Some context about the UMS-Wright Science Olympiad team before you read my tips.  Very rarely does anyone ever study for their events.  Although we place overall at regionals we never placed at state, because of the study events. There were certain events that we would do real well in at state, though.  I will describe these in a second.  Then there were the intense study events like Feathered Frenzy and Polymer Detectives; I considered these throw away events because we would never place in these.  So there were basically four types of events for UMS, the build events, the no preparation events, the class preparation events, and the throw away events.  Please don't flame me if you eat sleep and drink Science Olympiad.  Also consider we live in Alabama.

Since there are always around 23 events in Science Olympiad and a team can be comprised of only fifteen people, you must be a team engineer.  You must have some reasoning on which events to place people.  There are many events that the only preparation required is to know the rules.  Compute This, Experimental Design, and Practical Data Gathering are examples of these types of events.  The right type of person for Compute This is someone that is very familiar with computers, but not just a computer geek.  He/she must be well rounded because it helps to be familiar with the subject that is being questioned.  The perfect Experimental Design participant would be someone that has done some type of science fair project; the event is basically create and describe a science project in 50 minutes.  The participants (three) all should have superb writing skills, because in order to complete the task all must contribute and work independently.  For example one should be writing the hypothesis, one should be writing the procedure, and another should be drawing the graphs all at the same time.  It is also advantageous for the three to be well rounded in biology, chemistry, and especially physics.  For Practical Data Gathering the ideal participant must be an "out of the box" thinker.  He/she should be able to solve different types of problems relating to measurement.  At the 2003 Alabama state competition there was a problem that required "The Calculus," so it might be advantageous for one of the participants to have taken AP Calculus.  Because of scheduling conflicts that always occur in Science Olympiad, a captain must try his/her best to either try to put at least one strong person in a event or place the participant in the his/her stronger event.  Consideration must also be given to how winnable when compared to past competitions.

Events such as Cell Biology, Chemistry Lab, Qualitative Analysis, and Physics Lab are examples of class preparation.  Really the only type of preparation you need for these events is to pay attention in your biology, chemistry, and physics classes.  Taking AP level courses is also a plus.  Physics Lab is pretty easy.  If you know any physics equations and some first year concepts you will do fine.  For Cell Biology the class should be more of a molecular slant than an ecology slant.  For Chemistry Lab knowing how to use lab equipment is mandatory.  Also, it seems, at least in Alabama, a titration is the only lab you need to know how to do.  Qualitative Analysis requires some preparation.  We actually practiced in that event.  And I made a nice flow chart which I will share with you.  I made it in Microsoft Visio XP so you will need the viewer if you don't have the full program.  This flow chart would be great for any Q. Anal. lab, even if you are not in Science Olympiad.  The following are the chemicals in the flow chart:

Many of the other events like Disease Detectives and Dynamic Planet we consistently place in because we have some knowledge of the questions and can BS the rest.  I did well in Disease Detectives because I had some interest in the subject.  If you watch The Discovery Channel you will most likely know something about the widely asked diseases, such as Dengue Fever, Lyme disease, and Hanta.  Also know some buzzwords, like vector and placebo (CASEY!!!)  On these events or any events leave nothing blank.  In these writing intensive events it is usually a good idea to tear the question packet in half and have each team member work on a different part at the same time.  You will be able to finish, now.  It is amazing how many teams do not do this.