Science Olympiad
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Description: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of the basic concepts of
mathematics and physics relating to stellar
evolution and Type II Supernova.
A team of up to: 2
Approximate Time: 50 minutes
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Event Parameters: Each team may bring
either 2 laptops or 2 3-ring binder containing
info in any form from any source
Materials must be 3-hole punched and
inserted into the rings
Each team member is permitted to bring a
programmable calculator
NO INTERNET ACCESS!
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Using H-R Diagrams, spectra, light curves,
motions, cosmological distance equations
and relationships, stellar magnitudes and
classification, multi-wavelength images (XRay, UV, optical, IR, radio), charts, graphs,
animations and DS9 imaging analysis
software, students will answer questions
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Stellar evolution, including spectral features
and chemical composition, luminosity,
blackbody radiation, color index (B-V), and HR Diagram transitions, stellar nurseries and
star formation, protostars, main sequence
stars
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Cepheid variables, semiregular variables, red
supergiants, neutron stars, magnetars,
pulsars, Wolf-Rayet stars, stellar mass black
holes, x-ray binary systems and Type II
Supernovas
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Lifespan of a star and radical changes
Dependent on mass
Ranges from few million years to trillions of
years
All stars born from collapsing clouds of gas
and dust
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HR Diagram
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Kepler’s First Law: Planets move around the sun
in ellipses, with the Sun in one focus
Kepler’s Second Law: the line connecting a
planet to the Sun sweeps equal areas in equal
times
Kepler’s Third Law: The square of a planet’s
sidereal period (P) around the Sun is directly
proportional to the cube of the length of its
orbit’s semimajor axis (a)
P2 = a3, planet closer to the Sun has a shorter
year
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Use laws, rotation and circular motion to
answer questions relating to orbital motions
of binary and multiple star systems
Use parallax, spectroscopic parallax, and the
distance modulus to calculate distances to
Type I and II Cepheids
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Cepheid variable stars expand and contract in
a repeating cycle of size changes
Change in size is comparable with change in
brightness
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Identify, know the location and answer
questions relating to the content areas
outlined above for following object:
 Cas A, IGR J17091, NGC 6888/WR 136, PSR J0108-
1431, Cygnus X-1, SXP 1062, M1, V838 Mon, Delta
Cep, a Orionis, SN 2010JL, NGC 3582, LHa115N19, Antares/Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex and IC
1396
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Remnant of a massive star that exploded
about 300 years ago
10 light years in diameter
50 million degrees
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Binary system containing stellar mass black
hole
Black hole pulling gas away from a
companion star
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Nebula
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Solitary Pulsar located in constellation Cetus
424 Light years away
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Well known galactic X-ray source in Cygnus
constellation
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Supernova in constellation Tucana
180,000 Light years away
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Crab nebula
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Constellation Monoceros
Red variable star
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Binary Star System
887 Light years away
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All questions will have been assigned a
predetermined number of points. The
highest score wins. Selected questions
having differentiated weights will be used to
break ties.
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Aavso.org
Chandra.harvard.edu
Antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov
Nightsky.ie
Atlasoftheuniverse.com
Email Astronomy professor from IUN at
lciupik@adlerplanetarium.org