BMQ-09

After a gap of one year, BMQ is back. We are pleased to announce that BMQ-09 is now open for nominations.

It will be held on 22 August 2009 (Saturday) in the Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Each college or school can nominate a maximum of two teams of two members each. The nomination letter, on the school’s letterhead and signed by the Principal or one of the teachers, must reach us (by fax or post) on or before 10 August 2009 (Monday). Here’s the address: T. A. Abinandanan, Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012.

The nomination letter may also be faxed to me at (080) 2360 0472.

Due to constraints on our side, we will be able to accommodate only a limited number of teams. So, do please rush your nominations.

We look forward to yet another successful BMQ.

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If you don’t know what BMQ is, here’s a quick answer: it stands for the Bangalore Materials Quiz. Students of Classes XI and XII (or PU Courses) in schools and PU Colleges in and around Bangalore are eligible to participate in it. As the name suggests, the focus of BMQ will be on Materials Science and Materials Engineering.

For a longer answer, please read the FAQ from 2006.

The top two teams in BMQ-09 will represent Bangalore in the Prof. Brahm Prakash Memorial Materials Quiz (BPMMQ), an international event organized by the Kalpakkam Chapter of the Indian Institute of Metals. This year’s BPMMQ is scheduled for 18-19 September 2009.

BMQ-07 is here!

Welcome to BMQ-07! It will be held on 22 September 2007 (Saturday) in the Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

If you don’t know what BMQ is, here’s a quick answer: it stands for the Bangalore Materials Quiz. Students of Classes XI and XII (or PU Courses) in schools and PU Colleges in and around Bangalore are eligible to participate in it.

For a longer answer, please read the FAQ from last year.

Each college or school can nominate a maximum of two teams of two members each. The nomination letter, on the school’s letterhead and signed by the Principal or one of the teachers, must reach us (by fax or post) on or before 18 September 2006 (Tuesday). Here’s the address: T. A. Abinandanan, Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012.

The nomination letter may also be faxed to me at (080) 2360 0472.

Registration will close when we have 50 teams. So, do please rush!

Winners of BMQ-06

We had a great BMQ this morning, with some of the most wonderful students participating in the event. Collectively, their performance in the first part of the event — the written test — was absolutely spectacular. They simply amazed us all by answering so many questions that are so clearly beyond their text books. Our congratulations to everyone who participated.

The top four teams in the written test went into the Quiz, which had eight ‘regular’ rounds of questions that required a sharp answer (which would fetch the team 4 marks each for direct questions, and 2 each for ‘passed’ questions), and two special rounds.

In the first special round, each team had to guess the material about which the Quiz Master would give clues; the team would get 8, 6 or 4 marks for naming the material after the first, second or third clue, respectively.

The second special round had two kinds of ‘dumb charades’: the first kind is the usual one, in which one person mimes while the other person keeps trying to guess the word or the phrase. The second kind, which was even more fun, is called ‘gang mime’ or ‘group mime’, in which miming goes on simultaneously for all the teams!

At the end of it all, the following teams emerged victorious in BMQ-06. The First Prize went to:

J. Bharath and Adarsh M. Kumar
National Public School, Rajaji Nagar.

And, the Second Prize went to:

Saurabh Chandra and Uday Shankar
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Indian Institute of Science.

The other two teams that made it to the Quiz were: Akash Das Sarma and P. Darshan (National Public School, Rajaji Nagar), and S. Kaushik and Anoop Koyily (Kendriya Vidyalaya, ASC Centre).

Our hearty congratulations to all the participants. Special congratulations to the winners of the First and Second Prizes. We wish them all the best in the Big Event in Kalpakkam in two weeks!

Sample questions

The friendly folks who will be organizing the BPMMQ at Kalpakkam on 30 September 2006 have sent us some sample questions that are meant to give you some idea about the kinds of things that you might expect in BPMMQ as well as in the Bangalore Materials Quiz. This information has already been sent to all the schools that were invited to nominate their students for BMQ. I am giving a few of these questions here:

1. A variety of haematite [ Fe₂O₃ ] occurs as rhombohedral crystals. It is black in colour and has an attractive metallic lustre. What is its common name?
   Specular iron.
2. Indian weoponry was famous in history. What was the alloy used for this called?
   Wootz steel.
3. Name the element named after the Greek Goddess of moon and is today very essential to the process of reprography.
   Selenium.
4. Name the metal produced at the Zawar mines in Rajasthan.
   Zinc.
5. What is the common name for the chemical, CaSO₄.2H₂O?
   Plaster of Paris.
6. Which ionic compound is known as “Lunar caustic”?
   AgNO₃ (Silver nitrate).
7. What is the name given to the alloy of elements: gold, silver, copper, tin and zinc? This alloy was used in the making of temple idols.
   Panchaloha.
8. What is the name given to describe the phenomenon in which there are dimensional changes associated with the magnetization of a material such as Fe, Ni, Co, etc.
   Magnetostriction.
9. An effect whereby a conductor carrying an electric current perpendicular to an applied magnetic field develops a voltage gradient transverse to both current and magnetic field is known as:
   Hall effect.
10. What is the name given to the phenomenon when a material exhibits spontaneous electric polarization that changes with heating?
    Pyroelectricity.

