Agomoni STEM Events Overview and Rules:

Participants may participate in three events:

  • Science Project
  • Poster Display
  • Quiz Contest (Science and Math)

Registration will begin at 11:00. Please arrive early to avoid delays. Upon registering at the booth, students will receive a packet containing an event card with labels corresponding to the student’s events of choice. Students are requested to keep their event card safe and secure at all times.

Events Description:

Science Project

Students interested in showcasing a science project may bring their project to the science fair. The fair is a noncompetitive event. Students of any grade may participate by bringing an original science project. Students may answer questions by and receive feedback from local scientists.

Poster Display

Students interested in showcasing a poster or essay (on an A4 sized paper) may bring their poster to be hung on a wall for display. The display is a noncompetitive event. Students may answer questions by and receive feedback from local scientists.

Quiz Contest

The quiz contest will be divided into three categories based on student grade:

students in grades 3-5 will be in the Elementary/E category, students in grades 6-8 will be in the Middle/M, and students in grade 9-12 will be in High/H. Each category will offer two subjects: science and math.

There will be a preliminary written round for each contest in each category. The preliminary round will have 30 multiple choice questions, each worth 1 point. There is no penalty for guessing or wrong answers. Each preliminary written round will be allotted 25 minutes.

Grand Finale Buzzer Round

The top 8 students from the middle and high school categories of both the science and math events will be called on stage to play a single-elimination buzzer round, which will be used to determine the top 3 winners in each contest. The top 3 winners for the elementary category will be decided based on the performance in written exam round only (no final buzzer round).

After the buzzer round, the top 3 awards for each category (Elementary, Middle and High) and each subject event (Science and Math) will be distributed by a dignitary. Following the award ceremony, the floor will be open for students to socialize.

Quiz Event Rules and Expectations:

Students are expected to bring their own pencils and erasers to be used in the preliminary round. Pens are not allowed. Students must clearly bubble the entire circle corresponding to the correct answer choice. Incomplete bubblings (crosses, tick marks) will not be accepted. If a student believes they have misbubbled, he/she may erase the previous choice clearly and bubble the correct choice with pencil. Calculators are not allowed for any event.

In the case of disputes regarding questions, the decision of the proctor lead on-site will be held final.

Quiz Events Syllabi:

Elementary Contests:  

Science:

Elementary students will be expected to have a general awareness of elementary science topics, such as basic geology, astronomy, human and plant biology, chemical compounds and solutions, and electricity and magnetism. There will also be questions regarding topics that are covered in elementary science labs.

Math:

Elementary students will be expected to solve problems covering diverse topics including basic geometry and algebra. Problems will focus on critical thinking over calculation or computation.

Middle School Contests: 

Science:

Middle school students will be expected to have a general awareness of middle school level science topics, such as geology; astronomy; human, cellular, genetics, evolutionary and plant biology; chemistry, and physics. The problem difficulty will be similar to Middle School Regional Science Bowl questions.

Math:

Middle school students will be expected to solve problems covering diverse topics including intermediate geometry, algebra, counting and probability, and number theory. Problems will focus on critical thinking over calculation or computation. The problem difficulty will be similar to AMC8 and MathCounts questions.

Grand Finale Buzzer:

While the content of the buzzer questions will initially match the content of the preliminary rounds, students can expect to see a gradual increase in problem difficulty as the buzzer round progresses.

High School Contests:

Science:

High school students will be expected to have a general awareness of high school level science topics, such as geology; astronomy; human, cellular, genetics, evolutionary and plant biology; chemistry, and physics. The problem difficulty will be similar to High School Regional Science Bowl questions.

Math:

High school students will be expected to solve problems covering diverse topics including advanced geometry, algebra, counting and probability, and number theory. Problems will focus on critical thinking over calculation or computation. The problem difficulty will be similar to AMC10 questions. Students will not have to know calculus.

Grand Finale Buzzer:

While the content of the buzzer questions will initially match the content of the preliminary rounds, students can expect to see a gradual increase in problem difficulty as the buzzer round progresses.

Buzzer Round Rules:

The top 8 contestants from the preliminary written rounds of middle and high school math and science will be called on stage and asked to pick a number from a hat oneby-one. Each student will be tagged with the number they picked. The structure of the tournament will be as follows. In the quarterfinal rounds, ‘1’ will play against ‘2’, ‘3’ will play against ‘4’, ‘5’ will play against ‘6’ and ‘7’ will play against ‘8’. In the semifinal rounds, the winner of ‘1’ vs ‘2’ will play against the winner of ‘3’ vs ‘4’ in the first semifinal. Similarly, the winner of ‘5’ vs ‘6’ will play against the winner of ‘7’ vs ‘8’ in the second semifinal. The winner of each semifinal will advance to the final match while the semifinalists not moving on to the final round will play for 3rd place.

During each match in the buzzer round, a set of three questions will be sequentially shown on the projector screen at the same time as the proctor-lead reads it aloud. After the question is read, the students will have 30 seconds to answer the question. Whoever presses the buzzer first will be identified by the proctor lead and will be asked to provide the answer. If the answer is correct, the student gets 1 point. If the answer is incorrect, the other contestant will have the opportunity to answer the question in the remaining time. Whoever answers the most questions out of the three questions will be declared the winner. If there is no clear winner after the first 3 questions, the match will enter ‘sudden death’ format. Whoever gives the first correct answer will be declared winner of that match. If a student interrupts the proctor-lead while the proctor-lead is reading the question aloud, that student will be allowed to provide the answer. If the answer is correct, one point will be awarded to the student. Otherwise, the question will be read in its entirety to the other student, and he/she will have 30 seconds to answer the question.

Event Timeline:

11:00 AM – 12:45 PM               Registration
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM               Science Project and Poster Display
12:45 PM – 1:00 PM                 Project and Poster Takedown
1:00 PM – 1:10 PM                    Introductory Speech
1:10 PM – 1:25 PM                    Keynote Speaker
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM                  Preliminary Exams
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM                 UCEazy Counseling Session
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM                 Break
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM                 Grand Finale Buzzer Round and Award Ceremony
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM                 Dance Social