LIFE, PERSONAL & SOCIAL SCIENCE
Anatomy and Physiology: A test that focuses on the integumentary, immune, and nervous systems.
Cell Biology: An event dealing with everything concerning eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Questions will
include cell structure, function and classification, cellular respiration, protein synthesis, cell reproduction,
DNA replication, RNA synthesis, viral structure and function, molecular genetics, DNA sequencing and
analysis, DNA fingerprinting, and immunology. The test is given in a series of stations, which may include
anything from demonstrations to actual specimens.
Disease Detectives: A test focusing on epidemiology. Participants must demonstrate knowledge of the
science method in order to solve outbreak investigations. The event requires statistical, analytical, and
epidemiological knowledge.
Entomology: Identify 125+ different families and species of Pacific Northwest insects. Use a field guide
and note sheet (self-made) to identify insects by their common name and be able to define their
environmental/ecological importance, prey and predators, and habitat.
EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE
Astronomy: Know stars: their birth, development, and death; their classifications and features; how to
calculate their distances based on their brightnesses and parallaxes; and other various information.
Dynamic Planet: A written test about glaciers and their effects on the land, and climate change.
Fossils: Includes identifying various fossilized animals and plants, providing details about these creatures
such as the environments they lived in, their modes of life, how they formed, etc., and answering
questions on general paleontology.
GeoLogic Mapping: Working with geologic maps, topographic maps, and data, teams will demonstrate
knowledge of geologic mapping, topographic concepts, and surface and subsurface structural geology by
identifying and interpreting concepts related to these topics.
Green Generation: Two year focus rotation: 1st year is aquatic and climate, 2nd is terrestrial and
population growth. Know the general principles of ecology (biodiversity, trophic pyramids, nutrient cycling,
etc), the biomes of aquatic/terrestrial environments, the problems arising from human impacts, and the
solutions to reverse/reduce human impacts.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING
*Bridge Building: Build a lightweight wood-and-glue bridge that can hold the most weight.
*Mission Possible: Work with pulleys, levers, wires, chemical reactions, lightbulbs, matches and more to
design a Rube-Goldberg domino-effect device that has multiple energy (chemical, mechanical, electrical,
electromagnetic spectrum, and thermal) transfers.
*Scrambler: Build a car which needs to get as close as possible and stop at a determined distance on
its own without breaking an egg.
*Wright Stuff: Make a twisted-rubber-band-powered airplane that has the longest flight duration.
* signifies that this particular event involves building something prior to the tournament.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE & CHEMISTRY
*Compound Machines: The first part of the event is a written test in which one must know
simple/compound machines. The second part involves having an object with a known mass, another with
an unknown mass, and a lever. The challenge is to find the unknown mass as quickly as you can.
*Air Trajectory: Event in which participants must make a device that is able to launch a tennis ball,
racket ball, ping pong ball, or hacky sack, powered by a nonmetallic, elastic solid. The device should fit in
a 60cm by 60cm cube.
*It's About Time: Build a timekeeping device before the competition to determine intervals of 5 trials.
Another part of the competition is a test requiring knowledge in math, physics, and anything to do with
time.
Chem Lab: Work with given chemicals to produce a desired result while writing down the steps. Another
part requires having the knowledge of equilibrium, chemical reactions, and stoichiometry for the test.
Forensics: Given a scenario and some possible suspects, perform a series of chemical/forensic tests that
are used in the field. These chemical tests and other provided evidence will be used to solve a
hypothetical crime.
*Protein Modeling: Focusing on the human genome, members will be required to build a protein model
and demonstrate knowledge of the human genome. 40% of the score is determined by the pre-build
model, 30% by the on-site model, and 30% by the written test.
INQUIRY & NATURE OF SCIENCE
Experimental Design: Work with two other people to design, test, and perform a lab within 50 minutes
that answers the required question given at the beginning of the session. Topics/questions are often
physics-based.
*Bungee Drop: Drop a mass attached to an elastic cord from a given height and get it as close to the
ground as possible without touching the ground.
Technical Problem Solving: The event involves using problem solving skills to solve problems by
gathering and processing data in a lab. The 2015 topic will focus on forensic patterns of physical (not
chemical) evidence associated with a crime scene.
Write It Do It: One student will write a description of an object and how to build it, and the other student
will follow these instructions/description to construct the object. The closer the reconstructed object is to
the original, the more points the team receives.
* signifies that this particular event involves building something prior to the tournament.