2013 Virginia Science Olympiad Division B: Road Scholar Saving the Battlefields

Transcription

1 2013 Virginia Science Olympiad Division B: Road Scholar Saving the Battlefields Welcome to Road Scholar. In honor of the 150 th year since the start of the Civil War I give you the following problems to solve. You may use pencils, a ruler, a protractor, 4- function calculator, a USGS Map Symbol Sheet, notes, reference materials, and other measuring devices. You may not use any type of computer device or phone during this competition. Do not write on the maps. All answers must be written on your answer sheet. All answers are worth 1 point unless otherwise stated at the beginning of the problem. Tiebreaker will be the closest answer to the test writer beginning with question 34 and working backwards. You will turn in this packet when you leave. Student Signatures: Team Name: Team Number:

2 You have found your dream job. You wish to become a cartographer and work for the United States Geological Survey office. But first you must be tested on your skills at reading maps. Part One: General Map Knowledge 1. What is a graticule? 2. What is a back azimuth? 3. What is magnetic declination? 4. Write the simplest definition you can for the Universal Transverse Mercator. 5. What is a survey control mark? Name the following map features

3 Part Two: Virginia Road Map Congratulations you have been hired by the USGS. You live in Southwest Virginia in Galax. You are asked to travel to Petersburg, Virginia to help with mapping Civil War battlefields. 16. Galax is an independent city that sits on the border of what two counties? 17. What are the County Seats for these counties? 18. What is the distance from Galax to Petersburg? 19. If you travel at 55 miles per hour how ling will it take to get to Petersburg in hours and minutes? 20. If you travel from Galax to Martinsville what US highway will you take? 21. (5 points) Due North of Galax is Buckhorn Knob. Below and North of the knob is the town of Glen Lyn, Virginia. What is the % slope from Glen Lyn to the top of the knob rounded to the nearest 1/10? 22. You have traveled from Galax to South Hill via the US Highway from question #7. You merge onto Interstate 85 North. What is the distance from South Hill to Petersburg and how many Rest Areas are between them in your direction of travel? 23. On your way to Petersburg you get hungry and want to stop to eat. Your new boss told you that you would find good food in the town of McKenney. What exit do you take? 24. What type of road will you take from I- 85 to McKenney? 25. Petersburg is an independent city. What two counties surround Petersburg on the South side of the Appomattox River? 26. What are the county seats of these two counties?

4 Part Three: Petersburg and Bermuda Hundred Maps You find a nice hotel to stay at in Petersburg. You fall fast asleep but during the night you have a wild dream that General Grant and General Lee were having an argument over whose side of the war you are on. You tell them that you are not a part of the war; you are here to make maps. The dream becomes blurry and you awake with a start at the sound of train whistle blast. You look out the window and can see nothing because a thick stratus cloud has enclosed your hotel. At breakfast you notice that everyone around you is wearing old looking clothes. Someone calling your name and yelling, Telegram! interrupts your meal. You raise your hand and the hotel Page arrives at your table and hands you a telegram and a bundle of maps. May 6, 1914 Washington D.C. You are to report post haste to Ft. Lee, Virginia STOP You will proceed to Point of Rocks, Virginia at N, W to map the Union Army entrenchments STOP You will help the National Park Service create a map commemorating the 50 th anniversary of the Battle of the Crater STOP You may choose you own transportation STOP George Otis Smith, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey STOP You are very puzzled by the date on the telegram and are curious about the maps. You open them up. You become more confused. You decide to get some fresh air. Outside you begin to realize that you have been taken back in time. To take your mind off your predicament you decide to find the fastest route to Point of Rocks. 27. Starting at the rail bridge over the Appomattox River, what is the rail distance from Petersburg to Ochre via the Richmond & Petersburg RR changing trains at Chester to the Powhatan RR stopping at the crossroad nearest BM68?

