User:Tailsfan101

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Tailsfan101 (me) is a Division C Science Olympiad competitor who entered competition in 2017 for the middle school team Treasure Valley Homeschool in the state of Idaho. His team won state competition in 2017 and 2018 and earned the right to go to Nationals in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, his team ended up 2nd at state, falling short of a third straight win. However, he was chosen to compete on his team's Division C team for the 2019 National Tournament, which placed 35th.

2020 (10th, Division C)

 * ^Indicates event was competed in alone.
 * Lost to teammates on event full-time.

Clarification: When a dash (-) is shown, it means it was run at that competition, but I didn't compete in it. When "N/A" is written, it means the event was not run at the competition (mini-invites).

Tests Taken
Here's a list of ratings on the tests I've taken:

Disease Detectives 2017, State
(1st) This test was fairly easy, except for something my partner (Nerd_Bunny) and I were unfamiliar with: sensitivity and specificity. But somehow, she figured it out, and we won. The test had a good length to it (keeping us working for a full 20 minutes), and it covered many aspects of the event. 8/10

Road Scholar 2017, State
(2nd) I found this test to be quite long, but it was well run and covered essentially everything Road Scholar should cover. It was challenging and certainly time-consuming, but I still enjoyed taking it. 8/10

Fast Facts 2017, State
(4th) This test was well run, and the biology room it was run in was very nice. The test itself, however, was less than desirable. Some categories were quite basic, some were quite obscure, and one was completely off the grid (Five-letter Science Terms). 4/10

Disease Detectives 2017, Nationals
(16th) A long test (23 pages), but fairly easy and covering the aspects of the event very nicely. It didn't take a long time to get through, and the division of the test into two separate cases was well done. Plus, the room it was in was really cool! 10/10

Road Scholar 2017, Nationals
(51st) Definitely the worst Nationals test I took. The whole test was confusing, starting from the very first few questions ("What paper was this map printed on", "What ink was used on this map", and "How many of Ohio's presidents died in office?"). I probably saved us from a complete bomb by going for the tiebreakers first. 4/10

Fast Facts 2017, Nationals
(59th) At least my partner and I had fun with this test. We found it to be quite challenging, yet the test was still well written. Some categories were hard (i.e. "Flightless Birds", "Famous Female Scientists"), but all were descriptive enough so that we knew what they were asking (i.e. "Unstable Chemicals"). 8/10

Dynamic Planet 2017, Nationals
(50th) This test pleased me. The questions weren't completely random, as some of the practice tests I took were, and they had a nice flow. The part that stands out to me most is tracking a lava flow, which, to my surprise, I found to be fairly simple. I was happy with my finish, because I did it alone and had a month to prepare. 9/10

Disease Detectives 2018, State
(2nd) A fairly easy test, as I think it was only seven pages long. Despite a relatively short length, the questions seemed to cover important aspects well. They included multiple case scenarios, but managed to come up with different questions for each, varying in difficulty. My one objection is that they gave the exact same test to Division B and Division C, decreasing the difficulty for C. 7/10

Road Scholar 2018, State
(1st) I loved this test. By using a state highway map and several quadrangle maps, the test had many different types of questions, yet all seemed appropriate for the maps used. Aside from the 33 questions, it also included map drawing and a stream gradient, both of which were challenging but fun. 10/10

Crime Busters 2018, State
(1st) The test certainly lacked some things, as chromatography was completely absent, and the plastics were given on the test. Also, if you wanted to test unknowns with water, HCl, or iodine, you had to bring your samples to the front of the room. However, there were 14 unknowns, including two mixtures, which seems to be a good amount for our state. The test itself was well written, and the way the unknowns applied to the suspects had a nice chemistry (pun intended). 6/10

Microbe Mission 2018, State
(3rd) This test had a great length to it, and the questions showed a good variety. Interestingly, in a section where it required me to label different bacterial shapes, the funny thing is that I had the exact same diagram on my cheat sheet that they used, only without labels. Unfortunately, there was nothing about diseases on the entire test, which was very disappointing to me. 7/10

Disease Detectives 2018, Nationals
(37th) Gosh, I was sure stressed taking this test (by myself). Due to a late starting time, we only had 41 minutes to take the test. However, the questions had great variety, and seemed to cover almost all important aspects of this event. The only thing missing was foodborne illnesses... 7/10

