Hands on Chemistry
In Chemistry this term, we have focused on hands-on, student-centered learning. Chemistry is an interactive subject and what better way to experience science than to “do science”. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”.
In Year 9, students are learning about the structure of atoms and where electrons are found around the nucleus. In order to understand this concept, students played a game with giant-sized atoms and had to correctly place poker chips representing electrons around a nucleus. The game became quite competitive and students very quickly learned their way around the Periodic Table.
In Year 10, students made their own soluble and insoluble salts and filtered and crystallised these to separate them from impurities. Different separation methods are used for different salts and so it is important that students can correctly identify and explain these methods. In the external IGCSE examinations, students write an alternative to practical examination. Hands-on experience in the laboratory is essential for students to understand laboratory techniques and be able to design their own experiments.
The Year 11 students started the AS Chemistry syllabus this term. Students are required to master laboratory techniques as they are assessed on this in an individual practical examination next year. As we cover the necessary theoretical concepts in class, we have done practicals to apply these concepts. Students are becoming more and more confident working individually and are able to obtain accurate experimental results. They have done both titration and gravimetric practicals.
The students in Year 12 had a challenging start to the AS Chemistry course with COVID-19 last year. We were not always able to do a practical experiment at the same time as the theoretical concept was introduced. But students are back in the laboratory this term, and with some extra lessons and hard work, they have been able to complete many practicals already. We have covered all possible laboratory techniques needed in the course and I have seen a marked improvement in the students’ laboratory skills. We are focusing on accurate data presentation and using appropriate data calculations.
This year BIS is also offering A-level Chemistry in Year 13. The syllabus compliments the AS syllabus and students enjoy this course because the added detail explains the trends and concepts covered in Year 11 & 12.
Philippa Goch
Chemistry Teacher – IGCSE, AS and A-level
Chemistry
At BIS students can choose Chemistry as a subject from Year 9. This provides students with a unique opportunity to have more variety in high school as Chemistry and Physics can be taken separately instead of as a single subject. Students can choose between Chemistry and History and between Physics and Art. This often results in some interesting subject combinations such as Chemistry and Art or Physics and History.
After a long period of online lessons, it is exciting to have the Chemistry students back in the classroom. Since BIS is privileged to have a well-equipped science laboratory, Chemistry practicals can now take place again.
This term the Year 9’s have been revising electrochemistry and enthalpy changes, whilst the Year 11’s have been revising chemical equilibrium, Hess’s Law and Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions.
Philippa Gogh
High School Chemistry Teacher
Chemistry
Chemistry at Blouberg International School is experiential and hands-on; students conduct experiments, research ideas and work together in order to understand the world around them.
In simplified terms, the science of chemistry deals with the properties, composition, and structure of substances and how these substances interact with one another. In the IGCSE, AS and A-level chemistry curricula, topics of study are divided into three broad categories: physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry. In each category students learn about chemical theories and processes that are relevant to their lives and to the challenges faced in the world around us.
A strong emphasis is placed on how past and current chemical processes affect the environment and the lives of others. We have had many lively classroom debates about alternative sources of energy, agriculture and the use of fertilizers, food security and transport. The Cambridge curriculum allows students to be exposed to scientific applications on a global level – illustrating how countries around the world have approached these issues and found possible sustainable solutions. Our classroom discussions have also focused on solutions for the African and South African context: identifying our unique resources and challenges and how we can improve on our current processes.
Practicals are another important component of chemistry. Students are empowered to work independently, make discoveries for themselves and apply their theoretical knowledge in a laboratory setting. In the final AS Chemistry examinations, each student carries out their own two-hour practical in which they complete both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Using both their theoretical knowledge and practical laboratory skills, students calculate the quantity of a compound given using various laboratory techniques. In the second half of the examination they apply their knowledge to identify unknown substances using various chemical tests. The AS and A-level curricula prepare students very well for university by providing them with a solid foundational understanding of chemistry principles and laboratory techniques.
Philippa Goch
High School Chemistry Teacher
Year 11 Chemistry Students Visit Aspen Pharma
This past Wednesday, the Year 11 Chemistry class went on an outing to Fine Chemicals Corporation, a division of Aspen Pharmacare, to learn about the applications of chemistry in pharmaceutical manufacturing. What an interesting visit it was! We were given a tour of the different on-site laboratories and learnt about large scale chemical manufacturing.
The plant we visited manufactures APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) that are used in the production of medicines. In every step of this manufacturing process, quality control is vital to ensure a superior product is made. We toured the Quality Control Laboratory and saw the uses of many of the chemical processes we have learnt about in the classroom. It was fascinating to see these chemical processes in real-life.
We also toured the Analytical Development Division Laboratory and the Research & Development Laboratory where analytical chemists conduct further tests to improve product quality and work on more efficient ways to produce these products. The staff at Fine Chemicals Corporations were very informed and helpful and answered all of our questions about: how the plant operates; the importance of safety in a laboratory; laboratory instrumentation; and the uses of the products they produce.
Philippa Goch
High School Teacher