Events 2017-2018

[chalker]

Per Twitter, Keep the Heat is being renamed to Thermodynamics (i.e. it's now called Thermodynamics in both divisions).

Source

Do we know if this will change the rules to the event at all? I just changed the wiki so that KtH redirects to Thermodynamics, but I'm not sure if that's the best thing.

Seems unlikely since they have the same name and that would likely get confusing - typically events with the same name either have identical rules with the differences between B and C (if any) described in both. Also, the tweet says "no content change".

KtH and Thermo were always VERY similar. I've been pushing hard to combine the rules for events like this under 1 title / version. We got burned a few years ago with Optics where we had 2 versions of the rules and made a change in one (Div C I think) but forgot to replicate it in the other (Div B). Having 2 versions also causes potential confusion with novice event supervisors or teams who might not notice that one says Div C and the other Div B. Thermo now has 1 version of the rules, but there are some differences between Div B and C spelled out inline within the rules (mainly device size and testing parameter issues).

[SPP SciO]

Free online rules have also been announced at the Sci Oly Alumni FB page.

Yes, the news is finally public. There is a big social media push this week and they've officially posted it on Twitter and Facebook. I think a lot of the State websites also have this info. The bottom line is that the rules manual will now be available for FREE in PDF form via a new online website starting Sept. 5th. Very exciting for everyone!

Do you know if the rules will be able to be freely accessed (students/coaches can download them at any time) or if they will be hidden behind a password received after registration? I'm hoping for the former, so we can get them before the paperwork gets processed by our school, which typically won't happen until October.

[John Richardsim]

Free online rules have also been announced at the Sci Oly Alumni FB page.

Yes, the news is finally public. There is a big social media push this week and they've officially posted it on Twitter and Facebook. I think a lot of the State websites also have this info. The bottom line is that the rules manual will now be available for FREE in PDF form via a new online website starting Sept. 5th. Very exciting for everyone!

Do you know if the rules will be able to be freely accessed (students/coaches can download them at any time) or if they will be hidden behind a password received after registration? I'm hoping for the former, so we can get them before the paperwork gets processed by our school, which typically won't happen until October.

This was asked on Facebook. The reply given by the Alumni Network was:

On 9.5.17, anyone in the world can go to the Store site and create an account to see the free 2018 rules online, independent of state membership being completed. You can see the rules of the game, but in order to PLAY, you must join your state organization.

[Unome]

Yes, the news is finally public. There is a big social media push this week and they've officially posted it on Twitter and Facebook. I think a lot of the State websites also have this info. The bottom line is that the rules manual will now be available for FREE in PDF form via a new online website starting Sept. 5th. Very exciting for everyone!

Do you know if the rules will be able to be freely accessed (students/coaches can download them at any time) or if they will be hidden behind a password received after registration? I'm hoping for the former, so we can get them before the paperwork gets processed by our school, which typically won't happen until October.

This was asked on Facebook. The reply given by the Alumni Network was:

On 9.5.17, anyone in the world can go to the Store site and create an account to see the free 2018 rules online, independent of state membership being completed. You can see the rules of the game, but in order to PLAY, you must join your state organization.

Sounds about as I would have expected, given that one of the main points of the copyright (and a good amount of other NSO action - e.g. online tournaments not being sanctioned) seems to deal with preventing rival competitions using their events.

[Skink]

In lieu of making a fresh topic or stinking up YDRC, I'll just ask here:

It occurred to me the other day that I'm not as equipped as I'd like to be to coach Thermo C (ignore the box for now). For Optics C, I followed closely the text we use for AP 1 and 2, Serway. I've got math geniuses, but the results just aren't there like they are with my life and earth science events, where my general strategy is to get an advanced text, teach myself, filter, and trickle-down what I know. The advanced texts in these fields use mathematics that would challenge all of us and detract from the activity because SO is all algebra-based...is it really that I need to make them drill more problems from the book I have, or are there better books (or approaches altogether) out there? I was recommended Knight, but I'm not dropping for it without good reason. Thoughts?