Road Scholar 2018, Nationals
(44th) This test was a bit long, but the test itself was amazing. I appreciated the storyline (Hawking, Newton, and Einstein exploring Wyoming) and the questions were spot-on, covering pretty much everything this event has to offer. The one thing I disliked was how there were so many exams/answer sheets, which proved to be a bit confusing. 9/10

Crime Busters 2018, Nationals
(35th) This was a great test. There were many unknowns to test, as expected, but they seemed to be well-rounded. The test theme was nice (a break-in at S.T.A.R. Labs), and I appreciated the questions. (Boy, I was amazed when my partner and I were almost done testing, and the ES says "You've got about 35 minutes left". It sure gave us a lot of time to work on the analysis.) 8/10

Microbe Mission 2018, Nationals
(46th) Definitely the worst Nationals test I took this year. The goggles were not needed at all, and spelling errors were all over the test. The ES's never announced when you were supposed to start your station, and the station rotations were confusing. However, the questions themselves covered the important aspects well, and showed a nice variety. Unfortunately, my first stations event was less than desirable... 5/10

Crime Busters 2019, Bishop Kelly Mini-Invitational
(3rd) A fairly easy test, as we had expected, we ended up having about 25 minutes on the analysis. There were ten unknowns, three hairs (all of which we could do was look at, no microscope), and the plastics were given. This test seemed to be quite similar to the state test last year in the way it was run. However, there may have been some errors in plastic uses... 7/10

Heredity 2019, North JH Mini-Invitational
(2nd) This test was quite short (only 29 questions). The first half was easy in general, but the second half was significantly harder, which evened the test out somewhat. However, when we got our test back, the grading seemed to dock us points where it didn't seem reasonable (i.e. Question: "...What is the chance that their child will have Disease X?"; My answer: "25%"; Grader: 1/2 credit because "How?") 5/10

Road Scholar 2019, North JH Mini-Invitational
(1st) This test was run in stations, yet it didn't seem to detract at all from the test (The ES/test writer said she did it in stations because she "didn't want to give away anything for state"). Easy and hard questions were mixed together nicely, and it seemed to involve nearly all parts of Road Scholar (except map drawing). My only problem was that two of the ten stations were partially copied from a practice test. 8/10

Road Scholar 2019, DISCO Invitational
(2nd) The test was way too short. There were only 30 questions, seven of which didn't even end up counting toward the score because the topographic map was missing some details. The difficulty was alright, and I enjoyed the highway map questions, but it should tell you something that we finished a test that should usually take 45-50 minutes in half an hour. 5/10

Disease Detectives 2019, DISCO Invitational
(3rd) Wow, this test was long. There were 21 pages to it, and we only had a few questions left and the end of 50 minutes. Surprisingly, there weren't a ton of questions, as most of the test was an outbreak scenario. I did kind of enjoy this test, but I would have enjoyed it more had it not felt like a Nationals test. 8/10

Heredity 2019, DISCO Invitational
(4th) This test seemed to be a bit too short, as we finished in 26 minutes. They gave the same test to B and C, so our test felt a bit challenging. However, we still got a pretty good score, and the test was enjoyable, so it wasn't the worst test I took on the day. 8/10

Crime Busters 2019, DISCO Invitational
(6th) This test was enjoyable. It was based off Star Wars, my favorite part being that "Hanz Solow" was covered in "some unidentifiable animal hair, not cat or dog". By the time I finished writing the analysis, we had about a minute left, so the length was good. 8/10

Elastic Launched Glider 2019, DISCO Invitational
(6th) Not much to say here, except that the event supervisors were nice and helpful, and seemed to know what they were doing. Our glider didn't fly very well, but that's not their fault. 7/10

Road Scholar 2019, State
(1st) This was an excellent test. There was a wide range of variability on the questions, including one section which I don't think anyone could have expected. The test also didn't have any "gimmes", with all of the 44 questions possessing at least some degree of difficulty. The one problem I had with the test was there was no map drawing, which was a bit of a disappointment to my partner and I. Nonetheless, this was a very well-written test with an exciting story. 9/10

