RSC

READ THE FULL REPORT The Spectroscopy Zone was funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry, of which Baljit, Jesus, Arlene and Michael were members. All the scientists used types of spectroscopy in their research or work, for instance in detecting explosive compounds, in forensic chemistry, or to analyse the light from distant galaxies. The students in this zone were interested in the research of the scientists and picked up on the details in their profiles, leading to varied discussion of careers in chemistry as well as how they each used spectroscopy. All scientists communicated well with the students and Jesus, the zone winner, engaged strongly throughout. He attended all 19 chats, often as the sole scientist, and contributed a third of the zone’s answers in ASK, as did Baljit.

The Colour Zone was a primary school zone funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The theme of the Zone was colour chemistry and Lynn, Kevin, Jade and Andrew were members of the RSC. Despite being one of the zones with fewer students in June 2015, the ASK section of the Zone was especially busy, with above average levels of both questions asked (1160) and comments left (72). Students asked questions about colour and the research of the scientists, but also about broader general science topics such as space and the brain. There were also a number of questions asking about the scientists’ personal lives and opinions. Some of the live chats were led by the teacher taking questions from the class, meaning they were less lively, but very focused and on-task. The winning scientist, Jess, put a lot of effort into engaging with the students in ASK and … Continue reading →