Question
This old oak is dropping acorns, smaller ones in June and now larger ones in July.  It is also dropping several leaf tips.  In Maryland we are suffering a severe drought this spring.  Could it be drought related?  There are also a few dead branches and fear this may be diseased.  Thank you

Answer
Acorn take two years to reach mature size. Weather plays a big part in how many reach maturity. These small ones are the first year acorns and for some reason (weather) they have aborted. Usually drought related. This does not effect the health of the tree just the amount of acorns. Do not worry about this tree.  

Check the "leaf tips: and see if it looks like they were cut off and not split off . There is an insect that is called a twig griddler that lays its eggs in the twig and then cuts them off. The eggs hatch and go into the ground to mature into an adult insect (a beetle). The control is to pick up the fallen twigs and destroy them thereby reducing the beetles population the next year. These insect do not harm the tree but could cause growth loss of foliage if they get numerous.

Neither one of these conditions will harm the overall health of the tree.