Disease Detectives 2019, State
(2nd) Yet another well-written test. The length surprised me (16 pages), but we were able to finish in time. The questions covered pretty much everything DD should cover, and while they gave the same test to B and C, there were some questions for C only, which was an improvement from last year. 9/10

Crime Busters 2019, State
(1st) This was my favorite event on the day. The ES was very helpful, and the test was, in my opinion, a very good test for a state competition. There were 14 unknowns, not to mention I got to test fibers, hairs, plastics (density test!), chromatography, and analyze physical evidence. There were five suspects, which offered an interesting level of difficulty, and just hard enough to prevent my partner and I from finishing the analysis (though, from what I could observe, it didn't look like many teams did). Great job to the test writers and supervisors of this event! 10/10

Heredity 2019, State
(4th) This test was certainly the worst test I took on the day, but only because the others were all very good. My main problem with it was that it was run in stations, which to me was a problem considering it was only about 30-40 questions long (and there were 11 stations). The test itself was a good test, and it covered all the aspects of the event. It would have been a much better event for me if it wasn't in stations, though, since I spent more than half of my time waiting to rotate to the next station... 7/10

Write It Do It 2019, Nationals
(24th) Very nicely done. The supervisors knew what they were doing, and were helpful and nice. The room it was in seemed to be well-suited to the event. The only concern I have is that the structure may have been slightly too easy, with only 25 materials. 8/10

GeoLogic Mapping 2019, Nationals
(31st) An amazing test. It was a seemingly perfect length, with my partner and I finishing with about a minute to spare, yet there were 46 questions on the test. It was a great representation of the rules, and included almost all aspects of the event. The supervisors were very clear and helpful, and the test was about the perfect difficulty. I left this event with no regrets. 9/10

Periodic Table Quiz 2019, Nationals
(41st) For an Oldies but Goodies test, I would say it was pretty good. It seemed to cover all the rules said it would, and despite being long (118 questions), it was doable. I was satisfied with beating two teams considering I did virtually no studying. 8/10

GeoLogic Mapping, St. Joseph's Mini-Invitational
(1st) The test was too short (~10 pages). I think there could have been a lot more general knowledge on the test, as most of it was harder, more specific topics. The one pro to this test was that it did give us more things to study, and at least there were no spelling/grammatical errors. 6/10

Write It Do It, St. Joseph's Mini-Invitational
(2nd) Apparently, the structure was the same as it was at last year's mini-invite. For what it was, it had a good difficulty, and I very nearly finished the writing in time (I had perhaps two steps left). The materials could have used more variety, though. 6/10

Disease Detectives, Fairmont Mini-Invitational
(1st) The test was a bit short, only eight pages. It covered a good amount of the event's content, however, and the ES was nice and helpful. I think the answer key may have had one or two errors, but overall, I found it a decent test. 7/10

Codebusters, Kuna Mini-Invitational
(2nd) It seemed to cover a good amount of the codes used in the event, and had eleven total. The timed question was a bit easy, as I solved it in 1:55 by myself ("The quick fox jumps over the lazy dog"). It covered Affine, Caesar, Pollux, Vigenere, Patristocrat, Xenocrypt, and Baconian in addition to several Aristocrats. 7/10

Designer Genes, Kuna Mini-Invitational
(1st) This test certainly could have been longer, only being six pages. The content was also quite easy, as the test felt a lot like a Heredity test. There may have been a mistake on the grading as well. Some parts of the test were also unclear. If it was a Heredity test, it would have been a decent test, but for Designer Genes, it was lacking. 4/10

Protein Modeling, Bishop Kelly Mini-Invitational
(1st) This test was quite short, only three pages. More than half the test was for the JMOL exploration section, and the written test portion was quite easy. On the plus side, the supervisor was helpful and gave us some good tips to improve on our pre-build. 6/10

Designer Genes, Nebo Invitational
(1st) This was easily my favorite test on the day. It covered a wide variety of questions, and was surprisingly long, keeping us working the entire time. A couple questions were a little vague, and there may have been one or two errors in grading, but overall, the pros outweighed the cons. Great job the the test writer of this! 9/10