[syo_astro]

In lieu of making a fresh topic or stinking up YDRC, I'll just ask here:

It occurred to me the other day that I'm not as equipped as I'd like to be to coach Thermo C (ignore the box for now). For Optics C, I followed closely the text we use for AP 1 and 2, Serway. I've got math geniuses, but the results just aren't there like they are with my life and earth science events, where my general strategy is to get an advanced text, teach myself, filter, and trickle-down what I know. The advanced texts in these fields use mathematics that would challenge all of us and detract from the activity because SO is all algebra-based...is it really that I need to make them drill more problems from the book I have, or are there better books (or approaches altogether) out there? I was recommended Knight, but I'm not dropping for it without good reason. Thoughts?

More direct response:
All scioly events have advanced books that are impossible for high schoolers. Physics is especially grueling because many physicists don't understand how teaching/conceptualizing work, so we end up with pages of math to slog through without much understanding. The "perfect" book exists, but I don't know it. I also think there are good online sources. On the other hand, I'm used to studying physics, and I study for scioly differently (mind you I never did any physics events in scioly). Normally I collected as many references as I could find (websites, lecture notes, textbooks from the library/in our school), and I effectively made my own "textbook". This starts from an index of topics (say from the rules + from textbooks/lecture notes), and I added lots of info as I went. Most physics classes/students seem to think that the focus should be on the problems and repetition, which to be honest is pretty true of classical mechanics.

Is the issue "all of Thermo" or specific topics? Are none of the problem solving methods sticking? This might be fairly general, but I've found physics is best done by trying to learn a concept, doing some examples, reviewing (eg. How to solve these problems + remembering what the point is for recognition), repeat if something wasn't understood. The issue I found when teaching is most people expect physics to be math with instant answers, but it requires going back, figuring out what you didn't understand, rechecking, etc. Of course, that process is difficult to get right.

On Me:
So as I said, I'm biased from studying physics and dealing with thermo / stat mech in ~3 instances (including calc-based). I'm also an astronomer, and thermodynamics is the physics about the most related to the astronomy of stars I love! In class, I ironically found Thermo to be the "most approachable" compared to other physics, see...

For some context/excitement, the Laws of Thermodynamics essentially were made with the specific purpose of understanding steam engines and fundamentals shouldn't force you to slog through pages of coordinate system math like in classical mechanics or impossible to understand E&M equations. It starts from observations and fundamental/philosophical questions, like "What is hot vs. cold?" and "How do I 'use' energy?", which allow for awesome qualitative/conceptual discussions about defining hot, cold, energy, etc. If anything, if I supervised, I'm worried about running the build.

I admit textbooks are sparse, but I didn't know if it was really any better than dealing with Optics, etc. I know for lower/intermed levels in college we used Univ Physics w/ Modern Physics, 13 ed by Young & Freedman. Their thermo is nice b/c it reviews everything, even ideal gas law, with almost no calc save for some of heat capacity/entropy (which is of course unfortunate considering how important those topics are, but I guess it's meant for college). I also have heard Knight/Giancoli are the main books for general physics reviews that are more approachable with mostly words/alg-only, but I would wager that those types of books might be more cursory. On the other hand, for ~9th graders, good intros are perfect. Giancoli I think usually you can find more often at least? I agree don't buy anything without proper inspection/asking around.

[WhatScience?]

ON the physics events, Optics and especially Thermodynamics, unless you are really interested and willing to put in the time, its not going to work.

Will anyone PLEASE let me know how the notes are going for Herpetology. Is it binder, 5 double sided pages, or 1 double sided page?

[NeilMehta]

ON the physics events, Optics and especially Thermodynamics, unless you are really interested and willing to put in the time, its not going to work.

Will anyone PLEASE let me know how the notes are going for Herpetology. Is it binder, 5 double sided pages, or 1 double sided page?

There's honestly no way to know until the 5th, but we are almost certain it will be a binder event.

[WhatScience?]

thx

[Skink]

Thanks, syo. You might recall my panicking a couple years ago when I was doing Astro for the first time...I ended up using the orange book and essentially building our own supplemental textbook into a binder out of copious amounts of online materials (because the school covers printing costs and all). I don't know if that method is optimal here or not...that process-oriented mindset is why I want the best book(s) I can locate. Just getting vomit of equations and associated example problems (typical of algebra-based texts) with limited explanation works but doesn't equip for competitiveness (comfortably, anyway). Thanks for the thoughts.

As a side remark, rumor has it that stat mech is super painful, worse than, well, the harder classes in other fields (real analysis, organic chemistry, what have you)...I'm kind of jealous that you have that in your toolbox, though.