Compute This

Compute This requires both the ability to locate information in a given website and, using Microsoft Excel, to interpret and display data found, as well as finding the answers to short answer questions. The event lasts for 50 minutes, and involves a team of 2 people.

This event returned in Division B in 2012. The website used was cdc.gov.

General Advice
A good way to "study" for Compute This is to practice a lot, and pay attention to the directions. The competitors need to be able to find the information (both the data and the short answers) quickly; finding the data at the last minute with few questions done and an entire spreadsheet still left to do is not a situation one wants to be in.

Some tests to practice on can be found on the Test Exchange. When using old tests, make sure they correlate to the current website. One of the first things to do when preparing for this event is to make sure that you and your partner are familiar with the formatting and use of the word-processing and graphing applications (ie. MS Word and Excel). This will help prepare both teammates for the competition. Knowing these programs will allow teams to quickly finish the assigned tasks, leaving them extra time to edit their work and fix mistakes.

Regional competitions typically have data that is easier to find, and a simpler graph format than State or Nationals. Placing at regionals requires less work than placing at State and National level competitions, so it is best to continue working on becoming experts on the different tools in MS Word, and Excel. For example, the test at the Regional competition might require teams to make a basic line graph, but a combination line and bar graph at might be asked at State. This is why it is important for both teammates to know how to use these tools.

Work with your partner - Before the competition, practice together so a process that allows teammates to work most efficiently can be found. For example, some techniques might have Person A looking up information, while Person B is recording it. Then, later in the competition, Person A creates a graph and answering the questions based on the data recorded by Person B. Typically, constantly switching spots proves to be inefficient. Working together on some practice tests beforehand, is very effective. This way, both competitors will know what to expect, as well as know what to do on competition day.

Becoming familiar with the website gives one a better idea of the search terms will prove to be most efficient when searching for the answers. Pick an effective, or favorite search engine, and prior to the competition, learn how to search within only a given domain. For example, to restrict the site to "cdc.gov" in most search engines, you would type your search terms followed by "site:cdc.gov" (For more information about better efficiently using Google is at Google Guide ). Searching with that will only return pages within the CDC domain.

Test Overview
The Compute This event consists of finding information about a certain topic on cdc.gov, followed by creating a data table of information and a graph pertaining to the data table on Microsoft Excel. Additionally, competitors will need to answer questions on the CDC website which may or may not be related to the topic. Citing the sources with a hyperlink on Microsoft Word is mandatory. It is not required that you do the graph before the questions or vice versa.

Depending on the location of the competition, either Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 or 2010 may be used. Additionally, a new rule for 2011 is that an online document processor may be used (i.e. Google Docs). A Mac platform can be used but it is required that teams are informed first.

Programs Used
For 2012 B division, teams were supplied with a Windows computer that had Microsoft Office 2010, Internet Explorer (7 or 8), or Google Chrome, depending on the tournament. (The operating system and web browser often depend on the location.) For example, at the NY state competition for 2009, allowed teams to use Mozilla Firefox in addition to Internet Explorer, whereas teams at PA states in 2009, gave competitors a choice between Firefox and Internet Explorer for web browser, as well as a choice between Windows and Mac OS. Teams are also allowed to use programs such as Notepad or Calculator.

When preparing for the event, make sure that at least one of the two members knows Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel thoroughly and knows how to get around both programs. Also, make sure to know how to organize data, as this is the bulk of the event. Know how to create and edit ALL of the basic chart types. This includes all of the Column charts (2-D, 3-D, Cylinder, Cone, Pyramid), Line charts/graphs (2-D, 3-D), Pie charts/graphs (2-D, 3-D), Bar charts/graphs (2-D, 3-D, Cylinder, Cone, Pyramid), Area charts/graphs (2-D, 3-D), and Scatter charts/graphs. The charts/graphs used most often are Line, Bar, Column, and Pie charts, but any can be used. Be sure to know how to add a data table, label axes, add a title, etc. If you get stuck at a competition, and don't know how to make a graph, etc., do not be afraid to use Google to find out how to. Teams are not restricted to only searching on CDC.gov, however, all the answers given must come from CDC.

