Christmas Chemistry Challenges
Students in Year 7 and Year 9 had the opportunity to enter separate Chemistry Challenges for Christmas in their year group.
They were tasked to design and produce a poster on these themes:
Year 7 : Magi-cal Chemistry
The wise men from the east presented gifts to the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts had symbolic significance which they retain to this day, but in the 21st Century they also have significant chemical significance, for example; gold nanotechnology in drug delivery and diagnostics; frankincense in aromatherapy, the treatment of arthritis and asthma, perfumes and cosmetics; myrrh in pain relief, and in toothpastes and in mouthwashes for its antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. Modern scientific research has confirmed that the use of frankincense and myrrh together in ancient Chinese medicine has a synergistic effect: the combination is more potent for treating inflammation and pain than either resin alone.
Year 9 : the Chemistry of Christmas Trees
A group of chemicals called terpenes form the characteristic pine-fresh odour of a Christmas tree, but not just that: they help to keep the growing tree cool by forming the tree’s own cloud of water droplets for cooling, they are hostile to pests, they are responsible for the blue haze sometimes visible over pine-covered mountains, and they are the reason for the mega-flammability of pine cones.
Bronwyn, Year 7, with her poster showing gold, frankincense and myrrh and her prizes
Ailah, Year 9, with her winning poster design and prizes
“Both of the students produced attractive and colourful displays, with both posters featuring prominently meticulously drawn and accurate molecular structures, which are, of course, beautiful and exciting in their own right.”
The students were presented with their prizes at assembly.