Transcript Junkyard Challenge - Home Page | Science Olympiad

Junkyard Challenge
“It’s a Snap”
CeAnn Chalker
[email protected]
Dennis Papesh
[email protected]
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Object
Competitors will construct a device,
partially on-site, to solve a creative
engineering challenge using only
the materials and tools that will fit
in a “junk box” of specified
dimensions.
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Materials - General
All materials and tools must be brought in a
“junk box” with a lid with outside dimensions
no greater than 40 cm x 40 cm x 60 cm when
closed.
Competitors are allowed to construct their
own box, made from any material, or use a
box that is within the specified dimensions.
 The box may be used as a part of the device.
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Materials – General, cont’d
With all materials in the box, the lid must fit
all the way on the box and close completely.
The box must be measured, contents checked
for safety, and impounded before the event
begins.
Teams that impound a box but fail to attempt
construction of a device during competition
will be considered a ‘No Show’.
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Materials - Required
Four unmodified mechanical ‘snap trap’
mousetraps (labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, for intended
order of tripping), 1 standard unmodified golf
ball, and ANZI 87+ safety spectacles with side
shields.
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Materials - Prohibited
Acids bases, flammable liquids or powders,
razor blades, rat traps, all forms of glue, power
tools, modified batteries, batteries exceeding
6 V, and other potentially dangerous objects.
Mouse traps hurt enough when they catch your
fingers. Trust me on that.
Any prohibited or dangerous materials will be
confiscated at impound.
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Materials - Other
Teams must impound any other materials and
tools needed to construct their device.
Parts of the device may be glued together
before teams arrive at the tournament site,
but gluing on-site is prohibited.
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Materials – Other, cont’d
Batteries may be used; however, they must be
unmodified and may not exceed 6 Volts in any
circuit.
All materials and tools must fit within the
closed box as described in 2.b.
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Competition – Start Task
Teams will drop a standard unmodified golf
ball into the device at its central point.
 Team name on ball is permitted.
The team must define the central point of the
device.
 If central point is covered, perhaps a circle of
known dimension could be placed around it.
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Competition – Start Task
If the device covers the central point,
mousetrap locations will be marked by the
event supervisor and measured after the
device operates.
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Competition – Task Completion
• The device must trip all 4 unmodified
mousetraps within 1 minute.
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Competition – Additional Requirements
All devices will be assembled where space
allows. (The floor is preferable.)
The mousetraps must be placed 90 degrees
apart in a compass arrangement of North,
South, East, and West.
 The Event Supervisor will probably arbitrarily
designate a direction to be North.
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Competition
The mousetraps must be unmodified.
Unmodified means that all the original parts of
the mousetrap(s) remain in place and are fully
functioning.
Precautions must be taken to ensure that
mousetraps, tripping mechanisms, and other
parts of the device do not become an
unshielded projectile or other hazard to
spectators or other devices around them.
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Competition – Distance Requirements
The distance between the closest point on
each mousetrap and the central point of the
device in each direction will range from 30.0
to 60.0 cm straight line distance.
Students must be prepared to make the
adjustments to meet the required distances.
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Distance Requirements, cont’d
The exact distance (in 5.0 cm intervals at
Regionals; 1.0 cm intervals at State and
National) will be chosen by the event
supervisor and will not be announced until all
devices have been impounded.
At Regionals and States, all 4 distances will be
the same.
At National, each of the 4 distances may be
different.
Mousetraps may be oriented in any direction.
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Competition, cont’d
Only competitors and event supervisors will
be allowed in the event area during
competition.
Once teams enter the event area to compete,
they will not receive outside assistance,
materials, or communication.
 Teams violating this rule may be disqualified.
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Competition, cont’d
If a team member leaves the event area
before finishing, they may not return except
as allowed by the event supervisor.
Construction begins and ends at the direction
of the event supervisor.
Each team will receive 30 minutes to set up
their device and only materials and tools
impounded may be used.
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Competition, cont’d
Once construction begins, all team members
in the competition area are required to wear
ANSI Z87+ safety goggles with side shields at
all times.
Teams without proper eye protection will not
be allowed to compete.
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Competition, cont’d
Teams should notify event supervisors when
ready to operate their device if construction is
completed before the 30 minute time limit
elapses.
