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Should we be studying the scientific names of organisms or will common names be fine?

cryptoderes wrote:Should we be studying the scientific names of organisms or will common names be fine?

I recommend you have both in your notes, like in parentheses or as a side note. I've had questions in the past like "Which macroinvertebrate falls under the subclass Hirudinea?", so it helped that I had the taxonomy in my notes.

cryptoderes wrote:Should we be studying the scientific names of organisms or will common names be fine?

It depends on your division. If you're in B, common name will be asked for on tests, but there are always exceptions and it's good to have the scientific name on your notesheet. However, if you're in C, you should absolutely have scientific names on your notesheet.

Does anyone know if Water Quality will still be an event next year?

jz123sst wrote:Does anyone know if Water Quality will still be an event next year?

Yes, Water Quality will be an event, but the topic will shift to saltwater.

Thank you

Can someone please explain to me more in detail how the Salinometer section of the test will play out? The rules seem a bit confusing.

Saucycedo wrote:Can someone please explain to me more in detail how the Salinometer section of the test will play out? The rules seem a bit confusing.

Here's how it went down at MIT:
The event supervisor (who was awesome) had two solutions of water to test. He gave us the option to go up at any point during the exam to test both solutions A and B. There were two solutions of A and B so two teams could test at once. The beakers were much larger that 600ml, but it didn't influence our test. There were no calibration solutions too. He also made a point to state that as long as the salinometer fit in the beaker and no water left the beaker.

This is mostly the same format I am following for my solution at the UF regional competition this weekend.

However, if you look at the nationals test from 2015 (i think?), you will see that there were stations and the salinometer was a station. Water Quality is a great event to do in stations, and I know test writers who are making their test with stations.

In conclusion, it all depends on who the event supervisor is. I would be prepared for both outcomes and to have it measured as quickly as you can

How do you tell the difference between a picture of a blood midge and a midge?

cryptoderes wrote:Should we be studying the scientific names of organisms or will common names be fine?

In one of the handouts, it says to know the common names only.