The School of Engineering Technologies at SUNY Farmingdale will, for the third consecutive year, host the Metric 500 Race for the Nassau Technology Education Association (NTEA) on Wednesday, April 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Over 200 junior and senior high school students representing 11 school districts on Long Island, including Hicksville, have been preparing for the competition which will take place in Roosevelt Hall.

Four different categories showcase students' understanding of the properties of different materials and design principles. The categories are Stock Division (determined by a supplier for the competition), Open Division (the cars can be made from several materials), Balsa Division (cars must contain balsa wood) and Design Division (design purposes only).

In the first three categories, the factors studied by the judges include mass of the vehicle, the aerodynamics of the vehicle and friction caused by moving parts (wheels and steering system). The cars are propelled by a CO2 cartridge. When the cartridge is discharged, the cars use Newton's Law of Motion - for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.

Participating students have opportunities to tour the college including the auto and robotics labs. A race car (last year's was Lotus) will be on display for the students to see and ask questions of the experts on hand.

For more information on this competition, contact Robert Schwan, Locust Valley High School, at 674-6300.