2012 SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TOURNAMENT
DYNAMIC PLANET—DIVISION B
You should provide each student:
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Copy of Dynamic Planet Division B Test (should be printed in COLOR)
colored pencils or crayons (orange, red, purple, and green)
Each team should have:
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up to four 8.5” x 11” double-sided page of notes containing information in any form
from any source
up to two non-graphing calculators
pencils
Test giving tips:
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Though you are not required to, bring extra pencils for your test takers
Pencils break and get misplaced during Tournament day!
Take 2 or 3 minutes before the test begins to explain what you have provided the students and
what they should have brought with them. It is also helpful to put this information on a
blackboard or dry-erase board if available.
Let the students know how much time they have left to complete their test. For example,
write down on a blackboard or dry-erase board how many minutes the student have left every
10 minutes.
If a student asks a question, make sure to answer the question so every student can hear your
response.
Remember to break all ties using the Division B Tiebreakers below.
Tiebreaker 1: Question 31
Tiebreaker 2: Question 28
Tiebreaker 3: Question 1
Tiebreaker 4: Question 2
Tiebreaker 5: Question 27
Tiebreaker 6: Question 30
Tiebreaker 7: Question 29
Tiebreaker 8: Question 26
Tiebreaker 9: Question 25
Tiebreaker 10: Question 24
Tiebreaker 11: Question 23
Tiebreaker 12: Question 22
Tiebreaker 13: Question 21
Tiebreaker 14: Question 20
Tiebreaker 15: Question 19
Tiebreaker 16: Question 18
Tiebreaker 17: Question 17
Tiebreaker 18: Question 16
Tiebreaker 19: Question 15
Tiebreaker 20: Question 14
Tiebreaker 21: Question 13
Tiebreaker 22: Question 12
Tiebreaker 23: Question 11
Tiebreaker 24: Question 10
Tiebreaker 25: Question 9
Tiebreaker 26: Question 8
Tiebreaker 27: Question 7
Tiebreaker 28: Question 6
Tiebreaker 29: Question 5
Tiebreaker 30: Question 4
Tiebreaker 31: Question 3
DYNAMIC PLANET: DIVISION B
(ANSWER KEY)--100 points
MULTIPLE CHOICE: (2 points each)
1. c
5. a
2. b
6. d
3. a
7. c
4. c
8. a
SHORT ANSWER: (10 points each)
9. ONLY THREE OF THESE!
Sinkhole—A sinkhole depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by the chemical dissolution
of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes. The mechanisms of the formation of sinkholes
involve natural processes of erosion or gradual removal of slightly soluble bedrock (such
as limestone) by percolating water, the collapse of a cave roof, or a lowering of the water table.
Solution Valley—Solution valleys (or Karst valleys) are the remains of former surface stream
valleys whose streams have been diverted underground as karst developed.
Springs—Karst springs occur where the groundwater flow discharges from a conduit or cave. Karst
springs or "cave springs" can have large openings and discharge very large volumes of water.
Sinkholes and sinking streams that drain to a large karst spring can be many miles away from the
spring.
Disappearing streams—Streams flowing along the surface may enter a sinkhole as a "disappearing
stream" and flow underground for some distance to reappear at the surface.
Caves—Caves (or caverns) are large, open underground areas occurring in massive limestone
depositions at or near the surface. Two stages of cavern formation: the initial excavation stage
(water dissolves the limy bedrock and leaves voids) and the decoration stage (water leaves
behind the compounds it had been carrying in solution—stalactites and stalagmites.
10.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
Dams alter the flow, temperature, and sediment regime of lotic systems. Additionally, many
rivers are dammed at multiple locations, amplifying the impact. Dams can cause enhanced
clarity and reduced variability in stream flow, which is due to an increase in periphyton (sessile
organisms, such as algae and small crustaceans, that live attached to surfaces projecting from the
bottom of a freshwater aquatic environment) abundance. Invertebrates immediately below a dam
can show reductions in species richness due to an overall reduction in habitat heterogeneity.
Thermal changes can affect insect development, with abnormally warm winter temperatures
obscuring cues to break egg diapause and overly cool summer temperatures leaving too few
acceptable days to complete growth. Dams fragment river systems, isolating previously
continuous populations, and preventing the migrations of anadromous (migrating up rivers from
the sea to breed in fresh water) and catadromous (living in fresh water but migrating to marine
waters to breed.) species.
