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Water Quality Test Exchange 2014

Okay - this is my first time doing Div. C for Water Quality. Does anyone know where I should start studying to get decent information that was not from Div. B? Of course, anything is fine regardless of what division it's from. This event is pretty open-ended.

The rules are essentially the same for both divisions. Anything that you used for B will work fine for C.

There's surely a difficulty level difference between the two divisions though, right? I certainly didn't know everything on the states test last year, although I studied everything on the Water Quality disk. This event seems very open-ended. I just need someplace to learn more. If that makes sense.

It's truly a huge event. You need to know properties of water, the current bug list (not released yet...), ecosystems, pollution, water treatment. Plenty to start with even before rules come out.

caseyotis wrote:There's surely a difficulty level difference between the two divisions though, right? I certainly didn't know everything on the states test last year, although I studied everything on the Water Quality disk. This event seems very open-ended. I just need someplace to learn more. If that makes sense.

WQ is a low(er) scoring event, so I'm sure, somewhere, someone gives the same test to both divisions and still receives a nice distribution of scores. That said, when writing a C test versus a B test on the same material, questions that involve higher-order thinking can be used (more often). In other words, work towards a goal of a higher level of understanding of the material as opposed to just rote memorization. It's an art, not a science, really (did I really just say that on the science nerd forums?). Take a look at some of the C WQ tests on the Test Exchange. If memory serves me, there's at least one that I'd consider difficult enough that would not be appropriate at the B level. I wanna say it was a MC test. Go seek that out, be awestruck at what you don't know, and use that to frame your studying.

Skink wrote:

caseyotis wrote:There's surely a difficulty level difference between the two divisions though, right? I certainly didn't know everything on the states test last year, although I studied everything on the Water Quality disk. This event seems very open-ended. I just need someplace to learn more. If that makes sense.

WQ is a low(er) scoring event, so I'm sure, somewhere, someone gives the same test to both divisions and still receives a nice distribution of scores. That said, when writing a C test versus a B test on the same material, questions that involve higher-order thinking can be used (more often). In other words, work towards a goal of a higher level of understanding of the material as opposed to just rote memorization. It's an art, not a science, really (did I really just say that on the science nerd forums?). Take a look at some of the C WQ tests on the Test Exchange. If memory serves me, there's at least one that I'd consider difficult enough that would not be appropriate at the B level. I wanna say it was a MC test. Go seek that out, be awestruck at what you don't know, and use that to frame your studying.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

Does anyone know what the rules mean by "community interactions" and "population dynamics". I am in Div C this year and I was in B for the past two years. Last year my partner and I just kind of ignored it and we were basically fine, but I feel like for my team's tryouts this is something I should know. Is it just like symbiotic and stuff or more like general?

Bigtonyz wrote:Does anyone know what the rules mean by "community interactions" and "population dynamics". I am in Div C this year and I was in B for the past two years. Last year my partner and I just kind of ignored it and we were basically fine, but I feel like for my team's tryouts this is something I should know. Is it just like symbiotic and stuff or more like general?

I'm pretty sure that community interactions mean things like symbiosis, but there's probably more to that. Have you looked at the training power point on soinc.org?

caseyotis wrote:

Skink wrote:

caseyotis wrote:There's surely a difficulty level difference between the two divisions though, right? I certainly didn't know everything on the states test last year, although I studied everything on the Water Quality disk. This event seems very open-ended. I just need someplace to learn more. If that makes sense.

WQ is a low(er) scoring event, so I'm sure, somewhere, someone gives the same test to both divisions and still receives a nice distribution of scores. That said, when writing a C test versus a B test on the same material, questions that involve higher-order thinking can be used (more often). In other words, work towards a goal of a higher level of understanding of the material as opposed to just rote memorization. It's an art, not a science, really (did I really just say that on the science nerd forums?). Take a look at some of the C WQ tests on the Test Exchange. If memory serves me, there's at least one that I'd consider difficult enough that would not be appropriate at the B level. I wanna say it was a MC test. Go seek that out, be awestruck at what you don't know, and use that to frame your studying.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

Hi,

I think the test in reference is the Kearney 2013 Invitational Test. It's a VERY challenging but also very good exam. Most of the questions on that test are difficult--don't be deceived because they are multiple choice. Give the test a try and then check your answers. If there is a question that you don't understand the answer to, post here and I (or somebody else) can try and help! It's a great test and worth taking.