Science Bowl
Required Competition

Coordinator: Zetra Wheeler
Email: zetra_wheeler@skc.edu

 

Registration Deadline: Friday March 1, 2024

 

Competition Objectives:

• Strengthen existing Science programs at TCUs and stimulate new interest in STEM fields.

• Showcase talent and skills

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Competition Rules:

1. All AIHEC member institutions may register for the event. Registration must be submitted online.

2. Test questions are purchased from a test bank. Answers provided by the test bank will be considered the only correct answer. This eliminates the need for question/answer disputes during game play.

3. Categories from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will be selected and setup prior to game play and include Anatomy, Astronomy, Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Ecology, General Science, Mathematics, Measurement, Physics, Technology, and Zoology.

4. The questions are purchased from a company that specializes in providing questions for competitions. There will be no reference materials available during the competition. The answer on the card will be the only and final answer.

5. Only one (1) team per institution can be registered for the science bowl.

6. Teams shall consist of three (3) members and one (1) coach. One (1) member shall be named the team captain. Student participants must bring a photo ID to compete. All cell phones and mobile devices are prohibited during the competition.

7. The team captain will be responsible for insuring the timely arrival of the team for each game. A game may be played with less than a full team, but once the game has started, the vacant position(s) shall not be filled during the game.

8. The coach is responsible for the timely filing of the team registration forms and all required materials with the competition’s coordinator. Coaches should be present at the games, but it is not required. Coaches cannot compete as team members and cannot raise any dispute or question during the game.

9. The Science Bowl tournament will have two rounds with the second round being the championship round. There will be no carryover of points from the first round to the second round.

10. The competition will be patterned after the TV game show “Jeopardy” although teams will not answer in the form of a question.

11. Each game will consist of three (3) rounds. The first two (2) rounds will either last fifteen minutes or until all category questions have been asked (whichever occurs first). The third (3rd) round will be a wager round.

12. At the start of the game, the quizmaster will flip a coin to determine who has control of the board.

13. The team that answers each question correctly gains control of the board and will choose the category and points for the next question. Control of the board will remain with the team that last answered a question correctly.

14. Categories will be presented in both the first (1st) and second (2nd) round. The third (3rd) round is a wager round where the quizmaster will choose the category.

15. For any round, the team that buzzes in shall discuss and answer the question within fifteen (15) seconds. If they answer correctly they will gain the points for that question. If they answer incorrectly, they will lose the points for that question and the other team will have an opportunity to buzz in and answer the question within the remaining time of the fifteen (15) second period. If either team buzzes in and does not answer the question, allowing the fifteen (15) second period to expire, it will be considered an incorrect answer and the points for that question will be deducted from the team score.

16. Either team can buzz in during the initial fifteen (15) second period and request the question be re-read. Questions will be re-read once and they will be re-read in full. The team that requests the re-read is not responsible for answering the question. After the question is re-read the fifteen (15) second period for discussion and answering begins again and either team may buzz in to answer.

17. In the event that, after the first reading of the question, one team buzzes in and answers the question incorrectly, the second team may buzz in within the remaining time and ask for the question to be re-read since the question has only been read once. The team requesting the question be re-read is not responsible for answering the question.

18. Each team will begin round two (2) with the scores accumulated in round one (1). The team with the least accumulated points at the end of round one (1) will have control of the board for the start of round two (2). At the end of round two (2), if one team has a positive number and the other team has zero (0) or fewer points, the team with the positive number of points will be declared the winner and round three (3) will not be played. If both teams have zero (0) or fewer points the game will go into Sudden Death.

19. Round three (3) is a wager round. When both teams have a positive score at the end of round two (2) play advances to round three (3). Both teams will be told the number of points they have to wager by the official scorekeeper. The quizmaster will announce the category for the round. At the time the teams will have fifteen (15) seconds to discuss the amount of their wager, write the wager and team name on a piece of paper. Team captains will submit the wager to the quizmaster. Teams may wager any number of points ranging from zero (0) to the total amount of points they have accumulated from rounds one (1) and two (2). The maximum wager is the number of points a team has accumulated. The quizmaster will not reveal the amounts of the wagers until the end of the round. After the quizmaster receives the wagers the question for the round will be read. The teams will have fifteen (15) seconds to discuss the question and write the answer and the team name on a piece of paper. This question can be re-read under the guidance of all previous rules that apply to re-reading questions. The team captains will also submit the answer to the quizmaster when the time expires. The quizmaster will announce the team name, the amount of the wager, the answer submitted by the team, and whether or not it was the correct answer. The scorekeeper will total the number of points for each team and announce them to the quizmaster and the teams. The quizmaster will declare the team with the most points the winner. In the event of a tie at the end of round three (3), the teams will advance to a Sudden Death round.

20. In the event of a Sudden Death round, the quizmaster will choose the categories and the questions. The category will be announced and the question read. The same rules for answering and re-reading will apply. The round will continue until one team answers a question correctly. The team that answers correctly will be declared the winner.

21. Any dispute raised that is not declared according to the rules as stated in this document will be considered an invalid dispute and no action will be taken to resolve the dispute.

22. Valid disputes about the game shall be addressed immediately following the completion of the game before the quizmaster; staff and both teams leave the room. The team captain is the only person who may raise disputes.