Grape indicator - made by Suyeon

Suyeon accepted one of the challenges for the Acids and Alkalis unit and made her own indicator at home. She took photos of each step and presented her work today in the Science lesson. Well done Suyeon!

Step 1 - remove the grape peel from black grapes (the darker the colour, the more dye we can obtain)

Step 2 - cut the peels in small bits, so that we can extract more dye out of them

Step 3 - add hot water and mix well

Step 4 - prepare a filter 

Step 5 - filter the mixture, in order to remove the solid peels from the indicator solution

Step 6 - transfer the indicator extract to a test tube

Step 7 - test the indicator with various substances: vinegar, lemon, green tea

Acids, alkalis and indicators

We have been playing with acids and alkalis for the last two weeks in the Science lessons. We have compared different indicators and most importantly, we checked what's happening when acids neutralise alkalis.

The results are colourful master pieces :)
Enjoy!

Y7 Acids and alkalis challenges

1.  Memrise course for the Acids and Alkalis unit - the more points you get on the course, the more xp you receive :)
2. Make you own indicator: you can use various colored extracts to test the pH (red cabbage juice, black currant juice etc). Can you identify and test out your own indicator?
3. Prepare a pH scale that shows the pH of everyday substances we use like milk, coffee, eggs, bleach etc. Be as creative as possible in displaying the pH and the substance :)
4. Prepare your own revision materials: newsletter articles, posters, presentations etc.

Edible Cells

Year 7 had to prepare cell models... with a twist. The cells could be made only from edible materials. Everybody was free to chose the cell type - as long as the final model would be edible :)

Here are the projects:

Maya used a waffle and a chocolate for a basic animal cell model.

Adam baked a neuron, topped with marzipan

Isaac chose a simple model - an avocado cut in half is similar to a plant cell.

Sean baked an animal cell.

David baked a leaf cell.

Simon brought in some nerves - rather than making individual cells, he thought about bundles of neurons  

Leaf cell made of chocolate and jelly beans - Krystian

White blood cells - Mr. Copil :)

Animal cell cake - with lots of details - by Adam

Luc prepared a plant cell even though he was not in school. Get well soon Luc!

Off course after presenting our mouth watering cells, we took it one step further and had a small feast :)

Merry Christmas

It's that time of the year when everybody is busy decorating Christmas trees, packing for holidays or shopping for delicious foods and gifts.

We've made our own Chemistree at school this week.

first step: fix on a stand all types of glassware: beakers, conical flasks, rounded bottom flasks, test tubes, boiling tubes, measuring cylinders, pear shaped flasks

 next, fill them with indicators

and add a touch of colour by adding various acids and alkalis

and voila

I wish you all a Merry Christmas 

and a Scientifically Happy New Year!

Revision time

This week we have focused on revision. How do you revise for the end of unit tests?

I recommended a couple of options during the lessons:

1. Taking your own revision notes helps a lot, because while you do that, you access the information on several channels (you read it, you process the info and try to rephrase it in your own words or reorganise it so it makes more sense for yourself and then you write it/draw it).
2. Using revision sheets I provided you with - this is not as effective as making your own materials, because you take a more passive role - you just read the information
3. Using flash cards - either make your own, or use the Memrise courses I created. This is particularly helpful if you are struggling with key terms
4. Answering questions from the textbook or from question banks - this is a great way to check your understanding. Try to answer the questions and then compare your answer to the one from the marking scheme
5. Don't forget about using your creativity - anything goes, from writing a song about the structure of a cell to drawing the map of an island powered by various energy resources or a story about a working day of a genetics specialist. Feel free to use your imagination and make a material that suits your needs!

Below is an example of such a revision material. Maya prepared it for the Energy resources topic. She included several methods - writing her own revision notes, making flashcards, spider diagrams and even prepared a quiz. Well done Maya! You received 300xp for this.

Flashcards + spider diagram = :)

Maya went the extra mile - we did not cover much about nuclear power in class, so she did her own research about it :)

Pollution caused by various fuels is indeed a serious issue

loved the Simpsons reference :)

y9 challenges for the week 5-12 dec

Keep in mind the end of term test is upon us - we will have the test on the 13th of December. For this reason, most of the challenges for this week will be related to revising for the test :)

1. Make sure you know the symbols for the most commonly used elements. You can use use the Memrise for it as well.

2. Revise, revise, revise - make your own revision materials (spider diagrams, presentations, posters etc.) 

3. This Friday is the deadline for the dog breeds project. You need to prepare a poster/presentation about a dog breed of your choice - include as many details as possible about the characteristics the dogs were bred for and try to relate it to the genetic aspects

You could use tools/sites like this one for selecting the breed: http://animal.discovery.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds.html