Several categories have been added, dropped, or merged throughout the years. Computer Science was dropped from the list in late 2002. Current Events was in the 2005 competition, but did not make a return. General Science was dropped and Astronomy was merged with Earth Science to create Earth and Space Science in 2011.
Regional competitions
The winning team of each regional Science Bowl competition is invited to participate in the National Science Bowl finals in Washington, D.C., with all expenses paid. As of 2018, there were 65 high school regionals and 48 middle school regionals. These figures include the two "super regional" sites that are permitted to send two teams to the national competition. The two super regionals are the Kansas/Missouri Regional High School Science Bowl and the Connecticut/Northeast Regional High School Science Bowl (The Northeast Regional includes Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and parts of New York).
Typically, any school that meets the eligibility requirements of the National Science Bowl is permitted to register for its regional competition according to its geographic location. No school may compete in multiple regionals. In addition, most regional competitions permit schools to register up to three teams. Since 2017, club teams are no longer able to compete.
Rules
This section first lists the rules for in-person competitions, and finishes with the rules for virtual competitions. The national competition follows all the rules for the in-person competitions. Most in-person regional competitions use the same rules, but they may request to use different rules. Virtual regional competitions must use the rules set for virtual competitions.
General rules
A team consists of 4 or 5 students from a single school. Only 4 students play at any one time, while the 5th is designated as the alternate. Substitutions and switching captains may occur at halftime and between rounds.
A blank score display board from the Hypatia division at the 2007 Nationals.
Two teams compete against each other in each match. Each team member is given a number A1, A Captain, A2, A3, B1, B Captain, B2, B3, according to the position each student sits in. In regional competitions, each round consists of 23 questions (that is, 23 toss-ups and 23 corresponding bonuses). At the National Finals, each round consists of 25 questions. The match is over when all the toss-up questions have been read (and any bonuses related to correctly answered toss-ups), or after two halves have elapsed, whichever occurs first. The team with the most points at this time is the winner. At the regional level, all matches consist of two 8-minute halves, separated by a 2-minute break. At the national level for middle schools, all matches consist of two 10-minute halves. For high schools, all round robin and some double elimination matches consist of two 10-minute halves, with the final rounds consisting of two 12-minute halves to accommodate the longer visual bonus questions. A toss-up/bonus cycle that is begun before time expires in a half will be finished under the usual rules before the half ends. A question officially begins once its subject area is completely read.
Toss-ups
Every match begins with a toss-up question. The moderator announces the subject of the question (see "Subject Areas" above), as well as its type (Multiple Choice or Short Answer). Once the moderator completes the reading of the question, students have 5 seconds to buzz in and give an answer. Students may buzz in at any time after the category has been read—there is no need to wait for the moderator to finish. However, there is a penalty for interrupting the moderator and giving an incorrect answer. After buzzing in, a student must first wait for an official to verbally recognize them by saying their team name and number (otherwise it is considered a blurt; see Penalties for more info), and then give their response within a natural pause (up to 2 seconds); otherwise it is considered a stall and ruled incorrect. If a student buzzes in and answers incorrectly, that student's team may not buzz in again on that question, and the opposing team (if still eligible to answer) gets another 5 seconds to buzz in. Quiet nonverbal communication (e.g. in writing or by hand signals) among team members is allowed on toss-ups, but audible communication or mouthing words is not permitted and will disqualify the team from answering the toss-up.
An answer given by a student is ruled correct or incorrect by the moderator. On short answer questions, if the answer given differs from the official one, the moderator uses his or her judgment to make a ruling (which is subject to a challenge by the competitors). On multiple choice questions, the answer given by the student is only correct if it matches the official answer exactly. However, when the choices are mathematical expressions that would be conventionally written in symbols, common alternate expressions of the answer shall be accepted. For example, “square root of 2” and “square root 2” would both be accepted. Alternatively, the student may give the letter choice that corresponds to their answer. Although A, B, C, and D were once used as answer choice letters, W, X, Y, and Z are now favored due to a lower chance of confusion.
Bonuses
If a student answers a toss-up question correctly, that student's team receives a bonus question. The bonus question is always in the same category as the corresponding toss-up question, though it may not always relate to the toss-up question. Since only one team has the opportunity to answer the bonus question, there is no need to buzz in to answer it. After the moderator finishes reading the question, the team has 20 seconds to answer. The timekeeper will give a 5-second warning when 5 seconds remain. Conferring between team members is permitted, but the team captain must give the team's final answer.
Visual bonuses were introduced in 2003. They are only included in the final elimination rounds. The team has 30 seconds to answer a question with the aid of a visual displayed on a 19-inch monitor (for the final matches) or on a distributed worksheet (for earlier elimination matches).
