Advancement Navigation

Scout	Tenderfoot	Second Class
First Class	Star	Life
Eagle	Bronze Palm	Gold Palm
Silver Palm	Merit Badges

2008-2009 Merit Badges

October 2008 Environmental Science	November 2008 Engineering	December 2008 Citizenship in the Community
January 2009 Personal Management	February 2009 Citizenship in the World	March 2009 Personal Fitness
April 2009 Hiking	May 2009 Aviation	June 2009 Swimming
July 2009 Orienteering	March 2009 First Aid	September 2009 Emergency Preparedness
October 2009 Camping	Peaceful Valley Campout Pioneering

Eagle Required Merit Badges

Camping	Citizenship in the Community	Citizenship in the Nation
Citizenship in the World	Communications	Cycling**
Emergency Preparedness*	Environmental Science	Family Life
First Aid	Hiking**	Lifesaving*
Personal Fitness	Personal Management	Swimming**

*Complete either Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving
**Complete one of Cycling OR Hiking OR Swimming

Non-Eagle Required Merit Badges

Aviation Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur while camping, including hypothermia, frostbite, heat reactions, dehydration, altitude sickness, insect stings, tick bites, snakebite, blisters, and hyperventilation.
2. Learn the Leave No Trace principles and the Outdoor Code and explain what they mean. Write a personal plan for implementing these principles on your next outing..
3. Make a written plan for an overnight trek and show how to get to your camping spot using a topographical map and compass OR a topographical map and a GPS receiver.
4. Do the following:
   a. Make a duty roster showing how your patrol is organized for an actual overnight campout. List assignments for each member.
   b. Help a Scout patrol or a Webelos Scout unit in your area prepare for an actual campout, including creating the duty roster, menu planning, equipment needs, general planning, and setting up camp.
5. Do the following:
   a. Prepare a list of clothing you would need for overnight campouts in both warm and cold weather. Explain the term "layering."
   b. Discuss footwear for different kinds of weather and how the right footwear is important for protecting your feet.
   c. Explain the proper care and storage of camping equipment (clothing, footwear, bedding).
   d. List the outdoor essentials necessary for any campout, and explain why each item is needed.
   e. Present yourself to your Scoutmaster with your pack for inspection. Be correctly clothed and equipped for an overnight campout.
6. Do the following:
   a. Describe the features of four types of tents, when and where they could be used, and how to care for tents. Working with another Scout, pitch a tent.
   b. Discuss the importance of camp sanitation and tell why water treatment is essential. Then demonstrate two ways to treat water.
   c. Describe the factors to be considered in deciding where to pitch your tent.
   d. Tell the difference between internal- and external-frame packs. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
   e. Discuss the types of sleeping bags and what kind would be suitable for different conditions. Explain the proper care of your sleeping bag and how to keep it dry. Make a comfortable ground bed.
7. Prepare for an overnight campout with your patrol by doing the following:
   a. Make a checklist of personal and patrol gear that will be needed.
   b. Pack your own gear and your share of the patrol equipment and food for proper carrying. Show that your pack is right for quickly getting what is needed first, and that it has been assembled properly for comfort, weight, balance, size, and neatness.
8. Do the following:
   a. Explain the safety procedures for:
   1. Using a propane or butane/propane stove
   2. Using a liquid fuel stove
   3. Proper storage of extra fuel
   b. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of lightweight cooking stoves.
   c. Prepare a camp menu. Explain how the menu would differ from a menu for a backpacking or float trip. Give recipes and make a food list for your patrol. Plan two breakfasts, three lunches, and two suppers. Discuss how to protect your food against bad weather, animals, and contamination.
   d. Cook at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner for your patrol from the meals you have planned for requirement 8c. At least one of those meals must be a trail meal requiring the use of a lightweight stove.
9. Show experience in camping by doing the following:
   a. Camp a total of at least 20 days and 20 nights. Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched. The 20 days and 20 nights must be at a designated Scouting activity or event. You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement. If the camp provides a tent that has already been pitched, you need not pitch your own tent.
   b. On any of these camping experiences, you must do TWO of the following, only with proper preparation and under qualified supervision:
   1. Hike up a mountain, gaining at least 1,000 vertical feet.
   2. Backpack, snowshoe, or cross-country ski for at least 4 miles.
   3. Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four hours.
   4. Take a nonmotorized trip on the water of at least four hours or 5 miles.
   5. Plan and carry out an overnight snow camping experience.
   6. Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more.
   c. Perform a conservation project approved by the landowner or land managing agency.
10. Discuss how the things you did to earn this badge have taught you about personal health and safety, survival, public health, conservation, and good citizenship. In your discussion, tell how Scout spirit and the Scout Oath and Law apply to camping and outdoor ethics.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Camping

