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Science (UIL test)

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In the US state of Texas science is one of several academic events sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League. It is also a competition held by the Texas Math and Science Coaches Association, using the same rules as the UIL.

Science is designed to test students' knowledge of scientific fact, understanding of scientific principles and the ability to think through scientific problems.

Eligibility

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Students in Grade 7 through Grade 12 are eligible to enter this event. Students in Grade 6 may compete with permission of the district executive committee, but can only compete in each junior high division (see below) only one time throughout their academic career.

For competition purposes, Grades 7 and 8 compete in separate divisions (Division I for Grade 7 and Division II for Grade 8) while Grades 9-12 compete together, with separate subjects covered on each test as follows:

  • The test for Grades 6-8 covers matter and energy, equilibrium, force and motion, physical and chemical properties, the relationship between organisms and the environment, the components of our solar system, and the composition of matter and genetics.
  • The test for Grades 9-12 covers biology, chemistry, and physics, with 20 questions in each general field (though physics and chemistry often overlap).

Each school may send up to three students for each junior high division. In order for a school to participate in team competition, the school must send three students.

For Grades 9-12 each school may send up to six students; students qualify for the next level if they are on the winning team, score in the top three individuals at a meet, or place first in biology, chemistry, or physics. In order for a school to participate in team competition, the school must send at least three students. Team scores are found by adding the scores of the top 3 individuals from a school.

Rules and Scoring

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As the format and rules differ significantly for the junior high and high school levels, each is discussed separately below.

Junior High Level

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The test consists of 50 questions, which must be completed in 45 minutes. A time warning is given at 30 minutes. At the stop signal, incomplete answers cannot be completed. Calculators are not allowed.

The questions may be answered in any order; there is no penalty for skipping questions.

Scoring is five points for each correct answer, and two points deducted for each incorrect answer. Unanswered questions are not scored.

High School Level

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At the high school level, the test consists of 60 questions, which must be completed in two hours. The first 20 questions involve biology, the second twenty questions involve chemistry, and the final twenty questions involve physics. No time warning is given, except that tests cannot be turned in until the proctor announces that 30 minutes have passed.

The questions may be answered in any order; there is no penalty for skipping questions.

Questions must be answered to the proper number of significant digits, with "small variation" in the final significant digit acceptable.

The test booklet includes a periodic table of the elements, including atomic weights and atomic numbers, plus other scientific relationships, such as the vacuum speed of light or the gravitational constant, which may be used by the student.

Scratch paper is allowed in the contest, and notations may be made anywhere except on the answer sheet. Students may bring one calculator plus one spare, so long as it does not need external power. Hand-held computers are not allowed, nor are any calculators with factory-installed memory or with the ability to accept memory cards or memory sticks.

Scoring is six points for each correct answer, and two points deducted for each incorrect answer. Unanswered questions are not scored. In addition to the total score, each subsection (biology, chemistry, and physics) is scored separately.

Determining the Winner

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Junior High

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Scoring is posted for only the top six individual places and the top three teams.

There are no tiebreakers for either individual or team competition.

High School Level

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The top three individuals and the top team (determined based on the scores of the top three individuals) will advance to the next round. In addition, within each region, the highest-scoring second place team from all district competitions advances as the "wild card" to regional competition (provided the team has four members), and within the state, the highest-scoring second place team from all regional competitions advances as the wild card to the state competition. Members of advancing teams who did not place individually remain eligible to compete for individual awards at higher levels. Furthermore, the individuals with the top score in each subsection will also advance even if the individual was not one of the top three overall scorers or the top team.

For individual competition (overall and for each subsection), the tiebreaker is percent accuracy (number of problems answered correctly divided by number of problems attempted, defined as any question with a mark or erasure in the answer blank). In the event a tie remains, all remaining individuals will advance.

For team competition, the score of the fourth-place individual is used as the tiebreaker. If a team has only three members it is not eligible to participate in the tiebreaker. If the fourth-place score still results in a tie, the individual tiebreaker rules will not apply, and all remaining tied teams will advance. At the state level ties for first place are not broken.

