Science

Year 12 Physics visit to the Australian Synchrotron

On 29 August, students studying VCE Physics Unit 4 went on a guided tour of the Australian Synchrotron. Located on Blackburn Rd in Clayton, the Australian Synchrotron is a world class particle accelerator. This machine accelerates charged particles close to the speed of light. When forced to follow a curved path due to powerful magnets, these particles release light that is a million times brighter than from the sun. This intense light can be used to reveal the structure of proteins, crystals and living tissue that would otherwise be unknown.

The Australian Synchrotron is the largest machine of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, and attracts visiting scientists from around the world. After touring the facility and learning about the work that scientists carry out each day at the Synchrotron, the Year 12 students completed 3 hours of lab activities relating to their Unit 4 studies. The girls recreated the famous double slit experiment, witnessed the photoelectric effect and examined the light emitted from gas discharge tubes on an afternoon to remember.

If you would like to visit the Synchrotron and talk to some of the scientists about their work at the Synchrotron, please book to attend the Open Day on 20th October using the link here.

Jacinta Devlin

Learning Leader: Science

Titration Stakes

On 22 June, while most students were enjoying a well-earned break and our Year 12 students were completing their GAT, 39 Kilbreda students gave up their own time to participate in the annual Titration Stakes Competition.

The event run by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) sees students from across the country compete in a chemical titration of an unknown vinegar sample. Each team of three needed to determine the concentration of a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution by testing it against a supplied hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution. They then used the concentration of the sodium hydroxide they found to determine the exact concentration of ethanoic acid in a sample of vinegar. Teams are then ranked on how close they get to the actual concentration as determined by professional RACI chemists.

The most accurate 45 teams in the country made the National championships and one of our teams has made this group. The results below show the team, distance from the actual result and rank out of the 345 teams entered this year.

The level of accuracy this year was amazing, with every one of our teams determining a concentration that is more accurate and precise than the manufacturer of the vinegar is aware of.

I honestly think these results are mind blowing! Even the groups that were the furthest away are far more accurate than the Australian standard. We are talking two or three drops over three people doing at least six titrations.

Special congratulations to the dream team of Clara McEvoy, Natalie Mason and Kate Lowe for making the National Championships and now being awarded a Silver Medal in the competition, just as they did last year. This is the first time in Kilbreda’s history that we have had a group go back to back. What an outstanding result!

Thank you also to Coralene Crawford, Andrew Kerr and Brian Ellett who assisted on the day.

Keir Selfridge

VCE Chemistry Teacher