2024 IESO Exam Competitions
Mandatory Competition. Counts 1/4 towards the overall IESO Championship calculation.
The Battery is a required individual event at the International Environmental Science Olympiad. For Competing Students, it counts 1/4 towards the individual IESO Championship Title. The Battery, however, is also an event in its own right, with 200 multiple choice questions on all aspects, eras, and places in Environmental Science for High School & Middle School students, and 150 questions for Elementary School students. Please see past editions of the National Environmental Science Exam here to view exams that are similar in content and focus to the IESO Battery Exam.
The Battery Exam, like all multiple choice exams, is also open to Family and Friends Program Extended Option participants. For FFP Participants who are competing as Adults or Older Students in this event, the Middle School version of the Battery Exam (which is somewhat easier than the High School version) will be offered. For FFP Participants who are competing as Younger Students in this event, the Elementary School Division version will be offered.
Speed is of the essence; students have roughly 20-25 seconds per question; the Exam is expected to take 60 minutes.
As with all multiple choice exams at IGC, the Battery Exam will be scored on a 2 points for a correct answer, 0 for a blank answer, and a -1 for an incorrect answer basis.
Climate Change is one of the most pressing issues facing our planet. At the 2024 International Environmental Science Olympiad, we will feature an exam on this topic which covers this issue in depth. Exam questions will cover the causes and consequences of climate change, diplomatic attempts to head off global warming, technologies that cause climate change and those that can help mitigate its impacts, and the impact that climate change has on ecosystems and other species. This exam will be given on Day 3 (December 30) and can be taken by participants who are going on the Rainforest Hike on their return bus ride, as well as by those going to the Puerto Rico Science Park. Participants may of course take take the exam at Robinson School as well.
This exam will have 65 questions for all age divisions; all age divisions will take the same version of this exam (which is a new IAC policy for exams offered on buses and at other venues).
Meteorology is an area of study that has significant overlap with and significant impacts within the broader field of Environmental Science. It is also a popular topic of study for students of all ages, and we’re excited to offer this exam for all IESO participants who are interested. Exam questions will cover weather patterns, climate change (briefly, that topic will be explored in greater depth on its own exam), severe weather, precipitation, frontal systems, winds, El Niño, technologies used in forecasting, climate types, geographic distribution of weather, and more. This exam will be given on Day 4 (December 31) and can be taken by participants who are going on the Rainforest Hike on their return bus ride, as well as by those going to the Puerto Rico Science Park. Participants may of course take take the exam at Robinson School as well.
This exam will have 65 questions for all age divisions; all age divisions will take the same version of this exam (which is a new IAC policy for exams offered on buses and at other venues).
Robinson School lies just a five minute walk away from the Atlantic Ocean, making an Oceanography Exam a perfect addition to the 2024 IESO program. Exam questions will cover all aspects of oceanography, including ocean exploration, currents, marine biology, ocean floor topography, human impacts on ocean environments, temperature, ocean impacts on weather and climate, salinity, and more. This exam will have 65 questions for all age divisions.
Mandatory Competition. Counts 1/4 towards the overall IESO Championship calculation.
All students attending the 2024 International Environmental Science Olympiad will be required to compete in the Written Exam, which will consist of a certain number of questions, and a timeframe (approximately 75 minutes) during which all answers must be composed. The exact format of the Written Exam will be posted here prior to IESO, however, most, if not all, questions will consist of answers that can be written in a paragraph, or perhaps two (i.e. the exam will likely have 5-8 short answer question prompts rather than just one or two long-form essays). Topics on the Written Exam can come from any aspect of Environmental Science, for an overview of what this can entail, please consult past editions of the National Environmental Science Exam here.
As the Written Exam is not a multiple-choice exam, it is only open to Competing Students, not to Family and Friends Program Extended Option participants.