For district meet academic championship and district meet sweepstakes awards, points are awarded to the school as follows:

  • Individual places:
    • Overall score: 1st--15, 2nd--12, 3rd--10, 4th--8, 5th--6, and 6th--4.
    • In addition, the school with the top scorer in a subsection receives 3 points. A school can earn multiple subsection points even if the same student is the top scorer in two, or all three, of the subsections.
  • Team places: 1st--10 and 2nd--5.
  • The maximum number of points a school can earn in Science is 42.

The student with the most wins in the history of the competition is Kieran Fitzgerald from Friendswood High School, who achieved the highest score in any division three years in a row: 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006.

List of prior winners

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Individual (Overall)

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NOTE: For privacy reasons, only the winning school is shown. The 1958-59 winner was an "all schools" winner; beginning with the 1959-60 academic year winners were held in all five classifications. The classifications were renumbered in 1980-81, with Class B becoming Class A and the other classes adding one letter (thus, Class A became Class AA, and so forth).[1]

School Year Class A Class AA Class AAA Class AAAA Class AAAAA Class AAAAAA
1980-81 Paint Rock Wolfe City New Braunfels Brownfield Houston Westchester
1981-82 Paint Rock Lindsay Kermit College Station A&M Consolidated Plano
1982-83 Roby Anna North Lamar Alamo Heights Houston Stratford
1983-84 Lindsay Springlake-Earth Pflugerville New Braunfels Arlington Lamar
1984-85 Gold-Burg Baird North Lamar Corpus Christi Flour Bluff Lubbock
1985-86 Lenorah Grady Baird Slaton Austin Westlake Arlington
1986-87 Lindsay Liberty Hill Slaton Denison Houston Stratford
1987-88 Lindsay Clifton Lampasas Cedar Hill Houston Stratford
1988-89 Plains Redwater Lampasas Granbury League City Clear Creek
1989-90 Avery Redwater Bishop Kerrville Tivy Houston Memorial
1990-91 Valley Mills Springlake-Earth Lampasas Kerrville Tivy League City Clear Creek
1991-92 Valley Mills Canadian Troy Carthage Klein
1992-93 Lindsay Wimberley Seminole Kingsville San Antonio Holmes
1993-94 Lindsay Florence Cuero Kingsville San Antonio Holmes
1994-95 Rule Troup Waco Connally Mesquite Poteet Fort Worth Dunbar
1995-96 Rule Franklin Wimberley Austin Johnson Sugar Land Elkins
1996-97 Garden City Canadian Commerce Austin Anderson Humble
1997-98 Lenorah Grady Sundown Bridgeport Austin Johnson College Station A&M Consolidated
1998-99 Lenorah Grady Rogers Alvarado Austin Johnson Tyler Lee
1999-2000 Water Valley Salado La Feria Gregory-Portland Houston Bellaire
2000-01 Lenorah Grady Stinnett West Texas Seminole Kingsville Arlington Lamar
2001-02 High Island Pattonville Prairiland Seminole Cedar Park South Texas Science Academy
2002-03 Port Aransas Argyle Wimberley White Settlement Brewer Brazoswood
2003-04 Avery Argyle Ballinger Friendswood Klein
2004-05 Port Aransas Argyle Seminole Friendswood Sugar Land Clements
2005-06 (tie) Garden City/Nueces Canyon Argyle Cuero Friendswood Katy Taylor
2006-07 Garden City Floydada Cuero Highland Park San Antonio MacArthur
2007-08 Moulton Vanderbilt Industrial Wimberley Friendswood Sugar Land Clements
2008-09 Canadian White Oak Wimberley Austin Lake Travis Arlington Martin
2009-10 Canadian White Oak Whitney Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2010-11 Canadian Whitney La Feria Highland Park Fort Worth Paschal
2011-12 Canadian Lago Vista La Feria Highland Park Sugar Land Dulles
2012-13 Sundown Whitney Argyle Highland Park Dallas Science & Engineering Magnet
2013-14 Lockney San Antonio Cole Argyle Pearland Dawson Sugar Land Dulles
2020-21 Guthrie Eldorado Skidmore-Tynan Argyle Mission Sharyland Pioneer Arlington Martin

