Math Ability of Competitors

[Pastaman202]

Disagree with this. Stuff like that isn't relevant for testing knowledge in most events (although I guess you need trig for physics events).

When was exponents/logs and trig covered in alg 1? For me trig was first covered in class (extremely basic) in 9th grade geometry and exponents/logs, and a bit more advanced trig was covered in alg 2 this year.
Also with our scioly system, students as young as 6th grade can compete in div B, with alg 1 being first taught in 8th grade. Also 9th graders compete in C so unless you go ahead, exponents/logs, and trig aren't taught to us in div B.

Sorry, I could be wrong about what's taught in algebra 1. This was just off the top of my head.

For us in 8th grade, (im pretty sure most highish level people in SO are pretty good at math) we just finished basic Algebra 2,so we know a bit of logs and trig and stuff like that. I'm kinda trash at math tho so maybe at like states or nats for div b tests people could do like kinda difficult algebra 2 and geometry. i have no clue what high schoolers learn so based of my older siblings maybe like easy calculus.

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

When was exponents/logs and trig covered in alg 1? For me trig was first covered in class (extremely basic) in 9th grade geometry and exponents/logs, and a bit more advanced trig was covered in alg 2 this year.
Also with our scioly system, students as young as 6th grade can compete in div B, with alg 1 being first taught in 8th grade. Also 9th graders compete in C so unless you go ahead, exponents/logs, and trig aren't taught to us in div B.

Sorry, I could be wrong about what's taught in algebra 1. This was just off the top of my head.

For us in 8th grade, (im pretty sure most highish level people in SO are pretty good at math) we just finished basic Algebra 2,so we know a bit of logs and trig and stuff like that. I'm kinda trash at math tho so maybe at like states or nats for div b tests people could do like kinda difficult algebra 2 and geometry. i have no clue what high schoolers learn so based of my older siblings maybe like easy calculus.

It's worth noting that not just highish level people are taking your test (unless you're at some high-end competition or something)

[anandymous]

When making math questions about waves (In Dynamic Planet Oceanography) would basic sinusoidal functions be ok?

[NSCDS3RdCaptain]

What division?

[anandymous]

What division?

Division B

[TheCrazyChemist]

What division?

Division B

I personally would say no because most people in div.b don't learn that. But I don't do dp, so I wouldn't know. The point of hard questions imo is to test the absolute science ability of the student in that subject, not their math ability.

[Umaroth]

What division?

Division B

I personally would say no because most people in div.b don't learn that. But I don't do dp, so I wouldn't know. The point of hard questions imo is to test the absolute science ability of the student in that subject, not their math ability.

I disagree, waves are an important concept in oceanography, so students would be encouraged to maybe go ahead in their math studies and learn about sinusoidal functions for the event. It will help them in the long run too, so no harm done.

[Name]

Division B

I personally would say no because most people in div.b don't learn that. But I don't do dp, so I wouldn't know. The point of hard questions imo is to test the absolute science ability of the student in that subject, not their math ability.

I disagree, waves are an important concept in oceanography, so students would be encouraged to maybe go ahead in their math studies and learn about sinusoidal functions for the event. It will help them in the long run too, so no harm done.

Expecting students as young as 6th grade to learn sinusoidal functions (normally covered in alg 2 in 10th grade for us, and generally considered one of the hardest alg 2 units) is a bit extreme. I'd say depends on what level of compitition your writing for. If it's regionals probably not. If it's like Nationals sure.

[AlfWeg]

I personally would say no because most people in div.b don't learn that. But I don't do dp, so I wouldn't know. The point of hard questions imo is to test the absolute science ability of the student in that subject, not their math ability.

I disagree, waves are an important concept in oceanography, so students would be encouraged to maybe go ahead in their math studies and learn about sinusoidal functions for the event. It will help them in the long run too, so no harm done.

Expecting students as young as 6th grade to learn sinusoidal functions (normally covered in alg 2 in 10th grade for us, and generally considered one of the hardest alg 2 units) is a bit extreme. I'd say depends on what level of compitition your writing for. If it's regionals probably not. If it's like Nationals sure.

I did DP for both years in middle school. The only real math questions were buoyancy based. There was very little, if any, trig. That being said, in Michigan, trig is taught in 9th grade, so it isn’t too advanced for a middle schooler. What kind of questions are you thinking about? I can’t think of what you would ask about waves & trig....unless it was really basic

[JoeyC]

Sinusoidal equations aren't nearly that hard.
Alfweg, sinusoidal equations describe the shape of a wave, and can be used for things such as tides as well.
I'd say it's up to your discretion as a test writer - how hard you want to make your test.
This has been mentioned in previous threads but as a summary, you could probabyl put a couple of these in as hard (for div B) or medium (div C) difficulty, then offset them with other problems to attain desired difficulty ; it's better to have a range of difficulty.