Elementary School Event Descriptions

Elementary School Event Descriptions

CRIME BUSTERS A Team Up To: 2 Eye Protection: YES Impound: Time: 40 Minutes 1. DESCRIPTION: Given a scenario, a collection of evidence, and possible suspects, students will perform a series of tests. The test results along with other evidence will be used to solve a crime. Students will also be asked to match fingerprints and use paper chromatography to identify a note found at a crime scene. In this event, participants will use various tests to identify 8 unknown powders. The powders used will come from the following list and this list: 2. EVENT DETAILS: SALT CORNSTARCH GRADULATED SUGAR BAKING SODA PLASTER OF PARIS LIMESTONE (CALCIUM CARBONATE) FLOUR SAND a. Students may bring only these items : i. small containers or reaction plates for mixing; something for scooping reagents; ph paper, magnet, hand lens, microscope slides and cover slips, forceps or tweezers. b. Each team may bring one 8.5 x11 two sided page of notes containing information in any form from any source. No other items are allowed. There is no penalty for not bringing these items, but the team may be at a disadvantage. COMPETITION DETAILS:: 1. Students must bring and wear their own chemical splash-proof goggles or safety glasses and a lab apron or coat. 2. Due to safety reasons, touching or tasting of the substances will not be allowed. 3. Each team will be given seven vials, each containing one substance along with two vials containing a mixture of two substances. The two vials with the mixture of substances will be labeled. Students will be supplied with a list of possible powders. 4. Teams will be supplied with the following materials to aid in the identification of the powders: water, 1M hydrochloric acid (or vinegar), iodine solution (KI3), a magnifying glass and several plastic cups. (These materials will be provided by the event supervisor). 5. Students will be given a set of fingerprints from several suspects. They will be asked to match them to fingerprints found at the scene. 6. Students will be asked to make a chromatogram from a pen and use this to help identify the criminals. Chromatograms will be turned in with the test sheet. Chromatograms will be made of chromatography paper or coffee filter paper. 7. After all the evidence is collected, the students will be asked to identify who committed the crime and to explain in writing why they believe this is the criminal 8. Scoring: a. The score will be based on the following formula: i. Identification of the powders = 50% ii. Chromatography = 15% iii. Fingerprints = 10% iv. Identification of the criminal, including written component = 25%

MYSTERY ARCHITECTURE A Team Up To: 2 Eye Protection: Impound: Time: 45 Minutes Description: This event is designed to test the student's ability to think on their feet. They w ill be given a bag of materials to build a freestanding tower as high as they can. The tower should be constructed to support a tennis ball at its top. COMPETITION DETAILS:: 1. Each team of two students will be given a bag of building materials. All teams will receive exactly the same materials. The materials might include: straight pins, paper cups, drinking straws, paper clips, tape, string, paper, etc.(this list is only an example; the actual materials may be anything that the supervisors fee l are appropriate). 2. Each team will have a maximum time of 20 minutes to construct a tower to support the tennis ball at its highest point. The top of the tennis ball must be higher than any part of the structure. 3. Only those materials supplied in the bag, and the bag itself, may be used to construct the tower. No other materials or adhesives may be part of the finished tower. Students may bring scissors, a ruler and a pair of pliers, which they will provide, to use as tools while building the tower. Each team may bring their own tennis ball to use while building their tower, however, all towers will be measured using the same tennis ball (regulation size and weight) provided by the event supervisor. The students are to inform the judges when they finish their tower. They will place the tennis ball provided by the event supervisor on the top of their tower. The tower must remain standing long enough for the height and base to be measured. 4. The tower must be completely free standing. It cannot be attached to the tabletop, floor, wall or ceiling. 5. No coaching of the students will be allowed during the event. Scoring: 1. The height of the tower and the width of its base will be measured as precisely as possible by the judges. Since no building materials are to extend above it, the top of the tennis ball will be considered the highest point of the tower. The width of the tower will be measured at its base. The largest diameter of the base will be recorded. 2. All towers that support the tennis ball will be ranked above those that do not. The towers in each of these groups will be ranked according to their height. Tallest tower first, the shortest tower last. 3. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the tower with the smallest base measurement. 4. Note: supervisors should determine the acceptable measurement with the same equipment that is available to students.

