It's About Time

Welcome to It's About Time! In this event, teams will answer questions related to time and they may construct and bring one non-
electrical device that triggers a single signal to occur three times at equally spaced time intervals.

The information below should not be interpreted as an extension of the rules. You can find free online copies of the current rules for download on the 2023 Rules page of the Science Olympiad website. The official rules in the current Rules Manual take precedence.

Resources & Links

• It's About Time - Let's Chat Video - In this 41 minute video from Virginia Science Olympiad (VASO) our National Event Supervisors discuss the event and go into detail about how to design a signal that complies with the Rules.
• Rules Clarification (Issued 10/26/22)
• How Stuff Works: Electronics
• The Horology Source
• National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors
• National Institute of Standards and Technology "A Walk Through Time"

Science Olympiad Store Resources

• New! 2023 It's About Time Starter Pack
• 2023 National Test Packet

Practice Problems & Tests

• New! Practice Test - 2023 Columbia University Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2023 University of Michigan Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2023 MIT Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2023 Northmont Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2023 Ohio State University Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2023 Carolina Science Olympiad Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2022 UT Austin Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2022 Rickards Invitational
• New! Practice Test - 2022 Highlands Invitational 
• New! Practice Test - 2022 BullSO Invitational
• Practice Test - 2022 National Invitational 
• Practice Test - 2022 SOLVI Invitational 
• Practice Test - 2022 MIT Invitational
• Practice Test - 2022 Northwestern Invitational
• Practice Test - 2022 UChicago Invitational
• Practice Test - 2021 UT Austin Invitational
• Practice Test - 2021 BirdSO Invitational

Event Supervisor Resources

In addition to the resources on the Event Supervisors page, It's About Time Event Supervisors should be sure to use the following resources:

• 2023 Score sheet and and team checklist
• Event Logistics Manual (Updated 12/02/22 to fix an error with regard to resources allowed for Environmental Chemistry)
• Science Olympiad Mathematics Guidelines for Physics Events - The Science Olympiad Physics Rules Committee has prepared these guidelines to help Event Supervisors target their questions to the mathematical ability that students bring to the events. This information may be useful to teams as they assign team members to Physics Events as well as they prepare for those events.

Career Connections

• CareerOneStop - Mechanical Engineer Career Video
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics - Mechanical Engineer
• CareerOneStop: Watch and Clock Repairers
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Machinists and Tool and Die Makers