The same rules apply to the judging of responses to bonus questions as apply to responses to toss-up questions. Once the team's answer has been ruled right or wrong, the moderator proceeds to the next toss-up question.
If neither team answers the toss-up question correctly, the bonus question is not read, and the moderator proceeds to the next toss-up question.
Scoring
Correct responses to toss-up questions are worth 4 points each. If a student buzzes in on a toss-up question before the moderator has completely read the question (i.e., interrupts the moderator) and responds incorrectly, 4 points are awarded to the opposing team, and the question is re-read in its entirety so that the opposing team has an opportunity to buzz in. Should the opposing team interrupt during the rereading of the question and answer incorrectly, it is also subject to the 4 point penalty.
A correct response on a bonus question earns 10 points, making the total possible score on a single question 18 points (4 for a correct answer, 4 penalty points, and 10 for the bonus), and a perfect score 450 points. Against a team which never buzzes in (often the better approximation), the maximum (perfect) score is 350 points. This is assuming that only the regular 25 questions have been answered. Earning more than 200 points in one game is very impressive and earning more than 300 points is extremely rare.
Penalties
There are various different types of penalties given. If a player interrupts and any of the following occurs:
The player answers incorrectly,
A Blurt: The player answers without being recognized,
Audible communication among the team members,
four penalty points are awarded to the opposing team. A blurt or audible communication on an uninterrupted toss-up incurs no point penalty, but disqualifies that team from answering the toss-up.
If the team that is no longer able to answer the toss-up engages in distracting behavior, then the opposing team is awarded four points, the opportunity to answer the corresponding bonus, and the option of running 20 additional seconds off the game clock. Similarly, if the team not playing the bonus engages in distracting behavior, then the opposing team is awarded ten points and the option of running 40 additional seconds off the game clock.
Challenges
Challenges must be made before the moderator begins reading the next question, or 3 seconds after the last question of the half or game. Only the 4 actively competing members may challenge. The fifth team member, coach, and others associated with a team may not become involved in challenges or their discussion. However, beginning in 2020, anyone in the competition room can make the officials aware of scoring or clock management errors, these are known as corrections rather than challenges.
Challenges may be made either to scientific content or the administration of rules. They may not be made to judgment calls by the officials, such as whether a buzz was an interrupt, whether 20 seconds have passed before beginning to answer a bonus, or whether a stall or blurt has happened. Challenges to scientific content is limited to 2 unsuccessful challenges per round. Successful challenges do not count against this limit. Each team has unlimited challenges to administration of rules.
Rules for Virtual Competitions
For the 2024 competition, regional competitions have the option of choosing a virtual format. Additionally, the DOE will host 4 virtual nationwide regionals for schools meeting certain criteria.
Teams do not play head-to-head matches in the virtual competition. Instead, each team is placed in their own Zoom room and competing against all the other teams in the tournament. Each competition begins with two or three preliminary rounds, in which the teams' scores in the rounds are added up, and the teams with the highest totals advance to the elimination rounds. Each regional competition can choose whether to advance 8, 16, 24, or 32 teams to the elimination rounds. During the elimination rounds, only the score for the current round is used to determine the teams advancing to the next round—the scores from the previous rounds are irrelevant. The number of teams left after each elimination round will go in the following order: 24, 16, 8, 4, 2, and finally 1, beginning with the appropriate number based on how many teams initially advanced from the preliminaries.
During each round, the teams are read the same series of 18 toss-up/bonus cycles. There is no game clock. Teams have 7 seconds after the moderator finishes reading for a student to raise their hand and give an answer on a toss-up, and if answered correctly, have 22 seconds after the moderator finishes reading for a student to raise their hand and give an answer on the bonus. If the team misses the toss-up, the bonus is not read. Toss-ups and bonuses may be answered by any of the 4 or 5 team members. Communication of any kind (verbal, via the Zoom chat, or nonverbal) is allowed on both toss-ups and bonuses. There are no penalties for interrupting (but also no reason to interrupt since all the toss-ups would be read in their entirety) or blurting (although the player will be verbally recognized after raising their hand). The rest of the rules, including the point values for toss-ups and bonuses, are the same as the in-person competitions.
Competition format
This section is concerned with the format of the national competition only. As is the case with competition rules, the competition format varies greatly among the different regional competitions.
Regionals typically use round robin, single-elimination, double-elimination, or any combination of these formats.
The national competition always consists of two stages: round-robin and double-elimination.
Round-robin
All competing teams are randomly arranged (each team captain randomly picks a division and position on the first day of the National Finals) into eight round-robin groups of eight or nine teams each for high school and six teams each for middle school. Every team plays every other team in its group once, receiving 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, or 0 points for a loss. If a team's opponent has not arrived, that team can practice instead. The rules still apply, though any win or loss is not counted. In previous years, the top two teams from each group advanced to the double-elimination stage. Starting in 2020, four teams from each group will advance.
