(Click on the first picture to flip through the Seminole SECME team at United States Department of Energy National Science Bowl South Florida Regional Qualifier 2012 at Florida International University on Saturday, February 18, 2012)
 |
| 20120218 US DOE NSB at FIU |
National Science Bowl (NSB) is an academic competition sponsored by the United States Department of Energy that offers a chance for teams of high school students to match their mental abilities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. Teams compete in this fast-paced "jeopardy" style, head-to-head competition, which includes preliminary and double-elimination matches. In this competition students answer either multiple-choice or short-answer questions relating to STEM facts or concepts. Each 16-minute match has a two-minute intermission. Questions are read aloud by a moderator. Any player can buzz in to answer a “toss-up” question. Points are awarded for a correct answer, and the team can then answer a bonus question. At the end of the match, the team with the most points wins.
For example, the energy category of the NSB focuses on energy in its many manifestations: sources of energy, energy applications, energy production, energy efficiency, and other areas related to this field. Energy is a cross-disciplinary category, integrating topics from physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space sciences, and environmental sciences. When studying other disciplines, focus on certain strands that apply to energy: biology contains energy when examining: chemical reactions in cells, cellular functions, photosynthesis, and food energy; earth and space sciences include energy sources as well as environmental science topics (such as: human usage of energy, finite resources, and natural systems as resources). Physical sciences are chock full of energy topics, including: atomic and nuclear energy, motion and forces, electricity, conservation of energy, potential and kinetic energy, heat and temperature, and interactions of energy and matter.
This year, the silver Hawks failed to advance to the double elimination bracket with four losses and one bye during the round robin. The winning school will go on to the 22nd National Science Bowl in Washington D.C., Apr. 26-30, where they will compete for the national title against more than 450 students from 68 high schools. But even the students who don't earn a trip to the finals agree that competing in Science Bowl bolsters their understanding and their outlook. Last year, First Lady Michelle Obama congratulated every single student who participated in the NSB. Said Mrs. Obama, "We want young people energized in the way that you all are, because we know that American brainpower in science and math has always driven this country's prosperity, helping us make the discoveries and to build the industries that have transformed the way we live and work."
National Science Bowl Finals from May 3, 2011
SAMPLE ROUND ROBIN ROUND
TOSS-UP QUESTION (Worth 4 points. 5 seconds for anyone to answer.)
1) CHEMISTRY Multiple Choice The reaction of hydrocarbons with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water and heat is called:
W) fission
X) fusion
Y) endothermic
Z) combustion
ANSWER: Z) COMBUSTION
BONUS QUESTION (Worth 10 points. 20 seconds for Captain to answer.)
1) CHEMISTRY Short Answer What is the only known substance for which there is no triple point:
ANSWER: HELIUM
TOSS-UP
2) PHYSICS Short Answer What is the name of the device that is made by combining two basic types of solid state rectifiers allowing the device to both rectify and amplify a current?
ANSWER: TRANSISTOR
BONUS
2) PHYSICS Multiple Choice Which of the following was one of the first direct indications that the speed of light could not be exceeded:
W) Faraday’s law of induction
X) Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity
Y) the Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction
Z) Planck’s constant
ANSWER: Y) THE LORENTZ-FITZGERALD CONTRACTION
TOSS-UP
3) BIOLOGY Multiple Choice An example of negative feedback control is when:
W) the end product of a metabolic pathway inhibits an earlier reaction
X) the initial enzyme of a metabolic pathway inhibits a later reaction
Y) the end product of a metabolic pathway stimulates an earlier reaction
Z) the initial product of a metabolic pathway inhibits the next reaction
ANSWER: W) THE END PRODUCT OF A METABOLIC PATHWAY INHIBITS AN EARLIER REACTION
BONUS
3) BIOLOGY Short Answer What is the name of the inner surface of the myocardium that is lined with a layer of endothelial cells?
ANSWER: ENDOCARDIUM
TOSS-UP
4) EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE Multiple Choice The hydrogen envelope that surrounds the comet’s nucleus derives its hydrogen most directly from:
W) gases escaping from the melting comet’s ice
X) hydrogen captured from interstellar space
Y) breakdown of water by ultraviolet light
Z) hydrogen in the solar winds
ANSWER: Y) BREAKDOWN OF WATER BY ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT
BONUS
4) SPACE SCIENCE Short Answer What do Astronomers call the point in the sky that is directly overhead?
ANSWER: ZENITH
TOSS-UP
5) MATH Multiple Choice Which of the following does NOT yield a periodic non-terminating decimal:
W) 5/6
X) 1/27
Y) 1/18
Z) 7/8
ANSWER: Z) 7/8
BONUS
5) MATH Short Answer What 3 consecutive numbers add up to 45?
ANSWER: 14, 15, AND 16
TOSS-UP
6) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which is the best reason for proposing that a boulder lying in an area that was once glaciated is an erratic:
W) it is of a different composition than the underlying rock
X) it is rounded and worn
Y) it is larger than any surrounding rocks
Z) it is located near a glacial lake
ANSWER: W) IT IS OF A DIFFERENT COMPOSITION THAN THE UNDERLYING ROCK
BONUS
6) EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the term for groundwater emerging naturally at the ground surface, where the water table intersects the surface:
ANSWER: SPRING (ACCEPT: SEEP)
TOSS-UP
9) ENERGY Multiple Choice The ideal fuel for fuel cell use is:
W) compressed natural gas
X) reformulated gasoline
Y) hydrogen
Z) methanol
ANSWER: Y) HYDROGEN
BONUS
9) ENERGY Short Answer What is the branch of chemistry that deals with the relationship between electricity and chemical reactions?
ANSWER: ELECTROCHEMISTRY
TOSS-UP
10) PHYSICS Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a consequence of the theory of electromagnetic radiation as formulated by J. C. Maxwell:
W) electric fields can cause magnetic disturbance
X) electromagnetic radiation consists of an electric and magnetic wave
Y) light is a form of electromagnetic radiation
Z) bright red light ejects no electrons from a metallic surface whereas dim violet light can
ANSWER: Z) BRIGHT RED LIGHT EJECTS NO ELECTRONS FROM A METALLIC SURFACE WHEREAS DIM VIOLET LIGHT CAN
BONUS
10) PHYSICS Short Answer All elements with an atomic number greater than what number are unstable?
ANSWER: 83
