School of Chemistry

Why chemistry?

Year group: Y7-13
Duration: approx 1 hour
Min/Max number participants: 30-300 per school  

A presentation outlining the benefits of chemistry to society and what careers a degree in chemistry could lead to. 

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STEM days

Year group: Usually Y8-10
Maximum/minimum participants: Usually 40/20 pupils

Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths are arguably some of the most important subjects in today’s world. Visit the University for a day and choose a selection of workshops to suit your pupils from a list covering all the STEM subjects.

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Analysis and spectroscopy workshop

Year group: Y10 - 13
Dates: Wednesday afternoons
Duration: 2 – 3 hours
Max number participants: 50 per school
Location: The University of Leeds

In this workshop, various analytical techniques are used for the analysis of three common painkillers: aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen. Students work in groups to identify a mystery white powder using melting point, thin layer chromatography and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. They have the opportunity to see high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) in action and obtain spectra of their unknown. A more extensive version of the workshop includes detailed analysis of the spectra.

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Chemical clocks and waves

Year group: Y10  to Y13
Duration: Approx 1 hour
Location: The University of Leeds

This workshop involves experiments with chemical reactions that have the properties that give rise to chemical signals in living systems. These special reactions suddenly change colour or change colour repeatedly and make extraordinary chemical patterns in a petri-dish.

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Spectroscopy in a suitcase

Year group: Y10 to Y13
Duration: 1- 2 hours
Max number participants: 30
Location: Your school

The RSC's 'spectroscopy in a suitcase' scheme offers school students the chance to learn about spectroscopy through hands-on experience. As well as covering the principles of spectroscopic techniques, the activities use real-life contexts to demonstrate the applications of the techniques.

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Bath bombs

Year group: Y7 to Y9
Duration: Approx 1 hour
Location: The University or your school

Make your own bath bombs and discover the properties and uses of carbon dioxide in this fun, interactive workshop.

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