 To ease time crunches, teams finished building
early may be allowed to demonstrate their device
before others have completed their construction.
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Competition, cont’d
Following construction and prior to operating
the device, the event supervisor will ask the
team to explain device operation.
Teams will be allowed to make last minute
adjustments (setting mousetraps, etc.)
immediately prior to operating the device.
Event Supervisor will give a 3, 2, 1 countdown
to start the device and timing will begin.
Timing will stop when the intended fourth
mousetrap is tripped or when 1 minute is
reached.
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Competition, cont’d
Actions occurring after 1 minute will not be
scored.
If at any time during construction or
operation, the device or actions of the
competitors is deemed to be unsafe by the
event supervisor, teams may either be warned
to make adjustments or may be immediately
disqualified.
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Scoring
 100 pts for being ready to run within 30 minutes
 33 pts for staying within box dimensions with lid closed
 22 pts for having all required materials and mousetraps
labeled
 58 pts for successful Start Task
 60 pts for successful Task Completion
 2 points for each second of operation to task completion
 Up to 60 seconds
 42 pts if device operates for at least 5 seconds before the first
mousetrap trip
 35 pts for each mousetrap that is tripped by the device
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Scoring, cont’d




25 pts if North trap is tripped first
50 pts if South trap is tripped second
75 pts if West trap is tripped third
100 pts if East trap is tripped fourth
 Order of trips must be plainly obvious
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Scoring - Penalties
Any action that is a direct result of a touch
CANNOT earn points (e.g. a mousetrap that is
tripped as a direct result of a touch cannot
earn points for being tripped, the order of the
trip, or for task completion).
This may bring up some discussions concerning
“direct result” of a touch.
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Penalties, cont’d
• 18 points each time the device is touched.
• 8 points for each whole centimeter each
mousetrap is off from the defined distance.
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Tie Breakers
Ties will be broken as follows:
 1. Fewest penalty points
 2. Longest time of operation
 3. Shortest setup time
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Some ideas
A simple
trigger
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Ideas
Mechanical –
electrical switch
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Ideas
Not recommended
– as is
Too easy to
malfunction
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Ideas
Holes in both stirrers are 5 cm apart – easy to adjust length
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Ideas
Remove all unused
items
Wing nuts save a
lot of time
Try to keep the
same size bolts
and nuts
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Ideas
With a metal
ball – a simple
electrical
contact switch
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Ideas
A simple
electrical
contact switch
– in this case,
when paper
clip is pulled,
wires drop
free and
break the
circuit,
shutting off
the motor
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Ideas
Golf ball down PVC
into cup.
Cup descends, pulling
string which goes
through pulley at top
to lift lever.
Lever descends,
snapping trap.
String on trap pulls
string on pulley
leading to releasing
blue marble.
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Ideas
Snapping mousetrap in
lower right (out of view)
pulls string, releasing
blue marble.
Marble rolls down and
snaps trap with metal
rod, flipping it over to
hit lever.
Lever rises to pull
string on third mouse
trap.
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Ideas
Marble down
ramp, triggering
mousetrap.
Arm on trap
swings to hit lever.
Lever rises and
pulls string through
pulley to snap 3rd
trap.
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Ideas
String on 3rd trap releases
golf ball.
Golf ball rolls down ramp,
springing last mousetrap.
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Ideas
Golf ball dropped down center of tower. Nut knocked off lever. Lever
knocks dominos down, tripping mousetrap. String on mousetrap
releases trap door at top of cup tunnel, releasing marble to trip trap.
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Ideas
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Ideas
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Ideas
Final progression to move mousetrap farther from center.
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Ideas
Golf ball slowly rolls down ramp
and activates a lever, the top of
which snaps first trap.
Bottom of lever releases a marble
to roll down and snap second
trap.
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Ideas
Long, low incline ramp can
be used as a time delay.
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Ideas
Ramp support and lever set up.
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Ideas
Golf ball hits bottom of lever,
swinging top of lever forward to
strike mousetrap.
Bottom of lever swings opposite
direction to release marble.
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Ideas
Bottom of lever swings to hit marble, sending it down PVC pipe to ramp
to hit mousetrap.
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