Events
Students compete in twenty-three main events, which usually occur on a single day; done by a team of limited numbers. Events fall under three main categories: Science Concepts and Knowledge, Science Processes and Thinking Skills, and Science Application and Technology. They are either knowledge-based (for example, written tests on earth science, physics, astronomy, or biology), hands-on (for example, chemistry lab practicals), or engineering-based (participants construct a device to do specified tasks).
Knowledge-based events generally have two participants either taking a test or mathematically analyzing data. Examples of such events are Designer Genes, Forensics, and Chemistry Lab.
Hands-on events generally consist of two participants performing experiments or interacting with physical objects to achieve a certain goal. Some examples are Bio-Process lab, Forensics, or Science Crimebusters.
Engineering-based events have a team of two to three participants. They are to construct a device following a specific event's parameters and test the device against others. Examples include Robo-Cross, Bridge/Tower Building, and Storm The Castle.
The majority of events require two team members, though a few require more. If one member is unable to attend an event, the other is able to continue, depending on the event, with the competition, though at an obvious disadvantage. If the team has one available, a back-up team member may be placed with the member as opposed to their former partner.
The list and rules for events change and are updated every year to input dynamism and to limit the advantages of more experienced teams.
Read more about this topic: Science Olympiad
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“As I look at the human story I see two stories. They run parallel and never meet. One is of people who live, as they can or must, the events that arrive; the other is of people who live, as they intend, the events they create.”
—Margaret Anderson (1886–1973)
“By many a legendary tale of violence and wrong, as well as by events which have passed before their eyes, these people have been taught to look upon white men with abhorrence.... I can sympathize with the spirit which prompts the Typee warrior to guard all the passes to his valley with the point of his levelled spear, and, standing upon the beach, with his back turned upon his green home, to hold at bay the intruding European.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“The prime lesson the social sciences can learn from the natural sciences is just this: that it is necessary to press on to find the positive conditions under which desired events take place, and that these can be just as scientifically investigated as can instances of negative correlation. This problem is beyond relativity.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)