Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

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Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by Mathdino »

So now that a few of you have gotten the rules already, can anyone give a general description of the event? Not looking for specifics but what's the general idea of the event and what's the competition like?
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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by JTMess »

Mathdino wrote:So now that a few of you have gotten the rules already, can anyone give a general description of the event? Not looking for specifics but what's the general idea of the event and what's the competition like?
Two part event

First part is test on simple and compound machines.

Second part involves building a compound lever (class one and class two lever in series if I'm remembering correctly) and using a known mass to estimate an unknown mass as quickly as possible using your lever device.
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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by chalker »

FYI, we tried to model this event after the Optics event that rotated out a couple years ago. For the physical portion of it there is a distinct tradeoff between how fast you measure and how accurate you are with regards to points.

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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by The Architect »

What would an example of a dishonest attempt to utilize a compound lever be?
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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by hscmom »

The Architect wrote:What would an example of a dishonest attempt to utilize a compound lever be?
Hitting the supervisor over the head with it? Not sure. I guess if you are being dishonest, you'll know it. Important Scioly People, what WOULD a dishonest use be?
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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by chalker »

The Architect wrote:What would an example of a dishonest attempt to utilize a compound lever be?
Unofficially as always, the reason we put that language in was 2 fold:

1. Prevent students from just guesstimating the unknown mass in an attempt to get a really low time score. We saw this issue in the first year of optics, where a reasonable strategy was to just plop a mirror down as fast as possible with no measurements or calculations at all.

2. Prevent students from using a simple lever (our designing their compound lever to in reality be a simple lever

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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by awesome90220 »

Correct me if im wrong, but the test about the simple/compound machines is just about calculations, correct?
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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by chalker »

awesome90220 wrote:Correct me if im wrong, but the test about the simple/compound machines is just about calculations, correct?
No. The rules explicitly indicate that it will include concepts, calculations, and history questions.

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Re: Simple Machines B/Compound Machines C

Post by chalker »

Thought I'd post a quick analysis of the tradeoff between speed and accuracy for the device testing portion. Note you shouldn't forget that the written test is worth half the overall score - so don't focus all your time on your device.

Time score: 1 sec = 0.08333 pts
Mass score: 1% difference between actual mass and your calculated value = 0.3 pts

Put another way, each additional 1% improvement in your calculation should take you ~3.6 seconds.

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