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Individual (Biology)

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NOTE: For privacy reasons, only the winning school is shown. The UIL did not score individual subsections until the 1985-86 scholastic year.[1]

School Year Class A Class AA Class AAA Class AAAA Class AAAAA Class AAAAAA
1985-86 Ropesville Ropes Waskom Slaton Dayton Sugar Land Dulles
1986-87 Lindsay Waskom Slaton Corpus Christi Flour Bluff Killeen Ellison
1987-88 Lindsay San Antonio Lackland Lampasas Cedar Hill Arlington
1988-89 Wheeler Van Alstyne Lampasas Andrews Lubbock
1989-90 (tie) Avery/Petrolia/Medina Redwater Wylie North Lamar Jersey Village
1990-91 Valley Mills Waskom Lampasas Kerrville Tivy League City Clear Creek
1991-92 Lindsay Ingram Tom Moore Halletsville (tie) Carthage/Highland Park (tie) Klein/Langham Creek
1992-93 Lindsay Canadian Rockdale North Lamar Sugar Land Clements
1993-94 Lindsay Valley Mills Pearsall North Lamar Fort Worth Dunbar
1994-95 Rule Troup Wimberley (tie) Mesquite Poteet/North Lamar Fort Worth Dunbar
1995-96 Rule Franklin Kirbyville (tie) Port Lavaca Calhoun/Austin Johnson/North Lamar College Station A&M Consolidated
1996-97 Garden City Yorktown Commerce Longview Pine Tree (tie) Houston Bellaire/Sugar Land Clements
1997-98 Lenorah Grady Lexington Wimberley Bay City Corpus Christi Carroll
1998-99 Lenorah Grady Callisburg Shallowater (tie) Midlothian/Sulphur Springs Austin Westlake
1999-2000 Lenorah Grady Coleman Kirbyville Gregory-Portland Houston Bellaire
2000-01 Lenorah Grady Callisburg Kirbyville Longview Pine Tree Sugar Land Clements
2001-02 (unavailable) Comfort (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable)
2002-03 (unavailable) Comfort (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable)
2003-04 Shiner Junction Wimberley Friendswood Taylor
2004-05 Martin's Mill Teague La Grange Friendswood Clements
2005-06 Garden City Floydada Pleasant Grove Highland Park Clements
2006-07 Garden City Floydada Graham Highland Park San Antonio MacArthur
2007-08 Muenster Elysian Fields White Oak Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2008-09 Flatonia White Oak Whitney Austin Lake Travis Sugar Land Clements
2009-10 Muenster White Oak La Feria Wichita Falls Sugar Land Clements
2010-11 Albany Whitney La Feria Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2011-12 Valley View Whitney Lucas Lovejoy The Colony Fort Worth Paschal
2013-14 Lockney San Antonio Cole Argyle Pearland Dawson Westlake
2020-21 Guthrie Albany Tuscola Jim Ned Argyle New Braunfels Canyon San Antonio Reagan

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Individual (Chemistry)

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NOTE: For privacy reasons, only the winning school is shown. The UIL did not score individual subsections until the 1985-86 scholastic year.[1]