PAPER ROCKETS A Team Up To: 2 Eye Protection: Impound: Time: 45 Minutes DESCRIPTION: Each team will build and fly a paper rocket using materials, which will be provided. COMPETITION DETAILS:: The team will have 20 minutes to build a rocket and practice launching it. This will be followed by the official launching. The winner will be the team closest to the target. The following materials will be provided: Scoring: Large plastic soda straws (the kind used in fast food restaurants). One per student. Sharpened pencils (same size as straws). One per student. Paper (8.5 x 11 ). Two sheets per team. Cellophane tape. One roll per team. Scissors - one per team. A ruler - one per team. a. Cut a strip of paper about 8.5 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide. b. Roll the paper strip around the pencil lengthwise to form a tube. Tape the paper so that the tube slides easily off the pencil but is not too loose. c. Make several pointed cuts at one end of tube d. Slide the sharpened end of the pencil toward the pointed cuts. Fold the points around the sharpened end of the pencil and tape to form the nose cone. DO NOT TAPE THE PAPER TO THE PENCIL. e. Cut out two sets of fins. Use the pattern in Figure C. Fold the fins on the dashed lines in the manner shown in Figure C. f. Using two pieces of tape, fix the fins to the opposite end of the tube from the nose cone. Insert the pencil for support in taping. See Figure D. g. Place the rocket over the soda straw. See Figure E. h. During competition students will launch the rocket from one end of the classroom toward a designated target. Each team member will launch the team's rocket one time. i. Launch the rocket by blowing sharply on the straw. Be sure to aim rockets in the desired direction. a. After each launch the distance will be measured from the center of the target to the nose of the rocket where it comes to rest. The distance from the target will become the participant's score. The target will be placed 3 to 8 meters from the launching site. b. 2. Each teammate will fly the rocket once. The score will be determined by measuring the distance in centimeters the rocket is from the target for each launch and adding the two scores. c. 3. The lowest score will be the winner.

PENTATHLON A Team Up To: 4-5 Eye Protection: Impound: Time: 20 Minutes Description: Five physical skills are interspersed with science questions in an obstacle course that will be run in a relay race style where each student passes the balloon to the next student. The team must be balanced with 2 to 3 boys and 2 to 3 girls. COMPETITION DETAILS:: SCORING: a. Appropriate athletic attire is advised (running shoes, etc.). Change of clothing is recommended during inclement weather. b. The physical activity will include such events as: a dash, crossing a balance beam, dribbling a basketball between a row of safety cones, running through six tires on the ground, a Frisbee throw for accuracy. All of these events must be done while carrying a fragile object (such as a water-filled balloon or an egg) without breaking it. c. One student will be placed at each position, A-D. Students cannot pass the balloon to the next student until the question is answered. The last student completes station D & E. d. General science questions will be asked at tables where students stop very briefly between events. Questions should be answered as rapidly as possible to avoid loss of time. e. Each physical obstacle and academic question must be completed correctly before proceeding to the next station. Students could be given four Frisbees and moved closer after each miss, and students should be given questions of ever-decreasing levels of difficulty so they could be successful. a. The total team time to complete the event will be kept by timekeepers. b. Penalty points are assessed for broken fragile objects (50 seconds added to team time for each broken object).

DON T BUG ME A Team Up To: 2 Eye Protection: Impound: Time: 50 Minutes DESCRIPTION: Identify insects from seven orders and answer questions related to them. COMPETITION DETAILS: a. These seven orders will be used: Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Odonata and Hemiptera. b. Teams will not be allowed to bring in any field guides or source books. The seven orders will be clearly posted in the room. At some stations, a field guide will be provided for students to use. i. The first section will include 20 insect identification stations where students will identify the insects to its order, or identify the specimen as "not an insect." Photos, drawings and preserved or living specimens may be used. (20 pts.). ii. Many of the stations will include a follow up multiple choice question related to the natural history or biology of that insect (10 pts.). iii. The second section will include open-ended questions relating to knowledge about the listed orders (adaptations, habitat, body parts, food chain relationships, etc.) (20 pts.). SCORING: a. Teams are ranked according to the number of correct responses. b. One point will be awarded for each correct insect identification (to order, or not an insect ). c. One point will be awarded for each correct multiple choice question. d. Up to twenty points will be awarded for correct answers in the open-ended question section.

