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Water Quality B/C

Posted: July 15th, 2018, 3:15 pm
by pikachu4919
Water Quality B/C: Participants will be assessed on their understanding and evaluation of aquatic environments.

Water Quality Wiki

Water Quality Test Exchange 2014

Past Threads: 2012, 2013, 2014

Past Question Marathons: 2012, 2013, 2014

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 4th, 2018, 6:17 pm
by kate!
Are we going to need to know the properties of water or will there not be any questions asked about that?

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 4th, 2018, 6:21 pm
by UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F
kate! wrote:Are we going to need to know the properties of water or will there not be any questions asked about that?
Aquatic chemistry most likely encompasses properties of water, so yes, with a focus on the effect on life.

Opinions expressed on this site are not official; the only place for official rules changes and FAQs is soinc.org.

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 5th, 2018, 8:26 pm
by allopathie
UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F wrote:Aquatic chemistry most likely encompasses properties of water, so yes, with a focus on the effect on life.
This is possibly relevant for you, but I'll be testing on the following for aquatic chemistry (for C division):

Properties of water including heat capacity, hydrogen bonding, etc.
Density, melting and freezing points, phase changes
Calculating pH and pOH from concentration and vice versa, and knowing how changes in pH affect aquatic life (especially the acid-sensitive species on the species list)
Calculation-based questions about equilibrium/kinetics as they relate to pollutants and acid rain
+ Other related topics

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 6th, 2018, 7:37 pm
by JionPark
So, do we need to look at the years 2012 through 2014 to study for Water Quality this year?
Just wanted to know, especially when the topic is on fresh water.

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 6th, 2018, 7:50 pm
by kate!
JionPark wrote:So, do we need to look at the years 2012 through 2014 to study for Water Quality this year?
Just wanted to know, especially when the topic is on fresh water.
The last freshwater year was 2014, I think. So you don't need to look at the years with other topics.

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 6th, 2018, 7:57 pm
by JionPark
kate! wrote:
JionPark wrote:So, do we need to look at the years 2012 through 2014 to study for Water Quality this year?
Just wanted to know, especially when the topic is on fresh water.
The last freshwater year was 2014, I think. So you don't need to look at the years with other topics.
Thank you kate!
I thought that this year would focus on the topics that occurred in the year, 2012, then 2013 topics next year, and so on. But anyways I thank you.

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 8th, 2018, 1:34 pm
by platypusomelette
pigeon YEA

How do you study for this event? I literally have no idea what to do. What is "aquatic ecology" supposed to mean

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 8th, 2018, 2:24 pm
by UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F
platypusomelette wrote:pigeon YEA

How do you study for this event? I literally have no idea what to do. What is "aquatic ecology" supposed to mean
As to your second question:
Breaking it down, aquatic means of the water (freshwater this year), and ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other and the environment. Therefore, aquatic ecology includes things like predator-prey relations, symbiosis, keystone species, and how abiotic factors (pH, dO, temperature, current, turbidity, etc.) in a freshwater environment can affect life.

Your first question is more complicated, but I suggest just diving into the deep end and looking up all you can about the topics in the rules.

(Disclaimer: I've never actually done this event.)

Re: Water Quality B/C

Posted: September 16th, 2018, 2:28 pm
by izzanom
So what exactly does it mean by harmful species on the rules sheet? Like are there specific ones or is it just like what are invasive species etc..