With support in supplying the starting material, by
support in supplying prizes by
and other support by
The National Research Council of Canada.
Sponsored by the
CHEMICAL INSTITUTE OF CANADA'S
NATIONAL CHEMISTRY WEEK
With support in supplying the starting material, by
support in supplying prizes by
and other support by
The National Research Council of Canada.
This Year's Unofficial Results
PAST RESULTS
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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
E-mail youngjc@agr.gc.ca or
If you do not "fit" into one of the established Local Areas, contact The Wizard and you will be placed in the "Outliers" group. The deadline for submission of your crystals will be October 31, 2003.
STEP TWO - GET YOUR STARTING MATERIAL
This year we will be using potassium sodium tartrate (also known as Rochelle Salt) kindly donated by Anachemia Science.
You may NOW ORDER
To order your material, call Anachemia directly at 1-800-361-0209 and
2. NEW THIS YEAR, you must also provide a Purchase Order Number from your school.
If you need more material order it at the same time.
NOTE HOWEVER, because of a limited supply available,
If 500 g is more than you think you need, you may order 200 g bottle(s)
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.
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 two crystals to the Local Coordinator; one for best quality and one for best overall. 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 19-25, 2003), 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.
We thank BASF for donating prizes.
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.
One single crystal will be judged only on the basis of quality as outlined below.
The other single crystal will be judged on the basis of combining mass and quality factors as outlined below.
The quality is judged by experts who will rank the crystals 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 mass M recorded.
2. The quality of the crystal is judged on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing a perfect crystal.
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.
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 %).
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