Mira Loma – Home of the 2011 Department of Energy Science Bowl Team!

Mira Loma’s Science Bowl team competed in Washington DC,  April 28 to May 2^nd, and took home the National Title.  Science Bowl is a big deal at Mira Loma and no wonder why – our students have brought home this prestigious trophy not once, but twice.    Science Bowl is one of the toughest science contests in the nation, and our team worked tirelessly to earn this victory. 

The "A" team consists of Russell Islam, Siddarth Trehan, Andrew Chen, Anish Khare and Sriram Pendyala.  Lead by teacher James Hill, these students have been preparing to reach this goal all year.  To train, they read college textbooks, stay late after school to practice, and even work during the summer months.  This is all the more remarkable when you consider that they are in the rigorous IB program, do hundreds of hours of community service,  take all high-level honors classes,  and also have many other extracurricular activities.   Since all the students are seniors except for Sid, they have generously been quizzing the up-and-coming B and C teams to teach them the ropes in the hopes of keeping Mira Loma’s winning dynasty going.

At the event, the team overcame adversity to take the lead.  Andrew Chen was so ill during the competition that he had to see a nurse.  The microphone system wasn’t working and the kids couldn’t hear the questions well.  Yet, this amazing team pulled out the stops and prevailed. 

The Science Bowl consists of questions that are asked jeopardy style, and touch on a variety of difficult science-related topics, subjects such as Math, Physics, Chemistry, Energy, Biology, Earth Science, Astronomy and more. 

The entire staff and student body of Mira Loma was very excited by the win, which was the culmination of a year of very hard work.  They deserve the recognition they are receiving, which includes accolades from County Supervisor Susan Peterson’s office, Congressman Dan Lungren’s office, Assemblyman Richard Pan's office,  as well as regional and national media attention.  The team will soon be appearing on Good Day Sacramento to give a demonstration of Science Bowl questions and answers, as well as give an interview on Capitol Public Radio.    We at Mira Loma all very proud of our dedicated Science Bowl team.

 Think you can answer some of the questions?  Give it a try:

 Math:  Use the Binomial Theorem to expand and simplify the following equation (1-2x)³

 Biology:  Which of the following cells would NOT typically be found in the peripheral circulation:

                W) polymorphonuclear leukocyte

                X) plasma cell

                Y) reticulocyte

                Z) erythroblasts

 Astronomy:  How many degrees of arc are there in 6 hours of right ascension?

 Physics:  Consider a marble rolling in a straight path at 25 meters per second that slows to 15 meters per second in 5 seconds.  In meters per second squared, what is the marble’s average accelerations?

 (The answers are:  Math, 1-6x+12²-8x³  Biology, Z – Erythroblasts, Astronomy, 90 degrees, Physics (15-25) / 5 = -2 m/s²)