ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT HELPS BCMM SCHOOLS WITH PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY

Close to a dozen schools from the Buffalo City Metro district sought to increase their learners’ chances of passing chemistry and physical science in the upcoming September exams following an educational visit to WSU’s Potsdam Site recently.

The programme saw Buffalo City Campus' Potsdam Site abuzz with excitement as just over 400 eager grade 10 and 11 learners visited the university’s Analytical Chemistry department over two days to participate in chemistry and physical science tests.

The experiments included concepts such as Boyle’s Law, Acid-Based Titration, Electric Circuits, and rate of reaction physics.

“A word of gratitude goes to WSU for opening their doors for the learners to come and participate in practical work to bring life and reality to their theoretical work. The concept of touch and feel is invaluable for learning because they never forget due to being hands-on," said Eastern Cape Department of Education subject specialist, Puthuma Mpangele.

The two-day event proved quite a hit with the learners thanks to a tight and heavily-packed schedule carefully designed to ensure that learners not only performed tests and experiments, but also got a chance to visit the AC lab during which they informed more broadly about the subject and what it entails. 

One learner upon whom the day’s festivities left an indelible mark was grade 11 learner, Lusango Mbongo from Ebenezer Majombozi High School, who aspires to be a scientist in the near future.  

“My favourite part of the day was the experiments on acids and basis and how we can neutralize acids using bases. We were actually allowed to conduct the experiments ourselves after the demonstrations, and that for me, was the highlight of the whole experience. We could actually step into the shoes of a real scientist and live out our dreams, “ said Mbongo gleefully.

His counterpart, an academic high-flier from AmItek High School in East London, Zoya Kose, exuded quite confidence during her reflections to fellow students in picking apart the scientific concept of Boyle’s Law.

Kose was also mindful in pointing out that, as a maths learner familiar with inversely proportional relationships, the visit to WSU was invaluable owing to the Boyle’s Law experiment, which explained clearly what inverse proportionality is.

"During our experiment of Boyle's Law, one of the lecturers experimented and showed us that when you decrease the pressure, the volume of the gas increases, and when you decrease the volume, the pressure increases. This was truly a wonderful experience and I trust it will go a long way in helping me during the upcoming exams,” she said.  

By Thando Cezula