CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD

 


      The New York Section continues to support the Chemistry Olympiad as an example of outstanding outreach to local high schools and continues to attract more students in the area each year.   In the section a total of 474 students from 62 different high schools registered to take the local exam in 2007.  The local exam was scheduled to be administered on March 17 (9 sites) and March 18 (2 sites).  However, because of a heavy snowstorm on March 16, a number of the sites were closed on March 17.  Arrangements were made to administer the exam at those sites on the following Saturday, March 24.

     Eleven test sites were Bergen/Rockland; Staten Island; Brooklyn; Queens; Manhattan; Nassau County; Nassau County; Suffolk County; Rockland/Westchester, with the alternate sites, Yeshivah of Flatbush in Brooklyn and Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence.

     Of the students who registered, 319 actually took the exam.  As a result of the weather, this was the lowest number in recent years.  The high score on the exam was 67.3 out of a perfect score of 60.  The average score was 37.06, with a standard deviation of 10.08. On the Local Exam, Jeffrey Kalmus of John F. Kennedy HS, Matthew Rienzo of Huntington HS and William Weingarten of the Collegiate School received high honors.  Cassidy Mentus of Tenafly HS received honors.

     The High Schools participating in 2007 were John F. Kennedy (1); Collegiate School (2); Valhalla (1); Huntington (1); The Masters School (1); Tenafly (1); Great Neck South (2); Great Neck North (1); Clarkstown South (2); Briarcliff (1); Scarsdale (1); Eastchester (1); Benjamin Cardozo (2); Pearl River (1); Hunter College HS (4); Lawrence (2); Brooklyn Technical (1); Elwood-John H. Glenn (1); W. C. Mepham (1); and Ward Melville (1). 29 Students scored 49 to 56 and represented 20 high schools.

     The National Exam was administered at two locations, Purchase College-SUNY and Adelphi University on Sunday, April 29.  Twenty New York students were allowed to continue to the National Exam level. Of the 20 New York students who took the National Exam, one obtained honors and three obtained high honors. The high score was 56 and the qualifying score was 49.  Matthew Rienzo, who obtained high honors, was invited to attend the Study Camp.  Dr. Stephen Goldberg and the many volunteers he has assembled to coordinate this event are commended for making this program once again a New York top ten.
 

Detailed Report by Dr. Stephen Goldberg