Excel
Microsoft Office Excel is a tool that enables one to create and edit spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are widely used to analyze data. Excel has the ability to make calculations in formulas that can have the ability to use operators called functions, as well as use standard commands such as the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Excell does all of its operations in the grid - each individual box called a "cell," with an identifying alphanumeric coordinates. Columns are letters, and rows numbers. For example, the cell in the column C in row 5 has the coordinate C5.

Excel has extensive calculating powers. For example, imagine that there are two cells called A1 and A2. A1 contains the number 45, and A2 the number 5.32. Excel could be utilized to perform mathematical operations on these two numbers. If an empty cell was selected, like C3, the result of a mathematical computation could be displayed in it. Here's an example of something you can do. First, to tell Excel that a mathematical equation is being performed, type in an equal sign. Then, write a mathematical equation, such as A1+A2. The cell should now read “=A1+A2”. Hit enter, and Excel takes the values from A1 and A2 and adds them together. The same can be done for any other basic math operation. However, be warned, multiplication does not use the sign “x”. Multiplication requires an asterick (*), and division requires a forward slash (/). It is also possible for one to enter in “=45+5.32”, but the way shown above allows one to change the original numbers without accidentally changing the formula.

If teammates wish to take the average of two values in two cells, they could program a cell to say “=(A1+A2)/2”, and if they want to add another number to the average, the formula must be changed both before and after the division sign. Instead, teams can use a built-in Excel function. In this case, the average function. Functions have a given syntax, or the required way that you need to enter the data into it. The syntax for the average function is “=Average(A1, A2)”. After entering this in, Excell will display the average of the two cells. If there is another number in A3 that should included in the average, simply change the function to “=Average(A1, A2, A3)”.

The Excel help file lists the syntax as AVERAGE(number1, [number2], ...). First, this syntax gives what is needed to be typed in before the parenthesis are open to signal the proper function, or in this case, the AVERAGE. After you open the parenthesis, enter at least one number. Any items within brackets [ ] are optional. So, it is possible to take the average of one number, but that will probably not be necessary. It is more common to take the average of even more than two numbers. Thus, the ellipsis must be used. This means that one can continue to add terms ad infinitum in the same way to get the average of all those terms. Then, close the parenthesis when the function has been completed. After learning the logic behind the syntax, it is possible to figure out any of the functions listed in the Excel help file. It also possible to create formulas of multiple functions at once and formulas with functions within functions! But remember, one only ever needs to put the opening equals sign at the beginning of the formula, not at the beginning of each separate function.

Tough Stuff in Excel
While preparing for the test, teams might stumble upon a test question that says something like "line on two axis", causing them to become completely perplexed. Follow this simple guide (with pictures!) to learn what it means.

Notes: In the example below, Office 2007 is used, but older versions of Office may be provided. However, they shouldn't be too different. Additionally, this guide is made for the 2010 topic, pertaining to NASA, rather than CDC. However, it's not the statistics that matter- it's the demonstration.

I made a simple graph of the 4 inner planets, their revolution period, and distance from the sun. We want the distance from the sun to be a bar graph, and the revolution period to be a line graph.


 * 1) Make the graph. Data is required so that you can input it. In this case, the data is based off of the four inner planets, their rotation period, and distance from the sun.
 * 1) 2Turn the graph into a chart. Highlight the chart, then click on insert-->column to make your chart.
 * 1) 3Separate the second data set Click on the chart, and something new will appear: chart tools. Click on layout, and over to the far left, there will be a box that says "chart area". Change this to the data set that needs to be changed; in this case, that data set is distance. After this has been done, click on "Format Selection" and a new window will appear. Select "secondary axis", and click "OK".




 * 1) 4Change appearance This is the last step. Click on "Design", and then "Change Chart Type". Select the data type required. In this case, click on Line, and click "OK". You're done!

