Below are all the necessary details, rules, and guidelines for the competitional aspect of ASO 2024.
The 2024 competition will be held on April 6th and consist of rounds containing subject material from Chemistry, Physics, and Biology disciplines. Teams will consist of 1 to 3 students. Each round will be available during a specific time block during the day. Further details about contest logistics will be announced closer to the competition date. Subject rounds (Chemistry, Physics, and Biology rounds) will all be laboratory-based questions, taking place in the Gelb Science Center. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the use of any external source or aid, including calculators, dictionaries, notes, coaches, or proctors, is prohibited.
Subject rounds consist of three rounds of problems, each corresponding to a different natural science. Teams will rotate through Chemistry, Physics, and Biology rounds. The problems will be open ended and suitable for a middle school level and have materials provided, focusing on experimental, hands-on problem solving, rather than written tests. Solutions will be graded for accuracy, problem solving, creativity, and scientific documentation. The questions in our rounds will intersect with fields such as math, anatomy, and general knowledge. All teams will have one hour to complete the problem sets assigned for each subject round.
Inspired by the Harvard MIT Mathematics Tournament's Guts Round, the Guts Round is a fast-paced race between teams - with a live scoreboard and timer. Teams will race to to answer a variety of questions combining Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. Teams will be tasked with completing 10 rounds of questions in one hour, each round consisting of 3 questions - one from each science.