Challenging analytic problems for sixth form students. Use them to practice for the competition or stretch able students.

The topics covered in each paper are:

Northwest:

  • Determine the concentration of iron in iron tablets using a spectroscopic technique
  • Compare samples of sun cream using UV-vis spectroscopy

Midlands:

  • Determine the concentration of phosphate in water using UV-vis spectroscopy
  • Determine the concentration of aluminium in water using a back titration based on complex formation
  • Determine the concentration of naphthalene in water using high performance liquid chromatography

Western:

  • Titration of citric acid to determine the purity
  • Estimation of paracetamol in paracetamol tablets using spectrophotometric techniques
  • Perform a series of chemical tests to identify a compound

East Anglia

  • Quantitate ascorbic acid by a direct redox titration
  • Quantitate sucrose in a mixture using polarimetry
  • Quantitate paracetamol in a mixture by HPLC

North East

  • Titrimetric analysis of calcium
  • Spectrophotometric determination of copper
  • Atomic emission spectrometric determination of sodium

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Additional information

Please note: these experiments were designed to be carried out in an undergraduate laboratory. Therefore if you are adapting them for use in a school you must always comply with your employer’s procedures and in some cases may decide that a particular activity is inappropriate in your situation. Further information on Health and Safety should be obtained from reputable sources such as CLEAPSS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and, in Scotland, SSERC.