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The National Science Bowl is a school-team buzzer competition across biology, chemistry, physics, earth and space science, energy and maths. Registration for 2027 opens on Monday 5 October 2026, 12:00 noon Eastern; regionals run January–March 2027. Biology is one-sixth of every round and the category most teams staff with a generalist. We prepare that specialist.
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Sources: DOE NSB key dates · high-school regionals · rules and resources. Your school’s assigned regional and its exact date are on the DOE site.
Two question types. A toss-up is short, answered by one player with no conferring, and rewards instant recall — the first correct buzz wins. A bonus follows a correct toss-up, allows the team to confer, and goes a step deeper — a mechanism, a calculation, an ordered list. Both come as multiple-choice or short-answer. The DOE does not publish category weightings; the spread below is what recent sample sets and rounds show.
| Area | Share of biology questions | What gets asked |
|---|---|---|
| Cell & molecular biology | Heaviest | Organelle functions, membrane transport, enzymes, DNA replication and protein synthesis, cell cycle |
| Genetics | Heavy | Mendelian ratios, pedigrees, mutations, gene regulation, biotechnology tools |
| Human & animal physiology | Heavy | Organ systems by function, hormones, nervous system, immune responses, blood |
| Plant biology | Medium | Photosynthesis, transport, plant hormones, tissues, reproduction |
| Ecology & evolution | Medium | Population dynamics, energy flow, biomes, natural selection, phylogeny |
| Classification & diversity | Light but frequent | Kingdoms and phyla by characteristic, microbiology, viruses |
Worked examples of every type, with the reasoning: Science Bowl biology practice questions.
Teams are school-based and the coach is a teacher — we do not replace either. What we do is take the one or two students who own biology and make them the fastest, deepest biology players in the room: a chapter-a-week depth pass through the areas toss-ups favour, buzzer-speed recall drills, and bonus-question reasoning under time. Online, in US time zones, from October to the regional.
High-school biology across cell and molecular biology, genetics, physiology, plants, ecology and evolution, and classification — at a first-year-college pitch on the hardest questions. Toss-ups are answered individually from a short stem; bonus questions allow team conferring and go a step deeper.
Registration for the 2027 regional competitions opens on Monday 5 October 2026, 12:00 noon Eastern. Regionals run January – March 2027 (virtual or in person, assigned by school location); registration closes three weeks before each event. Winning regional teams go to the National Finals in Washington, DC, in spring 2027. Confirm your school's assigned regional on the DOE site.
Four or five students plus a teacher who serves as coach. School-based teams and home-school groups only; private clubs cannot register. A school may only compete at its assigned regional.
We coach the biology category, not the team. Science Bowl teams are school-based with a teacher as coach; what most teams lack is a biology specialist who can take one or two members from textbook recall to the speed and depth the toss-ups demand. That is what we provide, online in US time zones.
USABO is a biology-only written olympiad at Campbell depth; Science Bowl biology is one of six buzzer categories at high-school-plus depth where speed decides. A USABO student is over-prepared on content and under-prepared on format; a Science Bowl biology specialist is the reverse. Both feed each other well.
No. The National Biology Bowl is a separate, biology-only competition (we coach it for grades 6–8); the DOE National Science Bowl is the six-subject, school-team competition described here.
A solid high-school text first, then the first half of Campbell Biology for the areas that decide toss-ups — cell, genetics, physiology. Past DOE sample sets show the question style; our practice page gives the reasoning behind each answer, which is what turns recall into speed.
Independent coaching. Not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Energy or the National Science Bowl®.
Most students preparing for one of these are eligible for the others. The routes overlap more than they look like they do.