Science Olympiad at Penn Invitational 2020

[sk1651]

Hi all,

I was the A&P test director for SOUP this year and last year. I would appreciate it if anyone who took the test would let me know what they thought about it, as we tried to change it up from last years. Additionally, if you took last years test, I would appreciate if you could let me know how this years test compared to last years.

Thanks!

[winchesetr]

In addition, I will be publicly releasing my test on 3/1 here so make sure to look out for that. I believe I will be the only one from SOUP to do this.

Not the only one - Disease will also be publicly released (I'll post on test exchange) and sent to all teams who have messaged me after 3/1 as well. I'm a firm believer that exams should be accessible to all teams, especially ones that are not fortunate enough to travel hundreds of miles to go to invites.

(Again if anyone has feedback please let me know!)

I've been asked to post a disclaimer that all of these thoughts are mine and not the thoughts of SOUP board.

[IcsTam]

Edit

[bernard]

Send me a Drive link and I'd be happy to upload it to the Test Exchange for you.

[jonboyage]

Wow this is great! I'm really glad others are doing this as well.

[nicksalanitri]

Here is my event feedback from SOUP.

Ornithology(11): Test was fast paced and primarily basic info heavy, first time doing the event but it did seem like a good test and it was run smoothly. I was surprised there was only one actual bird sound to listen to though. 9/10

Fossils(1): Test was way too easy and short as everyone was saying. Not enough questions for a test to have a "break" station to go back and finish everything. Scores were definitely way too close and I would not be surprised if 15th place was less than 4 points off our score. Overall was a little disappointed. 6/10

Gravity(23): Well, we all know what happened here. 1/10.

Overall(5): SOUP was a great tournament and I very much look forward to going back next year. The university was very nice and there were lots of people around in case you needed directions. Only flaw was sometimes doors to major buildings mysteriously locked everyone out lol. Definitely a great tournament though. 10/10

[windu34]

Solar Power C TRIAL - Event Authors Review
Hey all, I was an author of the Solar Power Exam that was administered along with Svph300, Adi1008, and Ashernoel. I dont really have many comments that I can make, but I did want to post the exam and score graphs as I do for all events I supervise. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for event improvement, feel free to direct them to me and/or the other authors.

Exam and Key
Score graphs

[hmmm]

Fossils(1): Test was way too easy and short as everyone was saying. Not enough questions for a test to have a "break" station to go back and finish everything. Scores were definitely way too close and I would not be surprised if 15th place was less than 4 points off our score. Overall was a little disappointed. 6/10

5th to 15th was 4.5 pts

[Name]

Fossils(1): Test was way too easy and short as everyone was saying. Not enough questions for a test to have a "break" station to go back and finish everything. Scores were definitely way too close and I would not be surprised if 15th place was less than 4 points off our score. Overall was a little disappointed. 6/10

5th to 15th was 4.5 pts

bruh what

what was the raw score for 5th?

[WhatScience?]

Solar Power C TRIAL - Event Authors Review
Hey all, I was an author of the Solar Power Exam that was administered along with Svph300, Adi1008, and Ashernoel. I dont really have many comments that I can make, but I did want to post the exam and score graphs as I do for all events I supervise. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for event improvement, feel free to direct them to me and/or the other authors.

Exam and Key
Score graphs

Solar Power (1)

As some of you already know, I participated in this event. I wasn't going to make a post here, but I think it must be said how well run this event was. I'll admit that winning has probably left me with a little bias, but the supervisors did a great job and honestly deserve kudos for their efforts.

I looked at the PUSO solar test prior to the event and was expecting something similarly easy. My partner and I went in with mentality of not wanting to miss a single question. As soon as I saw the test writers names on the front of the packet, I turned around and told my partner that this test was going to be interesting, but also very difficult. You guys did not disappoint at all.

The test was long and a little stressful, but it was also a lot of fun to take. The multiple choice was well designed and the questions proved to be engaging. I was expecting a pure trivia multiple choice and it was nice having a section to start the test that anyone could attempt to build up some momentum. The short answer was fairly standard, but the portion of the test that most deserves a mention was the one on material properties. Because it was the open ended section with the most points, it was the first thing I attempted after the multiple choice. I genuinely enjoyed thinking through the questions on that portion of the test.

The build portion of the event also ran really well. The supervisors had the device testing down to a science and were incredibly kind. Despite building the device the day before, we managed to get a prediction within .2 degrees C of the actual. The supervisors seemed to genuinely share in my excitement at getting a good prediction and were super accommodating when I needed a beaker after the test (because I somehow managed to misplace my own).

Thank you to all the supervisors for putting this event together and reminding me just how fun scioly can be.