User:Aoum/NSB
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National Science Bowl
What is the National Science Bowl (NSB)
The National Science Bowl (NSB) is a nationwide academic competition that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics. NSB is a buzzer based science competition on questions ranging from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Energy, and Mathematics. This competition is sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE).
Middle and high school student teams from diverse backgrounds are comprised of four students, one alternate, and a teacher who serves as an advisor and coach. These teams face-off in a fast-paced question-and-answer format. There are 65 high school and 50 middle school regional Science Bowl tournaments, and the winner from each region is invited to attend the National Science Bowl competition in Washington DC.
You can find more details about the 2022 National competition in this video:
Competing at the Most Prestigious Science Competition in the US
You can also find the 2024 Middle School National Science Bowl video here. You can find the 2024 High School National Science Bowl video here.
Who can participate in National Science Bowl
The NSB has two divisions:
- Middle School: The middle school division has 45 regions, where each school can send 1-2 teams comprised of students in grades 6, 7, 8.
- High School: The high school division has 60 regions where each school can send 1/2 teams to comprised of students in grades 9-12.
When is the NSB typically held
The competition dates typically are:
- Regional Competitions: February - early March (different regions host it on different weekends)
- National Competition: April (Washington DC)
You can find more information about the previous contests here:
How to do well on the NSB
- Understanding all the content: The concepts asked in NSB go beyond the school curriculum so you need to go deeper into the different subjects. The High School Nationals is significantly harder and requires using many topic specific textbooks (for example Organic Chemistry or Cell Biology). Olympiad Preparation (USABO, USNCO, USAPHO, USAAO, USESO) helps a lot as well. Many accompanying resources (like Chapter Notes, Videos) can be useful for learning and review as well.
- Being able to answer fast: The NSB is a buzzer based competition so you need to practice fast buzzing speeds especially for the toss-up rounds. Some fast buzzing tips are provided at the bottom of this page.
- Subject and Topic coverage: This is a team event where 4 members competing (with 1 alternate). It is best to divide the topics such that every topic is covered across the team.
- Practice Team Strategies: To maximize your chances, you need to work on team strategies like taking notes, non-verbal clues, and double checking answers.
