Bonus

A cell named for these entities has the prefix G- (“big-G”) for gigahertz and is used for electromagnetic compatibility testing. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name these entities that have a cutoff frequency of zero, which allows their dominance in devices consisting of concentric conductors, dielectrics, and shields. These entities can be supported at all frequencies in the parallel-plate waveguide.
ANSWER: TEM modes [or transverse electromagnetic modes; accept GTEM modes or gigahertz transverse electromagnetic modes; prompt on modes; reject “transverse electric modes” or “TE modes”; reject “transverse magnetic modes” or “TM modes”]
[10e] In a waveguide, TEM modes occur in microwaves and these kinds of waves, which have the longest wavelengths on the EM spectrum.
ANSWER: radio waves
[10m] Like many normal modes, TEM modes can be described by these polynomials. The even-degree Hermite (“air-MEET”) polynomials can be written in terms of these polynomials, named for a French physicist, which appear in the radial part of a hydrogen atom’s wavefunction.
ANSWER: Laguerre (“luh-GAIR”) polynomials [or generalized Laguerre polynomials]
<Physics>
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Conversion

TeamOpponentPart 1Part 2Part 3TotalParts
Chicago AIllinois A010010E
FloridaGeorgia State010010E
Georgia TechIowa State0101020EM
HarvardChicago B010010E
IndianaNorthwestern0101020EM
Johns HopkinsCornell A0101020EM
MITVirginia Tech0101020EM
MarylandOhio State010010E
Penn StateLSE010010E
RutgersNorth Carolina A0101020EM
TexasToronto B010010E
Toronto CMinnesota010010E
UC Berkeley AColumbia A0101020EM
UC Berkeley BOttawa0101020EM
WUSTL AToronto A0101020EM
WUSTL BNYU0101020EM
Waterloo AStanford1010020HE
Waterloo BBritish Columbia010010E
YaleArizona State0101020EM

Summary

TournamentExact Match?HeardPPBEasy %Medium %Hard %
2025 ACF NationalsYes1915.79100%53%5%