Sponsored by the
CHEMICAL INSTITUTE OF CANADA'S
NATIONAL CHEMISTRY WEEK
PAST RESULTS
1996-1999 Canada-Wide Cumulative
STEP ONE - REGISTER
This contest is open to any high school student in Canada
Contact your Local Area Coordinator to let him/her know that you are participating.
If you are unsure of who your coordinator is, contact The Wizard
(also known as Dr. Chris Young) at:
E-mail youngjc@agr.gc.ca or
Phone 519 767-5012 or
FAX 519 837-9472 or
Backup E-mail thewiz@sentex.net
STEP TWO - GET YOUR STARTING MATERIAL
This year we will be using copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate (also known as Blue Stone) kindly donated by Anachemia Science.
To order your material, call Anachemia directly at 1-800-361-0209 and ask for Part Number 2678T-500G-PROM - 500g Cupric Sulfate pentahydrate - ACS grade. They will ship one 500 g bottle of copper sulfate directly to you FOR FREE!
OUR STOCK OF COPPER SULFATE IS EXHAUSTED SO NO MORE ORDERS CAN BE ACCEPTED.
NOTE: Only teachers may order material, which must be shipped directly to a school.
If you need more material (for possible reason, see below) order it at the same time. Note however that you will be billed later for the extra ($11/bottle + $8 shipping).
STEP THREE - PREPARE YOUR CRYSTAL(s)
You are free to use any procedure you like to prepare crystals. For your convenience, suggested seed crystal growing procedures followed by detailed instructions are provided here.
Also included is background information and links to other web sites on crystals and general approaches to growing crystals.
(NOTE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEARS.) |
However there is no limit to the number of students asssigned to a team, nor is there a limit to the number of teams permitted at a given school.
[Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 45th Ed (1964-5)]
STEP 4 - HAVE YOUR CRYSTAL(s) JUDGED
Make arrangements with your Local Coordinator for your best crystal(s) to be judged.
Each school is encouraged to submit only one crystal to the Local Coordinator. It is recognized that where several crystals from a school may be of roughly equivalent over-all quality, and it is difficult to make a choice, it may be necessary to submit several crystals. Of these several crystals from a particular school, only one may be the "official" crystal to be considered for all prize(s) awarded locally.
Nominally, we would like to have the crystals judged early in National Chemistry Week (October 18-26, 2002), so that the winners can be displayed later in the week.
However, there may be unforseen delays in getting starting material to schools. Then, at the discretion of the Local Coordinator, judging may have to take place at a later time.
In November, the best crystal from each Local Area will be sent for judging at the National Level. A Trophy and cash prizes are given to the students preparing the best crystals.
JUDGING CRITERIA
The idea is to grow a SINGLE CRYSTAL, not a bunch of crystals. It is therefore essential to avoid excessive rapid growth, which encourages the formation of multiple crystals, not a single crystal.
The best single crystal will be judged on the basis of mass and quality as outlined below.
The quality is judged by experts who will rank the crystal on a scale of 0-10. A score of 10 will be given to a perfect gem quality crystal which fits the ideal crystal structure known for the chemical.
1. The crystal is weighed, and the observed mass Mo recorded.
2. The quality of the crystal is judged on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing a perfect crystal. The following factors will be considered in judging quality:
Total Observed Quality Qo = x.xx (out of 10)
3. The Total Score is then determined as follows:
Total Score = [log (Mo+1)] x Qo
The logarithm of the mass is chosen so that large poor quality crystals don't swamp out smaller good quality crystals.
The value 1 is added to the mass so that crystals weighing less than 1 g get a positive score.
A 100% yield crystal made from 100 g (Mt) that scores a perfect 10 on quality (Qt) would get a theoretical maximum of
[log (100+1)] x 10 = 20.01
The actual score is expressed as a percentage of the maximum. The crystal with the highest Overall Score % is the winning crystal.
100 x {[log (Mo+1)] x Qo} / {[log (Mt+1)] x Qt} = Overall Score %
For example, the best overall crystal in the 2001 Contest with 150 g starting material weighed 46.53 g and had a quality of 8.65. It's overall score was
100 x {[log (46.53+1)] x 8.65} / {[log (150+1)] x 10} = 66.6%
This score is nearly an absolute score that could be used to judge different types of crystals grown from differing amounts of starting material.
NATIONAL CONTEST DIVISIONS/CATEGORIES
There are four National Contest Divisions:
DIV. 1. = High School Students within the traditional CIC Local Sections (see List of Coordinators).
DIV. 2. = "Outlier" High School Students living outside the traditional CIC Local Sections. Chris Young is your coordinator and your crystals should be submitted directly to him for judging.
DIV. 3. = Home Schooled Students living outside the traditional CIC Local Sections. (see List of Coordinators for Gayle Remisch's address). Crystals should be submitted directly to Chris Young for judging. There are no age restrictions for this division.
The best of each of the above Divisions will be judged against each other.
DIV. 4. = High School Teachers. Crystals from ALL teacher should be submited for judging.
There are two Categories: Best Quality Crystal (Qo only) and Best Overall (Overall Score %).
NEED MORE STARTING MATERIAL?
a) match/mismatch with crystal type (out of 2)
b) presence/absence of occlusions (out of 2)
c) intact/broken edges (out of 2)
d) well formed/misformed faces (out of 2)
e) clarity/muddiness (out of 2)
Obviously, the 500 g of starting material supplied will be insufficient where there are more than five teams at a school. If a school wishes greater participation, then the school will have to obtain more material on their own.
This can be done by purchasing extra from Anachemia at the time of ordering. You will be invoiced later.
