Grade 12 Science Experiments

It is that time of year, after the mock exams, when the Grade 12 students actually start to behave like professional scientists. During the two-year science courses, the theoretical content is best understood if accompanied by experimental work, wherever possible. This could involve a demonstration, a prescriptive procedure or a student-planned investigation. Having completed the core parts of each science syllabus before the mock examinations, the students can then choose their favourite topics to plan some genuine research carried out over a period of 3 weeks. This extended activity is a perfect contrast to students writing mock examinations, where they wear lab-coats, safety glasses & gloves where necessary and mostly work standing up (as scientists do), prior to writing up their 12-page laboratory reports.

This year’s cohort of Grade 12 students are an exceptional group whom I first had the pleasure to teach when I arrived at LIS in August 2018. They are highly motivated and take their studies seriously and with a maturity beyond their years. The research investigations in the three sciences were extremely varied and included:

– testing the effectiveness of toothpastes & mouth rinses;
– how does temperature affect the ripening of bananas;
– how does the wavelength of light affect the growth of bacteria;
– investigating the rate of colouring of roses with temperature;
– the effect of temperature on a neutralisation reaction;  
– investigating the gas laws using hydrogen gas;
– investigating the vitamin C content with the cooking time of broccoli;
– investigating the energetics of cold-packs;
– determining the horizontal component of Earth’s magnetic field with the help of Ampere’s Law;
– the emissivity of a hot wire: an application of the Stefan-Boltzmann Law;
– Torricelli’s Law and the range of a water jet; and many more.

The above research projects are submitted for internal assessment late March and then for external assessment late April. Each internal assessment project contributes 20% to their final grade. Some students find the freedom they have during the three weeks stimulating, whilst others often find it overwhelming and others in between. However, the most important thing it teaches them is the vital importance of detailed forward planning, managing their time efficiently and working independently. These skills will be invaluable to them at university and hopefully throughout their working lives.

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