School Year Class A Class AA Class AAA Class AAAA Class AAAAA Class AAAAAA
1985-86 Bronte Liberty Hill Slaton Austin Westlake Sugar Land Dulles
1986-87 Lindsay Liberty Hill Slaton Cedar Hill Dallas Skyline
1987-88 Happy Clifton Lampasas Cedar Hill Lubbock
1988-89 Plains Abernathy Lampasas McKinney Brazoswood
1989-90 Valley Mills Van Alstyne Bishop Highland Park Fort Worth Dunbar
1990-91 Valley Mills Canadian Abilene Wylie (tie) Carthage/Kerrville Tivy (tie) League City Clear Creek/Lubbock/Pasadena Dobie/Houston Strafford
1991-92 Valley Mills Canadian Troy Highland Park Langham Creek
1992-93 Vega Canadian Dripping Springs Kingsville San Antonio Holmes
1993-94 Lindsay Stinnett West Texas Bridgeport Corpus Christi Flour Bluff San Antonio Holmes
1994-95 Lindsay Stinnett West Texas Bridgeport Mesquite Poteet Sugar Land Elkins
1995-96 Rule Franklin Kirbyville Austin Johnson Round Rock Westwood
1996-97 Moulton Stinnett West Texas Wimberley (tie) Highland Park/Waco Midway/Willis Humble
1997-98 Moulton Stinnett West Texas Kirbyville Highland Park Tyler Lee
1998-99 San Antonio Lackland Jourdanton Alvarado (tie) Gregory-Portland/Sulphur Springs Arlington Lamar
1999-2000 Water Valley Stinnett West Texas Orangefield Gregory-Portland Houston Bellaire
2000-01 Hedley Stinnett West Texas Seminole Kingsville Klein
2001-02 (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable)
2002-03 (unavailable) (Comfort) (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable)
2003-04 Avery Argyle Wimberley Friendswood Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North
2004-05 Academy Floydada Wimberley Friendswood College Station A&M Consolidated
2005-06 Avery Harmony Science Academy Cuero Friendswood Oak Ridge
2006-07 Houston Harmony Science Academy Floydada Cuero North Richland Hills Birdville (tie) San Antonio MacArthur/Sugar Land Clements/College Station A&M Consolidated
2007-08 Moulton New Boston Wimberley North Richland Hills Birdville Plano
2008-09 Lindsay White Oak Wimberley Frindswood (tie)Plano/Sugar Land Clements
2009-10 Canadian Irving North Hills New Boston Dallas Highland Park South Texas Science Academy
2010-11 Canadian White Oak La Feria Pearland Dawson Fort Worth Paschal
2013-14 Fort Worth Harmony School of Innovation Lago Vista Argyle Whitehouse Sugar Land Dulles
2020-21 Avery Eldorado Skidmore-Tynan Argyle Mercedes South Texas Science Academy Fort Worth Paschal

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Individual (Physics)

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NOTE: For privacy reasons, only the winning school is shown. The UIL did not score individual subsections until the 1985-86 scholastic year.[1]

School Year Class A Class AA Class AAA Class AAAA Class AAAAA Class AAAAAA
1985-86 Lenorah Grady Plains Pflugerville San Antonio Southwest Arlington
1986-87 Moulton Liberty Hill Slaton Buda Hays Consolidated Houston Stratford
1987-88 Lindsay Eastland Lampasas Cedar Hill San Antonio Clark
1988-89 Falls City Iraan Lampasas Dickinson (tie) Houston Bellaire/San Antonio Clark
1989-90 Plains Blanco Bishop Saginaw Boswell League City Clear Creek
1990-91 Valley Mills Springlake-Earth Van Kerrville Tivy (tie) Lubbock/Tyler Lee
1991-92 Lindsay (tie) Ingram Tom Moore/Wimberley Troy Highland Park Pasadena Dobie
1992-93 Lindsay Wimberley Seminole Kingsville San Antonio Marshall
1993-94 Lindsay Florence Wylie Red Oak Fort Worth Dunbar
1994-95 Rule Eldorado Waco Connally Stephenville Fort Worth Dunbar
1995-96 Thorndale Boling Wimberley Austin Johnson (tie) Houston Bellaire/Sugar Land Elkins
1996-97 Evadale Eldorado Bridgeport Carthage (tie) College Station A&M Consolidated/Fort Worth Dunbar
1997-98 Moulton Sundown Bridgeport Austin Johnson Humble
1998-99 Valley View Rogers (tie) Alvarado/Stafford Wichita Falls Rider Austin Westlake
1999-2000 Valley View Universal City Randolph Vanderbilt Industrial Highland Park Houston Bellaire
2000-01 Lenorah Grady Stinnett West Texas Seminole Carthage Arlington Lamar
2001-02 (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable)
2002-03 (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable) (unavailable)
2003-04 Spring Lake Argyle China Spring Johnson Klein
2004-05 Valley View Argyle Cuero Friendswood College Station A&M Consolidated
2005-06 Garden City Argyle Hardin-Jefferson Friendswood College Station A&M Consolidated
2006-07 Garden City Three Rivers Cuero Katy Seven Lakes College Station A&M Consolidated
2007-08 Yantis Irving North Hills Argyle Friendswood Beaumont West Brook
2008-09 Perrin-Whitt White Oak Argyle Austin Lake Travis Arlington Martin
2009-10 Canadian White Oak Pollok Central Dallas Highland Park San Antonio MacArthur
2010-11 Gail Borden (tie) Whitney/New Boston Argyle Austin Lake Travis Allen
2013-14 (tie) Avery/Comstock George West Argyle Pearland Dawson Sugar Land Dulles
2020-21 Guthrie Eldorado Fort Worth IDEA College Prep Port Lavaca Calhoun New Braunfels Canyon Arlington Martin