5 28. (2 points) If the trains can safely travel at 35 MPH and you have no stop over time, what is your travel time rounded to the nearest minute? 29. You also decide to see if travel by river is faster. What is the river distance from the rail bridge over the Appomattox River to the mouth of the creek closest to Point of Rocks? 30. (2 points) If the boat travels at 25 MPH what is your travel time rounded to the nearest minute? 31. You study a third option combining train and boat. What is the distance to Point of Rocks via City Point (Petersburg and City Point branch of the Norfolk and Western RR.) and the Appomattox River starting at the Junction of the N&W RR and the R&P RR? 32. (5 points) If the train travels at 35 MPH and the boat at 25 MPH how long will this trip take? You finally arrive at Point of Rocks and you decide to walk the entire length of the fortifications. They begin at 37 18'N 77 20'W and end at 37 21'N 77 22W. 33. What is the distance to the nearest 1/10 of a mile? 34. What is your grid direction of travel in degrees? It has been an extremely strange day and you are ready to go to sleep. After another restless night of strange dreams, you awake to find everything is back to normal and it is While you are eating breakfast you realize that you have one last task; helping the National Park Service. Part 4: The Crater (6 points) Background Information: In June of 1864 the battle for Petersburg Virginia had become a stalemate. Gen. Grant of the Union Army was frustrated that the Confederate Army had become well entrenched and he wanted to end the stalemate as soon as possible. Finally, Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants, commanding the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry offered a novel proposal to break the impasse. He proposed digging a long mine shaft underneath the Confederate lines and planting explosives directly underneath the middle of the Confederate line.

6 Digging began in late June. The mine was in a "T" shape. The approach shaft was 511 feet (156 m) long, starting in a sunken area downhill and more than 50 feet (15 m) below the Confederate battery. The tunnel entrance was narrow, about 3 feet (1 m) wide and 4.5 feet (1.4 m) high. At its end, a perpendicular gallery of 75 feet (23 m) extended in both directions. On July 17, the main shaft reached under the Confederate position. The Federals filled the mine with 320 kegs of gunpowder, totaling 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg). The explosives were approximately 20 feet (6 m) underneath the Confederate works. On July 30 the Federals lit the fuse to the gun powder. A crater (still visible today) was created, 170 feet (52 m) long, 100 to 120 feet (30 to 37 m) wide, and at least 30 feet (9 m) deep. Map Drawing Problem: During your survey of the Petersburg Battlefield area you are asked to create a map for the National Park Service to use at their Visitor Center that shows The Crater and the tunnel in topographic detail. All you have is an old sketch, a current satellite image of The Crater, and the starting point of the tunnel. Create a map of the area using information from the text and the following information. Scale: 1in = 100 feet Contour Interval = 10 feet Tunnel Entrance=37 13 N W

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8 2013 Virginia Science Olympiad Division B: Road Scholar: Saving the Battlefields Map Drawing Worksheet Team Name: Team Number: N

9 Points Bonus: 2013 Virginia Science Olympiad Division B: Road Scholar: Saving the Battlefields Answer Sheet Total Points Place: Student Signatures: Team Name: Team Number:

10 A B A B. 16 A B A B :

11 ANSWER KEY 2013 Virginia Science Olympiad Division B: Road Scholar: Saving the Battlefields Answer Sheet 1. The network of lines of latitude and longitude upon which a map is drawn. 2. A back azimuth is a direction 180 degrees opposite of the azimuth. 3. Magnetic declination is the angle between compass north and true north. 4. A geographic coordinate system that uses a 2- dimensional Cartesian coordinate system to give locations on the surface of the Earth. 5. Survey Marks are physical marks in the ground, which are used by surveyors. A survey mark can have horizontal co- ordinates (Easting and Northing) and/or a vertical co- ordinate (height above sea level). 6. Exposed Wreck 7. Quarry or Open Pit Mine 8. Boundary Monument 9. Graticule Tick 10. Large Rapids 11. Marsh or Swamp 12. Railroad Turntable or Roundhouse 13. Well Windmill or Wind Generator 14. Railroad Siding 15. Winter Recreation Area 16 A. Carroll County 16 B. Grayson County 17 A. Hillsville 17 B. Independence Miles Hours 27 Minutes 20. US % (Accept any answer 5.5 % to 6.1 %) Miles/2 rest areas 23. Exit Lane Paved Highway 25 A. Prince George 25 B. Dinwiddie 26 A. Prince George 26 B. Dinwiddie miles (Accept 13.3 to 13.7 miles) minutes (Accept 21 to 25 minutes) miles (Accept 5.8 to 6.2 miles) minutes (Accept 12 to 16 minutes) miles (Accept 10.6 to 11.2 miles) minutes (Accept 19 to 23 minutes) miles (Accept 2.5 to 2.7 miles) (Accept 317 to 319 )

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13 For this competition you will need: Copies of the current Virginia State Highway map USGS Historical Maps: Bermuda Hundred and Petersburg dated 1894 and scale 1/62,500. These maps can be downloaded for free and put together, or can be purchased for a fee.