Disease Detectives B/C

[SOnerd]

Sup everyone
So I just got put on this event, and I have a competition in 6 days. I've started studying by making a glossary and looking over the training PPT.
I don't currently have the rules, though. Are we allowed an entire binder?

There's no binder, just a single sheet.

Back in my Division B days, we didn't even get a sheet of paper. You kids don't know how good you have it.

Really? lol I thought all events gave at least some kind of resource (except maybe CJAP?)

[Unome]

Sup everyone
So I just got put on this event, and I have a competition in 6 days. I've started studying by making a glossary and looking over the training PPT.
I don't currently have the rules, though. Are we allowed an entire binder?

There's no binder, just a single sheet.

Back in my Division B days, we didn't even get a sheet of paper. You kids don't know how good you have it.

A single sheet is better than memorizing (actually, I consider a single sheet to be better than a binder), but a single sheet isn't exactly small (anyone who's taken Anatomy)

[NJBio]

Hi,

A single sheet is more than enough if you format it properly. Use size ~7 font. Have one section devoted to vocab (try to format it as a list), one section for very important concepts such as Hill's Criterion, Koch's Postulates, etc Definitely include a few diseases (color-code this section to make it easier to read). Even with all this, you should still have plenty of space. You don't need pictures on the sheet for this event, freeing up lots of space that you can use to add notes, facts, etc.

[SOnerd]

Okay, so I'm in the process of making my notes.
Are there any diagrams that I need to add?
I have a diagram about different shapes of bacteria (idk if need it), but I don't really have anything else in terms of diagrams.

[NJBio]

Okay, so I'm in the process of making my notes.
Are there any diagrams that I need to add?
I have a diagram about different shapes of bacteria (idk if need it), but I don't really have anything else in terms of diagrams.

In my experience, you don't need diagrams at all. I'm not sure what the B tests are on, but there is nothing in the C competition that cannot be summarized by a table or text. This event is mostly classification, vocabulary, and statistics. You definitely don't need the bacteria shape diagram (more of a cell bio thing), but there was a section on gram-positive bacteria in one of the tests I took. My advice would be to remove the diagram, add some diseases and classify them, and make sure you're proficient at statistics.

[Unome]

Okay, so I'm in the process of making my notes.
Are there any diagrams that I need to add?
I have a diagram about different shapes of bacteria (idk if need it), but I don't really have anything else in terms of diagrams.

In my experience, you don't need diagrams at all. I'm not sure what the B tests are on, but there is nothing in the C competition that cannot be summarized by a table or text. This event is mostly classification, vocabulary, and statistics. You definitely don't need the bacteria shape diagram (more of a cell bio thing), but there was a section on gram-positive bacteria in one of the tests I took. My advice would be to remove the diagram, add some diseases and classify them, and make sure you're proficient at statistics.

B is basically the same, with less statistics.

[NJBio]

Okay, so I'm in the process of making my notes.
Are there any diagrams that I need to add?
I have a diagram about different shapes of bacteria (idk if need it), but I don't really have anything else in terms of diagrams.

In my experience, you don't need diagrams at all. I'm not sure what the B tests are on, but there is nothing in the C competition that cannot be summarized by a table or text. This event is mostly classification, vocabulary, and statistics. You definitely don't need the bacteria shape diagram (more of a cell bio thing), but there was a section on gram-positive bacteria in one of the tests I took. My advice would be to remove the diagram, add some diseases and classify them, and make sure you're proficient at statistics.

B is basically the same, with less statistics.

That's great - it frees up a lot of room on your notes sheet. I would focus on adding more diseases, as there always seems to be an identification section (bacteria, fungus, virus, etc.) and you can earn much higher places by preparing extensively for this section.

[SOnerd]

I have a couple questions:

That's great - it frees up a lot of room on your notes sheet. I would focus on adding more diseases, as there always seems to be an identification section (bacteria, fungus, virus, etc.) and you can earn much higher places by preparing extensively for this section.

What exactly do you mean by the identification section?
Also, are there any specific diseases that occur more frequently than others?

So I was doing research, and I found Koch's Postulates. Are those worth putting on notes?
Also, are there any other things like that that I should know?

[NJBio]

My

I have a couple questions:

That's great - it frees up a lot of room on your notes sheet. I would focus on adding more diseases, as there always seems to be an identification section (bacteria, fungus, virus, etc.) and you can earn much higher places by preparing extensively for this section.

What exactly do you mean by the identification section?
Also, are there any specific diseases that occur more frequently than others?

So I was doing research, and I found Koch's Postulates. Are those worth putting on notes?
Also, are there any other things like that that I should know?

Keep in mind that I'm in Division C, so there may be slight differences in content. But I think it's pretty much the same.

By identification, I mean determining whether a specific disease is called by a bacteria, virus, etc. In my experience I haven't done too well in this section but have still managed to place very high, so doing well in this section can help you out a LOT. Add a ton of diseases to your sheet - basic symptoms, incubation period, and agent type. As for diseases that occur more than others - Ebola (obviously), influenza, tetanus, polio, and any other "famous" ones seem to be prevalent. Definitely add Koch's Postulates and other similar things such as Hill's Criterion for Causation, study types, etc. Try to focus on vocabulary and study types, as there seem to be pretty big sections on both of these topics on the tests I've looked at.

[NJBio]

Also, be familiar with prions. For whatever reason the tests seem to like mentioning them, although not extensively and in great detail. Add a sentence or two to your sheet. Have some basic knowledge on cell biology - it can be rudimentary, just be familiar with it.