GeoLogic Mapping, Nebo Invitational
(1st) I had multiple issues with this test. First of all, it was much too short, only having around 20 questions. The test itself wasn't a very good representation of the rules, and perhaps focused on some areas too much, as about 1/3 of the test was on depositional environments. On the other hand, I definitely didn't expect to win, so that was a nice surprise. 4/10

Protein Modeling, Nebo Invitational
(2nd) Upon discovering the test was only four pages long, I figured we'd be done quite quickly. Much to our surprise, the test was extremely difficult, and we took almost the entire time. The multiple choice section asked questions that probably everyone had to guess on. The short answer questions seemed more applicable to the rules, and the JMOL exploration section was well done. It probably didn't separate the teams very well at the bottom, and would have been much better if it had a section with easier questions. All three of us were quite surprised that we didn't win, so the team that beat us must be very strong at this event. 6/10

Disease Detectives, Nebo Invitational
(3rd) Soloing this event was harder than I expected, as the test kept me working the entire time. My only regret was that I couldn't quite finish the test. It was of a good length, but perhaps should have had a bit less general knowledge to focus on outbreak scenarios more. The amount of writing I had to do was immense, and I was disappointed that for some questions I spent quite some time on, I didn't get any points. As one example, it asked what the four main epidemiological studies were and to describe them, and my section on "Experimental" was marked as completely wrong. I think the grading should have been a bit more lenient. Overall, the test itself was good, but the grading needed work. 7/10

Event Affinity
Here is a list of all events I have competed in, ranked from my favorite to my least favorite.
 * 1) Disease Detectives
 * 2) Microbe Mission
 * 3) Road Scholar
 * 4) Designer Genes
 * 5) GeoLogic Mapping
 * 6) Codebusters
 * 7) Protein Modeling
 * 8) Write It Do It
 * 9) Heredity
 * 10) Crime Busters
 * 11) Dynamic Planet
 * 12) Periodic Table Quiz
 * 13) Fast Facts
 * 14) Elastic Launched Glider

Unosmium
As of late, I have become engrossed in contributing spreadsheets to Unosmium. Here is a list of all spreadsheets I have contributed already, and other spreadsheets I hope to add in the near future in the order I will add them in.

To contribute

 * 1) South Carolina Newberry Regional B 2019
 * 2) South Carolina Newberry Regional C 2019
 * 3) South Carolina Citadel Regional B 2019
 * 4) South Carolina Citadel Regional C 2019
 * 5) Idaho State B 2017
 * 6) Idaho State C 2017
 * 7) Idaho State B 2016
 * 8) Idaho State C 2016
 * 9) Pennsylvania Southeast Regional B 2019
 * 10) Pennsylvania Southeast Regional C 2019
 * 11) Pennsylvania Central East Regional B 2019
 * 12) Pennsylvania Central East Regional C 2019
 * 13) Pennsylvania Central Regional B 2019
 * 14) Pennsylvania Central Regional C 2019
 * 15) Pennsylvania Northeast Regional B 2019
 * 16) Pennsylvania Northeast Regional C 2019
 * 17) Pennsylvania Southwest Regional B 2019
 * 18) Pennsylvania Southwest Regional C 2019
 * 19) Pennsylvania Northwest Regional B 2019
 * 20) Pennsylvania Northwest Regional C 2019
 * 21) Georgia Forsyth County Regional B 2019
 * 22) North Carolina State B 2019
 * 23) North Carolina State C 2019
 * 24) North Carolina Asheville Regional B 2019
 * 25) North Carolina Buies Creek Regional B 2019
 * 26) North Carolina Charlotte Regional B 2019
 * 27) North Carolina Cullowhee Regional B 2019
 * 28) North Carolina Durham Regional B 2019
 * 29) North Carolina Fayetteville Regional B 2019
 * 30) North Carolina Greensboro Regional B 2019
 * 31) North Carolina Greenville Regional B 2019
 * 32) North Carolina Hickory Regional B 2019
 * 33) North Carolina Kinston Regional B 2019
 * 34) North Carolina Laurinburg Regional B 2019
 * 35) North Carolina Raleigh Regional B 2019
 * 36) North Carolina Wilmington Regional B 2019
 * 37) North Carolina Winston-Salem Regional B 2019