Merit Badge Worksheet:

Download Camping Merit Badge Worksheet (.pdf)

Citizenship In The Community Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Discuss with your counselor what citizenship in the community means and what it takes to be a good citizen in your community. Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of citizenship, and explain how you can demonstrate good citizenship in your community, Scouting unit, place of worship or school.
2. Do the following:
   a. On a map of your community, locate and point out the following:
   1. Chief government buildings such as your city hall, county courthouse, and public works/services facility
   2. Fire station, police station, and hospital nearest your home
   3. Historical or other interesting points
   b. Chart the organization of your local or state government. Show the top offices and tell whether they are elected or appointed.
3. Do the following:
   a. Attend a city or town council or school board meeting, or a municipal; county, or state court session.
   b. Choose one of the issues discussed at the meeting where a difference of opinions was expressed, and explain to your counselor why you agree with one opinion more than you do another one.
4. Choose an issue that is important to the citizens of your community; then do the following:
   a. Find out which branch of local government is responsible for this issue.
   b. With your counselor's and a parent's approval, interview one person from the branch of government you identified in requirement 4a. Ask what is being done about this issue and how young people can help.
   c. Share what you have learned with your counselor.
5. With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a positive effect on a community. Discuss with your counselor what you learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and concerned member of the community.
6. List some of the services (such as the library, recreation center, public transportation, and public safety) your community provides that are funded by taxpayers. Tell your counselor why these services are important to your community.
7. Do the following:
   a. Choose a charitable organization outside of Scouting that interests you and brings people in your community together to work for the good of your community.
   b. Using a variety of resources (including newspapers, fliers and other literature, the Internet, volunteers, and employees of the organization), find out more about this organization.
   c. With your counselor's and your parent's approval, contact the organization and find out what young people can do to help. While working on this merit badge, volunteer at least eight hours of your time for the organization. After your volunteer experience is over, discuss what you have learned with your counselor.
8. Develop a public presentation (such as a video, slide show, speech, digital presentation, or photo exhibit) about important and unique aspects of your community. Include information about the history, cultures, and ethnic groups of your community; its best features and popular places where people gather; and the challenges it faces. Stage your presentation in front of your merit badge counselor or a group, such as your patrol or a class at school.

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge Workbook (,pdf)

Citizenship In The World Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Explain what citizenship in the world means to you and what you think it takes to be a good world citizen.
2. Explain how one becomes a citizen in the United States, and explain the rights, duties, and obligations of U.S. citizenship. Discuss the similarities and differences between the rights, duties, and obligations of U.S. citizens and the citizens of two other countries.
3. Do the following:
   a. Pick a current world event. In relation to this current event, discuss with your counselor how a country's national interest and its relationship with other countries might affect areas such as its security, its economy, its values, and the health of its citizens.
   b. Select a foreign country and discuss with your counselor how its geography, natural resources, and climate influence its economy and its global partnerships with other countries.
4. Do TWO of the following:
   a. Explain international law and how it differs from national law. Explain the role of international law and how international law can be used as a tool for conflict resolution.
   b. Using resources such as major daily newspapers, the Internet (with your parent's permission), and news magazines, observe a current issue that involves international trade, foreign exchange, balance of payments, tariffs, and free trade. Explain what you have learned. Include in your discussion an explanation of why countries must cooperate in order for world trade and global competition to thrive.
   c. Select TWO of the following organizations and describe their role in the world.
1. The United Nations
2. The World Court
3. World Organization of the Scout Movement
4. The World Health Organization
5. Amnesty International
6. The International Committee of the Red Cross
7. CARE
5. Do the following:
   a. Discuss the differences between constitutional and nonconstitutional governments.
   b. Name at least five different types of governments currently in power in the world.
   c. Show on a world map countries that use each of these five different forms of government.
6. Do the following:
   a. Explain how a government is represented abroad and how the United States government is accredited to international organizations.
   b. Describe the roles of the following in the conduct of foreign relations.
   1. Ambassador
   2. Consul
   3. Bureau of International Information Programs
   4. Agency for International Development
   5. United States and Foreign Commercial Service
   c. Explain the purpose of a passport and visa for international travel.
7. Do TWO of the following and share with your counselor what you have learned:
   a. Visit the Web site (With your parent/guardian's permission) of the U.S. State Department. Learn more about an issue you find interesting that is discussed on this Web site.
   b. Visit the Web site (With your parent/guardian's permission) of an international news organization or foreign government, OR examine a foreign newspaper available at your local library, bookstore, or newsstand. Find a news story about a human right realized in the United States that is not recognized in another country.
   c. Visit with a student or Scout from another country and discuss the typical values, holidays, ethnic foods, and traditions practiced or enjoyed there.
   d. Attend a world Scout jamboree.
   e. Participate in or attend an international event in your area, such as an ethnic festival, concert, or play.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Citizenship_in_the_World

