Monday 30 November 2015

Silver mirror test

Greetings fellow Scientists!

Today we conducted the silver mirror test. We started by preparing the Tollens' reagent:





The final result was really impressive:


Monday 23 November 2015

Spectroscopy in a suitcase

Greetings fellow Scientists!

Today we had an exciting opportunity to work with a scientist from the University of Greenwich. We explored a fascinating branch of Science, namely spectroscopy.

 The Smarties Science Club members with Ms Katy Glazer, National Coordinator for SIAS and 
Mr William King, University of Greenwich


Spectroscopy is the study focusing on the analysis of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation. We had a chance to analyse multiple samples, identify various functional groups and finally identify the substance we were testing.














Tuesday 17 November 2015

Levitating flame

Greetings fellow Scientists!

In our yesterday's session we had a bit of fun with Bunsen burners. Firstly, we made a levitating flame:







We also did a flame test with copper sulfate and created beautiful sparks with iron filings:



Monday 9 November 2015

Bubble snakes

Greetings fellow Scientists!

In our today's session we looked at the surface tension of water. We conducted a simple experiment where we tested different washing up liquids and their ability to create bubbles.

Here is the equipment used:


Here is how we prepared everything:




Lastly, the fun bit:





Would you like to do this experiment at home? Watch this video for step-by-step instructions:


Tuesday 3 November 2015

National Pathology Week

Greetings fellow Scientists!

2nd - 8th November is the National Pathology Week. Pathology is a branch of Science which focuses on the analysis of tissues, organs and bodily fluids to diagnose a disease. There are many pathology specialities, some of them include chemical pathology, histopathology or medical microbiology. The Royal College of Pathologists website offers loads of information about various events organised to celebrate pathology. At Jo Richardson, to celebrate this event, the students will complete a quiz in tutor time and learn more about pathology by watching a short film about pathology. Together with JRCS Science Ambassadors we decorated our Science corridors with posters and prepared a display about pathology.