Four area high schools brought seven teams of students to Loras College on April 19, 2013 to participate in the first Chemistry Olympics competition, held by Loras College chemistry department and student group, American Chemical Society.
The purpose of the competition was to cultivate greater interest in chemistry, realize the fun of the sciences, inspire future pursuits in science, and get a glimpse of the college chemistry experience.
“We wanted to have an event that brought students onto campus, let them see a college science building and tools and have some fun competing in science-oriented games,” explained Adam Moser, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry at Loras College.
Students had the opportunity to tour the science buildings at Loras and participate in lab experiences in the DNA and infrared labs, as well as the organized Olympics competitions.
Competitions included in the Chemistry Olympics were:
Solution Density / Drop Volume Race
Students determined the density of a salt water solution and the volume of a single drop of liquid.
Periodic Table Race
Each competitor filled in missing information in a partially completed periodic table. Students also answered questions based on the periodic table covering topics of periodic trends, elemental states, names of families, and basic atomic structure.
Team Titration Race
Students determine the concentration of a weak, monoprotic acid with a standardized base with titration.
Solution Identification Race
Students used their knowledge of solubility rules and acid/base tests to determine the identity of 12 unknown liquids from a list.
Chemical Quiz Show
Students worked as teams to solve questions, including word scrambles, crosswords, quiz show-formatted or other puzzles, based on general chemistry knowledge.
Individual and team winners received Loras College scholarships to support their higher education plans. The overall team winner was Senior High School in Dubuque, Iowa. Other participating schools were: Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Western Dubuque High School in Epworth and Cuba City High School in Cuba City, Wisconsin.
“This was a great way to highlight the importance of chemistry and STEM programs through fun competition. As a chemistry undergraduate myself, I was excited to share in this day with the students and award the winners an opportunity to pursue higher education at Loras,” explained Omar Correa, vice president of enrollment management at Loras College.