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Citizenship in the World Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge Worksheet (.pdf)

Engineering Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Select a manufactured item in your home (such as a toy or an appliance) and, under adult supervision and with the approval of your counselor, investigate how and why it works as it does. Find out what sort of engineering activities were needed to create it. Discuss with your counselor what you learned and how you got the information.
2. Select an engineering achievement that has had a major impact on society. Using resources such as the Internet (with your parent's permission), books, and magazines, find out about the engineers who made this engineering feat possible, the special obstacles they had to overcome, and how this achievement has influenced the world today. Tell your counselor what you learned.
3. Explain the work of six types of engineers. Pick two of the six and explain how their work is related.
4. Visit with an engineer (who may be your counselor or parent) and do the following:
   a. Discuss the work this engineer does and the tools the engineer uses.
   b. Discuss with the engineer a current project and the engineer’s particular role in it.
   c. Find out how the engineer’s work is done and how results are achieved.
   d. Ask to see the reports that the engineer writes concerning the project.
   e. Discuss with your counselor what you learned about engineering from this visit.
5. Do ONE of the following:
   a. Use the systems engineering approach to make step-by-step plans for your next campout. List alternative ideas for such items as program schedule, campsites, transportation, and costs. Tell why you made the choices you did and what improvements were made.
   b. Make an original design for a piece of patrol equipment. Use the systems engineering approach to help you decide how it should work and look. Draw plans for it. Show the plans to your counselor, explain why you designed it the way you did, and explain how you would make it.
6. Do TWO of the following:
   a. Transforming motion. Using common material or a construction set, make a simple model that will demonstrate motion. Explain how the model uses basic mechanical concepts like levers and inclined planes to demonstrate motion. Describe an example where this mechanism is used in a real product.
   b. Using electricity. Make a list of 10 electrical appliances in your home. Find out approximately how much electricity each uses in one month. Learn how to find out the amount and cost of electricity used in your home during periods of light and heavy use. List five ways to conserve electricity.
   c. Understanding electronics. Using an electronic device such as a mobile telephone or portable digital media player, find out how sound travels from one location to another. Explain how the device was designed for ease of use, function, and durability.
   d. Using materials. Do experiments to show the differences in strength and heat conductivity in wood, metal, and plastic. Discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
   e. Converting energy. Do an experiment to show how mechanical, heat, chemical, solar, and/or electrical energy may be converted from one or more types of energy to another. Explain your results. Describe to your counselor what energy is and how energy is converted and used in your surroundings.
   f. Moving people. Find out the different ways people in your community get to work. Make a study of traffic flow (number of vehicles and relative speed) in both heavy and light traffic periods. Discuss with your counselor what might be improved to make it easier for people in your community to get where they need to go.
   g. Building an engineering project. Enter a project in a science or engineering fair or similar competition. (This requirement may be met by participation on an engineering competition project team.) Discuss with your counselor what your project demonstrates, the kinds of questions visitors to the fair asked you about it, and how well were you able to answer their questions.
7. Explain what it means to be a registered Professional Engineer (PE). Name the types of engineering work for which registration is most important?
8. Study the Engineer's Code of Ethics. Explain how it is like the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
9. Find out about three career opportunities in engineering. Pick one and research the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Engineering

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Engineering Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

Environmental Science Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Make a timeline of the history of environmental science in America. Identify the contribution made by the Boy Scouts of America to environmental science. Include dates, names of people or organizations, and important events.
2. Define the following terms: population, community, ecosystem, biosphere, symbiosis, niche, habitat, conservation, threatened species, endangered species, extinction, pollution prevention, brownfield, ozone, watershed, airshed, nonpoint source, hybrid vehicle, fuel cell.
3. Do ONE activity in EACH of the following categories (using the activities in this {the merit badge} pamphlet as the basis for planning and carrying out your projects):
   a. Ecology
   1. Conduct an experiment to find out how living things respond to changes in their environments. Discuss your observations with your counselor.
   2. Conduct an experiment illustrating the greenhouse effect. Keep a journal of your data and observations. Discuss your conclusions with your counselor.
   3. Discuss what is an ecosystem. Tell how it is maintained in nature and how it survives.
      
