How To Organize a State-Wide Competition in Chemistry
Enid S. Lipeles Masuk High School 1014 Monroe Turnpike Monroe. CT 06468
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or "Chemathon '79-Connecticut 3 first high school chemistry meet"
Would You Like To. . . . . .See how your top chemistry I students compare to other students in your state? Get information on what topics in Chemistry are being taught in other high schools? Have your students meet other superior students? Motivate students to think about Chemistry as a career? Then, organize and run a Chemathon. This is what we did in Connecticut in May IYIY.
The main points to consider in developing a state-wide competition are
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site-must he centrally located dote-late Spring sponsors-to underwrite expenses test-must be broad in scope and relevant rules-to define who can take test and what aids can he used registration procedures-must he drafted and distributed earls priw-how many and what kind pmrlors-can hr solicited from participating s c h d r rollvgr b,,uI ugrrtprnuni-must be constructed in advnnre
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compete against the other high schools. In March another circular was sent describing the event in detail and starting the rules: 1) Students had to be in first level Chemistry courses-no AP or
Chem I1 people allowed. 2) Calculators and log tables were not allowed. 3) Each school could register up to five students at $1.00 each. 4) Student names and fees had to be received by May 1.
We also decided in March what the format for the day would he. The students would take a two-hour written exam in the morning. After lunch. the 12 students who scored the highest on theexam would compete in a college howl. There are many problems that had to he avoided in order to have a smooth running howl. A moderator would he provided with a set of questions and answers. In addition, two teachers would sit in the audience. In case the student's specific answer was not on his card, the moderator could look to the teachers to see if the given response was also acceptable. Construction of the panelists tables was planned and built in advance of the
This art& deals wth the running of (!onnertirut's fir% rornpeti. tion in May 1979. and the evmu lrad~ngup to rt. Chemalhon The idea for a Chemathon was horn in August 1978, a t the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers (NEACT) Summer Conference. Dr. Madeline Goodstein and I discussed the possibility of a state-wide meet a t dinner one night. I was there as a recipient of an American Chemical Society, Fairfield County Division, High School Chemistry Teacher Scholarship. Dr. Goodstein was there as the President-elect of NEACT. Ms. Rose Paternostro. a past President of NEACT, and d ~ o high a school ~ h e m i s t r ~ k d c hin e rConnecticut, joined us as the oreanizers of Chemathon '79. The f i r s t ' p ~ a n n i nsession ~ took place in October 1978. It dealt with all the very important aspects of the competition. Whew would it he held, what date, what type of format would be used, a written test, whu would devise it, what type of activity would he goud for the afternoun, a college bowl, who would he the moderator, and who would build theapparatus nWPSsnN for- thisevenr? Dr. Goodstein thought that she miaht . ... be able to use Central Connecticut State ~ o i e g eNew , a rig in, Connecticut. . ~.for the event. Central Connecticut is where she teachesand is right in the middleof the state. We alsoat this meeting decided on Mav 19 as thedate for the contest. Hv the middlcof May most important concepts have been taught in first level chemistry classes. A . . .
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Chemathon '79 was underway1 In January 1979, a letter was sent to all high school chemistry teachers (public, private, and parochial), informing them of Chemathon and asking them to submit questions for the written part of the competition. Dr. George Page, a chemistry professor a t Central volunteered to construct the test. He received all of the high school teachers' auestions and used various other sources to devrlop a 100 multiple-choice question test and R series of questions for the colleae howl. Having a college person develop the test assured complete confidentialitv and im~artiality.None of uson thesteering committee saw (he test in advance. Ourstudents, therefore, were able to
An Editorial Comment We wish to commend Mrs. Lipeles and her co-workers for their novel and exciting undertaking. Chemathon offers students and their teachers a mechanism for being more involved in chemistry through the excitement of wholesome competition. We eagerly encourage our readers to follow this lead. It might interest our readers to learn of the existence of an international competition. The design is different from the Connecticut Chemathon, although the goals are similar. The international Chemistry Olympiads, as they are called, are held annually, and interest and participation have been mowine. Eleven comnetitionshave been held so far. The latest. k 1.eningrad in.lul{ 1 9 3 , had reams frum Austria, Bulgaria, (.'z~chr~sluvakia, Fmland. Cerman l)emoerntir Repuhhr, German Federal Republic, Hungary. l'.,land, Romania,.iweden and the USSR. The Twelfth InternationalChemistry Olympiad is scheduled for July 1980 in Austria. These competitions are open to secondary 8ehml studies (16 to 18years old). Students attending special chemical or technical schools cannot participate. Each ciuntry sends a team of four students, who are usudly selected by a national competition. The competition has two parts-theoretical and practical-with five hours allowed for each part. Host countries submit questions several months in advance, with the host country having the responsibility for compiling the actual questions. Students receive and are allowed to answer the questions in their awn language. If vou or vour local. state. or reeional oreanization has develc,pad a PrOglRm uhich st~mulatcsstudents' interest in ehemiitrv, wrne to us. The mare good idens we haw to work uith, the mow hkely $rr arp tt, beallr to mcreasestudent interest, awareness, and productivity. Let's open up our avenues to communication.
A.M. Sarquis
Volume 57, Number 6, June 1980 1 449
event. Each panelist sitting a t the team's table would have a huzzer. (A central huzzer could also he used, if within easy reach of all four panelists.) A specific person in the audience would he in charge of deciding which team rang the huzzer first, in case the moderator was not certain. Deciding on the type and number of prizes must also he done early in the planning. Dr. Goodstein was able to persuade two of the leading scientific manufacturing company representatives to donate prizes. One company gave 12 digital room thermometers and another donated a moon glohe. A Certificate of Merit was also designed and printed to he given to each participating student.
At 1p.m., the names of the 12 highest scoring students were announced, and they were divided into three teams of four memhers each. Two of the teams competed in a 20-min college howl contest. The team with the highest score after that period of time. c o m ~ e t e dagainst the third team. Another 20 min went hi. ~ f t k giving r out the 12 digital thermometers, the student with the highest score on the exam was also given the moon globe. He was to give it to his high school as a token of accomplishment for his placing first on the written test.
May 19,1979
This May, Central Connecticut will host Chemathon '80. The college is going to sponsor and he in charge of all arrangements. Eventually this competition might he expanded to include all of the New Eneland States. I feel this is an excellent way to promote interest in chemistrv. " It eives credit to sunerior chemistrv students and nrovides early exposure to a college campus. If anyone is interested in starting a Chemathon in their state, the author would he happy to help. Write to me a t Masuk High School, Monroe, CT 06468.
At 9:00 am., over 180 students gathered a t Central Connecticut State College. After coffee and donuts, furnished by the college, the students were welcomed and given instructions. They proceeded to assign rooms for the 100-question exam. Volunteers for proctoring assignments were selected from the teachers who drove the students. While everyone ate lunch, the tests were marked hy college student volunteers. (The computer that was supposed to score the exams was not working that day.)
450 1 Journal of Chemical Education
This Spring
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