Science News

Chemistry and Art Competition 2023

The results of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Chemistry and Art Competition were released this week. Vermont Secondary College had a number of entries this year and our students all did very well – the judges found it very hard to make a final decision due to the quality of the artwork submitted.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved a place or a special mention are listed below, along with a sample of some of the artwork that was entered into the competition. Well done!

Year 11 entrants:

Sophie V (finalist) – Stephanie M (third place)

Year 9 entrants:

Isabella Y (second place)

Year 7 and 8 entrants:

Evan R and Emily M (finalist) – Karan C and Olin Y (highly commended) – Hayley W (first place)

 Physics – Year 11 

In today's prac, we were aiming to investigate the spring's constant with the given springs and weights. By measuring how much the springs stretch when different weights are provided, we calculated the constant of the springs by using Hooke's Law.  

Aaron W

Year 8 Science 

Year 8 students are currently studying Human Body Systems in Science. One of our assessed tasks is to investigate how different factors impact heart rate. Our group was investigating whether or not scary movies and fear would increase the rate of the heart beat per minute. We found that when Year 8 students watch something that is scary, their resting heart rate increases – in one test subject their heart rate increased from a resting rate of 80bpm to 130bpm! When a person is frightened, the brain triggers a release of adrenaline, which makes the heart beat faster and pushes the body instantly into "fight-or-flight" mode.  

Ella P, Sophie L, Ella S 8M1