Road Scholar EventRoad Scholar Event

Jane Johnshoy DomierJane Johnshoy DomierIllinois State Geological SurveyIllinois State Geological Survey

Prairie Research InstitutePrairie Research InstituteUniversity of IllinoisUniversity of Illinois

Urbana-Champaign, IL Urbana-Champaign, IL

Illinois Science Olympiad Coaches ClinicIllinois Science Olympiad Coaches ClinicNovember 5, 2011November 5, 2011

Western Springs, ILWestern Springs, IL

Road Scholar

• The Road Scholar exam tests the students’ ability to read highway maps, internet-generated maps, or a road atlas, and to read and interpret USGS topographic maps

• Storyline format • Team of 1 or 2 people• 50 minutes

Tools and Rules

• Provided at test: highway map, topographic quadrangle maps, USGS Map Symbol Sheet, test, and answer sheets

• Students bring: protractor, ruler, symbol sheet, pencils

• Optional: calculator, notes, reference materials, measuring devices

• Computers are not permitted• May not write on maps or symbol sheet• Discussion with teammate encouraged

Welcome to the State Competition of the Road Scholar in Champaign, Illinois. You and your partner are being sent on a field trip to collect data for hydrology or water analysis in southern Illinois. You will be visiting areas near Charleston, Illinois, and Rend Lake State Wildlife Refuge. You are prepared for the trip, with a state highway map [HM] and two topographic maps, Charleston South [CS] and Rend Lake Dam [RLD].

You are currently located in Urbana, Illinois. Consulting your Illinois highway map, you find that the index coordinates for Urbana are _____ [1-HM]. The precise population of Urbana at the date of this map is ____ [2-HM]. Urbana is located in ____ county [3-HM], and the symbol used for Urbana tells you that it is the _____ [4-HM] of this county.

Exam Format

This square represents section 24, Public Land Survey System. Draw a school house in the NE ¼ SW ¼ 24.Draw a large cemetery in the SE ¼ NE ¼ 24.

Scoring

• 1 point for each question• Teams are ranked according to total points• Several more difficult questions indicated as tie-

breakers

Regional / State Competitions

• Same format• Some questions more involved at State level

– Stream gradient (feet per 1000 feet)– Slope (feet per 100 feet)– Profiles– Universal Transversal Mercator (UTM)

Highway Maps

• General reference• Planimetric – shows horizontal position of

physical and human features

Legend, symbols, index

Distances between features

Distance table

City and regional inserts

Topographic Maps

• Show elevation and landforms• Natural and human features• Larger scale than highway map; smaller area with

more detail• Also called ‘topo’ maps, or quadrangle maps

Map location, series, scale

Road legend, title, date

Marginal information

Magnetic declination

Magnetic declination: Angular difference between magnetic north and geographic north (N. Pole)- varies with position and time

Bearings

Azimuths

Distance between features

Edge of paper or string to measure distanceSubdivisions on left end for finer measurements

Geographic Coordinate System Latitude and Longitude

Parallel to each other1° latitude ~70 miles

Meridians converge at poles1° longitude = 0 to ~70 miles

0° Greenwich, England180° International Date Line

Lat. 41° 48’ 2.8” NLong. 87° 53’ 21.3” W

Lyons Township High School:

Latitude/longitude, mental sectors

7.5’ series 1:24,000

Illinois quadrangles:8.5 miles N-S6.5 to 7 miles E-W

30” divisions

Projection

Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Coordinate System

Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid(blue tics, 1000 meter intervals)

0 , 0

0 , 0

0 , 0

N o r t h Z o n e

C e n t r a l Z o n e

S o u t h Z o n e

State Plane Coordinate System

State Plane Coordinate System (black tics, 10,000 foot intervals)

US Public Land Survey System (USPLS)

Public Land Survey System

SW¼ SW¼ Sec. 14, T2S,R3W

This square represents section 24, Public Land Survey System. Write the section number on your map.Draw a race track in the NE¼ SW¼ 24.Draw a large cemetery in the SE¼ NE¼ 24.

Map symbols

Black: cultural features - roads, buildings, political boundaries, RR, place names

Blue: hydrographic features - lakes, rivers, isobathsBrown: topography, land surfaces (sand dunes, other rough surfaces),

contour lines, elevation numbersGreen: vegetation, scrub, orchards, vineyardsRed: important roads and public land survey system pink - urban areas – (now gray)Purple: features added from aerial photo revision (not field checked)

Colors on topographic maps

Elevation of features

Depression

Supplementary

Index

Intermediate

Contours – lines of same elevation

Constant interval

Contours never cross

Direction of stream flow – contours point upstream

Stream gradient

6000’ / 1000’ = 660’ / 6 = 10’

Length of river is 6000 feet. 60 feet rise in elevationStream gradient = 10 feet/1000 feet

Profiles

http://www.isgs.illinois.edu/about-isgs/staff-dir/staff-outreach/domier/road-scholar.shtml

Jane Johnshoy DomierJane Johnshoy DomierIllinois State Geological SurveyIllinois State Geological Survey

Prairie Research InstitutePrairie Research InstituteUniversity of IllinoisUniversity of Illinois

Urbana-Champaign, IL Urbana-Champaign, IL 217.244.2513217.244.2513

jdomier@illinois.edujdomier@illinois.edu