🔬 Science Olympiad (Scioly)

Welcome to the Science Olympiad headquarters. This page organizes preparation notes, testing logs, cheat sheets, and resource links for all 4 events.

🏅 Events Quick Summary

1. 🛰️ Remote Sensing

Overview & Rules Focus

• Topic Focus: Satellite observation systems, electromagnetic spectrum, radiative transfer, Earth observation missions (Landsat, Sentinel, MODIS, GOES).
• Key Tasks: Interpreting false-color composite imagery, calculating NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), understanding spectral bands and resolutions (spatial, spectral, radiometric, temporal).

Key Formulas & Cheat Sheet Highlights

• Wien's Displacement Law: $\lambda_{\text{max}} = \frac{b}{T} \quad (b \approx 2.898 \times 10^{-3} \text{ m}\cdot\text{K})$
• Stefan-Boltzmann Law: $j^* = \sigma T^4 \quad (\sigma \approx 5.67 \times 10^{-8} \text{ W}\cdot\text{m}^{{-2}\cdot\text{K}}{-4})$
• NDVI Index: $$\text{NDVI} = \frac{\text{NIR} - \text{Red}}{\text{NIR} + \text{Red}}$$

Study Checklist

• Memorize Landsat 8/9 & Sentinel-2 spectral band designations
• Practice interpreting infrared vs. thermal anomalies
• Compile 10-page printed reference binder

2. 🏗️ Boomilever

Overview & Engineering Specs

• Objective: Design, construct, and test a cantilevered wooden structure mounted to the testing wall that supports up to 15 kg of sand with minimum structure mass.
• Materials Allowed: Balsa wood, basswood, and approved cyanoacrylate / aliphatic glues.

Design Principles & Structural Analysis

• Tension Members (Top Chord): Must resist tension without stretching or snapping; tensile strength is prioritized.
• Compression Members (Bottom Struts / Chords): Prone to Euler buckling. Keep unsupported length short or trussed with cross-bracing.
• Euler Buckling Formula: $$P_{\text{cr}} = \frac{\pi^2 E I}{(K L)^2}$$
• Efficiency Metric: $$\text{Score} = \frac{\text{Load Supported (g)}}{\text{Mass of Boomilever (g)}}$$

Build & Testing Log

3. 🌌 Astronomy

Overview & Theoretical Focus

• Core Topics: Stellar evolution, binary star systems, variable stars, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, cosmology, spectroscopy.
• Deep Sky Objects (DSOs): Identification and astrophysical properties of current season targets.

Essential Concepts & Math

• Distance Modulus: $$m - M = 5 \log_{10}\left(\frac{d}{10\text{ pc}}\right)$$
• Hubble's Law: $$v = H_0 \cdot d$$
• Wien's Law & Stefan-Boltzmann Relations for stellar luminosity: $$L = 4\pi R^2 \sigma T^4$$

Binder Prep Checklist

• Complete DSO profiles with images in X-ray, Optical, and Radio
• Spectral classification chart (O, B, A, F, G, K, M)
• HR diagrams with evolutionary tracks for low-mass vs. high-mass stars

4. ✈️ Wright Stuff

Overview & Flight Constraints

• Objective: Build a lightweight rubber-powered free-flight monoplane to achieve the maximum aloft flight duration inside the competition gymnasium.
• Specifications: Minimum total airframe mass (typically 7.0–8.0g without rubber), wingspan limit, propeller diameter limit.

Key Factors for Maximum Flight Duration

1. Airframe Mass: Build as close to the minimum legal weight limit as possible.
2. Wing Camber & Lift-to-Drag: Low Reynolds number airfoil; smooth tissue / mylar covering without wrinkles.
3. Propeller Pitch & Diameter: Optimized matched pitch for steady climb and gentle float descent.
4. Rubber Motor & Torque:
   • Motor thickness (e.g., 0.085" to 0.100" Tan Super Sport).
   • Lube with silicone / glycerin mixture.
   • Wind to maximum safe torque using a mechanical winder and torque meter.

Flight Test Log

🏫 5. Dana Middle School Coaching (Division B)

I serve as a coach for the Dana Middle School Science Olympiad team, mentoring middle school competitors in 3 core events:

🛰️ Remote Sensing (Division B)

• Curriculum: Introducing satellite remote sensing concepts, electromagnetic spectrum bands, false color composites, and interpreting Earth observation data.
• Practice Drills: Weekly map and imagery interpretation worksheets.

🏗️ Boomilever (Division B)

• Curriculum: Wood selection (grain orientation, balsa density testing), structural joint geometry, truss configurations, and safe testing procedures with sand buckets.
• Build Milestones: Guiding students from initial design drawings to lightweight prototypes.

🪐 Solar System (Division B)

• Curriculum: Planetary geology, surface features, moons of Jupiter and Saturn, dwarf planets, asteroid belt, Kuiper Belt, and NASA/ESA space exploration probes.
• Study Binder Prep: Teaching note-taking strategies and high-speed information lookup during timed tests.