AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES (B) 
HERPETOLOGY (C) 
Event Supervisor Guide (2008) 
Event Description: This event will test knowledge of amphibians, turtles, crocodiles & reptiles. 
Be sure you have a copy of the rules for the 2008. The year 2008 should appear at the bottom by the 
page number. 
Room Type: Biology Lab or room with flat tables or counters for stations 
Supervisors: one Helpers: 1-2 for proctoring and timing 
Items needed: test questions, specimens for each station, answer sheets, answer key, stop watches, 
extra pencils, tape 
Event Parameters: Teams may bring The Official National List, one field guide and a published 
regional guide, if available. No other resources will be allowed. Students may not use any electronic 
devices. 
Event Format: Timed stations will be used for the competition. Specimens/pictures will be lettered or 
numbered at each station. Each specimen will have one or more questions accompanying it on some 
aspect of its life history, distribution, etc. No more than 50% of the competition will require giving 
common or scientific names (class, order, genus, species). 
The Official National List will be used for taxonomy questions. 
“Teams may not interpret the rules so that they have an advantage over the rules or another team. 
Unless otherwise stated, it is generally understood that, if notes, resources, calculators, actions, etc., 
are not excluded, then they are permitted unless they violate the spirit of the problem. Except, no 
direct or electronic communication is permitted with external resources (including people, places, etc.) 
during the tournament. This effectively excludes the use of any computer, PDA, calculators, wireless 
devices, phones, etc. that have access to external communication or data retrieval during an event 
unless specifically permitted.” SO Rule Book 
Scoring: The team with the highest number of correct answers will determine the winner. Selected 
questions may be used as tiebreakers 
Special considerations and suggestions: 
• The philosophy of Science Olympiad is that the competition be inquiry- based to emphasize 
process skills and mental challenges in the use of the content as well as content itself. 
• Care should be taken to design the each station to require about the same amount of time. 
• Be sure you have at least as many stations as the teams that will be competing. 
• Laminate or place questions in protective sleeves and tape them to the table. 
• Balance the station content so that it reflects the content described in the rules. 
• Use the Official Field Guide where possible for developing questions. 
• Develop questions which are easy to grade. 
• Develop appropriate questions so that all ties can be broken. 
• Create an answer sheet that contains team name, team number, and student names. 
• Leave room on your answer sheet to accommodate the labels of the Orders. 
• Be sure that all teams experience the same testing conditions.