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Note: These changes and clarifications are specific only
to competitors at the Florida State and Regional Science Olympiads only.
All clarifications at
www.soinc.org will also be honored at these competitions.
Last Updated on:
04/29/2008
| Safety |
Various types of goggles:
See national website |
| Sounds of Music |
Ties will be broken by intonation of the instruments (Instrument 1 first and
if both are even there, then Instrument 2) as recorded through a controlled
tuning device. Teams will be given the full 50 minutes
to take the test and groups will be taken out for 10 minutes at a time (5
for set-up and 5 to demonstrate their instruments) during the 50 minute
testing time. Also, if the 5 minutes of set-up time isn't needed, the
team can use the extra time to add toward the given 5 minutes if necessary.
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| Robot Ramble |
Question: Is it illegal to tip the box over? And if not,
does the box have a bottom?
Judges Answer:
It is not illegal to tip the box over so your team will not be penalized for
that on the day of the competition. Note the following Rules to answer your
questions:
* The box has no top or bottom. 3. PLAYING FIELD: l. A goal "box" with
inside dimensions of 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm, with no bottom or top, will be
placed inside of the playing field with an open side up in the middle of the
center of the line that divides Zone B and Zone A in a diagonal
configuration so that the two opposite corners are both on the center line.
The goal box must be made of Plexiglas.
* It's not illegal to tip over the goal box, but the only points that will
count are for the objects in Zone B if it is not repositioned. 4.
COMPETITION: k. At the end of the competition, the goal box must be
completely in bounds and resting directly on the playing field with the goal
box walls perpendicular to the field. If these conditions are not met,
scorable objects will NOT be considered to be in the goal box. |
| Robot Ramble |
Question:
We actually might have a question on this ruling; we’re assuming that the
point of limiting the frequencies to the ones specified in the rules is to
A) Avoid federal crimes by jamming airwaves reserved by the government, and
to B) Make sure there is no interference with other robotic competitions
going on in the nearby area.
Assuming those reasons are the purpose for the rule – If we have purchased
a new crystal that has a label from the manufacturer on it in the specified
range, and can verify that the transmitter only uses that frequency to
operate…I think we might be able to allow them to continue on. Sometimes
the markings on a transmitter are flimsy little stickers that can fall off
without any effort. Also, any standard manufactured transmitter could be
easily analyzed to check for any massive-soldering jobs that would make a
transmitter use more than a narrow range.
Judges Answer:
We’ve had some further discussions about your question, and have decided to
allow your transmitter/crystal combo as long as the following conditions are
met: A) You can provide at least *one* of the transmitter’s or
crystal’s factory markings indicating the frequency (I assume the crystal in
your case) that is within the rule’s ranges. B) We can prove on the day
of the competition that the transmitter won’t be interfering with any other
nearby robotics. This should be doable through just looking at the
transmitter to verify that no modifications have been made to increase the
transmission frequency range. C) No jamming of other frequencies is
occurring due to the transmitter or crystal operating. The only thing I’m
worried about here is if your new crystal won’t accept signals from your old
transmitter – but if your team has taken the steps necessary to ensure they
are compatible then we should be good-to-go. |
| Physics Lab |
The Physics Lab 2008 event will be centered on mechanical and gravitational
energy, work, power, their conservation and loss. |
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