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Liquid nitrogen
The common thermos flask which most people use for keeping drinks hot was actually invented by James Dewar in 1892 to keep condensed gases cold. In recent years liquid nitrogen, which boils at – 196 OC...
Reducing air pollution
Can your denim jeans help combat air pollution? In Option E : Environmental chemistry under sub-topic E1 students are asked to both describe the main sources of oxides of nitrogen in the air and to evaluate...
Gender bias in teaching
A good topic for discussion in TOK classes is ‘prejudice’. Students can look at the factors which give rise to prejudice such as upbringing, cultural background and experience and consider ways of identifying...
Threat to the heuristic method.
Is the heuristic method of teaching in danger of being suffocated by the IB? The Oxford English dictionary defines heuristic as “enabling a person to learn or discover something for themselves.” I’ve...
A golden bullet
A recent finding provides a good example to cover several different areas of IB chemistry. One traditional foodstuff which contains antioxidants listed under Assessment statement F.3.11 in the Food...
Looking into the future
It’s that time of year again. Within a couple of weeks students will know what grade they got in the IB and those that make the grade will be eagerly looking forward to spending the next three or four...
Is IB chemistry too easy?
Has IB Chemistry 'dumbed down' over the years? This is a difficult, if not impossible, question to answer as the skills and knowledge that a student taking the programme now are required to master are...
Nanosponges
A sponge that can absorb 100 times its own weight in oil. This novel way to clean up oil spillage using carbon nanotubes has recently been reported in Scientific Reports by a team working at Rice University....
Origin of the moon
As well as being a fascinating subject in its own right Chemistry can be used as a tool to solve many problems. One interesting example that has emerged recently is “What is the origin of the moon?”...
The EE viva voce
It’s Extended Essay marking time again. Although the essays do not actually have to be with the examiner until 15 March many have already arrived. One aspect that is very noticeable is the quality of...