This contest will take place on the school playground or another wide open field. The class will be divided into teams of four students. Each team will be given an accurate timer. Each team can choose three locations for their "detectors." Each team will be allowed to choose some of its members as "runners" or "waves." Each team will be given an opportunity to calibrate their waves by determining how fast each runner runs or walks at a steady speed.

The instructor will choose three locations as "epicenters." The teams will determine the locations of the epicenters as follows.

• Each team will have three pairs of waves that start at each epicenter. Each of the three pairs will run or walk directly to one of the team's detectors. One member of each pair should walk at a steady slow speed and the other should run at a steady high speed.

• Each team will determine the distance from each of its three detectors to each of the three epicenters based on the difference between the arrival times of its two waves.

• Each team will estimate the location of each epicenter based on its data.

• Prizes will be given for each of the following.
  • Best best estimate.

  • Best average error.

  • Best worst estimate.