Water Quality B/C

[pikachu4919]

Water Quality B/C: Participants will be assessed on their understanding and evaluation of aquatic environments.

Water Quality Wiki

Water Quality Test Exchange 2014

Past Threads: 2012, 2013, 2014

Past Question Marathons: 2012, 2013, 2014

[kate!]

Are we going to need to know the properties of water or will there not be any questions asked about that?

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

Are we going to need to know the properties of water or will there not be any questions asked about that?

Aquatic chemistry most likely encompasses properties of water, so yes, with a focus on the effect on life.

Opinions expressed on this site are not official; the only place for official rules changes and FAQs is soinc.org.

[allopathie]

Aquatic chemistry most likely encompasses properties of water, so yes, with a focus on the effect on life.

This is possibly relevant for you, but I'll be testing on the following for aquatic chemistry (for C division):

Properties of water including heat capacity, hydrogen bonding, etc.
Density, melting and freezing points, phase changes
Calculating pH and pOH from concentration and vice versa, and knowing how changes in pH affect aquatic life (especially the acid-sensitive species on the species list)
Calculation-based questions about equilibrium/kinetics as they relate to pollutants and acid rain
+ Other related topics

[JionPark]

So, do we need to look at the years 2012 through 2014 to study for Water Quality this year?
Just wanted to know, especially when the topic is on fresh water.

[kate!]

So, do we need to look at the years 2012 through 2014 to study for Water Quality this year?
Just wanted to know, especially when the topic is on fresh water.

The last freshwater year was 2014, I think. So you don't need to look at the years with other topics.

[JionPark]

So, do we need to look at the years 2012 through 2014 to study for Water Quality this year?
Just wanted to know, especially when the topic is on fresh water.

The last freshwater year was 2014, I think. So you don't need to look at the years with other topics.

Thank you kate!
I thought that this year would focus on the topics that occurred in the year, 2012, then 2013 topics next year, and so on. But anyways I thank you.

[platypusomelette]

HELL YEA

How do you study for this event? I literally have no idea what to do. What is "aquatic ecology" supposed to mean

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

HELL YEA

How do you study for this event? I literally have no idea what to do. What is "aquatic ecology" supposed to mean

As to your second question:
Breaking it down, aquatic means of the water (freshwater this year), and ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other and the environment. Therefore, aquatic ecology includes things like predator-prey relations, symbiosis, keystone species, and how abiotic factors (pH, dO, temperature, current, turbidity, etc.) in a freshwater environment can affect life.

Your first question is more complicated, but I suggest just diving into the deep end and looking up all you can about the topics in the rules.

(Disclaimer: I've never actually done this event.)

[izzanom]

So what exactly does it mean by harmful species on the rules sheet? Like are there specific ones or is it just like what are invasive species etc..

[Name]

So what exactly does it mean by harmful species on the rules sheet? Like are there specific ones or is it just like what are invasive species etc..

the aquatic nuisance plants and animals are invasive species and probably what is meant by harmful species. knowing general invasive species infomation probably isnt a bad idea either

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

So what exactly does it mean by harmful species on the rules sheet? Like are there specific ones or is it just like what are invasive species etc..

the aquatic nuisance plants and animals are invasive species and probably what is meant by harmful species. knowing general invasive species infomation probably isnt a bad idea either

Invasive species are species that, when introduced to a certain ecosystem, have a competitive advantage over the native species because of lack of predators or some similar evolutionary advantage which the native ecosystem does not have time to adapt to, wreaking havoc on the native ecosystem and killing native species.

[Alex-RCHS]

In one part of the rules it says that each part of the competition will account for about 1/3 of the final score (3.a) but in 3.Part III.a it says that points for salinity testing will be about 5% of the total score. Isn't this a discrepancy?

[nicholasmaurer]

In one part of the rules it says that each part of the competition will account for about 1/3 of the final score (3.a) but in 3.Part III.a it says that points for salinity testing will be about 5% of the total score. Isn't this a discrepancy?

The salinity testing (Part III a) will be worth 5% of the score. The remainder of the score for Part III will be from paragraph d which is written questions on a variety of water monitoring metrics.

[Alex-RCHS]

In one part of the rules it says that each part of the competition will account for about 1/3 of the final score (3.a) but in 3.Part III.a it says that points for salinity testing will be about 5% of the total score. Isn't this a discrepancy?

The salinity testing (Part III a) will be worth 5% of the score. The remainder of the score for Part III will be from paragraph d which is written questions on a variety of water monitoring metrics.

Oh okay, makes more sense. Thanks!