News: Chemistry
Year 11 Chemistry
University Senior College Year 11 Chemistry students investigating the reducing ability of the sugar glucose that is present in Chupa Chups to reveal the different coloured oxidation states of manganese. Agitation and the creation of a vortex is a necessary component of the experiment to allow the chemical reactants to collide with sufficient energy.
Titration Competition
We ran the Titration Competition this year at University Senior College and seven teams of Year 12 Chemistry students competed in Term 2 in the school-based competition.
USC Year 11 Chemistry
USC Year 11 Chemistry students investigated several concepts such as miscibility, buoyancy, collision theory just to name a few in the one experiment. The approach here puts familiar concepts into new contexts to enhance the student’s problem-solving skills.
Year 11 Chemistry investigated cross-linking polymers
University Senior College Year 11 Chemistry students investigated the effect of a cross-linking agent on the physical properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Investigations of this nature are important as cross-linking polymers have many applications in medicine, new battery technology, and the generation of ‘green’ fuels such as hydrogen.
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Year 11 Chemistry
USC Year 11 Chemistry students are here observing a metal displacement reaction, in this case the formation of pure silver due to the reduction of silver ions when exposed to a metallic zinc coil. This was the precursor to the students carrying out their own metal displacement reaction as part of their study of oxidation and reduction. These principles are the basis for batteries and photography.
Chemistry with Chupa Chups
Watch this video of USC Year 11 Chemistry students conducting an experiment that shows how glucose in the Chupa Chups reacts with potassium permanganate. This adds electrons from the glucose to the manganese metal in the permanganate, which changes the colour.
