St Paul’s Collegiate have snatched back their title as the winners of the University of Waikato’s ChemQuest challenge.
Since 1997 St Paul’s Collegiate has won the competition eight times, but never more than twice in a row.
The winners
First place went to Paul Newton-Jackson, Hannah Clare and Mark Davis from the St Paul’s Collegiate team with the interesting name of ‘Knights of the Hexagonal Table with Alternating Double Bonds’. The students were awarded the James and Wells trophy, $150 and a gold medal each.
The annual chemistry quiz gives Year 12 chemistry students the chance to put their chemistry knowledge to the test in a pop quiz-style challenge.
The ‘senses round’ required students to sniff out a range of scents from small vials, with smells ranging from spearmint to vinegar.
The ‘demo’ round included demonstrations featuring liquid nitrogen, exploding hydrogen balloons and chemical reactions that produce light; all which were crowd pleasers on the night.
A fun event for all
“ChemQuest is always a fun event for everyone involved. The students also have a lot of fun coming up with team names. Some of the more clever names this year included ‘Plumbum’ (the Latin name for lead), ‘BrO’ (chemical symbol for bromine oxide), ‘In Our Element’ and ‘The Names Bond. Ionic Bond’”, says event organiser Professor Bill Henderson.
The after-school event was held at the University of Waikato on October 24 and was attended by almost 200 students, made up of teams of three.
Hamilton Boys’ High School won second place in the contest. The team consisting of James Peacock, Caleb Sampson and Samuel McCabe won $90 for their team and a silver medal each. Third place went to a Te Awamutu College team, which included Aggie Melville, Regan McCorquindale and Sarah Murphy.
The fourth place winners were from Tauranga Boys’ College, while fifth place went to a team from Hamilton’s Hillcrest High School.
ChemQuest
ChemQuest is sponsored by the University of Waikato’s Faculty of Science and Engineering, James & Wells Intellectual Property and Hill Laboratories.
