There is a well-known experiment that is used to great effect to show the effect of heat on the position of an equilibrium. The solution used contains cobalt chloride and hydrochloric acid resulting in an equilibrium between cobalt ions that have either pink aqueous or blue chloride ligands.
Liberate your school’s micro:bits
In the spring of 2016, Scottish schools were given one BBC micro:bit programmable device for every S1 pupil. The intention was to encourage young people to learn to code. There was an article about the giveaway in SSERC Bulletin 255 [1]. Since then, some schools have given out the micro:bits to pupils, but when we ask teachers what happened to them in their schools, a common reply is, “They’re all in a box in the computing department.”
SSERC professional development courses
An update on the courses SSERC is offering over the next few months.
Synthetic Biology: learning by playing cards
Dr. Liz Fletcher and her colleagues at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology (SynthSys) have developed a useful resource for students of National 5 and Higher Biology.
Following from our previous article [Bulletin 261] on manual screwcutting, where we looked at the process of producing internal threads, our intention was to supplement this with a look at how external threads are created. So let’s have a look at the tools and techniques that will get you started.
Scottish success at STEM Inspiration Awards
The STEM Inspiration Awards celebrate individuals and organisations working to inspire young people in STEM subjects.
Career speed-dating success using STEM Ambassadors
Organised jointly by the Science and Technology department and the Mathematics department, a total of 29 visitors from a diverse range of career and qualification backgrounds such as engineering, pharmacy, medicine, web design, robotics, finance, nursing and management were quizzed on their careers in five minute slots by groups of S4 pupils.
Sometimes it feels like it wouldn’t be a proper SSERC Bulletin without an article on the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR). Our recent article in Bulletin 259 and the follow-up advice in 261 caused a stooshie in some quarters. Indeed, there were a small number of people who felt that SSERC was insisting on examiners having to meet higher standards than those required by the Health and Safety Executive.
Our colleagues at CLEAPSS reported an incident with this demonstration in the South West of England last year with a whoosh bottle containing methanol.
