Problems of Grand Final 2020 v2

Grand final
X International Natural Sciences Tournament

February 6-12, 2020
www.scitourn.com
[email protected]
Problems of the Grand final of X International Natural Sciences

Tournament
Unit X
1. Smoggy coal
In Poland, it is common to heat private houses with coal and solid fuel. This leads to the
formation of smog causing troubles for dozens of thousands of people according to the World
Health Organization. A long-term solution of the problem is switching to other energy sources
but time is required to build an infrastructure. Suggest a short-term solution for a single house
to minimize effects of heating with coal on smog formation.
2. Glitter (Krastsvetmet)
Rhodium plating, i.e. coating with a thin layer of rhodium, is one of the ways to give silver
alloys used for jewelry a better resistance to darkening during usage. The most common alloy
composition is silver and copper in weight ratio of 37 to 3. However, even though rhodium
plating is widely used, this method is insufficient – over time, rhodium-plated silver darkens
when worn or used. Suggest an alternative way to make silver products that will not darken
when used. Economic efficiency must be taken into account.
3. Rhinella marina
Cane toad, or Rhinella marina, was artificially introduced to Australia 80 years ago and since
then its population has reached 200 million specimens and keeps growing. All body parts of
cane toad are poisonous, causing not only economical, but also ecological damage. Nowadays
the most effective but time-consuming method against Rhinella marina is simply trapping it
manually. Offer cost-effective technology for controlled reduction of the species population in
Australia with its further maintenance at a safe or low level. Minimize the possible impact of
your proposed method on the Australian eco-system.
4. Bioremediation
A unique bacterium was found around Japanese plastic-recycling factory in 2016. It was
Idenella sakaiensis, a bacterium capable of breaking down and consuming plastic by means of
an enzyme called PETase. Suppose the mechanism of chemical transformations of plastic
processing based on such enzymes. The proposed mechanism must meet the following
requirements: there should be no toxic compounds at any stage; end products are biodegradable.
5. Vostok
Lake Vostok is the largest and deepest subglacial lake in Antarctica. Obtaining samples from
this lake could shed a light on the evolution of life on the Earth and be a model system for
getting subglacial samples from other celestial bodies. However, there is a high chance of
contaminating the lake while taking up samples. Scientists managed to investigate only
Grand final
February 6-12, 2020
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periglacial layer, but such samples cannot be considered as representative due to possible living
activity in the lake since the conditions on the bottom and on the periglacial layer can differ
quite drastically. How to carry out sampling from the bottom of the lake Vostok without
contaminating it? Is it possible to use the method you suggested for experiments in space?
6. Cell spheroids (Geropharm)

Since regenerative medicine for organs and tissues with the use of 3D-printing techniques is on
the rise, scientists use cell spheroids – systems containing 4 up to 8 thousand cells. This range
stems from the fact that if there are more than 8k cells the “core” of the spheroid will not get
enough nutrients and cells start to die; if there are less than 4k cells, then it would be highly
inconvenient to carry out bioprinting. Spheroids are usually formed in special agarose plates,
though it is hard to extract spheroids from them later on. Manufactured plates are quite
expensive, as well. The drawback of microencapsulation, another way of spheroid formation,
is that microcaplsule’s wall has a bigger diameter than cell spheroid itself. Suggest an
alternative available method or improve one of the existing methods to produce a cell spheroid
containing a specified number of cells.
Grand final
February 6-12, 2020
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Unit Y
7. Sunken Franken
The oil tanker “Franken” lies on the bottom of the gulf of Gdansk and the Baltic Sea is in
ecological danger due to the fuel on broadside of the tanker. The existing approaches to deal
with this problem such as defueling or lifting the ship are rather expensive and technically
complicated. Suggest another method and compare it with the existing methods.
8. Forever together (Krastsvetmet)

Iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, and osmium are called satellite metals due to their presence in
small quantities in platinum and palladium ores. These metals have found their use in many
industrial fields if being properly separated from each other. Suggest an industry- efficient
refining scheme for these metals from platinum-palladium concentrates and explain each step
of the scheme. In order to estimate the conditions, take into account the following facts: average
volume of concentrate in a tank is ca. 500 kg, the fraction of all four elements does not exceed
0.5%, and their concentrations can be considered roughly equal. Average value of platinum and
palladium (in total) in concentrate can be considered as 95% by weight.
9. Biology – 21st-century science (MelScience)

MEL Science produces and distributes educational physics and chemistry sets so users can
conduct experiments at home. Propose a prototype of an experiment set for biology and
medicine that visually demonstrates a central achievement of molecular biology, biochemistry,
or physiology. The proposed set must be completely safe and comply with international
shipping regulations.
10. Atlas shrugged

Nowadays almost everyone has experienced muscle cramp at least once in their life. Long- term
tension of the shoulder girdle and collar zone may lead to cramps of neck muscles. Muscle
cramps block blood circulation that results in stagnant and degenerative processes, as well as
chronic illnesses. The list of instrumental methods for diagnosing this condition is short and
consists of very expensive investigations. Propose a concept for a device capable of diagnosing
muscle cramps at home in a timely manner.
Grand final
February 6-12, 2020
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11. The ultimate frontier

The Invincible moved across the outermost quadrant
of the Lyre Constellation. The heavy cruiser was
propelled through space by photon drive. It was the
largest ship at the disposal of the space fleet based in
this section of the universe.
Stanislaw Lem "The Invincible"
Annihilation reaction is the most efficient way of getting energy per unit mass of fuel. Let’s
suppose that we have managed to learn how to obtain and store antimatter in big quantities.
Choose and calculate such pair of particles and antiparticles for the annihilation engine to work
in such way that it reaches sublight speed as fast as possible. What mass of fuel would be
required per each kg of space ship for acceleration? The energy required for confining
antimatter can be neglected.
12. Hydrogen water (Werteks)

Recently many nontrivial products have entered pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals market,
though their possible effects on health often remain unproven. One of such products conquering
markets, stalls, tables, and water coolers is so-called “hydrogen water”, i.e. water saturated with
gaseous hydrogen. Evaluate scientific validity of this product from physical, chemical, and
biological point of view, and the level of evidential basis of pre-clinical and clinical studies that
had been carried out. Based on your conclusions, come up with a consumer-friendly
presentation on whether buying hydrogenated water is worth it.
Please, be careful to work through every problem. The problems are divided into 2 units. The
day, which each of the unit will be played at, will be announced not later than 3 days before the
Grand final. Remember that you may refuse to solve any one problem in each unit. No extended
solution (*.doc) is needed.
If you have any questions in regard to the presented information, please do not hesitate to
contact Teams’ coordinator Miss Polina Lavrik via e-mail: [email protected].

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Grand final

X International Natural Sciences Tournament

Problems of the Grand final of X International Natural Sciences

6. Cell spheroids (Geropharm)

8. Forever together (Krastsvetmet)

9. Biology – 21st-century science (MelScience)

10. Atlas shrugged

11. The ultimate frontier

12. Hydrogen water (Werteks)

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