<p>@ tigertwist oh I didn’t realize there was something called simple epistasis haha. I meant that the problem was a simple problem involving epistasis. </p>
<p>I did get those 3 answers though, so I guess I did it right >.<</p>
<p>Oh lol, by simple epistasis i thought you meant dominant epistasis (the one in Campbell’s with the black mouse hair.) That seems to be the stereotyped epistasis (although there are several others.)</p>
<p>Darksigma, after observing these threads for quite a while, I’ve only identified you and oldguy as past finalists. Other people may have been close but didn’t make it. This is my first year though.</p>
<h1>840</h1>
<p>I don’t have any part in grading. I encouraged them to be as lenient as possible in grading that chart with regard to what types of answers were acceptable (protein vs peptide, etc). </p>
<h1>844</h1>
<p>The world “always” wasn’t there? </p>
<h1>847</h1>
<p>Part A questions should all have been single answer choice. </p>
<h1>856</h1>
<p>RE grasshoppers: Australia would like to have a word with you. </p>
<h1>862</h1>
<p>=(</p>
<p>Too many questions to keep up with, two new pages overnight. You guys are impressive in remembering so much of the test.</p>
<p>@cadaeibfed</p>
<p>Do you know how many points Part C was in this test?</p>
<p>Wait, why is the annelids v. mollusk question not answer C?</p>
<p>Have we decided whether its adventitious roots or iniquilinism?</p>
<p>Have we decided whether its reducing agent or SDS?</p>
<p>What was the Selenese H-W question asking and what were the other choices? </p>
<p>Also, did any of you get an answer like “males snont even though they can still reproduce”, something along those lines?</p>
<p>@cadaeibfed: so the answer is the introduction of the native species, not the importing predator option?</p>
<p>I recognize this is biology thread, but I am wondering… if you qualified for both the biology and the chemistry summer camps, which would you choose and why?</p>
<p>I think that the biology team tends to out perform the chemistry team, however, I think that the chemistry organization is more open about the entire process. I am not sure how the summer camp experiences compare. </p>
<p>For my S, the outcome of the experience is irrelevant… it would be about the experience itself. He undoubtedly would want to be well prepared/qualified for the best possible outcome however.</p>
<p>Of course I’m asking this question way prematurely, just wondering though.</p>
<p>what did you guys say for the one where they gave you the dideoxy sequencing diagram and then asked for the sequence? and the question right after was like “the protein normally is transmembrane…” and then asked where in A-E the point mutation was?</p>
<p>Crazymomster;</p>
<p>I can’t speak so much for the chemistry camp since I have never been, but if I were given the choice, I would not doubt go to biology camp this summer.</p>
<p>Of course, the first and foremost question your son will need to answer is what is his passion; I had actually faced a very similar position for math and biology, but I knew that biology is where my dreams lay ahead. I love chemistry and math, but for me, nothing compares to biology.</p>
<p>But assuming that your son cannot decide, I can share what I know. Biology camp is probably one of the most memorable experiences he will probably have as a high school student. There is a very strong sense of community at camp and I’m still in touch with every single student there. The instructors are amazing, witty, and captivating. They’re also always there to help you out, whether you have a list of questions you want to go through or whether you think you need a couple extra hours practicing running gels. The counselors have always been extremely knowledgeable and they’re always there to support you. And of course, I have to mention the midnight snacks we have sitting around the lobby while attempting to cram as much campbell as we can in 2 weeks. It is definitely a hectic experience (like all of the camps are), but it is fulfilling beyond description.</p>
<p>If you have specific questions, I would be glad to go into more detail. I hope this helps at least as an initial assessment. I wish your son good luck and if we both end up in Indiana this summer, I’m sure I’d be glad to enjoy camp with him.</p>
<p>-darksigma</p>
<p>I said that you would see gaps in the chart thing where you would normally see G</p>
<p>^ I agree, although you and I are talking about different questions. The 2 questions I am asking about had a diagram involved. The question you are referencing was just text and only one question with no follow-up.</p>
<p>AH i now remember… well ironic i should say that… because I don’r remember the diagram nor the answer choices…</p>
<p>@darksigma - thanks for the feedback about camp. S went to RSI last summer, so he definitely understand the late hours and heavy workload and also the friendships! S’s passion is most definitely biology. He just sort of feels that the format of the process with chem that he would probably be more successful. Is the bio camp experience different from the test taking process of the open and semi? There is too much ambiguity in the USABO whereas the USNCO is pretty clear in terms of wording of questions and scoring of answers.</p>
<p>Again at the moment, this is all trivial, but as last year he was only 3 points from bio summer camp and he is much better prepared this year for USNCO (made honors last year)… there is at least some remote possibility of this discussion being worthwhile :-D.</p>
<p>iBelieveSo, luckily i remember what questions you are referring to about the dideoxy sequencing. The gel was complementary, with the 5’ end being the positive side i think. For the amino acid, they were asking which encoded one was not hydrophobic. I don’t know if I did it right but I got A, that codon was for serine while the rest of the amino acids were nonpolar.</p>
<p>I remember I got A too, and it was also a polar amino acid. We had to read the gel complementary from bottom up.</p>
<p>Wait, so you had to get the DNA sequence from the gel and then find its parent strand or is is the sequence you read from the gel the answer?</p>
<p>I remember the question as being a dideoxy gel with DNA complementary to the template strand. The question asked for the sequence of the template strand (obviously DNA). Then the second question asked for the amino acids coded by that template strand’s corresponding mRNA. More confusing was sorting out 5’ and 3’ ends for the template strand and its mRNA.</p>
<p>Ah, I thought that after I read from the bottom up, that was the answer. But oddly, I think I got serine too… What.</p>
<p>Wait, why is the annelids v. mollusk question not answer C?</p>
<p>Have we decided whether its adventitious roots or iniquilinism?</p>
<p>Have we decided whether its reducing agent or SDS?</p>
<p>What was the Selenese H-W question asking and what were the other choices? </p>
<p>Also, did any of you get an answer like “males snont even though they can still reproduce”, something along those lines?</p>
<p>@cadaeibfed: so the answer is the introduction of the native species, not the importing predator option?</p>
<p>Well the good thing is that finalists should be contacted about a week from now since they are usually emailed about one week before results come out. Good luck to everyone and may the cutoff be low</p>
<p>wow. I didn’t check this thread for a while, and now I’m amazed at how many questions you guys have remembered. What did everyone think about the difficulty compared to last year?</p>
<p>I think for harder tests the percentage needed is around 60%, while for easier tests the percentage needed would be around 75%. I actually felt like the 2011 semifinal was extremely difficult (I didn’t have time to write much of the 20-point free response and ended up missing camp by a bit)</p>
<p>I feel like this year’s was significantly easier, but slightly more difficult than 2010. Anybody agree/disagree with me?</p>
<p>and yup, as emblem says, good luck everyone!</p>
<p>I dunno… Well I felt like this years was a little bit more difficult; i thought last year’s was abnormally easy lol. I guess it depends on your personal preferences regarding subject emphases, etc.</p>