Dunning Kruger Analysis

January 4, 2019

Dunning who? Dunning Kruger Analysis is doing the rounds in my school – it’s the current buzz phrase. I’ve been in this game for too long and am always sceptical of new initiatives, but this one did catch my eye and I think it has some mileage. The theory...

What Is Entropy?

December 28, 2018

Entropy is covered in the AHL part of the course: Topic 15.1 in the energetics / thermochemistry unit. The entropy change (symbol = S) in a chemical reaction is determined by as follows: total entropy change = total entropy of products – total entropy of the reactants...

Benzene

December 5, 2018

Benzene is sometimes referred to as an aromatic compound as opposed to the majority of other organic molecules that you have so far studied that are found in chains and sometimes referred to as aliphatic compounds. Aromatic substances are said to have an unsaturated...

The Avogadro Project

October 19, 2018

This sounds like some sort of clandestine secret government project I think but in fact, it is something far more interesting! The Avogadro projects earliest rumblings began in the 1990’s and were linked in with defining the kilogram. Its results were published in...

Nobel Prize in Chemistry and HL Biochemistry

October 12, 2018

This years Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to three researchers, Frances Arnold, George Smith and Gregory Winter for their work on enzyme research. Their work uses a technique called ‘directed evolution’ to create new enzymes. It does also tie in nicely with...

Possible EE / IA project

October 3, 2018

I’ve just stumbled upon a great article on the BBC website. The article can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45398434 The article is about a group of plants that have evolved to take up toxic metal ions into their systems. The metals in...