by Carol Pleninger, Havre High School, MT Section Chem Olympiad director
Last year, in 2007, I took over as the Director for the Montana Section of the ACS Chemistry Olympiad. Increasing interest in this program has been a personal goal of mine for some time. I thought I'd try a different approach in contacting schools to participate. After advertising through the MSTA newsletter and Walt Woolbaugh's e-blast, I was disappointed because not a single school expressed interest in participating. I visited with Steve Eversoll about the schools that usually participate: C M Russell High School in Great Falls, Flathead High School in Kalispell, and Havre High School in Havre. Each of these schools committed to offering their students the local qualifier exam. After the test was administered the top 2 from each school, or 6 students in the state were chosen to take the National exam (we are allowed 10 students in our section). The National exam was distributed and only the students at C M Russell High School and Havre High School actually completed the National exam. These students were (in order of their performance on the local qualifying exam: Casey Donoven, Havre High School; Avery Hanson, Havre High School; Millie Thornton and Zach Agamenoni of C M Russell High School in Great Falls (with the same score). Out of the 10 categories on the exam (bonding and molecular structure, equilibrium, kinetics, descriptive chemistry, stoichiometry/solutions, organic/biochemistry, atomic structure/periodicity, oxidation/reduction, states of matter and thermodynamics) one of the students received above average in all categories, one below average in all categories and the other two a mixture of above and below average scores. This is based on the 916 students who took the exam nationwide.
(posted 3/18/08)
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