Tiebreaker
The main tiebreaker for this event is the graphical appeal (Other tiebreakers, notably time, may be used). Although this may seem a bit silly, it does seem logical after thinking about it. The judges want to see something that feels good on the eyes, pops out a little, and is easy to understand. This includes giving some "spice, " or color to the graph, and making sure nothing on your graph is clumped together that it is hard to read. It also may include changing the font size/style of the title or axes. Make sure that the graph is large enough so that it is easy to tell the difference between and "O" and a "0". Make sure that the data table has neat grid lines, and that the data is the same font size and style. Keep everything neat. However, this tiebreaker may have some problems. At some competitions the files are in "Compatibility Mode" which does not allow color changing and many other features due to a "loss of compatibility" according to the error message. Also make sure to use proper grammar and complete sentences in your answers, because many times they will add to your score when there may be a tie. Also, use proper capitalization for the graph as well.

Website
It is a good idea to have your own website for this event. The reason for this is that you can put as many links as you want on your website leading to pages on the domain, and you'll save time on having to go through and try to find the data at the event. Making a website is not necessary and many teams have done well without a website. You have to know your website very well in order for it to be effective. On the day of the competition, your website must not be protected by a password. For making a website, Google Sites and Synthasite are nice, simple websites. Try to organize your website so that it has categories and subcategories so that it is very easy to navigate around.

Websites also generally are more feature rich than Google, faster loading than NOAA.gov, and specialized for your purposes.

Website Creation
There are a few ways to create your website some examples are:

Google Sites which allows you create nice looking sites for free, faster, and with less work than coding directly in HTML.

Freewebs is another free site creator/hoster it also can be used to create nice looking sites but also allows for plain HTML site creation as well.

A Simplified Example - Orlando Science School's team search engine. - Forgoing links, they included a custom search engine and some small widgets designed to improve morale. 

Downgrading a Freewebs/Webs Account
To downgrade a freewebs account for plain HTML, go to Site Settings in the bottom bar of your Site Manager



Then you will get this page:



You are looking for the highlighted box which has:



Click "downgrade this account."

'Warning: This process will/may damage any information that you have already put on your site. I suggest that you create a second account if you already have information and downgrade the second account.'

Beginnings of HTML
Now that you have a website host you can decide how you are going to create your webpage. There are two easy ways to do this. You can either just use the tools they provide- which is good if you want an easy and quick way to build your site- or you can use HTML and code the website. You may learn something this way but it also takes a bit of time to learn.

W3schools is a good beginner's website, but it has a reputation for not being accurate in all ways.

HTML
HTML is the Hyper Text Markup Language and is what almost every webpage is created/based off of. There are very few tags (a tag is tells your web browser how to operate) you need for your website. HTML can be written in any text editor like Notepad or MS-word as long as you save the file as .html

Tags
All tags have an opening(<) and closing(>) bracket. We will use the paragraph tag as an example. starts the area where writing will show up and  ends that area The following are the basic tags you will need

  This will show the start of a html page

  This shows where the body of your html page starts

    This shows where writing will occur

 hyperlink  This is how to display a link on your site

  This is how to show a title on your site

A Page
So now that the basic tags have been covered lets start a page. IF you want to follow along just open notepad or another text editor. Lets start with the basics of a page

If you typed that in, your HTML page wouldn't do anything because there is no content.

You can add content, like a paragraph, like this:

This is my first paragraph

That would have written a page with just "This is my first paragraph" on it

You can add links to pages like this:

Name of link 

Name of link 

So now instead of "This is my first paragraph" this page would display 2 "Name of link" with the name taking you to the link

Even with just a few links it gets annoying to read through each link title so let's group them into a titled section. You can also add breaks between lines for easier reading with

You can add headings with. You can replace the 6 with another number to signify the importance of that heading.

Link Group1

Name of link 

Name of link 

Link Group2

Name of link 

Name of link 

This page would show up as two Titles with two links beneath each one and breaks between the links.

