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Midwest Science Olympiad Coaching Academy It s About Time Overview

Event Description. Tests knowledge of time, astronomy, physics, etc.Includes 2 parts: testing of a pre-constructed time keeping device and a written exam2 students per team allowedCompetitors allowed to bring:A 3 ring binder with material from any sourceWriting utensilsTools and supplies to c

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Midwest Science Olympiad Coaching Academy It s About Time Overview

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    1. Midwest Science Olympiad Coaching Academy It’s About Time Overview

    2. Event Description Tests knowledge of time, astronomy, physics, etc. Includes 2 parts: testing of a pre-constructed time keeping device and a written exam 2 students per team allowed Competitors allowed to bring: A 3 ring binder with material from any source Writing utensils Tools and supplies to calibrate / operate their device Calculators for use on the test Safety goggles Not allowed in the room: Watches Cell phones Time keeping devices (except for calibration purposes)

    3. Time Keeping Device Built prior to the competition Not allowed to utilize: Commercial counters or timepieces Electrical components Chemical reactions Must be built to contain spillage Impound details: Only allowed 1 device Include everything needed to operate and calibrate Must fit into an 80cm cube (except for cleanup supplies) Must be able to be moved by the competitors Mark everything with school name and number Don’t need to impound safety goggles

    4. 2009 Rules Changes Only need to impound items required for Part I (device testing) Balances / scales / test tubes / beakers / graduated cylinders / etc. are not considered counters and thus ARE allowed A battery-operated electronic scale can be used to determine mass The device can become larger than 80cm cube once setup Devices must be constructed to minimize possible impacts on other teams when running Time trials will run in the order listed in the rules Teams are allowed to interact with the device during and between time trials

    5. Example Time Devices Water / sand glass Simple / torsional pendulums Oscillating spring

    6. K.I.S.S Principle!

    7. Competition Part 1 5 min setup / calibration period (allowed to use stopwatches) 5 time trials 10 – 30 s 30 – 90 s 90 – 180 s 180 – 300 s 10 – 300 s Target times are the same for all teams Teams are NOT informed of the target times Supervisor will use a tone emitting device to signal the start and stop of a trial (audio files are available at http://soinc.org/its_about_time_c) At least 1 min between trials to reset and record result (to nearest 0.1 s)

    8. Competition Part 1 Scoring Start with 10 points per trial (50 points total) Penalty points deducted as follows: 10 – 30 s trial: 0.4 pts / 0.1s 30 – 90 s trial: 0.3 pts / 0.1s 90 – 180 s trial: 0.2 pts / 0.1s 180 – 300 s trial: 0.1 pts / 0.1s 10 – 300 s trial: 0.1 pts / 0.1s Max penalty of 10 points per trial Penalty of up to 10 points for spills / splashes etc Penalty of 15 points for not cleaning up area Supervisor should give team an opportunity to correct mess before assessing penalty Time trial 5 is the first tiebreaker

    9. Competition Part 2 Written test lasting 20-30 minutes Questions may be multiple choice, true-false, problem solving, etc Test worth 50 points Designated question is the second tiebreaker Example questions: What is the sidereal time in NYC at 9:30AM on June 21, 2009? What is the longitudinal time difference between St. Louis and Kansas City? Calculate the length of a simple pendulum given it’s period

    10. Suggested Areas of Knowledge History of the calendar, time keeping, etc Time related terminology (sidereal, equinox, diurnal, etc) Solar / celestial mechanics Geographical terms (latitude, longitude, tropics, time zones, etc) Significant dates (solstices, leap years, daylight savings, etc) Physics equations related to time (velocity, periods, etc)

    11. Suggested Study / Reference Materials Books: Physics textbooks Jespersen, James; Fitz-Randolph, Jane; Robb, John “From Sundials to Atomic Clocks: Understanding Time and Frequency” 1999 Websites: http://soinc.org/its_about_time_c Wikipedia (Time, Clock, etc.) http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/time.html Exploringtime.org

    12. Tips and Suggestions Device Construction: K.I.S.S principle Get components from hardware stores, plumbing supply, toy stores, etc. Minimize effort required to setup and reset device Part 1: Have defined roles for both team members Alternate ‘tasks’ for each time trial to alleviate fatigue Compensate for human reactions when reading off elapsed time Don’t ‘fiddle’ with device between trials Part 2: Review all questions before starting Tackle easy ones first Divide up questions between team members and work in parallel Don’t overload the binder with material

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