Scope of the Quiz

The subject areas covered by BMQ span all of materials. An indicative ’syllabus’ has been provided by the Kalpakkam folks who will organize the Big Event on 30 September 2006: Prof. Brahm Prakash Memorial Materials Quiz. Here it is:

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History and evolution of materials; Origin of names of minerals and metals; Use of metals in the early ages; Metal Extraction; Ores, extraction processes; Location of industries and availability of metals; Applications of common alloys; Iron and steel making; Types of steels and cast irons and their applications.

Atomic structure and the periodic table; Bonding; Crystalline materials; Metals, semiconductors, insulators; Crystal defects; Physical properties; Electronic, Optical, thermal and magnetic properties; Characterization of materials: X-ray, electron microscopy, etc.

Mechanical properties: elasticity, plasticity and fracture; Tensile, creep, impact and hardness tests; Processing of metals: cold and hot working, casting, powder metallurgy, metal joining.

Corrosion: Electrodeposition, batteries, oxidation of metals, corrosion protection methods.

Non-destructive testing: Radiography, ultrasonic, electrical and magnetic methods, laser methods.

Advanced materials: Amorphous materials, ceramics, polymers, composites, biomaterials, materials in energy production and transport, nuclear materials, electronic materials. Novel and exotic materials. Materials in news.

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Well, there you have it!

Winners of BMQ-01

Congratulations to the Winners of First and Second Prizes in BMQ-01, held on 15.9. 2001:

The First Prize went to:

K.S. Aravind, K. Ganesh, and M.M. Srinidhi
M.E.S. Kishorakendra Pre-University College
Malleswaram
Bangalore 560 003

And, the Second Prize went to:

S. Harsha, Anirudh Maringanti, and R. Sreekanth
The Frank Anthony Public School
Ulsoor
Bangalore 560 008

This year was special: the Second Prize-winning team went on to win the grand event — Prof. Brahm Prakash Memorial Materials Quiz — at Kalpakkam!

Our special congratulations to S. Harsha, Anirudh Maringanti, and R. Sreekanth!

Winners of BMQ-02

Congratulations to the Winners of First and Second Prizes in BMQ-02, held on 10.8. 2002:

The First Prize went to:

G. Anand, D. Sadanand Kamath, and J. Koushik
National Public School
Rajaji Nagar

Bangalore 560 010.

And, the Second Prize went to:

Mahesh C. Shastry, Varun Venkatesh, and S. Vinay
M.E.S. Kishorakendra Pre-University College
Malleswaram

Bangalore 560 003

Winners of BMQ-03

Congratulations to the Winners of First and Second Prizes in BMQ-03, held on 13.9. 2003:

The First Prize went to:

G. Anand, D. Sadanand Kamath, and J. Koushik
National Public School
Rajaji Nagar
Bangalore 560 010.

And, the Second Prize went to:

M. Haripriya, G.S. Sushanth, and Raghunandan Valluri
National Public School
Rajaji Nagar
Bangalore 560 010.

Winners of BMQ-04

Congratulations to the Winners of First and Second Prizes in BMQ-04, held on 2.10.04:

The First Prize went to:

M. Haripriya, G.S. Sushanth, and Raghunandan Valluri
National Public School
Rajaji Nagar
Bangalore 560 010.

And, the Second Prize went to:

Bindu Bhargavi, Ankur Gandhe, and Nischit Hegde
National Public School
Rajaji Nagar
Bangalore 560 010.

This was also a special year: the winners of BMQ-04 also went on to win the grand event — Prof. Brahm Prakash Memorial Materials Quiz — at Kalpakkam!

Our special congratulations go to M. Haripriya, G.S. Sushanth, and Raghunandan Valluri.

Winners of BMQ-05

Congratulations to the Winners of First and Second Prizes in BMQ-05, held on 24.9. 2005:

The First Prize was won by:

Bindu Bhargavi and Ankur Gandhe
National Public School
Rajaji Nagar
Bangalore 560 010.

And, the Second Prize was won by:

Raghav Jha and H. Raghavendra
Kendriya Vidyalaya
Hebbal
Bangalore 560 080