Science Olympiad 2011 Coaches Clinic Division B Justine Cromer, Instructor

Teams construct a device on-site, from materials in their “junk box”, to solve an engineering challenge Impound event & sign-up for start time Team of up to 2 students Safety – each student wears protective eye gear w/sides Goggles not impounded Times – Build ≤ 30 minutes/Test ≤ 2 minutes Event supervisor – measuring device and stop watch

junk box requirements All materials must fit in the box w/a lid Widest outside dimensions = ≤95.0 cm (L+W+H) EX: = 92cm Equivalent to 37.4 inches Buy or construct from scratch Not used for competition – except as a collection container at state tournament for Ramp challenge If box is too big, you will be ranked below teams with the correct size

materials All materials must fix inside the junk box with lid on Materials must be unaltered and removed from original (store) packaging Must meet requirements or be ranked below other teams who do No preassembly allowed

materials Practice golf balls* ≤ 5 Plastic Golf balls* ≤ 8 Tennis balls* ≤ 10 Plates* ≤ 10.5 inches Paper or Styrofoam Cups* and bowls Paper or Styrofoam Straws or hollow stir rods Paper /soft plastic ≤ 24 cm Popsicle /craft sticks ~12x1 cm Toothpicks – wood only Spools of string, line, thread or tape (non-metallic) Paper ≤ 8.5x11 inch/ ≤ 20lb Rubber bands ≤ #64 (1/4”) Plastic bags ≤ 1 gallon Scissors (only as a tool) *Must bring at least one

devices – scoring summary CAT A: REGIONALS Bridge – longest Ties – height to load Tower - tallest Ties – narrowest base Cantilever – longest Ties – shortest length to edge of counterbalance CAT B: STATE Elevated ramp - longest Ties - tallest start point Catapult – furthest Ties – shortest device heights Bounce – furthest Ties – smallest bouncing surface

general rules CAT A: REGIONALS Event supervisor specifies type ball prior to construction Free-standing cup holds ball Measurements taken before ball placement Junk box cannot be used as part of device CAT B: STATE Teams decide which type of ball(s) and how many to use 2 min to release all balls Junk box or container for Ramp device only Plate for Catapult or Bouncer targets

regionals - bridge Free-standing bridge that supports cup with ball for at least 5 seconds Longest open span in mm. Ties – height to bottom of load

regionals - tower Tallest free-standing tower that supports cup with ball for at least 5 seconds Highest to bottom of load Ties – narrowest base

regionals - cantilever Longest cantilever laid out from table edge that supports cup and ball for at least 5 seconds Measured distance parallel to ground Cannot use box or scissors for counterbalance Cantilever must touch table Ties – edge of table to far side of balance

state – elevated ramp Build a free-standing ramp that transports balls from a start point to collection container – no flat areas Longest distance from “closest” successful start point and front edge of container (ramp not touching container) Bonus pts for each ball in container Tie – highest successful start point

state - catapult Free- standing catapult that launches balls to hit a target plate (on first impact) Requires a trigger – cannot touch ball once on device Furthest distance from closest edge of catapult to front plate - bonus pts for each ball to hit the plate Bonus pts for each ball to hit plate Ties – shortest height to catapult

state - bounce Free-standing bouncer that bounces balls to hit a target plate (on first impact) Student drops balls onto bouncer Furthest distance from closest edge of bouncer to front plate Bonus pts for each ball to hit the plate Ties – tallest height to center point of bouncing surface

bonus points – state only Significant advantage for successful hits D x (n + 1) D = measured distance n = number of successful hits EX – 2 balls hit = 20 x (2+1) = 60 pts EX – 5 balls hit = 20 x (5+1) = 120 pts Teams release the balls Choose plastic golf (≤5), standard golf (≤8) or tennis balls (≤10)

violations Violations will rank teams below all others w/out violations Includes…pre-assembly, incorrect use of materials or tools, missing required material, not free-standing, does not meet minimum requirements, or not impounding on time Also includes outside help once competition begins Read carefully rules about moving targets and devices after competition begins, i.e. in between shots

Contact Resources: Score sheet – coming soon Justine Cromer Head Coach – Kilmer Middle School 4 th year in Science Olympiad ??QUESTIONS??