The Specialist Science College Magazine from Helsby High School

Issue 17 - January 2012

Helsby are Top of the Bench!

The Royal Society of Chemistry hosts an annual, nationwide, inter-school Top of the Bench chemistry competition and this year the Liverpool Section (Wirral heat), took place at the Wirral Metropolitan College on Friday 9th December 2011. The team from Helsby High School consisted of Lauren Usher (9RHA) Tom Vaughan (9JMA) Karrar Al-Zubaidy (10MBA) and Jaynie Blanchard (11IMA). The competition was judged on analytical skill and chemical knowledge in a range of tasks: a two-hour practical (50% of marks) in which the team had to work together to create a “chemical clock” that would change temperature by a specific amount in exactly 30 seconds; an individual multiple-choice exam (25%); and a poster about “the chemistry of water” (25%), which had been researched and produced beforehand. The team from Helsby High School won the event, beating five other schools from the Wirral area. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for the national final as the team that won the Liverpool heat achieved a higher score, but congratulations go to the four successful Helsby chemists for their great effort and teamwork.

Dr G. McNeill

“We visited the Ball Packaging factory as part of our AS Physics course. Ball Produce cans for almost all the major alcoholic and soft drink beverage manufacturers in the UK. The factory we

visited was specifically for producing can ends, the top section of the can. We learnt how the factory could produce 1900 can ends a second, equating to 23 million a day. We were told about the measures taken to remain efficient and ensure that the products were made with precision. We looked at the ring pull mechanism and discovered that the scored section which is to be ‘popped’ had to be accurate to around 17 microns. Considering that a human hair is 70 microns, this was a great insight into the level of precision needed. We enjoyed a talk on the processes used in the factory courtesy of the Plant Manager, Kev and the Production Manager, Anthony. We were also given a free can of pepsi, a mouse mat, a sticker and all the can ends we could wish for! Overall I found the experience to be very rewarding and it gave us a great insight into the way products that we take for granted are manufactured.” Joe Roberts

“We learnt about the precise standards of can top manufacture and how physics comes into the process, from creation to testing. I found the machinery that they used interesting, along with the testing and standards to which they hold.” Jack Brookes

“We got to see the can lids actually being produced and all the machinery working which was interesting as it’s not something you would usually have the opportunity to do.” Helen Elmes

“The trip was interesting and it was incredible to see the scale of production.” Tom Gillot

“There were many positives from the trip.

Firstly, everyone was very helpful and was willing to answer any question that we directed at them. Secondly, we were given samples which helped us to further understand the process. Finally, the tour round the factory was interesting and you could see close up exactly how the machines worked.” Henry Pettinger-Harte

“It was an informative tour and I was able to see what a production environment is like. There were interesting machines and processes that were well explained.” Jolyon Burgess

“I enjoyed the trip because I found it interesting and I learned about working in a factory and all the different jobs that are involved in making a can top.” Katie Hayes

“After we finished the safety brief we were kitted out with protective caps, jackets and ear plugs, ready to visit the production floor where we would receive a guided tour. Personally I found this incredibly interesting as it’s all well and good to be told about these amazing machines and stacking robots but to see them with your own eyes and be in the busy work-filled atmosphere is something quite different. I was particularly impressed with the packing robot arm type machines, they moved the paper in such a human-like way (pulling it back and forward so it would fall into place without creasing the paper) that it was almost alarming. Fortunately for us one of the production machines was being stripped down and refurbished so we were able to see the skill and precision needed when using these machines.” Sebastian Chambers

“I thought the trip was useful because it showed the use of physics in a real scenario and how precise simple things you don’t expect to be, are. For example, the measurement of force needed for each time you open a can end, which relates to the choice of material as well as the thickness.” Ellis Harrison

“Overall it was an interesting trip which provided an insight into the manufacturing industry, especially useful to anyone thinking of following that career path. I would definitely recommend it to next year’s AS Physics students.” Lewis Parsons

“I enjoyed the trip to the factory as I got to see how much effort went into making something small like a can end. It also made me appreciate the amount of physics involved in a functioning factory. I particularly enjoyed seeing the robot arms in the factory as they had to be programmed so accurately to do their job.” Ben Cowell

Year 12 Physics visit to ‘BALL PACKAGING’ Deeside Plant

British Biology Olympiad

At the end of the summer, I attended the award ceremony for the Biology Olympiad at the Royal Society in London and received a Silver medal from Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London.

Despite a hectic start to the afternoon in which we had to try and frantically cross London, whose streets were filled with protesting public service workers, we made it to the ceremony on time. The ceremony was held at the Royal Society and following an opening speech from the President of the Biological Society who was responsible for having set the Biology Olympiad paper, we were treated to a fascinating lecture by Professor Jones on 'What sex really means.'

