Technical Problem Solving C

[Jim_R]

Discussion for Technical Problem Solving C.

[Fireheart347]

So what kind of equations and information do we need to know for this event? This is my first time competing in Technical Problem Solving.

[scienceolympiadist]

You won't like this response, but you really don't know what to expect. They can give you any experiments that you may see with scientific equipments. Mostly though, the tasks involved activities seen in physics classrooms: determining density, calculating pendulum period, etc.

[rocketchicka]

when i did it last year we went into not knowing what to expect and ended up using physics, chemistry, mapping skills and biology. It's difficult to study for it, so i just studied a little of everything.

[Nerd95]

Do I really need to study EVERYTHING?? Is there one particular class curriculum that I can focus in on? Any good resources for this event I should use? I am new to TPS, so I do not know much about it.

[ktrujillo52]

Honestly, you don't know what to expect in this event. It is usually run as lab stations and physics, chemistry, and biology are involved. I think this is the event that replaced 5 star science several years ago, which is why you have to be well rounded.

But to give you a definite answer, I would suggest learning Standard Deviation and Chi square statistic if you haven't already learned them, I have been asked about them several times on tests.

[unnamed 23]

My suggestion is to pick up your friendly AP text book and give it a good skimming through. That has worked for me so far.

[ktrujillo52]

Lol. You have physics covered and I have bio covered.

We can struggle through the chem together haha

[unnamed 23]

I can deal with chem too it's basically a weirder form of physics

[ktrujillo52]

lol ok.

[rocketchicka]

All I'm doing is listening hard in my chemistry class. Right before the competition I might skim through last year's bio notes.

[walkingstyx]

Did anyone else notice that the test for 2004 nationals and 2009 nationals were EXACTLY the same? It was called practical data gathering back then, but all of the labs are identical. Does anyone have a copy of the 2003 and earlier tests, to see if those are the same too?

[jazzy009]

Did anyone else notice that the test for 2004 nationals and 2009 nationals were EXACTLY the same? It was called practical data gathering back then, but all of the labs are identical. Does anyone have a copy of the 2003 and earlier tests, to see if those are the same too?

Yes the Nationals proctor said that's where he got most of his information for the 2009 test from.

[walkingstyx]

So can we expect the exact same test this year too? That seems kind of ridiculously biased to those who purchased tests from previous years or schools that have gone to nationals for a long time, not to mention that it is just bad test writing. I know there has been a general trend towards easier events in Scio, but testing an event that is supposed to rely on ingenuity with a test that some of the contestants are already aware of and can in fact find detailed descriptions of how to solve online easily? That really makes no sense.

[jborgman]

Do I need to learn how to use all the different cbls and computer interfaces? Our school uses PASCO interfaces to computers with datastudio. Do I need to learn others or are there instructions?