Environmental Chem

[Avis_de-Incendia]

oh... and we had a written test to go along with the experiment, what we would add to the soil, which components are deficient, and a section on general stuff i.e. list two organic fertilizers and what the provide... that really sums it up

all the tests I took at state I ended up finishing early except ctw. environmental chemistry took only 25 minutes

I think me and my partner finished with 15 minutes to spare... I really liked using the spectrometers to measure concentration.

...Speaking of which, besides PH-tools and Spectrometers, what other kinds of tools have you guys used for the "practical" part of the exam?

[The Great Questioner]

I'm in Augusta Georgia right now, worrying about the use of a spectrometer. Does anybody know about having to use one for the Division B test for Saturday? Also, will Division B people have to analyze ANY chemical contaminants at all?I was wondering if some who has previously done this test before could help me and my partner prepare. I would be greatly appreciated if you don't give out any false information please.

[Avis_de-Incendia]

um.... I used a spectrometer at states. So yea, probably they'll use one at nationals

I don't know about contaminants though.

[Phenylethylamine]

The B national test... O.O It was so much! Seriously, it was 8 sections- 7 labs with about 10 questions each after them, and the other was 30-40 general soil chem questions. We had to make an iso-map of soil contamination and then identify if it was a point or non-point source, test the percent water retention of two different soil samples, do a qualitative acid-base titration of two soil samples, do some nutrient testing... I can't remember all the other ones off the top of my head.

We got 14th I'm happy with that, I was just glad to beat my 21st in Food Sci last year at Nats.

[gyourkoshaven]

Wow! I would have gotten last! Did you finish in 50 minutes?

[Phenylethylamine]

Wow! I would have gotten last! Did you finish in 50 minutes?

Nope, although we did get most of it done. The iso-map was part 6, and it looked like most teams didn't finish it (it was on a separate page that you had to attach, and we could see most teams didn't have it), although we did.

[gyourkoshaven]

I don't even know how to do that If it's still an event next year I'll have a lot of stuff to learn over the summer. Was a good sheet really an advantage or was it more of a doing thing?

[Phenylethylamine]

I barely used my sheet, if at all. I'm not sure if that means a good sheet wouldn't be useful, though, because it depends on what you focused on. I happened to have studied and memorized most of what was on there, while my sheet was covered in things that didn't show up on the test. For the practical parts, it was more about general lab skills than Envi Chem knowledge, although that was helpful too.

It looks like they're going to try to integrate it into Crimebusters for next year... No clue how that'll work.

[orangegirl2495]

OMG! THat is horrible SCB is my least favorite event and i happen to be doing that event! ew! i love en chem! even though we placed 30th!

[dreamingoutloud]

I love love environ chem and SCB. So it's like perfect for me...


except the fact THAT I'M IN DIVISION C NEXT YEAR.