   b. Air Pollution
   1. Perform an experiment to test for particulates that contribute to air pollution. Discuss your findings with your counselor.
   2. Record the trips taken, mileage, and fuel consumption of a family car for seven days, and calculate how many miles per gallon the car gets. Determine whether any trips could have been combined ("chained") rather than taken out and back. Using the idea of trip chaining, determine how many miles and gallons of gas could have been saved in those seven days.
   3. Explain what is acid rain. In your explanation, tell how it affects plants and the environment and the steps society can take to help reduce its effects.
   c. Water Pollution
   1. Conduct an experiment to show how living things react to thermal pollution. Discuss your observations with your counselor.
   2. Conduct an experiment to identify the methods that could be used to mediate (reduce) the effects of an oil spill on waterfowl. Discuss your results with your counselor.
   3. Describe the impact of a waterborne pollutant on an aquatic community. Write a 100-word report on how that pollutant affected aquatic life, what the effect was, and whether the effect is linked to biomagnification.
   d. Land Pollution
   1. Conduct an experiment to illustrate soil erosion by water. Take photographs or make a drawing of the soil before and after your experiment, and make a poster showing your results. Present your poster to your patrol or troop.
   2. Perform an experiment to determine the effect of an oil spill on land. Discuss your conclusions with your counselor.
   3. Photograph an area affected by erosion. Share your photographs with your counselor and discuss why the area has eroded and what might be done to help alleviate the erosion.
   e. Endangered Species
   1. Do research on one endangered species found in your state. Find out what its natural habitat is, why it is endangered, what is being done to preserve it, and how many individual organisms are left in the wild. Prepare a 100-word report about the organism, including a drawing. Present your report to your patrol or troop.
   2. Do research on one species that was endangered or threatened but which has now recovered. Find out how the organism recovered, and what its new status is. Write a 100-word report on the species and discuss it with your counselor.
   3. With your parent's and counselor's approval, work with a natural resource professional to identify two projects that have been approved to improve the habitat for a threatened or endangered species in your area. Visit the site of one of these projects and report on what you saw.
   f. Pollution Prevention, Resource Recovery, and Conservation
   1. Look around your home and determine 10 ways your family can help reduce pollution. Practice at least two of these methods for seven days and discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
   2. Determine 10 ways to conserve resources or use resources more efficiently in your home, at school, or at camp. Practice at least two of these methods for seven days and discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
   3. Perform an experiment on packaging materials to find out which ones are biodegradable. Discuss your conclusions with your counselor.
4. Choose two outdoor study areas that are very different from one another (e.g., hilltop vs. bottom of a hill; field vs. forest; swamp vs. dry land). For BOTH study areas, do ONE of the following:
   a. Mark off a plot of 4 square yards in each study area, and count the number of species found there. Estimate how much space is occupied by each plant species and the type and number of nonplant species you find. Write a report that adequately discusses the biodiversity and population density of these study areas. Discuss your report with your counselor.
   b. Make at least three visits to each of the two study areas (for a total of six visits), staying for at least 20 minutes each time, to observe the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. Space each visit far enough apart that there are readily apparent differences in the observations. Keep a journal that includes the differences you observe. Then, write a short report that adequately addresses your observations, including how the differences of the study areas might relate to the differences noted, and discuss this with your counselor.
5. Using the construction project provided or a plan you create on your own, identify the items that would need to be included in an environmental impact statement for the project planned.
6. Find out about three career opportunities in environmental science. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Environmental_Science

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Environmental Science Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

