NEWS - OUT AND ABOUT

Students get 'hands-on' experience during the Chemistry workshops.

Chemistry Calling?

Hands-on event where A-level students investigate the chemistry behind the mobile phone

This week 140 students studying A-level chemistry from five East Midlands schools were given the opportunity to find out about the chemistry involved in the design and manufacture of mobile phones. The event held at the Science Learning Centre East Midlands (SLCEM) started with an introductory lecture by Mark Crowley of Nottingham Trent University about the recent advances in technology which have led to today’s modern handsets and looked forward to future developments from current research.

The students then had the chance of ‘hands on’ practical experience of some of the chemistry involved with workshops provided by the Universities of Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Nottingham Trent along with a local industrial sponsor, AstraZeneca. The workshops demonstrated a variety of different aspects such as how to make a printed circuit board, how to generate electricity using a gratzel cell, and how to use conducting polymers to generate a colour changing effect.

In addition a Senior Examiner, Ashleigh Wheway, gave a short talk highlighting a variety of tips for chemistry A-level revision to help the students pass their upcoming exams. The students also had time to gather careers advice from the universities, AstraZeneca and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The day finished with an interactive quiz made up of three rounds of chemistry general knowledge questions. This was a very competitive end to the day, as teams of three battled for the prizes. Students were awarded points for both being correct and for the speed of response using hand held devices. The lucky first prize winners took away an ipod shuffle each, kindly donated by AstraZeneca.

The winning teams were:

1st place - Vicky, Megan and Claire from Hind Leys Community College

2nd place - Team Joe from Bilborough College

3rd place - The Red Devils from Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth 1st College

Feedback from the day indicated that the students had enjoyed the experience with comments including:-

“I particularly enjoyed learning about the different chemical fields”

“It was a very good day, that made me consider studying chemistry more”

This event was sponsored by Chemistry: The Next Generation as part of their programme of outreach activities to encourage widening participation in higher education for the subject of chemistry. Further details of this and similar events can be obtained from Tracy McGhie, The East Midlands Regional Coordinator, email tjm9@le.ac.uk.