This series of undergraduate-level practicals, designed by the University of Northumbria, demonstrated and expanded upon the students’ existing chemistry knowledge, skills and aptitude for analytical science, through practical experiments based on relevant societal or industrial problems.
This year, our students were tasked with assisting the Trading Standards Office to investigate some unusual products on sale at a local sweet shop. In the course of their investigations, they performed thin-layer chromatography to identify the specific dyes used in a sample of candy sweets. Challenges included: determining whether or not any contained restricted dyes, quantifying the vitamin C content of effervescent vitamin tablets using an acid-base titration, and conducting a volumetric gas analysis on the baking soda content of cake mixtures.
Our students’ results will now be sent to the Royal Society of Chemistry to determine this year’s winning team.