First Aid Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Satisfy your counselor that you have current knowledge of all first aid requirements for Tenderfoot Rank, Second Class Rank, and First Class Rank.
2. Do the following:
   a. Explain how you would obtain emergency medical assistance from your home, on a wilderness camping trip, and during an activity on open water.
   b. Explain the term triage.
   c. Explain the standard precautions as applied to bloodborne pathogens.
   d. Prepare a first aid kit for your home. Display and discuss its contents with your counselor.
3. Do the following:
   a. Explain what action you should take for someone who shows signals of shock, for someone who shows signals of a heart attack, and for someone who shows signals of stroke.
   b. Identify the conditions that must exist before performing CPR on a person. Then demonstrate proper technique in performing CPR using a training device approved by your counselor.
   c. Explain the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
   d. Show the steps that need to be taken for someone suffering from a severe cut on the leg and on the wrist. Tell the dangers in the use of a tourniquet and the conditions under which its use is justified.
   e. Explain when a bee sting could be life threatening and what action should be taken for prevention and for first aid.
   f. Explain the symptoms of heatstroke and what action needs to be taken for first aid and for prevention.
4. Do the following:
   a. Describe the signals of a broken bone. Show first aid procedures for handling fractures (broken bones), including open (compound) fractures of the forearm, wrist, upper leg, and lower leg using improvised materials.
   b. Describe the symptoms and possible complications and demonstrate proper procedures for treating suspected injuries to the head, neck, and back. Explain what measures should be taken to reduce the possibility of further complicating these injuries.
5. Describe the symptoms, proper first aid procedures, and possible prevention measures for the following conditions:
   a. Hypothermia
   b. Convulsions / seizures
   c. Frostbite
   d. Dehydration
   e. Bruises, strains, sprains
   f. Burns
   g. Abdominal pain
   h. Broken, chipped, or loosened tooth
   i. Knocked out tooth
   j. Muscle cramps
6. Do TWO of the following:
   a. If a sick or injured person must be moved, tell how you would determine the best method. Demonstrate this method.
   b. With helpers under your supervision, improvise a stretcher and move a presumably unconscious person.
   c. With your counselor's approval, arrange a visit with your patrol or troop to an emergency medical facility or through an American Red Cross chapter for a demonstration of how an AED is used.
7. Teach another Scout a first-aid skill selected by your counselor.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/First_Aid

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download First Aid Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

Hiking Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Show that you know first aid for injuries or illnesses that could occur while hiking, including hypothermia, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, frostbite, dehydration, sunburn, sprained ankle, insect stings, tick bites, snakebite, blisters, hyperventilation, and altitude sickness.
2. Explain and, where possible, show the points of good hiking practices. including the principles of Leave No Trace, hiking safety in the daytime and at night, courtesy to others, choice of footwear, and proper care of feet and footwear.
3. Explain how hiking is an aerobic activity. Develop a plan for conditioning yourself for 10-mile hikes, and describe how you will increase your fitness for longer hikes.
4. Make a written plan for a 10-mile hike, including map routes, a clothing and equipment list, and a list of items for a trail lunch.
5. Take five hikes, each on a different day, and each of at least ten continuous miles. Prepare a hike plan for each hike.*
6. Take a hike of 20 continuous miles in one day following a hike plan you have prepared.*
7. After each of the hikes (or during each hike if on one continuous "trek") in requirements 5 and 6, write a short report of your experience. Give dates and descriptions of routes covered, the weather, and interesting things you saw. Share this report with your merit badge counselor.

Notes: The hikes in requirements 5 and 6 can be used in fulfilling Second Class Rank (2a) and First Class Rank (3) rank requirements, but only if Hiking merit badge requirements 1, 2, 3, and 4 have been completed to the satisfaction of your counselor. The hikes of requirements 5 and 6 cannot be used to fulfill requirements of other merit badges.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Hiking

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Hiking Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

Orienteering Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Show that you know first aid for the types of injuries that could occur while orienteering, including cuts, scratches, blisters, snakebite, insect stings, tick bites, heat and cold reactions (sunburn, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, hypothermia), and dehydration. Explain to your counselor why you should be able to identify poisonous plants and poisonous animals that are found in your area.
2. Explain what orienteering is.
3. Do the following:
   a. Explain how a compass works. Describe the features of an orienteering compass.
   b. In the field, show how to take a compass bearing and follow it.
4. Do the following:
   a. Explain how a topographic map shows terrain features. Point out and name five terrain features on a map and in the field.
   b. Point out and name 10 symbols on a topographic map.
   c. Explain the meaning of declination. Tell why you must consider declination when using map and compass together.
   d. Show a topographic map with magnetic north-south lines.
   e. Show how to measure distances using an orienteering compass.
   f. Show how to orient a map using a compass.
5. Set up a 100-meter pace course. Determine your walking and running pace for 100 meters. Tell why it is important to pace-count.
6. Do the following:
   a. Identify 20 international control description symbols. Tell the meaning of each symbol.
   b. Show a control description sheet and explain the information provided.
   c. Explain the following terms and tell when you would use them: attack point, collecting feature, aiming off, contouring, reading ahead, handrail, relocation, rough versus fine orienteering.
7. Do the following:
   a. Take part in three orienteering events. One of these must be a cross-country course.
   b. After each event, write a report with:
   1. A copy of the master map and control description sheet
   2. A copy of the route you took on the course
   3. A discussion of how you could improve your time between control points
   4. A list of your major weaknesses on this course . Describe what you could do to improve.
8. Do ONE of the following:
   a. Set up a cross-country course of at least 2,000 meters long with at least five control markers. Prepare the master map and control description sheet.
   b. Set up a score-orienteering course with 12 control points and a time limit of at least 60 minutes. Prepare the master map and control description sheet.
9. Act as an official during an orienteering event. This may be during the running of the course you set up for requirement 8.
10. Teach orienteering techniques to your patrol, troop or crew.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Orienteering