Contrary to his opening promise to make the topic of sex boring, the lecture was both humorous and deeply interesting and upon its conclusion we were awarded our medals. A member of last year's finalist team also gave us an insight into the biological challenges they faced at the International Biology Olympiad in South Korea, including the opportunities to produce DNA fingerprints, illustrating the type of activities this year's finalists would face in Taiwan.

Overall it was a highly enjoyable day, finished off perfectly with tea and cake.

Sarah Feldman

Nuffield Bursaries

Upper Sixth Science students presented the results of their Nuffield Bursary projects at the Liverpool World museum last term. This was the culmination of four full working weeks in which the students demonstrated their ability to work under their own initiative, be innovative and collaborate with experts in their field.

Hazel Clarke worked on “Analysis of O.T.R. Screen Images in ALICE”. ALICE stands for Accelerators and Lasers in Combined Experiments and Hazel wrote a computer program that would automatically analyse the images produced. It found the height and

width of the electron beam and compared the distribution with the frequency to determine the behaviour of the electron beams within the accelerator.

Nicholas Simpkin investigated “The Time Budgets and Enclosure Use of the Spectacled Bear Tremarctos Ornatus at Chester Zoo”. This involved recording the ways in which the bears spent their time and which areas of the enclosure were being used. The data was statistically analysed and compared with the behaviour of other spectacled bears.

Tim Smith carried out an “Investigation into the Theorems of Metabolic Control Analysis”. He used a mathematical model to interpret how enzymes in a metabolic pathway are working.

Dan Vaughan-Williams worked on the “Prediction of Skin Sensitisation by Chemicals”. He used cutting edge technology to contribute to important scientific studies which could have a large impact in the future of pharmaceutical research.

All the students produced very professional posters and reports of their work and impressed visitors with their knowledge and enthusiasm. They also have received gold CREST awards.

Mrs E Cullen

Engineering

a Career for your Future?

On Thursday 8 December 2011, a group of eight Year 12 students attended a “Careers in Engineering” event at Penketh High School in Warrington. The event was organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and included talks by current engineers from a wide range of disciplines.

First were two Mechanical Engineers; one of whom worked for Heinz and she

explained the complicated engineering behind every tin of baked beans. Then

two Structural Engineers talked about the various stages of building

development which graduate engineers can get involved in. Next was a

Chemical Engineer who illustrated the links between chemistry, maths, physics

and engineering, from big scale projects such as oil refineries, down to micro scale projects such as artificial

tissue engineering. Finally, the Civil Engineer demonstrated how our modern day lives are made easier by

things like roads, bridges, sewers etc. designed and built by civil engineers. The evening was rounded off by

pizza and a chance to ask the engineers any questions about education and employment opportunities.

Crest Afterschool Club

Every Wednesday, from 3:05pm to 4:05pm, a group of 18 keen young scientists gather in a science room to conduct a series of experiments to further their love of science. Guided by Dr Ravetz, this group of

year 10’s and 11’s are aiming to achieve the Silver Crest. The Silver Crest award is a project which involves research, investigation and evaluation, which culminates in them hopefully receiving the award which is a fantastic addition to a university application or CV, as well as a great way of furthering their scientific minds. The Silver Crest allows you to carry out an investigation in a group, which could come from anything you love, perhaps a hobby or outside interest. I was astounded by the imagination of the pupils, and the projects that they came up with sounded so interesting I can’t wait to see their conclusions. The pupils started with some very wacky ideas such as trying to reverse the effects of rust, and some degree level ideas such as quantum mechanics. They then latched onto some very good ideas and many of the projects cover very interesting areas of science such as cosmology, in Sam Lawson and James Longworth’s project “Are We Alone in the Universe?” Also Rob Conduit’s project “Is There Life in the Solar System?” Our dietary needs are also investigated in Ariane Gibbons and Allys Foad’s project “Do Diet Drinks Really Make a Difference?” Some of the projects came from simple ideas such as the rocket scientists of the group Michael Jones, Lawrence Donaldson, James Dawber and Karrar Al-Zubaidy’s project. This developed from their love of the rocket experiment which is conducted with water and air which is pressurised by a foot pump. They developed this idea into using different ‘rocket fuels’ to see if you could alter the distance travelled by the rocket.