Tiebreaks
In the event that two or more teams are tied for one of the top spots in a division, the result of the Division Team Challenge (DTC) is used as a tiebreak. This method is only used for high schools.
In previous rules, there were several tiebreak procedures, applied in the following order:
The head-to-head record of all the tied teams is compared. The team(s) with the best record against the other tied teams win(s) the tiebreak.
The team(s) with the fewest losses win(s) the tiebreak.
The result of the Division Team Challenge (DTC) is used. The DTC is a lab-based activity where team members worked together to solve a challenge using the materials provided. The activity varies among the divisions.
In years before that, there was no DTC, so the following procedure was used in its place:
If more than two teams are still tied, each team is placed in a separate room and is read five toss-up questions. Each team's score is determined by the number of questions answered correctly minus the number answered incorrectly. The team(s) with the highest score(s) win(s) the tiebreak.
If two teams are still tied, the two teams compete head-to-head, receiving five toss-up questions at 4 points for each correct answer (no bonus questions are used). All the usual toss-up rules are in effect, including the interrupt penalty. The team with the higher score wins the tiebreak.
If a tie still existed after this procedure, it is reapplied until the tie is resolved. These last rules are still used for the Middle School competition.
Single/Double-elimination
Starting in 2020, 32 teams advance to the double elimination stage. Prior to 2020, approximately 16 teams advanced from the round-robin (depending on the number of round robin groups). In 2004 and 2007, exactly 16 teams advanced, while in 2003 and 2002, 18 teams advanced. In 2006, the teams were seeded into a single-elimination tournament based on their preliminary round-robin results. In previous years, a team's position in the double-elimination tournament was determined by random draw; teams were not seeded in any way. The competition then proceeded (in 2006) like a typical single-elimination tournament. Seeding continued in the 2007 tournament: teams that won their pool were paired against teams that placed second in theirs. Unlike in the round-robin, a match in double-elimination cannot be tied. If a match is tied at the end of regulation, overtime periods of five toss-ups each are played until the tie is broken.
The elimination tournament produces a first-place, second-place, third-place, and fourth-place team. Except for the 2006 tournament, a double-elimination tournament format has been used, allowing a fifth place to be added. The tournament reverted to a double-elimination format for the 2007 tournament, without a fifth-place match.
Prizes
The top two high school teams receive trips to one of the National Parks, all-expenses paid.
The top three middle and high school teams receive a trophy, individual medals, and photographs with officials of the Department of Energy.
The top 16 middle and high schools earn a check for their school's science departments. As of 2020, the top 16 schools receive $1,000, the top 8 schools receive $1,500, the top 4 schools receive $2,000, and the top 2 schools receive $2,500.[2]
Each team with the best Division Team Challenge result in their division earns a $500 check for their school's science department.
Car competition
For the middle school teams, the DOE also sponsored a car competition challenging competitors to construct a car capable of attaining high speeds. They are powered through alternative energy sources such as hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels. The winners of the car competition were awarded with $500 for their school.
1 2 3 4 The 2020 and 2021 competitions were virtual, with modified rules, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Related Research Articles
Quiz bowl is a family of quiz-based competitions that test players on a wide variety of academic subjects. Standardized quiz bowl formats are played by lower school, middle school, high school, and university students throughout North America, Asia, Europe, Australia, and Africa.
College Bowl is a radio, television, and student quiz show. College Bowl first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as College Quiz Bowl. It then moved to American television broadcast networks, airing from 1959 to 1963 on CBS and from 1963 to 1970 on NBC. In 1977, the president of College Bowl, Richard Reid, developed it into a non-televised national championship competition on campuses across America through an affiliation with the Association of College Unions International (ACUI), which lasted for 31 years. In 1989, College Bowl introduced a (sponsored) version of College Bowl for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) called Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) which is ongoing. In 2007, College Bowl produced a new version and format of the game as an international championship in Africa, called Africa Challenge. The College Bowl Campus Program and National Championship ran until 2008.
It's Academic is the name for a number of televised academic student quiz shows for high school students through the United States and internationally. It's Academic programs have notably aired on NBC-owned WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., NBC affiliate WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, Virginia, and CBS-owned WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland.
The National Geographic GeoBee was an annual geography contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The bee, held annually from 1989 to 2021, was open to students in the fourth through eighth grades in participating schools from the United States.
Idiot Savants was an American television game show on the MTV network which ran from December 9, 1996, to April 25, 1997. It was created by Michael Dugan and Chris Kreski, directed by Steve Paley, and hosted by comedian Greg Fitzsimmons.
