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Questions are asked in the categories of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Earth Science, Mathematics, Astronomy, and General Science. General Science covers science-related items that don't fall under any specific type of science, such as current events, recent technological developments, or items common to all sciences. In late 2002, Computer Science was dropped as an official category; questions relating to computer science are now asked under either General Science or Math.
Each year, in early May, the National Science Bowl competition is held in Washington, DC. As of 2004, the competition has been hosted by the National 4-HThe 4-H youth organization, now administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension System, was founded in 1904 by G. Adams in Newton County Georgia and now serves over 1. 6 million members in almost 100,000 clubs in kinderga Center in Chevy Chase, MarylandChevy Chase is the name of both a town and an unincorporated Census-Designated Place in Montgomery County, Maryland. There are also a number of villages in Montgomery County with "Chevy Chase" in their name, all of which are part of the community of Chevy.
The winning team of each regional Science Bowl competition is invited to participate in the National Science Bowl all expenses paid. There are a number of regional competitions all over the United States; the exact amount changes from year to year. For example, in 2004 there were 64 regionals, while in 2003 there were 66 regionals. These figures count as two separate regionals the few "superregional" sites that are permitted to send two teams to the national competition (e.g. the Kansas City/St. Louis regional competition).
Typically, any high school that meets the eligibility rules of the National Science Bowl competition is permitted to register for any regional competition in the country, but no high school or student group may compete in multiple regionals. In addition, some regional competitions permmit schools to register multiple teams. Teams comprised entirely of homeschooledHomeschooling (also called home education is the education of children at home and in the community, in contrast to education in an institution such as a public or parochial school. In the United States, homeschooling is the focus of a substantial minorit students are also permitted to enter; a perennial qualifier to the national competition is the Edmond Home Cooperative from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
This section is concerned with the rules of the national competition. The rules of regional competitions vary greatly. There are very few prescribed rules for regional competitions. Some regionals are run nearly identically to the national competition, while others use variations of the rules or different methods of scoring.
A team consists of four or five students from a single high school (unless the team is comprised entirely of homeschooled students). Only four students play at any one time, while the fifth is designated as the "alternate." Substitutions may be made at halftime and between rounds.
Two teams compete against each other in each match. Each match has exactly 25 questions (that is, 25 toss-ups and 25 corresponding bonuses). The match is over when all the toss-up questions have been read, or after two ten-minute halves have elapsed, whichever occurs first. The team with the most points at this time is the winner.