Chemistry Olympiad Courses - FAQ Contents
- 1. What are the goals of competitions such as Chemistry Olympiad?
- 2. Chemistry in Middle School? Is it not too early?
- 3. How does participation in Chemistry Olympiads help eventually towards college admissions?
- 4. Do you teach basic Chemistry Concepts like Atomic Structure, Periodic Table and Laboratory Equipment?
- 5. What are the Olympiad/competition in focus for the current workshops?
- 6. What other Olympiads do you provide coaching for and would potentially have additional courses/workshops on?
- 7. Will such workshops be conducted again later in the year?
- 8. Where will this Chemistry Logic Workshop be held?
- 9. What is the registration fee structure?
What are the goals of competitions such as Chemistry Olympiad?
The U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) is a multi-tiered competition designed to stimulate and promote achievement in high school chemistry. It is sponsored by the American Chemical Society. Each year, four students are chosen to represent the USA in the International Chemistry Olympiad competition, which is hosted every year in July in one of the participating countries.
Goals of the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad are:- Stimulate young people to achieve excellence in chemistry
- Recognize outstanding chemistry students and, in doing so, encourage additional learning at a formative time in their intellectual development
- Challenge the chemical knowledge and skills of young students in an international arena
- Foster cross-cultural experiences and acquaint students with similarities and differences between themselves and their counterparts from other nations
The National Science Olympiad (NSO) is the nations most exciting K-12 competition. For the past 31 years, Science Olympiad has led a revolution in science education. What began as a grassroots assembly of science teachers is now one of the premiere science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 7,000 teams in 50 states. Science Olympiad's ever-changing line-up of events in all STEM disciplines exposes students to practicing scientists and career choices, and energizes classroom teachers with a dynamic content experience.
Goals of the National Science Olympiad are:- To elevate science education and learning to a level of enthusiasm and support that is normally reserved only for varsity sports programs.
- To improve the quality of science education, increase student interest in science and provide recognition for outstanding achievement in science education.
- To provide challenging and motivational events that are well balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics and technology.
- To provide a persistent and successful extra-curricular accomplishment which would be the strongest predictor of leadership and be clearly useful in predicting most overall college success.
Chemistry in Middle School? Is it not too early?
Numerous studies show that most students make up their minds about science during their early school years. Judgments such as: science is hard; it's easy; it's dumb; it's boring; it's only for boys; it's fun; or I'd like to know more, are made by students based on what happens in these early experiences. What also has been established through educational research is: What teachers do have effects on these decisions. Teachers personal enthusiasm, the structure of their subject matter presentations, the depth of their own knowledge, their sensitivity and sense of fairness, the extent to which they make it all 'real' and 'relevant,' and communicate the expectation that their students should change the way they view the world as a result of their experience with science, have all been identified as pivotal factors in successful science teaching. The "Science Olympiad" is a way to spark interest in science at an early age as a lot of the studies indicate that if students haven't developed an interest in science by middle school they probably never will. "Science Olympiad" is really about generating interest in all science fields, and encouraging students to pursue careers in science.
How does participation in Chemistry Olympiads help eventually towards college admissions?
Participating in high school extracurricular activities can often improve your college chances by proving your commitment, time management and leadership skills to college admissions officers. Extracurricular activities such as participation in Chemistry Olympiads are almost as important as your grades themselves. Colleges increasingly want to see your personality. They want to see that not only are you smart enough to survive, but you are a great fit to thrive there, to learn immensely but to also have fun. Everything from your math and science research to your national awards in creative writing would make you stand out as a candidate. We are not trying to say that grades aren't important -- no amount of participation/winning extracurricular competitions are going to rescue you from a 1.75 GPA and a 1200 SAT score. But the converse is true too; extracurricular competitions such as Chemistry and Math Olympiads are playing an increasingly huge rule in application decisions. Extracurricular activities should be things you do for yourself because good schools want to see not just that you participated, but also that you really care about the things you spend your time doing. Besides paper exams, prestigious U.S. universities consider interviews and application forms that include resumes and school records to be important information. Records of achievements such as participation in the science Olympiads, therefore, can be an advantage for examinees seeking to promote themselves. In fact, MIT encourages endeavors at the Olympiads on its official MITAdmissions website.
Do you teach basic Chemistry Concepts like Atomic Structure, Periodic Table and Laboratory Equipment?
Yes. Depending on the focus, the Jr. Chemistry Logic workshops are intended as a primary learning vehicle for basic Chemistry Concepts like Atomic Structure, Periodic Table and Laboratory Equipment. The Sr. Chemistry Logic workshops are geared to advanced topics in Genral, Organic as well as Physical Chemistry as noted below. Our main emphasis will be on following areas:
For the Science Olympiad:- States and transitions: What are the different states of matter? How do they transition? Do physical properties depend on size? How do you use physical properties to identify, separate and classify substances? How do physical properties (like viscosity, surface tension) change due to change of state? What are the effects of temperature and pressure on physical properties of matter at a macro- and a micro-(particle) level? Terms to understand: dissolution, vaporization, condensation, sublimation, deposition, and specific heat, different physical properties and units of measurements. Know the difference: elements, compounds and mixtures.
- Reactions: How are physical and chemical changes in matter different? What are some common chemical reactions that you can observe in nature? Understand physical factors that affect chemical reactions. How can you identify chemical change(s) and differentiate it from physical change(s)? What are reversible and irreversible reactions? What happens during a chemical reaction? How do catalysts and inhibitors affect a chemical reaction? What is the role of energy in a chemical reaction? Understand chemical equation, reactants, products, activation energy, endothermic reaction, and exothermic reaction. What is balancing of a chemical equation? Why should a chemical equation be balanced? Understand law of conservation of mass in relation to physical or chemical change. Understand some chemical reactions that occur in everyday life. What are acids, bases, and neutralization? What is pH and what are indications of acidity?