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Orienteering Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

Personal Fitness Merit Badge

Requirements:

Note: If meeting any of the requirements for this merit badge is against the Scout's religious convictions, the requirement does not have to be done if the Scout's parents and the proper religious advisers state in writing that to do so would be against religious convictions. The Scout's parents must also accept full responsibility for anything that might happen because of this exemption.

1. Do the following:
   a. Before completing requirements 2 through 9, have your health-care practitioner give you a physical examination, using the Scout medical examination form. Describe the examination. Tell what questions the doctor asked about your health. Tell what health or medical recommendations the doctor made and report what you have done in response to the recommendations. Explain the following:
   1. Why physical exams are important
   2. Why preventative habits are important in maintaining good health.
   3. Diseases that can be prevented and how.
   4. The seven warning signs of cancer.
   5. The youth risk factors that affect cardiovascular fitness in adulthood.
   b. Have a dental examination. Get a statement saying that your teeth have been checked and cared for. Tell how to care for your teeth.
2. Explain to your merit badge counselor verbally or in writing what personal fitness means to you, including:
   a. Components of personal fitness
   b. Reasons for being fit in all components.
   c. What it means to be mentally healthy
   d. What it means to be physically healthy and fit.
   e. What it means to be socially healthy. Discuss your activity in the areas of healthy social fitness.
   f. What you can do to prevent social, emotional, or mental problems.
3. With your counselor answer and discuss the following questions:
   a. Are you free from all curable diseases? Are you living in such a way that your risk of preventable diseases is minimized?
   b. Are you immunized and vaccinated according to the advice of your health-care provider?
   c. Do you understand the meaning of a nutritious diet and know why it is important for you? Does your diet include foods from all food groups?
   d. Are your body weight and composition what you would like them to be, and do you know how to modify them safely through exercise, diet, and behavior modification?
   e. Do you carry out daily activities without noticeable effort? Do you have extra energy for other activities?
   f. Are you free from habits relating to poor nutrition and the use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other practices that could be harmful to your health?
   g. Do you participate in a regular exercise program or recreational activities?
   h. Do you sleep well at night and wake up feeling refreshed and energized for the new day?
   i. Are you actively involved in the religious organization of your choice, and do you participate in its youth activities?
   j. Do you spend quality time with your family and friends in social and recreational activities?
   k. Do you support family activities and efforts to maintain a good home life?
4. Explain the following about physical fitness:
   a. The components of physical fitness
   b. Your weakest and strongest component of physical fitness
   c. The need to have a balance in all four components of physical fitness.
   d. How the components of personal fitness relate to the Scout Law and Scout Oath.
5. Explain the following about nutrition:
   a. The importance of good nutrition
   b. What good nutrition means to you
   c. How good nutrition is related to the other components of personal fitness
   d. The three components of a sound weight (fat) control program.
6. Before doing requirements 7 and 8, complete the aerobic fitness, flexibility, muscular strength, and body composition tests as described in the Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet. Record your results and identify those areas where you feel you need to improve.
   
   AEROBIC FITNESS TEST
   Record your performance on one of the following tests:
   a. Run/walk as far as you can in nine minutes.
   b. Run/walk one mile as fast as you can.
   
   FLEXIBILITY TEST
   Using a sit-and-reach box constructed according to specifications in the Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet, make four repetitions and record the fourth reach. This last reach must be held steady for 15 seconds to qualify. (Remember to keep your knees down.)
   