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Team

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NOTE: UIL did not recognize a team championship in this event until the 1990-91 scholastic year.[1]

School Year Class A Class AA Class AAA Class AAAA Class AAAAA Class AAAAAA
1990-91 Valley Mills Canadian Lampasas Waco Midway Lubbock
1991-92 Valley Mills Canadian Troy Highland Park Lubbock
1992-93 Lindsay Wimberley Seminole Kingsville San Antonio Holmes
1993-94 Lindsay Canadian Cuero North Lamar Fort Worth Dunbar
1994-95 Lindsay Troup Waco Connally North Lamar Plano
1995-96 Rule Canadian Wimberley Austin Johnson Houston Bellaire
1996-97 Vega Stinnett West Texas Bridgeport Waco Midway Humble
1997-98 Moulton Stinnett West Texas Wimberley Highland Park Humble
1998-99 Lenorah Grady Lindsay Wimberley Highland Park Arlington Lamar
1999-2000 Hedley Stinnett West Texas Bridgeport Gregory-Portland Houston Bellaire
2000-01 Lenorah Grady Seymour Bridgeport Carthage Arlington Lamar
2001-02 (tie) Sudan/Vega Argyle Seminole Fredericksburg South Texas Science Academy
2002-03 Port Aransas Argyle Wimberley Jacksonville Fort Bend Hightower
2003-04 Vega Argyle Ballinger Wichita Falls Katy Taylor
2004-05 Kingsville Academy Argyle Wimberley Friendswood Sugar Land Clements
2005-06 Garden City Argyle Cuero Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2006-07 Garden City Floydada Cuero Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2007-08 Harper Floydada Argyle Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2008-09 Lindsay (tie) North Hills School Irving/White Oak Whitney Highland Park Sugar Land Dulles
2009-10 Canadian North Hills School Irving (tie) La Feria/Whitney Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2010-11 Avery Whitney La Feria Highland Park Fort Worth Paschal
2011-12 Valley View Whitney La Feria Highland Park Sugar Land Dulles
2012-13 Valley View Whitney Argyle Highland Park Sugar Land Dulles
2013-14 Harmony School of Innovation Lago Vista Argyle Pearland Dawson Sugar Land Dulles
2014-15 Knippa Valley View Whitney Argyle College Station Sugar Land Dulles
2015-16 Knippa Lockney Whitney Argyle Frisco Liberty Sugar Land Dulles
2016-17 Cross Plains Thrall Whitney Argyle Highland Park Sugar Land Dulles
2017-18 Cross Plains Lindsay Whitney Argyle Highland Park Sugar Land Clements
2018-19 Lamesa Klondike Thrall Whitney La Feria Highland Park Sugar Land Dulles

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e UIL: Academics - Archives Archived 2011-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d e "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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