The National Middle School Science Bowl is a middle school academic competition, similar to Quiz Bowl, held in the United States. Two teams of four students each compete to answer various science-related questions. In order to determine which student has the right to answer the question, a buzzer system is used, similar to those seen on popular television game shows such as Jeopardy!. The National Middle School Science Bowl has been organized and sponsored by the United States Department of Energy since the competition's inception in 2002.
Knowledge Bowl is the name for several interdisciplinary academic quiz bowl-like competitions across the United States and the world. The questions for many Knowledge Bowl competitions are supplied by the Academic Hallmarks company of Durango, Colorado.
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is a national high-school science competition managed by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. It follows a quiz-bowl format, with lockout buzzers and extended team challenge questions to test students on their knowledge of oceanography. Questions cover the fields of biology, chemistry, geology, geography, social science, technology, and physics. The purpose of the event is to increase knowledge of the ocean among high school students and, ultimately, magnify public understanding of ocean research.
Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is a quizbowl academic competition for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The game was created and co-founded by Richard Reid, president and owner of the College Bowl Company, which produces the program. The sponsor of HCASC is American Honda Motor Company. “HCASC exemplifies the aims of a liberal arts education by encouraging students to develop a mastery in multiple academic fields,” says Dr. Worth K. Hayes of Tuskegee University.
Battle of the Brains is a quizbowl show in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas of Virginia. It currently airs on WTVR in the Richmond area, and WTKR in Hampton Roads. The current show began in Richmond in 1975, and it originally aired on a local PBS member station until it was canceled by the station. Its 2002–2003 season was aired on a public-access television cable TV station, before the Richmond CBS affiliate added the show, where it currently airs on Saturday mornings at 10:00 A.M. The Hampton Roads program began with the 2004-2005 season, formerly airing on WAVY-TV. As of the 2017-18 season, it airs on WTKR at 11:00 A.M.
Scholastic Scrimmage is a high school quiz bowl game show that was launched in 1975. It airs on WLVT-TV, the PBS affiliate for the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania.
Bible Quiz, also known as Bible Bowl or Bible Quizzing, is a quiz-bowl competition based on Bible memorization and study. The competition takes place between teams, and participants are quizzed on the content of a pre-determined section of the Bible. They are a popular activity in some Protestant churches and organizations, particularly in the United States. The exact rules of the game differ depending on the sponsoring organization.
Brain Game is a weekly quiz bowl-type show for high school students that airs on NBC affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. The program debuted January 11, 1997, when WRAL-TV was a CBS affiliate. It currently airs at 11 a.m. on Saturdays, and the current host is former WRAL traffic reporter Mark Roberts. Early programs were hosted by WRAL weathercaster Greg Fishel.
The Commissioner's Academic Challenge (CAC) is Florida's statewide high school quiz bowl-like academic tournament. It has been held at the Grand Floridian Resort in Walt Disney World each spring, usually in April, after 2015. Previously, it was held at the Contemporary Resort. It was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. In 2022 it was held at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and in 2023 it was held at Omni Hotels & Resorts in Championsgate. Each county school board in Florida is asked to send a team composed of six high school students. Participating counties are separated into three divisions based on their full-time enrollment numbers for grades 9-12.
Schools' Challenge is the national general knowledge competition for schools in the United Kingdom, founded by Colin Galloway in 1978. It uses the same quiz bowl rules as University Challenge, although it is affiliated with neither the game nor the television show. Schools Challenge is divided into Senior and Junior competitions.
Quick Recall is an academic quiz bowl competition comparable found in several states of the United States of America. Quick Recall, featuring 2 halves of tossup and bonus questions, is used primarily for traditional academic competition in Kentucky. In Ohio, Quick Recall is different as it offers two rounds of team questions, then an alphabet round in which all answers start with the same letter, and ending with a lightning round. The Kentucky state tournament is officiated by the KAAC.
YSU Academic Challenge is the Youngstown, Ohio area high school quiz bowl program that airs on ABC station WYTV on Saturday nights and reairs on Sunday nights on MyYTV. Stan Boney, the chief meteorologist at WYTV, is the host of this program that premiered in 2002. In 2008 Academic Challenge changed its appearance but kept its old rules.
MasterMinds is an academic quiz bowl program active in Upstate New York. There are currently four regions with associated leagues: Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. Some games in the Albany and Rochester regions are broadcast on public-access television.
The Brain Game is a weekly quiz bowl show for high school students that airs on NBC-affiliate WTHR-13 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Originally called Exercise in Knowledge when introduced in 1972, the Brain Game is currently broadcast at 7 pm on Saturdays, and is hosted by WTHR morning meteorologist Chuck Lofton. It is sponsored by Westfield Insurance, which also sponsors four other high school quiz shows. The show is filmed at the WTHR studios on Meridian Street in Indianapolis. The Brain Game has been filmed in HD since 2008.
The National Medical Challenge Bowl is a competition coordinated by Max Yakimov from the Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