FILL IN THE BLANK: (3 points each)
11. THERMOCLINES
14. SUSPENDED
12. LAMINAR
15. ALLUVIAL FAN
13. RECHARGE AREAS (ZONES)
TRUE/FALSE: (2 points each)
16. FALSE
17. TRUE
18. FALSE
19. TRUE
20. FALSE
IDENTIFICATION/DESCRIPTION: (3 points each)
21. TRELLIS
22. FOLDED TOPOGRAPHY or MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS
23. MEANDER
24. OLD
LABELING: (1 point each)
.
25. X
26. X
REPRESENTATIVE TASK I:
N
X
27. 400 meters (4 points)
28. Southeast or South (4 points)
29. Southeast (South or East for 2 points) (4 points)
30. SEE PICTURE (2 points)
31. (10 points)
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
Agricultural fields often deliver large quantities of sediments, nutrients, and chemicals to
nearby streams and rivers. Elevated nutrient concentrations, especially nitrogen and
phosphorus can increase periphyton growth, which can be particularly dangerous in slow
moving water ways. This growth can decrease the dissolved oxygen levels in the system
and lead to the loss of aquatic and terrestrial species dependent on the waterway. Over
time the increases in periphyton growth can consume the waterway and lead to
eutrophication. An overall loss of species diversity can be observed in water systems
with the high amounts of runoff from agricultural origins.
FILL IN THE BLANK (AGAIN!!!):
Fill in the blank with an appropriate adjective! (1 point)
32. Science is _______________________________________.
Science Olympiad
Regional Tournament
School Name: _________________________
Student Names:
(Print Legibly)
________________________________ , _________________________________
Division B
Dynamic Planet
MULTIPLE CHOICE:
Circle the letter of the best answer for each question. (2 points each)
1. The area drained by a water system is a:
a. delta.
b. alluvial fan.
c. watershed.
d. flood plain.
2. The water table is found at the boundary of:
a. the base of the river and the start of a delta.
b. the zones of aeration and saturation.
c. between the artesian formation and spring
d. between the zones of percolation and evaporation.
3. For percolation to occur, the rock on the surface must be:
a. impermeable.
b. suspended.
c. permeable.
d. resistant.
4. Karst topography occurs in regions that have experienced large amounts of:
a. volcanic activity.
b. wind erosion.
c. chemical weathering.
d. groundwater erosion.
5. Groundwater makes up approximately ________ of the water on Earth.
a. 1%
b. 3%
c. 12%
d. 23%
6. The percentage of the volume of rock that is open space is:
a. permeability.
b. sedimentation.
c. viscosity.
d. porosity.
7. If a sewer pipe is leaking from an apartment building and a factory is dumping waste into
the same river, what kind of pollution is it?
a. point-source pollution
b. runoff pollution
c. nonpoint-source pollution
d. fertilizer pollution
8. According to the parameters below, what is the recharge delivered to the groundwater
system beneath the water table in inches per year?
Watershed Parameters: A ground-water basin in a coastal area has a total area of
200 mi2. The land area is 195 mi2 and the area of the streams is 5 mi2. A water budget for
the basin has the following long-term average annual values: precipitation, 35 in/y;
evapotranspiration, 23 in/y; overland flow, 3 in/y; base flow, 6 in/y; runoff, 9 in/y; subsea
outflow, 3 in/yr. There is no stream flow or ground-water flow into the basin.
a. 9 in/yr
b. 12 in/yr
c. 18 in/yr
d. 35 in/yr
SHORT ANSWER:
Answers should be SHORT!!! If asked to list your answer, do so and provide any additional
information required by the question in your list. Place your answer in the space provided.
(10 points each)
9. List and describe three Karst topographic features. Use 1-2 sentences to describe each
Karst feature as well as how they are formed.
10. In 1913, John Muir (founder of the first environmental organization, the Sierra Club) lost
a seven-year battle against the damming of the Tuolumne River which flooded the Hetch
Hetchy Valley. John Muir’s primary argument against the dam’s erection was based on
aesthetic (appreciation of beauty) reasons.
