Materials Science C

[bernard]

[boatdziner]

I am curious about the use of materials in the concrete that are not specifically cement, sand, water, and gravel. There are numerous additives that could go into making one of these pucks very high in strength, without being visible. Will this be allowed, and if not, how will it be verified?

[knightmoves]

I am curious about the use of materials in the concrete that are not specifically cement, sand, water, and gravel. There are numerous additives that could go into making one of these pucks very high in strength, without being visible. Will this be allowed, and if not, how will it be verified?

The rules are quite specific. Your puck may be made out of portland cement (type I or II), sand, gravel, and water in any combination. This implies that your puck may not contain anything else.

As to how it will be verified, that's up to each individual event supervisor. Some ES may have more experience with concrete than others. You might want to consider whether it's worth risking a DQ for less than 10% of the total score available for the event.

[iiiiiiiipandaaaaa]

Hello, I have some question for this event. for the punk part if I drop it and the side has some chip off like less than 1cm would this count as disqualify?

[knightmoves]

Hello, I have some question for this event. for the punk part if I drop it and the side has some chip off like less than 1cm would this count as disqualify?

"Any visible change to the outside of the puck will be considered a failure."

If there's a little dust on the drop surface, but the ES can't see where it came from, it's not a failure. If the ES can point at your puck and say "a bit came off there", then that's a failure. Any chip visible by the human eye counts as a failure - please check the FAQs on soinc.org.

[StarryNight]

Hello, For the event, what is the topic of the lab? Is it on the Stress and strain curve and Young's modulus or something else? If anyone already had their regionals or went to invitationals, please let me know based on your experience? Also what materials do we bring to the event??

[knightmoves]

Make sure you bring N95 masks. It's in the rules.

Also make sure you follow the chem event rules (chem goggles, loose pants down to ankles, closed toed shoes, long sleeves, apron or lab coat), and bring the same box of equipment you'd bring to Chem Lab.

The practical task can be on anything loosely associated with the rules. This year, I've seen Young's Modulus measurements, thermal measurements, filtration & precipitation tasks, making a glass from borax - Materials Science lives at the junction of physics, chemistry, and engineering, and so which way the lab task goes probably depends on the particular experience and expertise of your ES.

Depending on what your ES chooses, you might need none of your chem equipment for the lab task, or you might need a lot of it.