2024 School Magazine

Titration

The Royal Australian Chemical Institution Titration Competition is open to Year 11 and 12 Chemistry students all around Queensland. This year’s competition was run at QUT, UQ, Griffith, JQU and JCU, and had over 100 teams competing from 37 schools. The competition consists of two rounds of acid-base titrations to ascertain the unknown concentration of a weak acid within a supplied solution. Each team is evaluated based on the reported values for the unknown weak acid used in the preliminary titration investigation, with their ranking being determined by how closely the teams approximate the actual concentration for each acid. A total of four teams of three students from BGGS participated at QUT on 1 June 2024. Our teams did exceptionally well—a special mention must go to Eva Nykiel (12R), Charlotte Clayton (12B), Rebecca Chen (11W), Sunnie Lin (11M) and Farrah Gresham (11W) for receiving a High Distinction, and Sophie Chambers (11E) for receiving a Distinction in this year’s competition. Additionally, Eva, Charlotte, and Rebecca’s team placed first in the state, which is a fantastic achievement, reflective of their hard work and commitment to the competition. Lykke Lee (12L) and Ruby Logan (12R)

Chemistry Olympiad

The Chemistry Olympiad, similar to the other Olympiads, is a challenging and unique two-hour exam-style competition that extends our learning beyond the classroom. We began preparation in Term 2, with a thick booklet of past papers to attempt and discuss each week. Alongside concepts we were taught in regular Chemistry classes, Mrs Jacqui Ross took us through additional topics including redox (reduction and oxidation) reactions, molecular symmetry and limiting reagents, and extensive questions that required a great deal of thought and problem-solving. While the problems were a bit daunting and had us all a bit confused at times, it was satisfying to finally understand the questions, dive deeper into complex chemistry concepts and learn how to solve them. Overall, through the Olympiad, we have been enriched and enlightened about all things Chemistry and would encourage anyone invited to participate to accept the opportunity. Grace Gong (11O) and Sunnie Lin (11M)

102 | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2024