- The Periodic Table: What is a symbol and a formula? How are elements arranged in a periodic table? What are atoms and its constituents? Understand atomic number, atomic mass, and mass number. Understand electronic configuration. How do atomic and physical properties vary in a periodic table? Understand period, group, representative elements, transition elements, metals, nonmetals, metalloids, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, carbon group semiconductor metals, Oxygen family, halogens, noble gases, lanthanides, and actinides. Understand the relation between electronic configuration and chemical reactivity? What is bond formation? Understand metallic bonds, ions, covalent bonds, single bond, double bond, and triple bond and how electrons are configured in these cases. What are polar and nonpolar molecules? What are isotopes?
- Atoms: Why is an atom the basic unit of matter? What are atoms made of? What experiments led scientists to the discovery of subatomic particles, especially electrons, protons and neutrons? Know the scientists: Dalton, Crookes, Thompson, Rutherford, and Bohr. What were the different models for the structure of the atom and how the current accepted model was derived? What do you know about the dual nature of electrons and how it changed the structure of the atom? What are alpha particles? What is meant by radioactive decay and how was it discovered? What is half-life? What are beta rays? What is carbon dating? How are radioactive isotopes made and used for human health? What are quarks?
- Scientific Enquiry: Terms to understand: Scientific Methods, Hypothesis, Experiment, Observation, Bar Graph, Line Graph, Data Table, Conclusion, Fact Vs Opinion, Evidence, Measuring, Organize Data, Mass, Length, Temperature, Weight, Bar Graph, Pictograph; Personalities - Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, Rachel Carson, Edward Jenner, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei.
- Questions Review of past years
For the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad:
- General Chemistry
- Atomic Structure
- Molecular Structure and Bonding
- Stoichiometry
- States of Matter / Solutions
- Energetics
- Dynamics
- Equilibrium
- Electrochemistry / Redox
- Descriptive Chemistry / Periodicity
- Laboratory Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Nomenclature
- Structure, Hybridization, Resonance, Aromaticity
- Acids and Bases
- Stereoisomerism
- Nucleophilic Substitutions and Eliminations
- Electrophilic Additions
- Nucleophilic Addition at Carbonyl Groups
- Nucleophilic Substitution at Carbonyl Groups
- Enols and Enolate Ion Reactions
- Electrophilic and Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution
- Free Radical Substitutions and Additions
- Oxidations and Reductions
- Spectroscopy
- Synthesis and Analysis
- Physical Chemistry
- Thermo - Equations of State
- Thermo - Laws of Thermodynamics and State Functions
- Thermo - Mathematical Relationships in Thermodynamics
- Thermo - Chemical and Phase Equilibria
- Dynamics - Kinetic Molecular Theory
- Dynamics - Transport Properties
- Dynamics - Phenomenological Kinetics
- Dynamics - Mechanisms
- Dynamics - Reaction Dynamics
- Dynamics - Statistical Mechanics
- Quantum - Quantum Chemistry: History and Concepts
- Quantum - Simple Analytical Quantum Mechanical Systems
- Quantum - Modern Quantum Mechanical Problems: Atomic System
- Quantum - Symmetry
- Quantum - Molecular Orbital Theory
- Quantum - Spectral Properties
- Quantum - Advanced Topics: Electronic Structure Theory and Spectroscopy
What is the Olympiad/competition in focus for the current workshops?
For the current workshops we are focusing both on the Science Olympiad and on the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad.
What other Olympiads do you provide coaching for and would potentially have additional courses/workshops on?
Elementary through high-school students participate in one or more of the following Science competitions. The list provided here is purely for the awareness of the parents and is by no means exhaustive. We also wish to clarify here that the our workshops are not affiliated with nor endorsed by any of the following :
- USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) : As the premiere biology competition for high school students in the United States, the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) enriches the life science education of nearly 10,000 talented students annually. It provides the motivation, curricular resources, and skills training to take them beyond their classroom experience to the level of international competitiveness.
- U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) : The U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) program is a chemistry competition for high school students. It's inteneded to stimulate young people to achieve excellence in chemistry. The American Chemical Society (ACS) has sponsored the program since 1984.
- USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) : The USACO supports computing education in the USA and worldwide by identifying, motivating, and training high-school computing students at all levels.
- North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO) : The North American Computional Linguistics Olympiad is a contest in which high-school students solve linguistic puzzles. In solving these puzzles, students learn about the diversity and consistency of language, while exercising logic skills. No prior knowledge of linguistics or second languages is necessary. Professionals in linguistics, computational linguistics and language technologies use dozens of languages to create engaging problems that represent cutting edge issues in their fields. The competition has attracted top students to study and work in those same fields. It is truly an opportunity for young people to experience a taste of natural-language processing in the 21st century.
- US PHysics Olympiad (USPHO) : Each year, AAPT and the American Institute of Physics (AIP) sponsor a competition for high school students to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympiad Competition. The mission of the U.S. Physics Team Program is to promote and demonstrate academic excellence through preparation for and participation in the International Physics Olympiad.
Will such workshops be conducted again later in the year?
There is a good likelihood that this course will be conducted periodically. Please add your name to our distribution list so that we can keep you informed.
Where will this Chemistry Logic Workshop be held?
The Chemistry Logic Workshops will be held in Ashburn, VA. The exact location and dates/times will be provided in advance to those who register. If you have any more questions or queries please Contact us.
What is the registration fee structure?
Registration fees and schedule details for different courses are here.