Virginia Science Olympiad: BUILDING EVENTS Div C

Building Events Egg-O-Naut Elevated Bridge It’s About Time Mousetrap Vehicle Trajectory Mission Possible (States only)

BASICS TO REMEMBER Each device should be clearly labeled with the team name and number All devices, except Egg-O-Naut, must be impounded All events require protective eyewear Any student on the team may help build the device (new) FOLLOW THE RULES!

NEW SAFETY REGULATIONS Under each event description there is now a section for “eye protection” followed by a number Descriptions of what these numbers refer to appear on the under “events” For most events the regular lab goggles with indirect vents will work (#4, ANSI Z87) For events with projectiles – Egg-O-Naut, Trajectory, and Mousetrap Vehicle - #5 or high impact goggles/spectacles must be worn – that is they must be rated ANSI Z87+

Egg-O-Naut Students design a water rocket out of a 2-L bottle that carries an egg

Egg-O-Naut Students can bring 2 egg-o-nauts for launching The 2-L bottle must be from a carbonated beverage. Students must bring the label from the bottle or leave it on the bottle

Egg-O-Naut Students add water to the bottle The bottle is launched at 75 psi The bottle (pressure vessel) must not be damaged in any way – no scratches, no super glue, only silicone or polyurethane glue can be used

Egg-O-Naut Scoring The scoring is determined by time the rocket is in the air 15 bonus points are awarded if the egg returns to the ground unbroken 3 bonus points are awarded if the egg detaches from the pressure chamber The best score of 2 launches is used

Egg-O-Naut Design Fins – keep the rocket stable; use 3 or 4 (but nothing within 5 cm of nozzle) Nose cone – helps reduce drag; the nose cone usually contains the egg Recovery system - parachute Padding to protect egg (watch weight!)

Elevated Bridge Students design a bridge with best efficiency up to 15 kg of mass will be tested

Elevated Bridge - basics

Important measurements: –Must span cm –Must clear 30x12.5 cm in center –Max height of 20 cm

Elevated Bridge - basics Other things to note: –No maximum wood size –Must be wood (no bamboo, laminates, etc.) –Must support 5x5x2 cm block on top mid-span –Must be impounded

Elevated Bridge - scoring The score is pure efficiency: Efficiency = mass held bridge mass Bridges that don’t meet specs are tested but moved to tier 2 Bridges that are untestable are in tier 3 and ranked by mass

Elevated Bridge - tips Balsa has best weight to strength ratio – order online for better pieces ( has good balsa, cutters, etc.) Glue adds the most weight – use sparingly Have students draw plans, cover with clear packing tape and work on top of plan Build 2 identical sides, then connect Keep everything symmetrical, level, square

It’s About Time Construct a non-electrical device to measure time intervals between 10 and 300 seconds (Part I) Answer questions on the concept of time (Part II)

It’s About Time - basics Must be impounded (new this year) All parts for the device must fit in a 80cm cube for impound; other items may be brought in a separate box for calibration, clean up, etc. but may not be part of the actual device (there are penalties for mess!) Students will have 5 minutes for initial set up and 1 minute in between trials to prepare for the next trial Students may also bring a 3-ring binder (not impounded), any size, with any notes hole-punched into the binder

It’s About Time - scoring Each part is worth 50 points Part I: –There are 5 time trials, each with a starting value of 10 points –Deductions are made based on how many seconds off (to the 0.1 sec) the estimation is – has a spreadsheet and MP3 files with tones to download for practicewww.soinc.org Part II: test format with questions about time

Mousetrap Vehicle Students build a vehicle that is propelled by 1 or 2 mousetraps

Mousetrap Vehicle - basics Only unmodified commercial mousetraps may be used with bases less than 6.0 cm x 12.0 cm The vehicle’s wheel base must be between 30.0 cm and 34.0 cm. The wheel base is the distance between the center of rotation of the front and rear axles. The vehicle’s maximum wheel width may not exceed 25.0 cm. The wheel width is the distance between the outermost sides of the left and right wheels.

