Educake Top Scorers
Well done to everyone who completed their home learning this week. The top scores for each year group are:
Year 7: Nidal M, Jack H, Declan J and Adelina J.
Year 8: Zaibaa D, Zahara C and Zainab G.
Year 9: Sohan P, Isabelle C, Diana SG, Jack N, Faheemah P, Umaynah B, Ameena P, Finley B, Adam E, Ayesha K, Khadijah N, Khadijah D, Husnain-Ali A and Zeemal AR.
STEM club
This week in the STEM club pupils learnt how to create glass! It wasn’t the bland transparent glass we normally encounter…but colourful glass! The team mixed sugar, water and baking powder in a beaker. Once at a high temperature, the mixture changed from a dour milky broth to a shiny, transparent liquid. Using tongues, the hot beaker was picked up and its contents poured over another beaker (pictured). This produced a glazing to the beaker, with a pink dye used to create colourful glass. Next week pupils will be refining their technique!
Science career of the week
This week’s career is ‘Radiotherapy Technologist’. They perform quality assurance on clinical equipment and perform scans to treat disease. Information about experience opportunities, providers, entry requirements and much more can be found here: Science career of the Week
Please speak to Mr. Burke, who will provide you with more information about this, or any other, science career.
Space News
Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has detected a crucial building block of life on an asteroid in space. The compound Uracil is a building block of RNA, which is thought to pre-date DNA and one origin-of-life- theory suggests that ancient organisms relied on RNA to survive. Researchers have previously discovered similar substances on meteorites but as these had landed on Earth, it could not be ruled out that they had been contaminated with Earth biology. This discovery, therefore, is the first to find such molecules in space, where they could not be contaminated by terrestrial organisms.
Scientists have also experimented with Martian soil and have concluded that it may have all the nutrients needed to grow rice. The ability to grow staple foods on the Red Planet raises the future possibilities of extended stays by humans.
Escape the Lab
Last Friday, students competed in a Science Escape Room activity, using their scientific knowledge to solve a series of challenges in order to crack codes.The winners of the Year 9 Escape the Lab competition were…Myles B, Zaynab N, Mulki H and Yousuf P, who escaped with 3 minutes left! Congratulations!
Mr. Fowlds – Science Enrichment Coordinator
