Hovercraft B/C

[0ddrenaline]

The track is just going to change the coefficient of friction. If you test on a track with a different coefficient of friction, which we probably all will because we can't know 100% how he made the track, what the rails were and all the stuff that effects it, you just have to know how to account for different coefficients of friction in your math and calculations. Its a physics event after all ..

It also makes it the most fair if we are kept in the dark about the track until we have to run it. Every team that either checks the forum or not will be on the exact same page

Exactly this ^. I couldn't have said it better.

Lesson learned from States this weekend - just when you think you'd tested as many surfaces you can anticipate for the track, plywood shows up - would have never guessed this to be a possible surface, and cost us dearly. Others clearly pulled it off, so wasn't impossible by any stretch - just circles back to all the real world comments and advice in this forum to be as prepared as possible for variables in the events.

The plywood got us too. For some reason, the hovercraft stopped in the middle of the track on every run. Strange thing, in Michigan: Our middle school had a 1950g craft, was 5 seconds off of 25, and I know they did a decent job on the test. Yet, they didn't place (top 8). In the past, very few teams were able to get near 25 seconds. Must be really competitive now...

[Ashernoel]

Exactly this ^. I couldn't have said it better.

Lesson learned from States this weekend - just when you think you'd tested as many surfaces you can anticipate for the track, plywood shows up - would have never guessed this to be a possible surface, and cost us dearly. Others clearly pulled it off, so wasn't impossible by any stretch - just circles back to all the real world comments and advice in this forum to be as prepared as possible for variables in the events.

The plywood got us too. For some reason, the hovercraft stopped in the middle of the track on every run. Strange thing, in Michigan: Our middle school had a 1950g craft, was 5 seconds off of 25, and I know they did a decent job on the test. Yet, they didn't place (top 8). Must be really competitive...

thats funny we got almost no points on the testing portion and somehow ended up fifth xD

[LittyWap]

The track is just going to change the coefficient of friction. If you test on a track with a different coefficient of friction, which we probably all will because we can't know 100% how he made the track, what the rails were and all the stuff that effects it, you just have to know how to account for different coefficients of friction in your math and calculations. Its a physics event after all ..

It also makes it the most fair if we are kept in the dark about the track until we have to run it. Every team that either checks the forum or not will be on the exact same page

Exactly this ^. I couldn't have said it better.

Lesson learned from States this weekend - just when you think you'd tested as many surfaces you can anticipate for the track, plywood shows up - would have never guessed this to be a possible surface, and cost us dearly. Others clearly pulled it off, so wasn't impossible by any stretch - just circles back to all the real world comments and advice in this forum to be as prepared as possible for variables in the events.

Well, if you had states this weekend, and if your track was plywood..... Awww nice! "Others clearly pulled it off" is talking about me!

[MIScioly1]

Exactly this ^. I couldn't have said it better.

Lesson learned from States this weekend - just when you think you'd tested as many surfaces you can anticipate for the track, plywood shows up - would have never guessed this to be a possible surface, and cost us dearly. Others clearly pulled it off, so wasn't impossible by any stretch - just circles back to all the real world comments and advice in this forum to be as prepared as possible for variables in the events.

The plywood got us too. For some reason, the hovercraft stopped in the middle of the track on every run. Strange thing, in Michigan: Our middle school had a 1950g craft, was 5 seconds off of 25, and I know they did a decent job on the test. Yet, they didn't place (top 8). In the past, very few teams were able to get near 25 seconds. Must be really competitive now...

The Hovercraft track was certainly not ideal. The middle of our track had increased friction as well. We were able to get a 20 second run in, however, and I thought the test was very easy. We ended up getting 3rd in the State - our Hovercraft was 1970g.

[Unome]

Lesson learned from States this weekend - just when you think you'd tested as many surfaces you can anticipate for the track, plywood shows up - would have never guessed this to be a possible surface, and cost us dearly. Others clearly pulled it off, so wasn't impossible by any stretch - just circles back to all the real world comments and advice in this forum to be as prepared as possible for variables in the events.

The plywood got us too. For some reason, the hovercraft stopped in the middle of the track on every run. Strange thing, in Michigan: Our middle school had a 1950g craft, was 5 seconds off of 25, and I know they did a decent job on the test. Yet, they didn't place (top 8). In the past, very few teams were able to get near 25 seconds. Must be really competitive now...

The Hovercraft track was certainly not ideal. The middle of our track had increased friction as well. We were able to get a 20 second run in, however, and I thought the test was very easy. We ended up getting 3rd in the State - our Hovercraft was 1970g.

One off of the greatest streak ever

[Ashernoel]

The plywood got us too. For some reason, the hovercraft stopped in the middle of the track on every run. Strange thing, in Michigan: Our middle school had a 1950g craft, was 5 seconds off of 25, and I know they did a decent job on the test. Yet, they didn't place (top 8). In the past, very few teams were able to get near 25 seconds. Must be really competitive now...

The Hovercraft track was certainly not ideal. The middle of our track had increased friction as well. We were able to get a 20 second run in, however, and I thought the test was very easy. We ended up getting 3rd in the State - our Hovercraft was 1970g.

One off of the greatest streak ever

maybe if it had been 1999 it would complete the 2/2/2/2 streak

[MIScioly1]

The Hovercraft track was certainly not ideal. The middle of our track had increased friction as well. We were able to get a 20 second run in, however, and I thought the test was very easy. We ended up getting 3rd in the State - our Hovercraft was 1970g.

One off of the greatest streak ever

maybe if it had been 1999 it would complete the 2/2/2/2 streak

Who knows

We were very prepared for the test, which was too bad because it was certainly the easiest test I have ever taken in Science Olympiad, ever. Basically all we had to do was write Newton's laws, give the unit for energy, and solve for kinetic energy given mass and velocity...

[LittyWap]

You do realize you can use modeling clay to bring it to max mass during the tournament... -__-

[ericlepanda]

Lesson learned from States this weekend - just when you think you'd tested as many surfaces you can anticipate for the track, plywood shows up - would have never guessed this to be a possible surface, and cost us dearly. Others clearly pulled it off, so wasn't impossible by any stretch - just circles back to all the real world comments and advice in this forum to be as prepared as possible for variables in the events.

The plywood got us too. For some reason, the hovercraft stopped in the middle of the track on every run. Strange thing, in Michigan: Our middle school had a 1950g craft, was 5 seconds off of 25, and I know they did a decent job on the test. Yet, they didn't place (top 8). Must be really competitive...

thats funny we got almost no points on the testing portion and somehow ended up fifth xD

On Avogadro, the written test for hovercraft was in the trial events section. Maybe they just threw the test out for some reason.

[Tesel]

The plywood got us too. For some reason, the hovercraft stopped in the middle of the track on every run. Strange thing, in Michigan: Our middle school had a 1950g craft, was 5 seconds off of 25, and I know they did a decent job on the test. Yet, they didn't place (top 8). In the past, very few teams were able to get near 25 seconds. Must be really competitive now...

The Hovercraft track was certainly not ideal. The middle of our track had increased friction as well. We were able to get a 20 second run in, however, and I thought the test was very easy. We ended up getting 3rd in the State - our Hovercraft was 1970g.

One off of the greatest streak ever

I firmly believe that there is an alternate universe where us getting 2nd place instead of 3rd is the difference between our team going to Nationals or not, and in that universe, alternate me and alternate MIScioly get 2nd at Nationals.