Week 9 saw a group of nearly 40 Year 13 Chemistry students attend the University of Canterbury Undergraduate Chemistry laboratories for a day of practical activities.
This field trip was designed to support students study for Scholarship Chemistry examinations this year.
The day began with an introduction to the Arrhenius equation which helps chemists explain the effect of temperature and activation energy on the rate of a reaction. Our scholars then carried out a series of reactions at a range of different temperatures and used their date to determine the activation energy for that reaction.
The afternoon session consisted of an assessed titration challenge during which the group competed against Mr Mansfield and Mr Creswell in order to standardise a solution of potassium permanganate.
The day was a great success, largely thanks to the huge amount of preparatory work completed by the Chemistry Department at UC – our particular thanks go out to Dr. Nathan Alexander, Dr. Anthea Lees, and the group of fantastic postgrad students that supported our Year 13s.
