November Mission Model Discussion: M16 - WATER COLLECTION

Welcome to the November Mission Model Discussion! From now until just before Thanksgiving this space will feature ONE part of the FIRST LEGO League HYDRO DYNAMICS game challenge per day. The Robot Game is only 1/4th of the overall FIRST LEGO League challenge for teams this year! This post is meant to be an aid, not a replacement for carefully reading the Challenge Guide!

At the Beginning of the Match: Three Big Waters begin in Base. One Big Water begins in the Water Treatment Model. One Big Water begins in the Flow model. The Water Target begins loosely placed on the mat at it's markings in the Northeast corner.
Required for Scoring: Big Water and/or one Rain Water is touching the mat in the Water Target, without touching or being guided by anything other than another Water.
Conditions: The Water Target must never reach the Off-Limits line (the North-South white line in the middle of the board on the East side of the black central line)
Score: One Rain: 10 points   Big Water: 10 Points EACH
Bonus: Score at least one Big Water as described above WITH another Big Water touching nothing but the scored Big Water.
Bonus Score: 30 Points (Maximum 1 Bonus)
Note from Oregon Head Referee Tom:  Scores at the end of the match for at least one Rain and for each Big Water that is touching the mat inside the Water Target. The contact with the mat must be inside the Water Target. Dirty Water cannot be used for this mission. The Water Target must remain East of the Off-Limits Line. This image from M16 has red lines drawn showing the Off Limits Line.

Read the rule carefully regarding guides. Score bonus points for stacked Big Water. Note that only the bottom Big Water in a stack will score points for being in the target, the other Big Water in a stack earns only the Bonus points. Up to five Big Water can count as touching the mat in this mission.

Real World Impact: Transporting water is a big challenge. Communities that need water do not always have access to clean safe drinking water or water for cooking and bathing. This water often has to be transported. Getting water from where it exists to a target zone is a challenge engineer try to overcome with pipe systems, water storage, shipping, trucking, and other methods. At its simplest water is often carried from the source to the place where it will be used.

Discussion: Having a moveable target gives your team a lot of options for completing this mission. Is there an advantage to moving the water target? Does it matter if the other team will be attempting the cooperative FLOW mission?