   STRENGTH TESTS
   Record your performance on all three tests.
   a. Sit-ups. Record the number of sit-ups done correctly in 60 seconds. The sit-ups must be done in the form explained and illustrated in the Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet.
   b. Pull-ups. Record the total number of pull-ups completed correctly in 60 seconds. Be consistent with the procedures presented in the Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet.
   c. Push-ups. Record the total number of push-ups completed correctly in 60 seconds. Be consistent with the procedures presented in the Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet.
   
   BODY COMPOSITION TEST
   Have your parent, counselor, or other adult take and record the following measurements:
   a. Circumference of the right upper arm, midway between the shoulder and the elbow, with the arm hanging naturally and not flexed.
   b. Shoulders, with arms hanging by placing the tape two inches below the top of the shoulders around the arms, chest, and back after breath expiration.
   c. Chest, by placing the tape under the arms and around the chest and back at the nipple line after breath expiration.
   d. Abdomen circumference at the navel level (relaxed).
   e. Circumference of the right thigh, midway between the hip and knee, and not flexed.
   If possible, have the same person take the measurements whenever you are ready to be remeasured to chart your progress.
7. Outline a comprehensive 12-week physical fitness program using the results of your fitness tests. Be sure your program incorporates the endurance, intensity, and warm-up guidelines discussed in the Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet. Before beginning your exercises, have the program approved by your counselor and parents.
8. Complete the physical fitness program you outlined in requirement 7. Keep a log of your fitness program activity (how long you exercised; how far you ran, swam, or biked; how many exercise repetitions you completed; your exercise heart rate; etc.). Repeat the aerobic fitness, muscular strength, and flexibility tests every two weeks and record your results. After the 12th week, repeat all four tests, record your results, and show improvement in each one. Compare and analyze your preprogram and postprogram body composition measurements. Discuss the meaning and benefit of your experience, and describe your long-term plans regarding your personal fitness.
9. Find out about three career opportunities in personal fitness. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for these professions. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Personal_Fitness

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Personal Fitness Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

Personal Management Merit Badge

1. Do the following:
   a. Choose an item that your family might want to purchase that is considered a major expense.
   b. Write a plan that tells how your family would save money for the purchase identified in requirement 1a.
   1. Discuss the plan with your merit badge counselor
   2. Discuss the plan with your family
   3. Discuss how other family needs must be considered in this plan.
   c. Develop a written shopping strategy for the purchase identified in requirement 1a.
   1. Determine the quality of the item or service (using consumer publications or rating systems).
   2. Comparison shop for the item. Find out where you can buy the item for the best price. (Provide prices from at least two different price sources.) Call around; study ads. Look for a sale or discount coupon. Consider alternatives. Can you buy the item used? Should you wait for a sale?
2. Do the following:
   a. Prepare a budget reflecting your expected income (allowance, gifts, wages), expenses, and savings. Track your actual income, expenses, and savings for 13 consecutive weeks. (You may use the forms provided in this pamphlet, devise your own, or use a computer generated version.) When complete, present the results to your merit badge counselor.
   b. Compare expected income with expected expenses.
   1. If expenses exceed income, determine steps to balance your budget.
   2. If income exceeds expenses, state how you would use the excess money (new goal, savings).
3. Discuss with your merit badge counselor FIVE of the following concepts:
   a. The emotions you feel when you receive money.
   b. Your understanding of how the amount of money you have with you affects your spending habits.
   c. Your thoughts when you buy something new and your thoughts about the same item three months later. Explain the concept of buyer's remorse.
   d. How hunger affects you when shopping for food items (snacks, groceries).
   e. Your experience of an item you have purchased after seeing or hearing advertisements for it. Did the item work as well as advertised?
   f. Your understanding of what happens when you put money into a savings account.
   g. Charitable giving. Explain its purpose and your thoughts about it.
   h. What you can do to better manage your money.
4. Explain the following to your merit badge counselor:
   a. The differences between saving and investing, including reasons for using one over the other.
   b. The concepts of return on investment and risk.
   c. The concepts of simple interest and compound interest and how these affected the results of your investment exercise.
5. Select five publicly traded stocks from the business section of the newspaper. Explain to your merit badge counselor the importance of the following information for each stock:
   a. Current price
   b. How much the price changed from the previous day
   c. The 52-week high and the 52-week low prices
6. Pretend you have $1,000 to save, invest, and help prepare yourself for the future. Explain to your merit badge counselor the advantages or disadvantages of saving or investing in each of the following:
   a. Common stocks
   b. Mutual funds
   c. Life insurance
   d. A certificate of deposit (CD)
   e. A savings account or U.S. savings bond
7. Explain to your merit badge counselor the following:
   a. What a loan is, what interest is, and how the annual percentage rate (APR) measures the true cost of a loan.
   b. The different ways to borrow money.
   c. The differences between a charge card, debit card, and credit card. What are the costs and pitfalls of using these financial tools? Explain why it is unwise to make only the minimum payment on your credit card.
   d. Credit reports and how personal responsibility can affect your credit report.
   e. Ways to reduce or eliminate debt.
8. Demonstrate to your merit badge counselor your understanding of time management by doing the following:
   a. Write a "to do" list of tasks or activities, such as homework assignments, chores, and personal projects, that must be done in the coming week. List these in order of importance to you.
   b. Make a seven-day calendar or schedule. Put in your set activities, such as school classes, sports practices or games, jobs or chores, and/or Scout or church or club meetings, then plan when you will do all the tasks from your "to do" list between your set activities.
   c. Follow the one-week schedule you planned. Keep a daily diary or journal during each of the seven days of this week's activities, writing down when you completed each of the tasks on your "to do" list compared to when you scheduled them.
   d. Review your "to do" list, one-week schedule, and diary/journal to understand when your schedule worked and when it did not work. With your merit badge counselor, discuss and understand what you learned from this requirement and what you might do differently the next time.
9. Prepare a written project plan demonstrating the steps below, including the desired outcome. This is a project on paper, not a real-life project. Examples could include planning a camping trip, developing a community service project or a school or religious event, or creating an annual patrol plan with additional activities not already included in the troop annual plan. Discuss your completed project plan with your merit badge counselor.
   a. Define the project. What is your goal?
   b. Develop a timeline for your project that shows the steps you must take from beginning to completion.
   c. Describe your project.
   d. Develop a list of resources. Identify how these resources will help you achieve your goal.
   e. If necessary, develop a budget for your project.
10. Do the following:
    a. Choose a career you might want to enter after high school or college graduation.
    b. Research the limitations of your anticipated career and discuss with your merit badge counselor what you have learned about qualifications such as education, skills, and experience.

