Science Olympiad Events for Engineering and Technology Standards

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Science Olympiad Events for Engineering and
Technology Standards

• Math-Science Partnership Workshop
• Maryville College-Pellissippi State
• July 07 11, 2008

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Science Olympiad

• The National Science Olympiad started in Michigan
  in 1982 modeled after programs that already
  existed in Delaware, North Carolina and
  Pennsylvania. The effort was announced at the
  NSTA Conference and the meeting of the State
  Science Supervisors.
• The competition begins at the school level
  (grades 2-12 A, B, C levels) and expands to
  regional and state tournaments and culminates
  with a national tournament in the spring.

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Events 2009
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Event Classifications

• Life Science
• Personal, Social Science
• Earth and Space Science
• Physical Science and Chemistry
• Technology and Engineering
• Inquiry
• History and Nature of Science

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Using SO Events in Class

• The event guidelines for all events are announced
  in a teacher-coach booklet which is available in
  the late summer for 10.00. The booklets cover
  all events for that years competition and are in
  two volumes for middle school (B) and high school
  (C).
• These events can be used in classes and labs as
  learning activities but cannot be used for
  competitive purposes other than the Science
  Olympiad tournaments.

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Coaches Booklets
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Example Scrambler

• Prior to the competition the contestants will
  design and build a mechanical device, which uses
  the energy from a falling mass to transport and
  egg along a straight track, stopping as close to
  a terminal barrier as possible without breaking
  the egg. The distance to be traveled will be
  announced at the beginning of the event, after
  which the devices will be impounded.

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Example Chemistry Lab

• Teams will answer a series of questions or
  complete a task involving the science processes
  of chemistry focused in various areas of
  chemistry such as
• Thermodynamics and physical properties
• Chemical bonding and oxidation/reduction
• Periodicity and aqueous solutions
• Kinetics and aqueous solutions

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Example Experimental Design

• This event will determine a teams ability to
  design, conduct, and report findings of an
  experiment.
• Statement of the problem
• Hypothesis
• Variables (independent, dependent, constant)
• Materials and procedures
• Qualitative and quantitative results
• Analysis and interpretation of results
• Experimental error
• Conclusions

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Previous Events Available

• The Science Olympiad webpage (www.soinc.org) has
  available events for previous tournaments at the
  state and national level. Several states like
  North Carolina post the actual event on web
  pages.
• The national test packets for 2008 - 2004, are
  available for the chemistry, physics, biology,
  life science, and physical science for 16.
  These would be specific questions and laboratory
  exercises addressing the topics.

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Example Write It Do It

• Technical writing skills are an important part of
  an engineers or scientists abilities to
  communicate precisely and clearly. This event
  will test a competitors ability to effectively
  communicate with a colleague in writing by having
  their partner construct a device from a written
  description
• Devices made from Legos, Tinker Toys, Construx,
  Lincoln Logs, straws and pipe cleaners

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Example Compute This

• This event integrates personal computing
  technology, the Internet, and quantitative data
  analysis. Teams are presented with a problem
  that requires quantitative data capture from a
  public Internet site and the electronic
  organization and presentation of data in
  graphical format. Short answer questions related
  to the problem are also included.
• Data examples meteorological, climate data,
  temperature data, energy consumption, water use,
  automobile use, recycling data.

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Workshop Activity

• We will do the Polymer Detective event which I
  have run at a MC regional tournament.
• The purpose of this event is to develop an
  awareness of polymers and plastics and how they
  affect daily living in a modern society.
  Students are expected to identify common plastics
  using their physical and chemical properties.

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Common Plastics

• Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
• High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
• Polypropylene (PP)
• Polystyrene (PS)
• Nylon-66
• Polycarbonate (PC)
• Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)

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Polymer Samples

• You will have several unknown samples of polymer
  beads for which you will determine the density
  range using sodium chloride solutions of known
  density.
• You will also observe the physical
  characteristics of transparency and hardness as
  well as the chemical reaction to heat from a
  soldering iron.

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Density Solutions

• Water (1.00 g/ml)
• 46 Isopropyl alcohol (0.94 g/ml)
• Corn Oil (0.90 g/ml)
• 10 Aqueous NaCl (1.10 g/ml)
• Saturated aqueous NaCl (1.28 g/ml)

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Transparency and Reactivity

• Polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyethyene
  terephthalate, and polymethylmethacrylate are all
  transparent plastics
• Polyvinyl chloride reacts with a copper wire in a
  flame and produces a green flame from copper
  chlorides that form
• Nylon 66 (all polyamides) smell like burning hair
  when placed in a flame

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Procedure

• Obtain samples of the six plastic beads for you
  and your partner from the stock bottles
• Obtain a set of density solutions
• Obtain a set of forceps to remove the beads from
  the bottles and hold the plastics in the butane
  flame
• Determine the identity of the six unknown
  plastics based on their densities and physical
  and chemical properties

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Conclusions

• You could have your students run this activity as
  a class and have each group do two plastics.
  Then the lab data could be pooled for the other
  tests and a large data sheet for the whole class
  could be constructed
• The lesson could extend to engineering and
  technology applications of plastics and other
  polymers.
• The history of plastics and polymers can also be
  added to see how we have come to rely on plastics
  for modern society

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Resources

• Science Olympiad web site
• http//www.soinc.org
• Polymer Sample Kit
• EEZway Polymers
• 45931 Edgewater
• Chesterfield, MI 48047
• http//www.polymers.eezway.com/
• Science Olympiad Coaches Manuals for 2002 through
  2006 (I will have hard copies)