«Chemical show»: an interesting science can do magic

     On November 15 students of the faculty of veterinary medicine, agrobiological faculty , the faculty of plant protection, biotechnology and ecology as well as high school students from the lyceum of ecology and life sciences saw Chemical show which had been prepared by the teaching staff of the department of organic, physical and colloid chemistry.

      The head of the department Lidiya Nesterova says that such events motivate students to get interested in chemistry. Moreover it is a good way to present our university. That is why we invited high students who will have to choose the university for further studies in 2017.

      Associate professor Viktor Bahtiyarov conducted a chemical quiz. Six teams with cute names such as «Catalysts» (faculty of veterinary medicine), «Strong electrolytes», «Free radicals» (the faculty of plant protection, biotechnology and ecology), «Challenging metals» and «Fast electrons» (agrobiological faculty) та «Energetic glucose» (high students) participated in this quiz. Quiz questions were different such as Why does rosehip extract conducts electricity in the water?, Why is aluminium not subject to corrosion in the atmosphere?, Why does the ice not sink in the water?. If you do not know the answers you can find them in the book titled Chemistry. Participants gave quick but not always correct answers and sometimes these answers were funny. So the best teams were «Catalysts» and «Free radicals».

      The second part of the event was more interesting. Serhii Pryymachenko, a postgraduate student of the department of analytical and bio organic chemistry and water quality (Viktor Maksin is his scientific advisor) showed an experiment which, in Serhii’s words, made his life. So we mix vinegar with soda, we put a balloon on the neck of a flask, and carbon dioxide, which is being formed, is blowing the balloon. And this balloon does not fly up but falls down. After Serhii first saw this chemical reaction he decided to become a chemist.

      And then the show started. There were different tricks there. How many exhales of air can fill a big pack? Those who tried to do it had different results, from 17 to 20. But the correct answer is one! One should just exhale appropriately in order to focus the air (the way we feel when the train arrives in the subway). 

      Serhii also showed some magic. He asked a genie out of the flask, gave wishes to an enchanted flower that changes its colour and he was also a fire whisperer. Everyone was surprised when they saw that foam can burn! And then Serhii experimented with dry ice, Bunsen flask and hot water and showed how liquid transfer from solid to gas bypassing the liquid phase. And this process is called sublimation and look nice, too much foam which I could even tasted.!

Iryna Bilous