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Personal_Management

Merit Badge Workbook:

Download Personal Management Merit Badge Workbook (.pdf)

Pioneering Merit Badge

Requirements:

1. Show that you know first aid for injuries or illness that could occur while working on pioneering projects, including minor cuts and abrasions, bruises, rope burns, blisters, splinters, sprains, heat and cold reactions, dehydration, and insect bites or stings.
2. Do the following:
   a. Successfully complete Tenderfoot requirements 4a and 4b and First Class requirements 7a, 7b, and 7c. (These are the rope-related requirements.)
   b. Tie the following: square knot, bowline, sheepshank, sheet bend, and roundturn with two half hitches.
   C. Demonstrate the following: tripod and round lashings.
3. Explain why it is useful to be able to throw a rope, then demonstrate how to coil and throw a 40-foot length of 1/4- or 3/8-inch rope. Explain how to improve your throwing distance by adding weight to the end of your rope.
4. Explain the differences between synthetic ropes and natural-fiber ropes. Discuss which types of rope are suitable for pioneering work and why. Include the following in your discussion: breaking strength, safe working loads, and the care and storage of rope.
5. Explain the uses for the back splice, eye splice, and short splice. Using 1/4- or 3/8-inch three-stranded rope, demonstrate how to form each splice.
6. Using a rope-making device or machine, make a rope at least 6 feet long consisting of three strands, each having three yarns.
7. Build a scale model of a signal tower or a monkey bridge. Correctly anchor the model using either the 1-1-1 anchoring system or the log and stake anchoring method. Describe the design of your project and explain how the anchoring system works.
8. Demonstrate the use of rope tackle to lift a weight of 25 pounds and pulling a log at least 6 inches in diameter and 6 feet long with the tackle. Use the tackle to put tension on a line. Explain the advantages and limitations of using a rope tackle. In your explanation, describe the potential damage that friction can do to a rope.
9. By yourself, build an A-trestle OR X-trestle OR H-trestle using square and diagonal lashings. Explain the application of the trestle you build. Demonstrate how to tie two spars together using a shear lashing.
10. With a group of Scouts, OR on your own, select a pioneering project. With your counselor's guidance, create a rough sketch of the project. Make a list of the ropes and spars needed, then build the project. (Note: This requirement may be done at summer camp, at district or council events, or on a troop camp outing.)

Source: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Pioneering

Merit Badge Worksheet:

Download Pioneering Merit Badge Worksheet (.pdf)

Swimming Merit Badge