Another group, Flossy Woodward-Moor, Katy Morgan and Beth Sales experiment came from the interesting fact that they all keep chickens, and so they decided to investigate “How Temperature Affects Eggs”. Two groups, however, decided to tackle important issues which have arisen in the news in recent years, forest fires and influenza. Tom Sage and David McLellan are investigating forest habitat and which materials on the forest floor catch fire in the least amount of time. Now from budding environmentalists to pathologists in the making, Rachel Sizer and Marissa Lo are investigating influenza or “flu”, as they want to discover why it is important and how dangerous it is. My job in this afterschool club is to mentor one of the groups and guide them in their experiment, by offering explanations and assistance if necessary. Jess Parsons and Lloyd Ramsey are the group I’m assigned to mentor. Lloyd and Jess, after discussing with them why explosions weren’t the safest area to research, wanted to build on their practical skills by doing experiments, so I challenged them to go off and find an experiment to do. They then came back to me the next week with an experiment called “Elephants Toothpaste” in which you create a column of foam by mixing yeast and hydrogen peroxide. They then decided that they wanted to try and create the ‘perfect’ version of this experiment where, on a smaller scale they create the perfect amount of foam. Their end goal was to be able to reproduce this experiment in classrooms safely so that other people could get a feel of some “exciting science.” All of the groups have shown dedication and skill that will be paramount in future endeavours, and I wish them all the best in their Crest Award.

Jack Saunders

EESE teams working with Essar and Ineos Chlor Workshop at Liverpool University

In October 2011, eight lower sixth students volunteered to take part in the Engineering Education Scheme (England) which is a six month project which involves working with an engineer from a local company.

One team – Jack Bamber, Jolyon Burgess, Ben Cowell and Lewis Parsons is working with engineers from Ineos Chlor Vinyls based in Runcorn who make a range of chlorine based chemicals. The other team – David Hayes, Katie Hayes, Cory Gardner and Simon Stubbs is working with an engineer from Essar (formerly Shell) who are based at Ellesmere Port and refine crude oil.

The project is to come up with a solution to a problem that the

engineers had on plant. Ineos Chlor Vinyls wanted the students to design a mechanical device to put cables in trays and to secure them. Essar wanted the students to design a device to remove the end of a pipe, catch any sludge which leaks out and support the parts.

The students have spent three days in December at the University of Liverpool in their engineering workshop building a prototype to solve their problem. They built and tested their design over the three days and did a presentation to teams from the other schools taking part.

Between January and April the teams will refine their design, write a report of their findings and put together another presentation of their solution.

At the end of April the students will return to the University of Liverpool for the celebration and assessment day which involves them displaying their solution and presenting their findings to a panel of engineers. Mr T Shipley

Nathan Bentley - Year 7 Finalist In North West Schools

‘Why I want to be a Scientist’ Competition

When I entered the North West Schools Science Competition asking why I wanted to be a scientist, I had no idea what was going to happen to me.

I wrote a piece of work, 500 words long and then sent it off just in time! I was then delighted to find out I had made the final with five other Year 7 pupils. I had to go to the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes and perform a two minute speech on Thursday, 1 December. I went along with my family and my science teacher Mrs Morris. I had to perform my speech in front of eight judges who then asked me questions. The judges were from scientific companies based in the local area. In the end I didn`t win but I had a really good time and I would recommend anyone who enjoys science to enter the competition next year.

Helsby High School Chester Road, Helsby, Frodsham, WA6 0HY

Tel: 01928 723551 Fax: 01928 723093 E-mail: head@helsbyhigh.org.uk www.helsbyhigh.cheshire.sch.uk

Celebration Lunch

On Thursday 15th December a number of students from Years 10 – 13 attended a celebration lunch in E1. Dr Clarke presented certificates gained by students in The UKMT Senior Challenge, held in November at school and The UKMT Team Challenge, held earlier in the month at Manchester University.

Students were also invited to attend if they wished to gain information about either studying engineering or studying at Oxford University or both. Chris Sharp talked to the students and answered their questions. It was a very enjoyable celebration lunch and some valuable information was gained by all who attended. Mrs C Sharp

Primary Science Workshops

Helsby teachers have been sharing their enthusiasm and enjoyment of science with several of our partner primary schools. They have carried out workshops on sound, electricity, teeth and healthy eating, microbes and solids liquids and gases. The pupils got very involved in the experiments and many demonstrated that they would make excellent potential future scientists! The schools who benefitted from the workshops so far are Frodsham CE Primary, Kingsley C P, Horns Mill, Manley, St Lukes and Kingsley St John’s. There are many other workshops planned involving more schools throughout the school year.

In a thank you letter from St Lukes following a sound workshop a pupil said “Thank you so much for the sound workshop you did with class six. Everybody learned something new! We had lots of fun and hope you did too!” Mrs E Cullen