STRAW EGG DROP A Team Up To: 1-2 Eye Protection: Impound: YES AFTER BUILD Construction 20 Drop Time: 3 Minutes DESCRIPTION: In this event, teams will construct a device meant to hold and protect a large, raw egg that will be dropped from a fixed height onto a target. COMPETITION DETAILS: Each pair of students will be provided with: a. 20 plastic, flexible and/or non-flexible straws b. b. One meter of one-inch masking tape c. c. One pair of scissors d. d. One large, raw egg 1. Students will have twenty minutes to construct a device to cushion the egg and prevent it from cracking or breaking. Note that the egg is considered part of the device. 2. The masking tape is intended to help fortify the plastic straw structure. No tape may be attached to the surface of the egg. 3. They will have five minutes to drop the device onto a target from a height of 2 3 meters 4. There will be one drop per team only. 5. Plumb lines will not be allowed during COMPETITION DETAILS:. 6. Note: during construction time, if an egg is broken, a team will be assessed a distance penalty of 15 centimeters. If broken a second time, another 15 centimeters penalty is added. SCORING: a. All devices will first be placed into one of three categories: i. Unbroken highest rank b. Cracked but with no liquid escaping (membrane not broken) middle rank c. Broken/oozing (all others) lowest rank ii. Within their categories, each device will then be ranked by their nearness to the target (specifically, this is the distance from the center of the target to the farthest edge of the egg, egg part, device, or any part of the device that has broken off.) Eggs with the broken penalty will have 15 centimeters added. iii. Please note that the event supervisor will have sole determination of the condition of the eggs after being dropped. iv. Scoring examples: 1. An unbroken egg landing 24 cm. from the target would be ranked before any cracked or broken egg, no matter their distance from the target. 2. In the event that there are no unbroken or cracked eggs (a case where all eggs are broken and oozing), those landing closer to the target will be ranked higher. 3. In the event of a tie, where both the condition of the eggs and their respective distances from the target, are the same, the smallest device, in terms of diameter, will be declared the winner.

WATER ROCKETS A Team Up To: 1-3 Eye Protection: YES GOGGLES Impound: YES Time: 10 Minutes DESCRIPTION: Prior to the tournament, teams will use a 2-liter plastic carbonated beverage bottles to build up to two water rockets. The goal of the event is to keep a rocket aloft for the longest period of time. CONSTRUCTION DETAILS: a. The rocket s main vessel must be constructed out of clear 2-liter plastic carbonated beverage bottles (no colored bottles e.g. green may be used for the main vessel for they may not fit on the launcher). Bottles smaller than 2 liters and non carbonated water bottles are not allowed because they can be dangerous. b. The main vessel will be used to hold a combination of water and pressurized air, which will propel the rocket when released form the launch pad. c. For safety reasons, the main vessel must not be altered in any way (i.e. holes, scratches, increasing the volume, restricting the bottle s opening, the use of hot glue on the surface, as well as adhesives such as super glues (cyanoacrylate) that can weaken the bottle. d. Further restrictions include commercially made rocket components, sharp/pointed objects, and parts made from glass and metal (except for a sm. swivel for attaching parachutes). e. Hot glue and super glues may be used on parts of the rocket other than the main vessel. f. Fins, parachutes, and other items may be added to of the bottle to increase time aloft. g. Rockets(s) must fit on a flat launch pad provided by the event supervisor. Therefore, fins should not extend below the mouth of the bottle (note: due to the variety of school launchers, rockets with fins extending below the mouth of the main vessel may not fit or may need to be modified e.g. with scissors during a team s 10 minutes in order to be fired.) h. Energy to propel the rocket must come only from the water and air pressure in the bottle. Other sources of potential or kinetic energy are not allowed. i. Only plain tap water provided by the event supervisor may be used in the rocket. No other material of any type may be put in the bottle or added to the water. j. A water level line may be marked on the bottle to aid in adding water in the case there is no graduated cylinder available. k. Parts of the rocket may separate during flight, but they must remain attached together by a string/lanyard. l. The school name and team number must be clearly marked on all rockets and parachutes. COMPETITION DETAILS: a. Rockets, along with any repair kit, spare parts and extra parachutes, will be impounded at the posted time. No adjustments will be allowed between impound time and test time.

