Adam Steiner Mark Quakenbush

 Concepts of electricity and magnetism  Uses of electricity and magnetism  Circuit design, building, and analysis  Format: ◦ Qualitative and quantitative test questions ◦ Lab activities and questions ◦ Timed stations (state tournament, also possible but unlikely at regionals)

 Non-programmable calculator  Writing utensil  One page of notes, front and back

 Ohm’s law  Forms of energy produced from electricity  Battery principles (types of batteries and how they work)  Circuit schematics  How current moves in a circuit

‣Parallel and series resistors: equivalent resistance ‣Definitions of electrical terms: volt, ampere, ohm, potential/voltage level ‣Physically building a circuit that includes elements included on sheet: batteries, resistors (includes motors, bulbs, sound-producing devices), wires (includes connectors like alligator clips) ‣Know how to use voltmeter (in parallel) and ammeter (in series) ‣Graphs of current, voltage vs. time

 Principles of electromagnets (magnetic force increases with turns and current)  Principles of magnets (permanent magnets)  Know what magnetic fields look like inside coils, outside wires, and from magnets  Earth’s magnetic field, its general shape, and how it makes compasses work

Work with different equipment as much as possible Learn the math (there isn’t much), and be able to use equations at the pre-algebra level Focus on applying concepts Try to get an understand physically what voltage, current, resistance physically are—if you can think of it in terms of electrons, great, but there are also models of pushing objects, pumping water, etc. Know general trends of the electricity and magnetism concepts on the event sheet

 Knowledge of and experience with measurement equipment  Understanding and interpretation of graphical data  Ability to translate diagrams to physical systems and vice versa  Circuit construction and analysis techniques  Making predictions and comparisons based on conceptual knowledge

 Bring a watch  Don’t panic if the answer isn’t obvious or straight from a formula on the notes page. Work from what you know and what is given.  Make sure both students competing have practiced both hands-on skills and theory. Some degree of specialization may be helpful, but make sure that they can integrate these two areas to solve complex problems.

 Wikipedia  HowStuffWorks.com   Magnetism and Electricity units from 8 th grade NC science textbooks  Glencoe Physical Science (high school level textbook, chapters 21 and 22 cover E&M)  Practice event will be posted soon on  any questions (general or specific) to or