MagLev
Are changes to the shape of the competitor-provided track allowed, such as a V-shaped channel track?
Yes, the track shape can be changed as long as the specific requirements listed in the rules are still met.
Are electromagnets allowed as the magnet for the vehicle and would there be any battery restrictions for them?
Yes. They can not exceed 9.0 V
Can the team members lift the car to turn the motor on and then place it back on the track?
No, they may not lift the vehicle to turn on the motor.
Can the vehicle touch the guide rail at all times or does the "inadvertent contact" rule apply here as well?
Side wall contact is of course unavoidable. Devices must be designed such that they do NOT rely upon side wall contact to help provide vertical support in place of the levitation magnets. Otherwise, general rule #2 applies to specific designs such as rollers / wheels / etc.
If a school sends multiple teams to compete at a single tournament, are those teams permitted to share a track during the competition?
Yes, teams may share tracks.
If students supply their own track, and the vehicle can travel both directions without changing the magnets, must they still be able to "modify the placement of the magnets" ?
No
Is it legal to have a strip of magnets running along each side wall of the track and car?
Yes, general rule #2 applies. However note rule 4.c. requires the height of the side rails to be measured from the top of the magnets, which would apply to magnets on the side wall.
Is there a max or min on the diameter of the propellors if they are not ducted?
The max diameter is limited by the max allowed height of the vehicle (20cm)see rule 3.b.line 2.
Is this to be interpreted as multiple motors can use multiple 9V sources ( ex 2 motors with 2 dedicated power sources ), or rather one 9V source used for multiple motors ?
Yes, there may be multiple batteries that total no more than 9.0 V for each motor.
May a lubricant (oil, wax, graphite, teflon, etc.) be applied to the sides of the vehicle and/or the track rails?
Note that 'damage' to the track is anything that might impact subsequent vehicle runs. Otherwise, general rule #2 applies.
May a student who builds his or her own track determine which end of the track the vehicle will start from, or is that choice up to the event supervisor?
No, supervisors will determine the location of the start and finish lines, per rule 5.a.i. Rule 3.k. also requires vehicles to be able to be modified to move in either direction down the track.
The MagLev track that I purchased from Science Kit (the Science Olympiad recommended vendor) is one quarter inch short of 4 feet. Will this be allowed?
Yes, that is acceptable.
The rules state teams must be able to modify the placement of the magnets so the vehicle can move in either direction. Can just motors be turned around so the car goes the other way or does the car have to be turned around and the magnets moved?
As long as it can be adjusted to travel in either direction, it doesn't matter what is being moved.
The rules state that rare earth magnets may not be used on the vehicle, but are they permitted on a competitor-provided track?
Yes. General rule #2 applies, they may be used on student built tracks.
Thermodynamics
Are calculators (programmable in particular) to be impounded?
Yes
Are event supervisors supposed to supply the ice-water, or do students need to bring in their own?
Yes, Event Supervisors provide the ice-water.
Are we allowed to have in our binder more than the required up to 4 graphs that will be handed in?
Yes
Can aerogels be used in the construction of the device?
No. Aerogels are a type of foam, which is explicitly prohibited.
Can duct tape be used?
Yes
Can teams be penalized for submitting a graph containing more than four data plots?
No.
Could craft or quilt batting be used? (e.g. polyester fiber fill, cotton batting, wool batting)
Batting is generally considered to be insulation, and thus prohibited.
Does the "250mL standard, unaltered empty Pyrex (or similar brand name) beaker" have to be made of glass?
No.
How late is the team allowed to insert a thermometer to measure starting temperature after the inside beaker was placed in the container?
This will be up to individual event supervisors, but it should happen as soon as possible so as to not violate the overall spirit of the problem.
Is drywall considered commercial insulation. In other words, can we use it for Keep the Heat or Thermodynamics?
Yes, drywall is a form of commercial insulation, therefore may not be used for construction of Keep the Heat or Thermodynamics boxes.
Is impound only for Part 1 of the event (device, tools, notes, plots, etc), or is the binder for Part 2 also to be impounded?
Rule 2.d. explicitly states that notes must be impounded. This includes note for both Part 1 and Part 2.
Is it the external "top surface" or internal "top surface" of the lid? In other words is it the distance from the beaker to where it first hits the lid?
Top surface means the upper most thing that could be considered a surface, which in most cases is the 'external' part of the lid.
Is perlite a permissible material as insulation?
No, perlite is a foam and is not allowed.
Is styrofoam considered to be a type of foam?
Yes, styrofoam is a foam and not allowed in the devices.
May the students wait until after they have added the ice water (if they choose to add ice water) to measure the "starting" temperature with their own thermometer?
No. The starting temperature is the water temperature before adding the ice water.
Should the students be allowed to place a separate "plug" or "cap" into or on the opening of the internal 250 mL beaker before closing the device?
Yes, teams may put a "plug" or "cap" on the opening of the internal beaker. Anything put in or around the beaker cannot physically modify the beaker nor the water in the beaker. The required hole for the probe must be at least 1.5 cm in diameter in any plug or cap. The device does not need to be all one physically attached unit.
What do you mean by commercial insulation?
Commercial insulation is anything sold / bought that has heat retention as one of the intended properties.
When mentioning types of foams, does it only prohibit "plastic, metal, expandable glue, etc" based foams, or does it prohibit those items entirely e.g. does it prohibit plastic based foams or plastics in general?
The items in the parentheses only apply to the word foam (e.g. the prohibition is only on foams of any type, including plastic foams, metal foams, etc. etc.)
Whose thermometer is used for the final temp since the paragraph above states the supervisor must supply thermometers/probes and paragraph 4a iv says teams may utilize their own thermometers to measure the starting water temp in their beakers?
Supervisors provide the thermometer for final temp measurement.
You've previously clarified that commercial insulation is anything sold / bought that has heat retention as one of the intended properties. Does this mean if the product packaging lists the features of the product, but doesn't mention heat reten...
Commercial insulation definition: A previous FAQ states: “Commercial insulation is anything sold / bought that has heat retention as one of the intended properties”. To clarify further, the fundamental principle is that competitors need to use 'raw materials' to create their devices, not depend on the work some professional engineer put into designing something to insulate. Items that would be considered ‘commercial insulation’ aren’t always necessarily labeled as such, since there are a lot of products engineered to be significantly better insulators than a normal person would be able to trivially create using the same raw materials. Likewise, just because someone has measured the ‘R Value’ of something and published it, doesn’t mean it’s inherently commercial insulation. As with many things in Science Olympiad, there is a certain amount of subjectiveness that will fall upon the event supervisor in determining whether or not something is commercial insulation and it is impossible for us to list all possibilities. One key factor supervisors will use in determining this is how much effort the competitor put into modifying the 'raw material' to make the device. When in doubt, competitors should always err on the side of caution and select basic raw materials such as some of those listed below.
Some examples of materials that AREN’T considered commercial insulation: • Uncoated glass sheets • Cotton balls • Wine bottle corks • Raw wool • Fiberglass sheets (e.g. the thin paper like material used to repair car body panels) • Aluminum foil
Some examples of materials that ARE considered commercial insulation: • Silverized glass sheets • Cotton batting • Cork paneling • A wool sweater • Glass wool (e.g. fiberglass insulation, the pink fluffy stuff)