b. Any parts found to be dangerous (e.g. glass or metal), illegal (e.g. commercially made rocket parts), or which prevent a rocket fitting on the launch pad, must be removed (or modified e.g., extra long fins) before the rocket can be launched. c. If it is determined that a rocket does not meet safety and/or construction requirements, a team may make alterations during their 10 minute test time. d. Those rockets which cannot be made to fit the launcher, or those that, in the judgment of the event supervisor, are unsafe, will not be launched. e. Team members must wear eye protection for the duration of the launches. f. 6. Two launches will be allowed. Different rockets may be used for each launch. g. 7. Teams will add the desired amount of water to the rocket before each flight and may make alterations or repairs between launches (if the same rocket is launched a second time). h. 8. Event supervisors may assist the teams in setting up their rocket on the launch pad. i. 9. Outside help - assistance/coaching from the sideline is not permitted. j. 10. The event supervisor will pressurize the rocket to75 p.s.i. and launch it. (It is recommended that during practice sessions coaches do the pressurizing and that the 75 p.s.i. is not exceeded). k. 11. Team members may not hold their rocket during pressurization. (It is recommended that rockets are designed to stay as intact as possible due to weather conditions such a wind). l. 12. Once a rocket has been pressurized, it must be launched. In case of high winds, the supervisors will launch the rocket as quickly as possible. It will be the supervisor s decision as to whether the flight should be considered unofficial due to weather conditions. m. 13. In the event a rocket suffers from a weather-related event (i.e. wind blows off nosecone), it will be the event supervisor s decision as to whether or not another launch is allowed. For safety reasons, it is likely that the rocket will be launched even if the wind blows off the nosecone in order to keep participants and officials at a safe distance before launching (i.e. unsafe to approach a pressurized rocket to reset a nosecone). Therefore, students may want to design a type of platform for their rocket s nosecone for better wind stabilization - if during pretournament practice the students find that due to the unique design of their rocket their nosecone frequently blows off. SCORING: a. Judges will measure and record the time aloft for each flight. Time starts when the rocket is launched, and stops when any part of the rocket touches the ground or any object in contact with the ground (e.g., tree, building). b.a. A team s best flight (that in which the rocket remains aloft for the greatest length of time) will be used as their final score. c.b. Rockets will be ranked in the following manner: i. a. Teams whose rockets meet all of the construction requirements will be ranked in the first tier. These will then be ranked by time aloft. (Rockets that stay attached will be ranked higher than rockets that come apart. See construction rule #11). ii. b. Rockets that do not meet specifications will be ranked lower than those participants that meet specifications. Tier 1- longest flight time and meets specifications Tier 2 - longest flight time yet detachment of part of rocket during the flight Tier 3 - rocket launched but does not meet specifications Tier 4 - rocket unable to be launched (e.g. will not fit on launcher) yet receives 1 point. iii. While longest time aloft is the goal, and will usually determine the winner, the tier placement is vital. For example, a rocket in the second tier could end up with the longest time aloft, but

would still be ranked below all rockets in the first tier. Therefore, it is highly recommended to adhere closely to all construction requirements. iv.iii. While longest time aloft is the goal, and will usually determine the winner, the tier placement is vital. v.iv. Ties will be broken using teams lesser flight times. Teams with two flights, therefore, will have an advantage over those teams with only one flight in a tie situation. MARSHMALLOW CATAPULT A Team Up To: 1-3 Eye Protection: YES GOGGLES Impound: YES Time: 10 Minutes 1. DESCRIPTION: Teams will build in advance a device constructed out of specified materials to launch a marshmallow at a target placed on the floor. The goal is to land as close to the center of the target as possible. Event Supervisors will provide full sized Kraft Jet-Puffed marshmallows, score sheets, tape measures, and targets. 2. CONSTRUCTION DETAILS: a. Energy may be provided by one mousetrap (no rat traps) and any number or kind of rubber bands. b. The lever arm and base must be non-metallic. No energy from these should be provided to the launch. c. The device must have a trigger or switch that can be activated by a team member using a pencil to start the launch. d. No part of the catapult is allowed higher than 60 cm. from the floor when the launch is triggered. e. The entire catapult must be behind the launch line before, during, and after all launches. f. Other construction materials may be used, but no sharp objects, liquids, flames, flammable substances, or projectiles will be allowed. Violations will disqualify a catapult. g. No part of the device will be allowed to leave the catapult during a launch except the marshmallow. h. The catapult must be designed and operated in such a way as to not damage the floor. 3. COMPETITION DETAILS: This event should occur in a large room with a high ceiling. A a. Only team members and event leaders will be allowed in the event area while teams are competing. Teams cannot receive outside assistance of any kind from anyone once they enter COMPETITION DETAILS: area. Teams violating this rule will be disqualified. b. Teams will have a total of 5 minutes to make one launch at each of two targets. c. Targets will be placed on the floor between one and five meters from the launch line at 0.5m increments d. Target Distances will be measured from the center of the target to where the marshmallow first lands (in cm). e. If a launch fails, the target distance used will be the entire distance to the target. 4. SCORING: a. Lowest total score wins. b. Ties will be broken by the closest single shot.