Definite chemistry
by Rebecca Gill
Estimating the weight of an unknown material contained in a tiny vial, using only chemical means, and doing so within one per cent of the actual value, sounds like a bit of a brain buster.
That was the challenge put to 33 secondary school students in UniSA’s laboratories in late October.
But these weren’t just any students – they were among the state’s brightest science minds. And they were competing in the national finals of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Chemical Analysis Competition.
Eleven student teams from nine schools across metropolitan and regional SA took part, and students who had results within one per cent of the material’s weight were awarded a gold medallion.
Dr Alvin Summerton, UniSA’s health sciences lecturer and event organiser, said the competition encouraged participation in chemistry – important at a time when enrolments in the discipline were falling.
"Mawson Lakes has held this competition for the past 20 years of its 22-year history. It is a very important tradition and popular with students."
This year, the best performing team in South Australia was Pulteney Grammar. Last year Australia’s best team was Annesley College. Eighteen students took home gold medallions as testament to the quality of young scientific brainpower in our state.