Event+Descriptions+2013

The event distribution for this year is:
 * **Life, Personal, and Social Sciences** || **Earth and Space Science** || **Physical Science and Chemistry** || **Technology and Engineering** || **Inquiry and Nature of Science** ||
 * * Anatomy & Physiology (Digestive, Excretory, Nervous)
 * Designer Genes (Genetics)
 * Disease Detectives (Epidemiology: Environmental Quality)
 * Forestry
 * Water Quality (Fresh Water/Estuaries) || * Astronomy
 * Dynamic Planet (Glaciers)
 * Remote Sensing (Earth's Hydrosphere)
 * Rocks and Minerals || __Physics __
 * Circuit Lab
 * MagLev
 * Thermodynamics

__Chemistry __
 * Chemistry Lab (Periodicity and Equilibrium)
 * Forensics
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Materials Science || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Boomilever
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Elastic Launched Glider
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gravity Vehicle
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Robot Arm || * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Experimental Design
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fermi Questions
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tech. Problem Solving
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Write It Do It ||

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Anatomy & Physiology** - This event encompasses the anatomy and physiology of selected body systems, this year limited to nervous, excretory and digestive systems.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Astronomy** - Teams will demonstrate an understanding of the basic concepts of math and physics relating to stellar evolution and Type II supernovas.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Boomilever** - Students will build a cantilevered wooden structure.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Chemistry Lab** - Teams will demonstrate chemistry laboratory skills related to periodicity and equilibrium.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Circuit Lab** - Students will compete in theoretical and practical activities involving knowledge of direct current (DC) electrical circuits.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Designer Genes** - Students will solve problems using their knowledge of molecular genetics and biotechnology.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Disease Detective** - This event requires students to apply principles of epidemiology to a published report of a real-life health situation or problem. (Environmental Quality)

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Dynamic Planet** - Teams will work at stations that display a variety of earth science materials and related earth science questions. (Glaciers)

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Elastic Launched Glider** - Students will design, build and test two elastic launched gliders capable of the highest time aloft.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Experimental Design** - Given a set of unknown objects, teams will design, conduct, analyze and write-up an experiment.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Fermi Questions** - A Fermi Question is a science related question that seeks a fast, rough estimate of a quantity which is difficult or impossible to measure directly. <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Answers will be estimated within an order of magnitude recorded in powers of 10.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Forensics** - Students will identify polymers, solids, fibers, and other materials in a crime scenario.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Forestry** - This event will test student knowledge of North American trees that are on the Official National Tree List.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Gravity Vehicle** - Teams design, build and test one vehicle and ramp that uses gravitational potential energy as the vehicle's sole means of propulsion to reach a Target Point as quickly, as accurately and as close to their predicted time as possible.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**MagLev** - Competitors may construct up to two self-propelled magnetically levitated vehicles powered by batteries that turn up to two propellers to move the vehicle down a magnetic track. Students will also be tested on their knowledge of magnetism and related topics.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Remote Sensing** - Teams use remote sensing imagery, science and math process skills to complete tasks related to an understanding of Earth's Hydrosphere.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Robot Arm** - Prior to the competition teams must design, build, document and test one robotic device to move scored items.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Rocks and Minerals** - Teams will demonstrate their knowledge of rocks and minerals.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Technical Problem Solving** - Teams will gather and process data to solve problems.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Thermodynamics** - Teams must construct an insulated device prior to the tournament that is designed to retain heat. Teams must also complete a written test on thermodynamic concepts.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Water Quality** - The event will focus on evaluating aquatic environments. (Freshwater/Estuaries)

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**Write It/Do It** - A technical writing exercise where students write a description of a contraption and other students will attempt to recreate it using only the written description.

See here for event descriptions and notes for the 2011 - 2012 season.