Highlight of the Week

Competitive Chemists

The Year 12 chemists competed in the practical analyst competition in Swansea University against thirty other teams on Wednesday. In groups of three, they had 90 minutes to undertake a practical activity using spectroscopy and calculate the percentage absorbency of an unknown solution. As this practical is not on the A level specification, they had to use their chemistry knowledge and problem solving skills to reach an answer.

After lunch, they were back in the lab for the second half of the competition which was a very a tricky titration. This included complex calculations to find the relative hardness of an unknown solution. For the first time ever, a CSL team comprising Iris L, Numa S and Paige W, placed first overall as their answers were closest to the unknown values. All enjoyed experiencing a day in the life of a chemistry student and particularly appreciated having the opportunity to ask questions to current students