Wednesday 24 November 2021

Red Cabbage Indicator

 Its that time of year to cut up the red cabbage and make red cabbage indicator. Fun but smelly.

Blend a leaf of red cabbage with 100 ml distilled water. Filter (cheese cloth recommended). The resulting solution displays pretty much a full range of colours from pH 1 to14. Some people recommend boiling the cabbage but it is not necessary 

#Science #STEM





Tuesday 23 November 2021

Best Mixer



 Mixing the same solution using different methods, by hand, using a magnetic stirrer and a vortex mixer. Which is best ? I find out #iteachphysics #iteachchemistry #Science #STEM



Monday 22 November 2021

Learning how to use a pipette

 Learning how to use a pipette and get the meniscus at the correct level. This certainly takes some practice. #iteachchemistry #Science #STEM



Saturday 20 November 2021

Determining the Molecular weight of a volatile substance

 Determining the Molecular weight of a volatile substance using the steam generator. Problem here is making the students wait until it is hot enough. A known amount of a volatile liquid is injected into the gas syringe at 100C. The volatile liquid evaporates and turns to gas and the volume is measured. #iteachchemistry #Science #STEM



Friday 19 November 2021

Conductors and insulators

 #Physics Much of the usual fun with conductors and insulators. Both are at the same temp but the metal feels colder. Interesting answers of why. #iteachphysics #Science #STEM



Thursday 18 November 2021

Racing for the Future: Going Green #26

 


In this episode Philip and Paul look at SailGP and its Sustainability Impact League. As well as being Powered by Nature, the organisers have gone one stage further by introducing a Green aspect to the competition. There is an additional prize for the most green team.

A second leader board, which runs alongside the Season Championship, has been created to monitor the performance of the teams in the Impact League, with each team's score at each SailGP event being added to the overall Impact League leader board.At the end of the season it is proposed that there will be two podiums, with the winner of the Impact League crowned alongside the Season Champion and earning funding for its purpose partner, who supports and advises them throughout the season and is visible on the team’s livery. SailGP's Impact League has been set some sustainability criteria - social and environmental - to operate against with each team awarded points based on its fulfilment of these criteria. The criteria range from pioneering new technologies focusing on clean energy solutions and removing all single-use plastics, to diversity and inclusion and using the team's voice for good. Each team will be externally audited and an overall leader board created after each event. Philip and Paul look at this and look at whether this could be inserted into other sports to improve their sustainability and perhaps including all the spectators to earn extra points for their team. We have seen Formula One with formula-E coming along - but this would be so much better if all the factories also became eco-friendly. #podcast #climatechange #climatecrisis #climateemergency #raceforthefuture #sports #sustainability #cleanenergy



Investigating catalysts.


Investigating catalysts. Letting students do some experiments that they have not seen or done in school. Doing is so much better than watching or worse reading from a book. Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide using a Manganese dioxide catalyst. After the reaction filtering washing and drying the catalyst and recovering it. Only lost 0.14g and most of that was stuck to the filter paper.#iteachchemistry #Science #STEM


 

Momentum

  It's easy to understand how to stack the near-frictionless @pascoscientific trollies on top of one another to increase the mass two or...