On Thursday 23 March the Year 12 Chemistry class went to Flinders University to experience analytical chemistry using university equipment. Students separated components of Kool-Aid using column chromatography, separated glowstick components using liquid chromatography, used high-pressure gas chromatography, and created a calibration curve for sodium using atomic absorption spectroscopy. This connects to our current learning in both chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy.
A particular highlight was separating out the glowstick components – as we were able to stop the glow by separating the luminol, and then make it glow again by re-combining the components.
