Inverell boy Harry Schneider is one of three students from The Armidale School who can claim to be state champions after winning a prestigious statewide Chemistry competition.
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Harry and Year 11 classmates Samuel Ball and Isabel Newton have taken out this year's NSW Schools Titration Competition, run by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
The trio were up against 281 other teams from 69 schools who each had to carefully mix, titrate and then analyse chemical samples using traditional glassware techniques. It's all about concentration, in more ways than one.
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"Basically, it's using the solution of a chemical that you know the concentration of, to determine the concentration of an unknown solution," said Harry.
"The hardest part is trying to get the measurements as absolutely accurate as you can."
Across NSW, teams were independently assessed at various venues, with the champion trio being one of four TAS teams who were joined by other schools from the region that undertook the competition at the University of New England's Science faculty.
Team members work independently for an overall result, within a 90 minute time frame. Each competitor firstly has to determine the concentration of the base solution, then adds a titrant to calculate the concentration of an acid solution.
Points are awarded for the accuracy of each team's overall measurements, as well as for the lowest possible variation in results between team members.
Harry achieved a perfect score by correctly determining the concentration of his acid solution to four decimal places, whilst Isabel and Sam were just shy of that.
"We had three training sessions in the lead up and all took it pretty seriously," said Samuel.
"It will be really good for Year 12 Chemistry next year and we all want to do something science- related after leaving school. But for now it's pretty good just to have topped the state."
TAS Principal Dr Rachel Horton said the school couldn't be prouder.
"Titration is a significant scientific skill requiring a great deal of precision, so for our students to do so well against such strong competition is a wonderful achievement for them," she said.
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