Now, nearly a century later, you are faced with a situation similar: due to increasing
demands for power, the town you live in (“My-Awesome-Town”) is holding a meeting to
discuss the subject of erecting a dam to supply power to the growing community or to
invest in providing alternative power sources to the community. Knowledgeable in the
negative effects of dam construction to the environment, you decide to give a persuasive
speech against the construction of the dam at the meeting. Write one paragraph (3-5
sentences) stating how this project could affect lotic systems (both abiotic and biotic
components). Include the effects of the hypothetical dam on water quality as well as
impacts to vertebrate and invertebrate species in your response.
FILL IN THE BLANK:
Fill in the blank with the correct term. Place your answer in the space (_________________)
provided. (3 points each)
11. Due to the unusual relationship between water temperature and its density, lakes form
layers called _____________________________ which are layers of drastically varying
temperature relative to depth.
12. Stream flow that is _____________________________ consists of water molecules that
travel along similar parallel paths.
13. Areas where water enters the saturated zone are called
_____________________________
________________________________. (2 words)
14. _____________________________ loads are particles that are carried along with the
water in the main part of the streams.
15. A(n) _____________________________ _____________________________ is a
fan-shaped deposit where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at
the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. (2 words)
TRUE/FALSE:
Decide whether each statement is true or false. Place your answer in the space provided below
each statement. PLEASE SPELL OUT TRUE or FALSE! (2 points each)
16. V-shaped valleys are formed by weak streams, which over time have cut down into the
rock through a process called downcutting.
______________________
17. The hydraulic gradient is defined as the difference in elevation divided by the distance
between two points on the water table.
______________________
18. Centripetal drainage systems are common to such conically shaped features such as
volcanoes.
______________________
19. It is possible to have a highly porous rock with little or no interconnections between
pores.
______________________
20. Good aquifers are those with low permeability such as poorly cemented sands, gravels,
and sandstones or highly fractured rock.
______________________
IDENTIFICATION/DESCRIPTION:
Use the image below to answer questions 21-22. Place your answers in the spaces provided.
(3 points each)
21. What type of drainage pattern is associated with the tributaries entering the Jacks Creek?
22. What type of topography do you expect to find with this drainage pattern?
Use the image below to answer questions 23-24. Place your answers in the spaces provided.
23. What type of channel does this image represent?
24. Would you expect this channel to be young or old?
LABELING:
Required Materials: Crayons
Use the image below of a logitudinal stream profile to answer questions 25-26. (1 point each)
.
25. Using your green crayon mark an “X” on the image above where water will flow the
fastest.
26. Using your red crayon mark an “X” on the image above denoting where the mouth is
located.
REPRESENTATIVE TASK I:
Required tools: crayons or colored pencils
Use the following information and map below to answer question s 27-31.
You have been hired as a researcher for the Limnological Society of North Carolina to determine
if runoff of nitrogenous waste from agricultural activities is affecting water quality at Lake
Tahoma. For your study you will need to collect information by reviewing the map below.
Agricultural activities (farms) are marked with blue triangles ( ).
N
27. At what approximate elevation is Lake Tahoma located? Round to the nearest hundred.
__________________________ meters (4 points)
28. Mark an “X” with your orange crayon at Lake Tahoma’s outlet on the map above. In
what direction does Lake Tahoma empty? (4 points)
29. Locate and mark Locust Creek, Buck Creek, and Little Buck Creek using your red crayon
to draw arrows in the direction of water flow. In what direction does Buck Creek flow?
(4 points)
30. Using the information you have collected after reviewing the map, you are now able to
determine what agricultural activities may pose a threat to Lake Tahoma. Locate all
agricultural activities (5) and circle with your purple crayon those agricultural activities
(if any!) that are most likely to affect water quality at Lake Tahoma. (2 points)
31. Knowledgeable in the effects of agricultural runoff to water quality, you decide to write a
statement to the owners of the farms that may be polluting Lake Tahoma. Write a one
paragraph persuasive argument (3-5 sentences) discussing the negative impacts of
nitrogenous and phosphorous waste (key components of fertilizers) on lotic systems.
Include how this runoff can affect stream flow entering into Lake Tahoma as well as
species richness in the system. You may finish your statement on the back page of this
paper if you need more room. (10 points)
FILL IN THE BLANK (AGAIN!!!):
Fill in the blank with an appropriate adjective! (1 point)
33. Science is _______________________________________.