Chemistry Symposium Reviews

The chemistry symposium article presentations ranged from a variety of topics such as food, art, technology, and historical events, and it was interesting to learn more about each topic and the chemistry behind it. While I thought everyone presented well, I thoroughly enjoyed "Glass: More Than Meets the Eyes", "The Sweet Science of Candy Making", and "Drivers, start your (electric) engines".

The presentation "Glass: More Than Meets the Eyes" by Kate Sarkan described how glass can be used as evidence to solve crimes. Glass can be analyzed physically and chemically to find if the sample of glasses are from the same source. A physical examination of glass includes measuring the density of two pieces of glass; if both samples of glass have the same density then they are of the same glass. Another physical examination is measuring the refractive index, where refraction is the bending of light. Like density, the refraction is measured in both pieces of glass to see if they are the same or different. Scientists also chemically test the glass to find their chemical compositions, thus if they have the same composition, they are from the same source. Kate gave a couple examples of how these methods can be applied in crimes such as bullet holes and headlights on car crashes. I thought Kate did an excellent job of explaining her article. I like the manner in which she presented it to us; she gave a hypothetical scenario and presented her information step by step, as if we were solving the crime ourselves. Her presentation was given in a clear and coherent manner. I found Kate to be very prepared as she did not need any notes, and she was also knowledgeable of not just her article but for questions too.

Kate Young's article about "The Sweet Science of Candy Making" explained why candies have different textures: soft, smooth, hard, soft, etc. The reason for these different textures is due to sugar crystals which form from a mixture of sugar and water. In a saturated solution that is heated then cooled, crystals will form because it is trying to compensate for the loss in energy. This is an example of Le Chatelier's Principle which states that if a system is shifted from the equilibrium then it will act in opposition to restore the equilibrium. Kate explained this process very well and included several pictures of the chemical structures which helped to visually understand the formation of crystals. I thought Kate did a great job of keeping the audience engaged. Throughout her presentation, she would prompt the audience about the chemistry involved in candy making. I also thought it was creative to hand out lollipops at the beginning of her presentation because it was relative to her topic and a fun tactic to capture our interests immediately. Kate's enthusiasm about her presentation made it enjoyable and interesting.

James Rose presented his article, "Drivers, start your (electric) engines", in a coherent manner. I liked the structure of his presentation; he first talked about the history of electric cars. In the 1890s, electric engines were implemented in cars but by the 1930s gasoline was used to power them. He then discussed the different types of batteries to power cars; the most common is lead-acid batteries, and these power cars through a redox reaction, where the lead is oxidized which releases electrons causing a current to flow. James then compared this battery to that of lithium ion batteries used in electric cars. A lithium ion battery generates energy from a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte solution. The lithium ion batteries are favorable to that of lead acid batteries because they are lighter in weight and more reactive. By implementing electric cars, carbon emissions can be decreased, and the progress made on electric will allow for increased range and faster charging in the future. I thought James gave an excellent presentation because it was organized and articulated very well. The chemistry that was explained was comprehensible, and it flowed well to the idea of connecting chemistry to a real world situation. Overall, James gave a very professional presentation.
All three of these presentations were organized, professional and engaging throughout, which are aspects I will need to remember for future presentations. There are some parts of my presentation that could have been organized differently to make it more coherent. For instance, all three used visuals, so it would have been helpful to add visuals to my presentation, specifically of chemical structures, so that the audience could better understand the chemistry. In the future, I will add more visuals since I had mainly words displayed on a power point and just talked. Along the lines of talking, I think it is important to remember to be more engaging. These three presentations involved the audience and prompted them to participate instead of just giving a mini lecture. I thought Kate Sarkan, Kate Young, and James Rose delivered excellent presentations and are good examples of how to give a future presentation.