An example of a sites code

Using Search Engines
You will need to know how to use search engines efficiently. While cdc.gov has its own search engine, you may find that using a general search engine such as Google or Bing yields better results. Here are a few tips:
 * 1) Search one domain. Use the "site:" tool to search one domain. For example, searching "site:www.cdc.gov Hurricane Katrina statistics" will give you results from only the cdc.gov domain.
 * 2) Use full sentences Sometimes you want to find words that are next to each other. When you want to do this, use quotes. For example, searching " "Hurricane Katrina" " will give you results with the words "Hurricane" and "Katrina" together.
 * 3) Be logical Use logical operators. Those are AND, OR, and NOT. Searching " "Hurricane Katrina" AND statistics NOT images" will give you results with the words "Hurricane Katrina" and the word "statistics", but not the word "images". Too much info? Just click "advanced search" and all the keywords will be filled in for you.
 * 4) Be quick. This is self-explanatory. Search as fast as you can, but not too fast so that you miss anything. If you don't find something on the first page, it's probably time to revise your search. Remember, you only have 50 minutes, don't waste them going through 10 pages of useless information. Here are some other time cutting tips:
 * 5) Useless words Most search engines ignore words like "of", "is", "the", and so on. So "statistics of Hurricane Katrina" yields the same results as "statistics Hurricane Katrina".
 * 6) CaSe SeNSiTiVe Search engines aren't case sensitive, so "Hurricane Katrina statistics" will yield the same results as "hurricane katrina statistics".
 * 7) Order of Words Word order doesn't matter (unless you used quotes as mentioned above), so "Katrina statistics hurricane" will give the same results as "Hurricane Katrina statistics".
 * 8) Pick your favorite. Can't decide which search engine you like best? You can pick the one best suited to your needs at this search engine test site.
 * 9) Don't Be Afraid of CDC Search. Using the CDC search can sometimes lead you to better results, depending on the proctor's method of finding data. If Google/your search engine does not find it for you, use CDC's search engine instead.

Day of the Event
When you are actually in the room taking the exam there are some very important things to consider as you work through the task:
 * Read the Directions including the rubric (once, twice, it's worth the time) Your proctor may even give a reading period and if so, you need to use it. The only reason many teams get points off is because they did not follow the rubric. Underline, highlight, make sure you know what you are supposed to be looking for.
 * Identify the problems that may take longer and also the problems that you can solve quickly. You do not have to create your graph and data table before the questions. These questions generally make up half of your score and may be much easier to find and possibly even lead you to find the major data for your graph. This is why you should read the rubric if it's provided and know the point scale. You may even get points for a blank graph that has an appropriate title.
 * Don't Panic and get as many points as you can in the time allowed. If you have practiced searching for data and know Excel and Word you will do fine.
 * If a search isn't working, change the terms. A good rule of thumb is that if there is nothing in the first few results, move on to new search terms.
 * Use your partner, because the person sitting next to you can think of new search terms, write down data to be transferred, etc. Your partner can also be especially useful in reading directions and making sure you didn't miss anything (this is key for graphs--as the proctor may want data in alphabetical order or in another order that is not always typical). Know your partner and work well with them. Having an enemy as a partner is not going to be helpful.
 * Read everything on the exam sheet. Make sure you do not forget to put on axis labels, put data in the correct order, or add hyperlinks to the sites you used. This especially applies to the graph portion of the test. You do not want to lose points for things that could have been done quickly and easily if you had read the requirements.

Make sure your partner reads over EVERYTHING that you have entered into the data table, the graph, and the short answer questions. Keep working, even up to the last second. Use the tiebreaker (graphical appeal) to your advantage.

Study Sites:
Excel 2007

Excel tutorial

Google Guide

Microsoft Excel tutorials

Practice Questions
[[Media:2003 Nationals Test.pdf | 2003 Nationals Test]]

[[Media:Compute This 2006 -1.pdf | Compute This 2006 -1]]

[[Media:Compute This 2006 -2.pdf | Compute This 2006 -2]]

[[Media:Compute This 2006 -3.pdf | Compute This 2006 -3]]

[[Media:New England Landing.pdf | New England Landing]]

[[Media:Pinot Noir Grape Harvest.pdf | Pinot Noir Grape Harvest]]

[[Media:Tree Rings.pdf | Tree Rings]]

This Year's Site
2012- CDC

Previous Years' Domains:
2011- NOAA

2010- NASA

2009- USGS

2006- NOAA

2005- NASA