Chemical Magic Show

Science Week in Senior School literally went off with a bang, well, several really, as exploding hydrogen balloons, molten iron, and rapidly vaposing nitrogen gas shook the foundations in “The Chemical Magic Show” in Lab 2 on Thursday 17th August. Fun was had by all the attendees who had the chance to answer questions, help out with the demonstrations, and eat rapidly frozen marshmallows. 


In-Class Challenges

Each year group, Year 10-12, had a scientific challenge. For Year 10 it involved making a timer from a selection of chemicals provided, that could indicate exactly 30:00 seconds. Madison Sbaglia, Brigitte Moster, Emma Blakiston and Milly Foster produced a winning time of 30:00:15 seconds using citric acid and sodium bicarbonate in a test tube, the proportions carefully controlled to stop fizzing at the exact time.

In Year 11, the challenge was to make a timer again, indicating 3:00 minutes, using a variety of equipment. The winning team: Caylem Weeks, Tom Reglar, and James Butcher, used the equation for a pendulum to calculate the number of swing required for a certain length of string. Taken from a Physics practical, the boys managed a time of 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

In Year 12, the challenge was to build a lead acid accumulator and determine the voltage and time required to charge it so that it could light an LED for exactly 30:00 seconds. The winning team of Mark de Swardt, Marshall Burgoyne, Kai Llewelyn, and Brandon Reeve, achieved a time of 27.17 seconds.

Scientist of the Year

A new competition was introduced that is set to continue annually: Scientist of the Year. The award is given for the best short essay on a contemporary issue in Science. This year’s themes were:

  • Year 10: Who is the Greatest Scientist of the 20th Century and Why? The proud winner for 2017 is: Simray Vgas
  • Year 11: The development of Nanomaterials poses a significant Threat to the Future Survival of Mankind. The proud winner for 2017 is: Nathan Denston. 
  • Year 12: An Ethic of Sustainability is Essential for the Future Survival of Mankind. Some excellent entries were received for this, of particular note, from Tess Croker, and Benny Sheriff. The proud winner for 2017 is: Georgia Bowler.

Congratulations to all our winners!