Mousetrap Vehicle - basics the device must work in 1 piece all energy must originate from the mousetrap the device must stop and reverse on its own only the wheels may contact the track a fixed pointed object must be on the perimeter of the vehicle 1 cm from the track sighting devices that do not use electricity are permitted

Mousetrap Vehicle – the track 3.50 m 7.00 m 8.00 m

Mousetrap Vehicle - basics students may start the device anywhere along the start line (there is a bonus if the vehicle stays within the 1.50 m track width) the vehicle must start by the touch of a pencil, pen, dowel, etc. students have 10 minutes to set up and run 2 trials students may not follow the vehicle down the track

Mousetrap Vehicle - scoring lowest score wins score = distance score + lane bonus + overrun penalty + time score

Mousetrap Vehicle - scoring distance score = (for vehicles that reach the 7 m line and reverse) the distance measured in cm (to 0.1 cm) from the center of the starting line to the fixed point. If the vehicle only makes it past the 3.5 m line, 1000 points are added; if it doesn’t even cross the 3.5 m line, 2000 points are added

Mousetrap Vehicle - scoring Lane bonus: -20 points for vehicles who’s fixed point remains in the 1.50 m lane Overrun penalty: if the vehicle crosses the 8 m line an additional 50 points is added for each.5 m Time score: the time of the run measured to 0.01 sec x 1 at regionals and x 2 at states (if the vehicle does not reverse it is time + 3 seconds)

Mousetrap Vehicle – other notes the vehicle must reverse in 3 seconds a recoil is not a reverse if the vehicle does not reverse it is moved to tier 2 of scoring competition violations move the vehicle to tier 3 if the vehicle does not meet specs it is moved to tier 4 of scoring

Trajectory Design & calibrate a catapult Data Collection Data Analysis

Trajectory - basics the entire device must fit within a 60cm cube prior to testing the launching force must be supplied by a non- metallic elastic solids teams provide their own projectiles (a list of acceptable projectiles are in the rules) device + graphs + projectiles + anything needed to perform a launch must be impounded

Trajectory - basics the launch area is 1 m wide x 1.5 m long – the device can be placed anywhere inside the launch area the device must be triggered from outside the launch area – students may not touch the device or enter the launch area during a trial the device must stay within the launch area prior to and immediately after the launch

Trajectory - tips students should build early and test, test, test different projectiles need to be tested, different distances, and graphs need to be made consistency is key – the device needs to be lined up the same way every time some elastic solids lose elasticity over time; beware that replacement material might test different than the original

Trajectory - targets students have 10 mins. to make 2 launches at each of 2 targets targets will be set between 2 m and 10 m (at 1 m intervals for regionals,.5 m intervals at states) with at least 2 m between them and the nearest target will be placed up to 2 m off the floor (in 1 cm increments) students must announce which target they are aiming for before launch

Trajectory – bucket shot (new) after a first shot at a target, if the shot hits the target students may request a “bucket shot” as their second shot getting the projectile in the bucket has a big reward – up to 100 deduction points however, a bucket shot means no 2 nd shot for the original target, and if the scoring comes down to 3 rd and 4 th tiebreakers, teams with a bucket shot are ranked below the others

Trajectory – scoring Lowest score wins Score = Lower Close Target Area Score + Lower Far Target Area Score + Graph Score + Penalties – Bucket Shot Deductions

Trajectory – scoring Target scores are basically the distance between center of target and where the projectile actually hits in mm

Trajectory – scoring The graph score is easy to get if students just FOLLOW DIRECTIONS! There should be 4 graphs. Each graph-table pair must be on a separate sheet of paper and on the same side of the paper. Graphs and tables must be properly labeled. All variables and units must be identified. Each page must have the team name.

Mission Possible (States only) Design a Rube- Goldberg type device that completes certain tasks

Mission Possible - rules A list of tasks is given in the rules Students must start with task 4a : Drop a standard golf ball from above the entire device so that it is released into the device and triggers a mousetrap that will begin the chain of events.

Mission Possible - rules Students must end with task 4j : Raise a flagpole with a rectangular school flag (fixed or mobile) that is at least 5 cm x 10 cm so that the lowest part of the flag is at least 30 cm higher than all original parts of the device

Mission Possible - rules All other tasks (4b-4i) can be completed in any order – students turn in a task sequence list Other tasks may be involved, but will not earn any score The device can run for a maximum of 3 mins., but only earns time points for 60 secs. at Regionals and secs. at States (2 pts/sec)

Mission Possible - tips This event is very different than what is was in the past – READ RULES Find students with creative minds who know electronics – no more than 10.0 volts per circuit Electric components that can be used are specified in the rules (no computers)

Mission Possible - tips Device must fit in 50 cm x 50 cm x 80 cm imaginary box of any orientation – consider building an open box for students to build in Stay away from liquids (if possible) and hazardous materials Many points are gained for having the TSL in the correct format, having the first task first, and if it takes less than 30 mins. to set up and run – at least get these easy points!

Mission Possible - scoring Highest score wins See rules for points breakdown and penalties Many points are gained for having the TSL in the correct format, having the first task first, and if it takes less than 30 mins. to set up and run – at least get these easy points!