Real (as opposed to virtual) chemistry
Today a blue plaque is being erected outside a house in Notting Hill, London to commemorate the life and work of Sir William Ramsey. This is part of the way in which the UK is celebrating the International...
Multiple choice answers
Although some multiple choice questions can be quite challenging generally the markscheme is clear and there is only one correct answer for each question. In fact as you can see (below) from the instructions...
Relevant environmental chemistry?
The IB Diploma is clearly international but how far does it reach within society? In the early days almost all IB schools were private schools which just educated the elite. Now in many developed countries...
Anyone for tennis?
Chemistry has finally made it in the world of tennis -well two elements have almost done it. Lithium and sodium (aka. Li Na) played in the final of the women’s Australian Open Championship today (29 January...
International Year of Chemistry
2011 has been officially designated the International Year of Chemistry. You can download a prospectus which sets out the aims of the year which was jointly proposed by IUPAC and UNESCO and officially...
Syllabus content
I’ve recently written a proposal for a 16-19 Chemistry syllabus for a group of Egyptian schools to fit the brief that it should meet ‘International Standards’ as well as fit the Egyptian curriculum. This...
Atomic masses change
It has been known for a long time that the relative atomic mass, Ar, of lead, Pb, changes slightly depending upon the origin of the lead as it is the end product of natural radioactive decay series. If...
Practical work and assessment
Probably the most contentious area in the current IB programme is the assessment of practical work. Teachers who have recently retired or moved away from teaching the IB have told me that they only thing...
World's smallest Periodic Table?
Two days to go to Christmas. What do you give a chemist for Christmas? Well, although it was for his birthday, not Christmas, Nottingham University’s Dr Mike Fay at the Nanotechnology and Nanoscience...
Blue light cystoscopy
Recent research into cancer detection and treatment provides an interesting example of how connections can be made between various parts of the IB syllabus. Specifically porphyrins in hemoglobin (B.9.2),...