Compute This!
Division B 2005 State Science Olympiad Exam
Instructions:
Read the instructions below carefully before beginning the exam. Note that points will
be awarded based on the formatting portion of the instructions!
1. Formatting
A. Answer all questions using Microsoft Word and Excel. All questions should be
answered in Word, referring to a supporting Excel spreadsheet if necessary.
Graphs and charts should be pasted into Word from Excel.
[2 points]
B. Answer all question in complete sentences using proper grammar and punctuation. [2 points]
C. Each question should be answered on a separate page in Word. Use a “page
break” to achieve this. In Excel, each question should appear as a separate worksheet (the little tabs on the bottom left). Make sure each page or worksheet is
clearly labeled and numbered.
[2 points]
D. All sources of information should be cited. Website URLs need to be copied and
pasted at the bottom of each answer. Make sure that the URL works after you
copy it (in other words, try copying back into the web browser to see if it works);
this is the only way we can judge your answers properly.
[4 points]
2. Test Taking
A. Read all the questions before you begin the test. The test is long and is not intended to be finished completely. Choose the questions that you are most prepared to answer. Pay attention to the number of points that will be awarded for
each question in square brackets after each item.
B. Keep track of the time! Do not spend too much time on one problem. If you have
spent more than 15 minutes or so on a problem, move on to another and come
back later if you have time.
C. Ask questions. The supervisors and volunteers are here to help you understand
the exam and clear up anything for you.
Question 1: The 1974 Super Outbreak [28 points]
In 1974 a massive thunderstorm system brought the largest recorded outbreak of tornadoes ever to the midwestern United States. The image on the left shows the groundtracks for each of the tornadoes that touched down during a period of about 18 hours.
(source: Wikipedia and the NOAA)
Remember, cite all your sources!
A.
During what two days did the Super
Outbreak occur? [1 point]
B.
How many lives were lost during this two
day period? How many people were
injured? [2 points]
C.
What time did the first tornado
touchdown? Where? [1 point]
D. How many tornadoes were confirmed
during the outbreak? [1 point]
E. Which states experienced tornadic activity
during the outbreak? Which Canadian
province? [2 points]
F. In the United States, what scale is used to
rate the strength of tornadoes? [1 point]
Find a detailed description of how the strength of tornadoes is ranked according to the
scale from part F.
G. Construct a table listing the minimum windspeed (in miles/hour) for each of the
class of tornadoes F0 - F6. [4 points]
H. What is the weakest tornado capable of throwing heavy objects such as cars?
What is the weakest tornado capable of leveling a well-constructed house? [2
points]
I. Which type of tornado is most common? Has an F6 tornado ever been identified?
[2 points]
J. How many tornadoes of each type occurred during the 1974 Super Outbreak? Add
the number of each type to the table you constructed in part G as an additional column. [4 points]
K. Use your data from Part J to construct a pie chart. Make sure it is clearly and
thoroughly labeled. What is the percent of F4 tornadoes occurring during this
time? [8 points]
Question 2: The Tornadoes of the 1974 Super Outbreak [25 points]
In your web browser, connect to
http://www.msu.edu/~kendal30/computethis/superoutbreak.xls. When the menu pops
up, click “Save As” (or something similar, depending on the browser). Save this file to
C:\temp folder, open it in Microsoft Excel.
A. Successful completion of this step is worth 4 points. If you cannot complete it without help, raise your hand and a volunteer will help you. You will not receive the 4
points in this case. [4 points]
The data you have opened is a complete listing of the Super Outbreak tornadoes, where
they were first spotted, the maximum strength class they reached, how far they traveled
along the ground, how many people were killed, and how many people were injured.
B. According to these data, how many people in total were injured by the tornadoes?
How many were killed? Note, only the exact number will receive credit here, so do
not simply answer the same as you did in Question 1. [3 points]
C. According to these data, what was the average number of people injured per tornado? On average how many were killed? [3 points]
D. Create a scatter or line plot of the data to compare the type of tornado to the distance it traveled. [12 points]
E. What is the general trend of the data in this plot, do the higher F-class tornadoes
travel further on average than the lower classes? Or is the reverse true? [3 points]
Question 3: How to Survive Tornado Alley [22 points]
The United States are meteorologically unique in the level of tornadic activity that occurs here. This fact is due to a number of geographic causes.
A.
What is Tornado Alley? [1 point]
B.
Where is Tornado Alley? Provide a description of the region. [2 points]
C.
Find a map of Tornado Alley and paste it into your Word document. Resize the
map if necessary so that it fits nicely on the page. [5 points]
D. Here in Michigan we have frequent tornadoes as well. Which of the following cities has the lowest tornado risk, according to your map: Detroit, Grand Rapids, or
Mackinac City? If there is no obvious difference, state that. [6 points]
Florida has a very high risk of tornadoes despite the fact that it is very different geographically than the rest of Tornado Alley.
E.
Why does Florida have such a high occurrence of tornadoes? [2 points]
There are a number of myths about tornadoes and tornado safety that are often passed
along as conventional wisdom but are, in fact, untrue.
F. Find and list three different tornado myths and briefly explain why they are not
true. [6 points]