Forensics C

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Re: Forensics C

Post by personasaurus rex »

What was the nationals test like for those who took it?
2012: Forensics, Dynamic Planet, Sounds of Music, Water Quality, Write It Do It
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Re: Forensics C

Post by Phenylethylamine »

personasaurus rex wrote:What was the nationals test like for those who took it?
207 short-answer questions- mostly relatively easy, but just way, way too many to make finishing even vaguely conceivable.

The setup had some major flaws: the bunsen burner closest to my station was in the most brightly lit spot in the room, making it very difficult to see the flame colors; we were expected to fill our chromatography beaker using a wash bottle, which took forever; there were only a few microscopes, and we were not allowed to lift our goggles to use them; we were only given a single rectangle of chromatography paper for fifteen different liquids; and the supervisors did not take kindly to questions asked of them, even if they were reasonable and polite questions.
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Re: Forensics C

Post by salcedam »

What sorts of things do you guys put on your sheet? I know on mine I have a flowchart for determining the plastics and powders, small drawings of the various fingerprint patterns, common mass spectrometry fragments and other stuff like that.
2011 - 2012 Season Results:
Whiting, IN - Astro (1st), 4N6 (2nd), Fermi (2nd)
Boyceville, WI - Astro (3rd), 4N6 (1st)
Belvidere, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (2nd)
WSU, OH - 4N6 (12th)
Loyola, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st), TPS (3rd)
OCC Regional - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st)
UCF Nationals - 4N6 (8th)
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Re: Forensics C

Post by Phenylethylamine »

salcedam wrote:What sorts of things do you guys put on your sheet? I know on mine I have a flowchart for determining the plastics and powders, small drawings of the various fingerprint patterns, common mass spectrometry fragments and other stuff like that.
Similar. I primarily do powders, so my side of the reference sheet just has a flowchart and a few other things. My partner's side of the notes sheet has a paragraph of notes and some diagrams for each of the things listed in the rules.
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Re: Forensics C

Post by salcedam »

How was the multiple-choice on the Nationals test? Did your sheet help or was the multiple-choice part something that you either knew or didn't know?
2011 - 2012 Season Results:
Whiting, IN - Astro (1st), 4N6 (2nd), Fermi (2nd)
Boyceville, WI - Astro (3rd), 4N6 (1st)
Belvidere, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (2nd)
WSU, OH - 4N6 (12th)
Loyola, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st), TPS (3rd)
OCC Regional - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st)
UCF Nationals - 4N6 (8th)
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Re: Forensics C

Post by Phenylethylamine »

salcedam wrote:How was the multiple-choice on the Nationals test? Did your sheet help or was the multiple-choice part something that you either knew or didn't know?
There was no multiple choice– just 207 short-answer questions, some based on tests you had to run there, others on your knowledge. But yes, our sheet was helpful for many of the knowledge (as opposed to test-based) questions.
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Re: Forensics C

Post by salcedam »

Phenylethylamine wrote:
salcedam wrote:How was the multiple-choice on the Nationals test? Did your sheet help or was the multiple-choice part something that you either knew or didn't know?
There was no multiple choice– just 207 short-answer questions, some based on tests you had to run there, others on your knowledge. But yes, our sheet was helpful for many of the knowledge (as opposed to test-based) questions.
Ah! Sorry! Misread your other post as "multiple-choice" for some reason...XD

What sorts of questions were asked?
2011 - 2012 Season Results:
Whiting, IN - Astro (1st), 4N6 (2nd), Fermi (2nd)
Boyceville, WI - Astro (3rd), 4N6 (1st)
Belvidere, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (2nd)
WSU, OH - 4N6 (12th)
Loyola, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st), TPS (3rd)
OCC Regional - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st)
UCF Nationals - 4N6 (8th)
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Re: Forensics C

Post by Phenylethylamine »

salcedam wrote:
Phenylethylamine wrote:
salcedam wrote:How was the multiple-choice on the Nationals test? Did your sheet help or was the multiple-choice part something that you either knew or didn't know?
There was no multiple choice– just 207 short-answer questions, some based on tests you had to run there, others on your knowledge. But yes, our sheet was helpful for many of the knowledge (as opposed to test-based) questions.
Ah! Sorry! Misread your other post as "multiple-choice" for some reason...XD

What sorts of questions were asked?
The powders section, which was around 50 questions, looked something like this:

1. Identify powder 1.
2. On what basis did you make your identification?
3. Which suspect does this evidence incriminate?
4. Unrelated other question- something along the lines of "How would you identify [powder]?", "Write out the reaction between [powder] and [reagent].", "Which powder would be indicated by [result (e.g., a red flame test)]?"
5. Identify powder 2.
6. On what basis...

And so on.
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Re: Forensics C

Post by salcedam »

Thanks, Phenylethylamine! Any tips on preparing for next year based on the Nationals test? Things to study, stuff to add to the sheet, etc.?
2011 - 2012 Season Results:
Whiting, IN - Astro (1st), 4N6 (2nd), Fermi (2nd)
Boyceville, WI - Astro (3rd), 4N6 (1st)
Belvidere, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (2nd)
WSU, OH - 4N6 (12th)
Loyola, IL - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st), TPS (3rd)
OCC Regional - 4N6 (1st), Fermi (1st)
UCF Nationals - 4N6 (8th)
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Re: Forensics C

Post by Phenylethylamine »

salcedam wrote:Thanks, Phenylethylamine! Any tips on preparing for next year based on the Nationals test? Things to study, stuff to add to the sheet, etc.?
Definitely have the formulas for every powder, maybe some uses, and a very specific flow chart of how to identify every powder.

Based on what my partner was doing, know how to do sheet chromatography (i.e., multiple samples on a single sheet, rather than individual strips) and not necessarily with pens (at Nationals it was juices), density tests for the polymers, and weird types of hair/fiber (apparently there was bat hair at Nationals).

Also, for this event writer but also for the event in general, you need to work fast. 207 questions is a lot to do in 50 minutes.
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