moving from station to station with a specific time per station. Each station will have a variety of questions such as parts and functions of the parts of a microscope, measurements, graph and table interpretation, use of dichotomous key, etc. Score is based on the number of correct answers.

Crave the wave: An event based on the physical properties of waves. Students will receive questions about wave frequency, wave length, etc. as well as questions about different kinds of waves and their uses. Students may be asked about determining if an object is moving toward or away from them.

Meteorology: An event that deals with certain aspects of severe storms-tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. Students will be given various weather maps and asked to make certain interpretations such as the speed of movement of the hurricane etc. Also included may be questions about the causes of different types of storms, the basic physics behind thunder and lightning, etc.

Metric mastery: An event set up as stations that students pass through twice. During the first time through, the students have 30 seconds to make estimates about a particular metric quantity such as mass, area, length temperature, etc. They then move through the stations a second time, 60 seconds at each station, and make the actual measurement they estimated in the first round. Students are score on the accuracy of both the estimates and the measurements.

Mystery architecture: In some ways, Write it Do it in reverse. Students will receive a bag of stuff and be asked to build a structure that will accomplish a particular task. The final structure must have specific dimensions, and then the device will be tested to determine how much mass it can support.

Reach for the stars: Students identify stars and constellations from the list in the rules. They may also expect to have questions about star formation, age of certain starts, etc. Scoring is based on the number of correct answers.

Road Scholar: An event that involves various map reading skills. Students are typically given a story, a US Geological Survey Topographical map and symbols, and a state highway map. They then have to answer a variety of questions such as distance between two points, the elevation for a building location, structures visible from a certain area, etc. Scoring is based on the number of correct answers

 Robo- cross : Students will build a remote controlled car that will start in one quadrant of a 4 x4 platform with 2" edges all around the platform. The device must then attempt to move a tennis ball, 4 ping pong balls, a 9 volt battery, and 4Llegos into a separate quadrant. This last quadrant has a ¾ of molding that must be traveled over. Ideally, the objects are then to be place in a 11.5 ounce coffee can, the goal. Students get points for the number of objects moved into the final quadrant and extra points for placing things in the goal.

 Science Word: Password using scientific terms. Students alternate giving 1-2 clues or determining the word over a 4 minute time frame. The words can be from any aspect of middle school science. Scoring is based on the number of correct words and the number of words in sequence that were scored correctly.

Simple Machines: Students are exposed to a number of different simple machines. At each machine, they make certain measurements and calculations to determine the mechanical advantage provided by the machine. Scoring is then based on their calculations

 Trajectory: Students build ahead of time a device that is capable of using elastic to launch a ball toward two targets. The closer target is higher than the more distant target, but the distances are not known until after the devices have been impounded. Scoring is based on the proximity to the target. A log book testing various angles, etc is required.