Physics

Supervisors provide the thermometer for final temp measurement.

No.

Yes, drywall is a form of commercial insulation, therefore may not be used for construction of Keep the Heat or Thermodynamics boxes.

Yes

Yes

Rule 2.d. explicitly states that notes must be impounded. This includes note for both Part 1 and Part 2.

No. Aerogels are a type of foam, which is explicitly prohibited.

Yes

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.)

Commercial insulation is anything sold / bought that has heat retention as one of the intended properties.

Batting is generally considered to be insulation, and thus prohibited.

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)

No, perlite is a foam and is not allowed.

Yes, styrofoam is a foam and not allowed in the devices.

Yes, General rule #2 applies: http://soinc.org/ethics_rules

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.

No.

Top surface means the upper most thing that could be considered a surface, which in most cases is the 'external' part of the lid.

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.

Yes, you may bring a music stand.

Yes, mallets bought at a music store (or anyother type of store) would be considered professional instruments and are not permitted under Construction rule 3b.

There is no penalty for instruments being able to play additional notes outside of the required range.