Scioly.org

Unome wrote:
1) Calm down. It helps.
2) Read the rules end to end and know them.
3) Google search everything on the rules. Be able to use all the formulas and whatnot. Put anything you can into your binder (This is a binder event, right?)
4) Make sure your binder is organized. It's no use if you can't find things. Tabs or page numbers are helpful.
5) Take some practice tests. There are a few old ones on the Test Exchange, and the first and last ones both look good to me, although you should probably judge that for yourself (unfortunately the Northmont link is broken; that one would likely have been good)

Thanks but that's what I already did and I still suck at the event... I even made a Table of Contents and I know exactly whats on the rules sheets but all of our sponsors are doing nothing that was on the sheet... What should I do then?

slytherin wrote:

Unome wrote:
1) Calm down. It helps.
2) Read the rules end to end and know them.
3) Google search everything on the rules. Be able to use all the formulas and whatnot. Put anything you can into your binder (This is a binder event, right?)
4) Make sure your binder is organized. It's no use if you can't find things. Tabs or page numbers are helpful.
5) Take some practice tests. There are a few old ones on the Test Exchange, and the first and last ones both look good to me, although you should probably judge that for yourself (unfortunately the Northmont link is broken; that one would likely have been good)

Thanks but that's what I already did and I still suck at the event... I even made a Table of Contents and I know exactly whats on the rules sheets but all of our sponsors are doing nothing that was on the sheet... What should I do then?

On a well-written test, the questions should be related to the rule sheet. Well, maybe lenses aren't mentioned, but for that just look up divergent and convergent lenses(not the movies). For anything else, could you please list some examples?

awesome90220 wrote:

slytherin wrote:

Unome wrote:
1) Calm down. It helps.
2) Read the rules end to end and know them.
3) Google search everything on the rules. Be able to use all the formulas and whatnot. Put anything you can into your binder (This is a binder event, right?)
4) Make sure your binder is organized. It's no use if you can't find things. Tabs or page numbers are helpful.
5) Take some practice tests. There are a few old ones on the Test Exchange, and the first and last ones both look good to me, although you should probably judge that for yourself (unfortunately the Northmont link is broken; that one would likely have been good)

Thanks but that's what I already did and I still suck at the event... I even made a Table of Contents and I know exactly whats on the rules sheets but all of our sponsors are doing nothing that was on the sheet... What should I do then?

On a well-written test, the questions should be related to the rule sheet. Well, maybe lenses aren't mentioned, but for that just look up divergent and convergent lenses(not the movies). For anything else, could you please list some examples?

Thanks and I would give you some examples but I don't have the test because I'm in Winter Break, so if I find them I'll let you know... Thanks so much though..

Guys, do you think an old physics book my dad has from college will help me in this event? and if so, what should I study from it?

slytherin wrote:Guys, do you think an old physics book my dad has from college will help me in this event? and if so, what should I study from it?

It's worth a shot. However, it shouldn't be all you use. You should definitely look through mechanical waves, as there should be a section about mechanical waves in the book. Optics is also a big part of crave, with spectroscopy and the visible spectrum and whatnot. For anything else, you should just look in the T.O.C. for the book and see if it finds in the field of waves, really.

awesome90220 wrote:

slytherin wrote:Guys, do you think an old physics book my dad has from college will help me in this event? and if so, what should I study from it?

It's worth a shot. However, it shouldn't be all you use. You should definitely look through mechanical waves, as there should be a section about mechanical waves in the book. Optics is also a big part of crave, with spectroscopy and the visible spectrum and whatnot. For anything else, you should just look in the T.O.C. for the book and see if it finds in the field of waves, really.

Ok, thanks

Just a quick question, does anyone know which epicenter location graph is the best to use for seismograph problems? I just use the first one that pops up on google but is there an official one that is reliable and officially used?
Thanks for the input

I am just noticing people begging for help on here... I did this event back in 2008/2009 and am acting as an event supervisor now. If you go the Google search route, a lot of the time you will be lead to Hyperphysics, which is good for looking up individual pieces of physics but not a good tool for teaching yourself... there's too many links and no clear order in which to do them. If you are looking for textbooks, the best place to start is an algebra-based high school textbook. And go through the chapters on waves, light, and sound. If you get through that it would be a good idea to get a college level algebra-based textbook, but if you start seeing any math beyond algebra or trigonometry, ditch the book because it will most likely be much too advanced for what you will need to know this event.

In my experience, physicsclassroom.com is probably the best introductory online physics resource with great lessons and tons of practice problems with answers and explanations:

NEED TO KNOW BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS:

• Waves: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves
• Sound: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound
• Light: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light

Also very useful:

• Reflection: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refln
• Refraction: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refrn

If you go through the sections on waves, sound, light, reflection, and refraction and understand them you will be excellently prepared for the event. (For sections 3.b.i. through 3.b.v. in the rules). These topics will probably be the vast majority of the focus of your exams.

The topics in the rules that will likely not be covered in physics textbooks or physicsclassroom.com are surface waves, torsional waves, "how waves are used in communication", absorption and emission spectra still, and the special state and national topics, earthquakes and breaking waves. These topics are probably best found by a Google search or searching the index of a specific textbook. Introductory earth science textbooks are likely to have information on seismic waves, breaking waves, and tsunamis, and possibly spectra since some earth science books cover astronomy. Otherwise any good introductory astronomy textbook should cover spectra.

Also, although these topics aren't specifically called out in the rules, it would be good to have a basic idea of what lasers and radar are, and what the acronyms stand for! I have seen questions about these float around in the past.

Here are some good starting points I found just now:

• Surface waves on Hyperphysics (the concepts are more important than the math): http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... twav2.html
• Torsional waves (5c): http://homepages.ius.edu/kforinas/S/WaveType.html
• Emission and absorption spectra: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect ... ption.html
• Seismic waves on Hyperphysics: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... ismic.html
• Breaking waves: http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outd ... rfing6.htm
• Tsunamis on Hyperphysics: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... unami.html

This really should cover nearly everything you need, except for "how waves are used in communication". This is because in Science Olympiad, there seems to be a tradition that every event has one weirdly broad and vague topic in the rules that their is no way to properly study. My best interpretation is that this rule refers to radio communications, so check this out:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm

Also these resources are great to print for your binder! When I write exams, I am a jerk and try to make the exam long enough that you don't have time to look up anything. So, know this info backwards and forwards!

I really need help for sample stations in Crave the Wave. Some sample stations on the Regional Level are:

1. Listen to a recording and determine in which direction(toward or away) a truck is moving
2. Given papers with colored circles and a flashlight hidden inside a black box, determine the color of the filter over the flashlight
3. Using a recording of two trucks determine which one is moving faster.

I have tried looking for information on this website as well as the official SO website and at soinc.org. I can`t find any information not even on YouTube. I would really appreciate it if you could tell me how to do these stations or even what type of knowledge they require. By this I mean what area of CTW ie. General wave characteristics, wave types, wave phenomenon, electromagnetic waves, or spectroscopy.

Thank you so much. Any information is greatly appreciated.

SFNMMs wrote:1. Listen to a recording and determine in which direction(toward or away) a truck is moving
2. Given papers with colored circles and a flashlight hidden inside a black box, determine the color of the filter over the flashlight
3. Using a recording of two trucks determine which one is moving faster.

1 and 3 refer to the Doppler effect.

For 2, see http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/l ... r-Addition and http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/l ... ubtraction