About USESO/IESO
"The United States Earth Science Organization (USESO) organizes a competition (previously known as the United States Earth Science Olympiad) for high school students in the United States designed to promote Earth science education on a national scale. In addition to preparing students for the international competition, the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO), the USESO program nurtures the scientific, practical, and team skills necessary for success in the advocacy of the Earth and its global systems." - USESO
"IGEO is affiliated to and sponsored by International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). The aims of IGEO are to promote Geoscience education at all international levels, to encourage and develop the public awareness of Geoscience, especially among young people and to work on the improvement of the quality of Geoscience education all over the world." - IESO
USESO Site: www.useso.org/
IESO Site: www.ieso-info.org/
FAQs: www.useso.org/resources/faq/
"IGEO is affiliated to and sponsored by International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). The aims of IGEO are to promote Geoscience education at all international levels, to encourage and develop the public awareness of Geoscience, especially among young people and to work on the improvement of the quality of Geoscience education all over the world." - IESO
USESO Site: www.useso.org/
IESO Site: www.ieso-info.org/
FAQs: www.useso.org/resources/faq/
Exam Structure
Round 1: National Open Exam
Round 2: USESO Training Camp
Round 3: IESO
Exam Topic Breakdown
Both USESO and IESO follow the IESO syllabus, which focuses on interactions between the Geosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Astronomy related to the Solar System from an Earth systems approach. Just like the IESO, USESO equally weights geology, meteorology, and oceanography, and gives less importance to astronomy, which is limited to solar system and planetary astronomy). You can find the full IESO syllabus here: www.ieso-info.org/syllabus/
- Open to all high schoolers (younger students can take it as well, but cannot qualify for camp)
- Held in April
- The 2021 Exam consisted of 2 sections on the same day:
- Section 1: Multiple Choice (60 minutes)
- Covers topics in:
- geology
- meteorology
- oceanography
- astronomy
- Covers topics in:
- Section 2: Multipart Problems (90 minutes)
- Consists of both free response and multiple choice multipart problems
- Further assesses the topics covered in Section 1
- Calculus is not needed
- Previous exams included 3 essay questions, which were omitted from the 2021 Exam
- Section 1: Multiple Choice (60 minutes)
- Top 40 scorers are invited to Round 2
- More current exam info here: docs.google.com/document/d/1QUGDpzaDJP-HmmEvZ3brWxIo-rNp3CquQBRWDij0NL0/edit
Round 2: USESO Training Camp
- Top 40 scorers from Round 1 are invited to attend camp, with the following limitations:
- No more than 10 students from each state will be selected
- Only the top 2 students from the same high school will be selected
- Held late June/early July at the University of Vermont
- Camp consists of field trips, field investigations, research, lectures, and team projects - daily exams are also given
- Based on test scores and team investigation scores, four students will be selected to compete at the IESO on Team USA
- Four additional students are often chosen to compete at the IESO on the guest team based on their ability to work with others, as they will be competing in the team competition at the IESO
Round 3: IESO
- Top four students from training camp are selected to compete at the IESO as a member of Team USA
- Team travels to host country to compete
- Consists of a written and practical exam, as well as team events
- If host country permits a guest team, four additional students are chosen as well
- Though they can take the exams, the guest team cannot win medals in the individual competition - however, they can win medals in the team competition (the International Team events)
Exam Topic Breakdown
Both USESO and IESO follow the IESO syllabus, which focuses on interactions between the Geosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Astronomy related to the Solar System from an Earth systems approach. Just like the IESO, USESO equally weights geology, meteorology, and oceanography, and gives less importance to astronomy, which is limited to solar system and planetary astronomy). You can find the full IESO syllabus here: www.ieso-info.org/syllabus/
2021-2022 Important DatesTBD
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ResourcesEarth Science Olympiads Discord Server:
discord.gg/37kbr2XD8h Practice Exams: Past National Open Exams + Camp Selection Exams: www.useso.org/resources/preparation/ Past IESO Exams: drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BzIJwhfagEzbMmxyWFBhVWpRWUU?resourcekey=0-QGCJs_8qOsoelreQSAgLIg NY Regents Exams (many questions are very similar to the Open Exam): www.nysedregents.org/earthscience/ Textbooks: docs.google.com/document/d/1MwiWXH-JA36XsUqg_iRSUyVGhCiBZyynShCdEjB3QE4/edit?usp=sharing Other Materials: Unofficial USESO Guide (by a former member of the USESO team): www.useso.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Unofficial-USESO-Guide.pdf MIT OCW Earth Science Lecture Notes: ocw.mit.edu/courses/earth-atmospheric-and-planetary-sciences/12-001-introduction-to-geology-fall-2013/lecture-notes-and-slides/ Earth Science Youtube Lectures: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELk00HqFjK4&list=PLNycEeeRg4mU3NDhxQQfOGPJzYWhbWdkE |