Rules Announcements

Specific rules clarifications for an event are available on the National Science Olympiad web site — just click on National Science Olympiad then National Science Olympiad again then Clarifications. Please note that rules clarifications are the decision of the National Science Olympiad officers. These rules clarifications are for the events listed in the manuals. For Trial/Pilot events, changes are made to the actual web site listing. Instead of choosing Clarifications above, choose Trial/Pilot events — these events can be downloaded and are up to date. Please remind your students that they need to check Clarifications and Trial/Pilot event listings frequently.

Battery Buggy: Is all energy used to propel the buggy provided by common, commercially available batteries? __________ Do the batteries travel with the buggy? __________ Is the total measure battery voltage less than or equal to 5.0 volts? __________ Are no more than 2 sets of batteries impounded with the buggy? __________ Is all current in the buggy controlled by only mechanical switches, resistors, and electromagnetic relays? __________ Does the buggy have any transistors, diodes, integrated circuits or other solid state devices? __________ Is the "fixed point" clearly marked on the buggy? __________ Does actuating an electrical switch start the buggy? __________ Are aligning devices fixed, a part of, and travel with, the buggy? __________ Is the wheelbase 40 +/-3 cm? __________ Is the buggy’s track 25 cm or less ? __________

Bottle Rocket: http://hometown.aol.com/waterrocketguy/page1.html

Cow-A-Bungee: The top anchoring system will be a horizontal wood beam, approximately 2" high and 4" wide, with a "Quick-Grip" mini bar clamp for attaching the bungee cord to the beam. The drop height will be measured from the top surface of the beam. Teams may select any reasonable position relative to the beam for releasing the mass. Teams may provide their own release mechanism, as long as no part of it travels with the mass. If a bungee cord can't be stretched beyond the measured drop distance, it will be disqualified as a "self-limiting-brake" mechanism.

Science of Fitness: Reference materials (no restriction on kind or type) should fit into a 3-inch binder. Some kind of a binder is recommended but not required. However reference material should be stapled, fastened together or otherwise contained.

Sound of Music: Teams are reminded to bring annotated copies of music for the supervisor and themselves prior to the presentation.