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Sciolapedia wrote:what do u think the national top 6 teams at nationals would get

This is purely a guess, but I would think the top 6 devices will be sub 30 seconds as pretty close to correct, so greater than 47 points. But keep in mind that speeding through, especially at a high stakes competition, can lead to errors - I have even seen a team calculate their answer while forgetting to place the masses on their device! Also, from what I have seen the top performing devices have not necessarily correlated with the top exam scores. If you are comfortable getting 45 to 47 on your device and you knock the exam out of the park you can still easily come out on top. This isn't to say you should not try your best on both portions! Just something to think about.

Thanks also where can i study for simple machines for the national level test. So far, all the places i study from (internet, books, etc) have all been too easy and then the test is a LOT harder. Where can i study?
thanks

Sciolapedia wrote:Thanks also where can i study for simple machines for the national level test. So far, all the places i study from (internet, books, etc) have all been too easy and then the test is a LOT harder. Where can i study?
thanks

I am assuming you have the formulas for IMA, AMA, and efficiency of the simple machines down, since those are basic concepts you should have access to. There seem to be few good resources directly aimed at the subject of simple machines. If you can find the rare high school or college physics textbook with a section on simple machines, that is a good resource, but otherwise reading up on work and energy concepts, applications of Newton's laws, statics, and rotational motion should give you a deeper understanding as to why simple machines work the way they do.

Also challenge yourself to think about the meaning of mechanical advantages. What does the value have to be to increase the output force, and what values decrease the output force? Which simple machines always increase output force, which always decrease the output force, and which can do either? What does the machine have to look like and how does it operate if it is increasing or decreasing output force? You should be able to answer all of these questions with the mechanical advantage formula for each simple machine.

JustDroobles wrote:

Sciolapedia wrote:what do u think the national top 6 teams at nationals would get

This is purely a guess, but I would think the top 6 devices will be sub 30 seconds as pretty close to correct, so greater than 47 points. But keep in mind that speeding through, especially at a high stakes competition, can lead to errors - I have even seen a team calculate their answer while forgetting to place the masses on their device! Also, from what I have seen the top performing devices have not necessarily correlated with the top exam scores. If you are comfortable getting 45 to 47 on your device and you knock the exam out of the park you can still easily come out on top. This isn't to say you should not try your best on both portions! Just something to think about.

If that's true, then we're better than we thought! (Avg. about 15 sec. for a 1-2% off accuracy)

Wow how do u get it to balance that fast and put the numbers in the calculator?!

Is force decomposition necessary to know on higher level tests?

Sciolapedia wrote:Wow how do u get it to balance that fast and put the numbers in the calculator?!

We have our ways...

noodleluvr wrote:Is force decomposition necessary to know on higher level tests?

Sorry for posting twice. I've never needed it, but the biggest competition I've been to is Booth Invitational, where us and the first place team both got a perfect score on the test (I've never actually seen a difficult test for Simple Machines in Science Olympiad).

How much time does it usually take you guys to balance the lever?

Hi, I'm doing it at states, and my partner and I can average around 18-20 seconds.