# data[].attributes.body
This article discusses the use of chromatography in food science but specifically in health food science. Although too advanced to read to Junior Cycle Students, this example of the use of chromatography in more recent than that of the milk scandal and so students were more familiar with this story.

# data[].attributes.body
This article was especially helpful for me when it came to developing inquiry within the classroom and how to encourage students to engage in inquiry-based science. The listing of the 5 essential features of classroom inquiry at the beginning shows how informative this article is and how easy its recommendations are to put into practice.

# data[].attributes.body
NoS: 2, 3, 10
CW: 4
PW: 2

# data[].attributes.body
Web resource containing information on particles and a video demonstrating Brownian Motion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Worksheets and lesson ideas to challenge students aged 11 to 16 to think hard about solids, liquids and gases (GCSE and Key Stage 3)
The particle model for solids, liquids and gases is a controversial topic in science education. Many teachers believe it introduces misconceptions that we spend time unpicking later. The concept must be approached with real caution so students are helped to make the link between the concrete substance and the abstract particle. The term particle should really be used to refer to an atom, molecule or ion. But how do we know particles are moving? The smoke cell video below is a great way to introduce particle movement in gases.
Drawing particle pictures in beakers

Click here for an excellent review of misconceptions involving the particle model from the RSC.

KS3 worksheet for drawing particle pictures. Use peer assessment to mark particle pictures so students are able to "see" what the teacher is seeing. Drawing particle models in beakers can support the concepts of fixed shape and fixed volume, although it is also worth considering what is happening to particles outside the beaker. ( PDF)

Particle pictures and melting points

KS3 worksheet to encourage students to think deeply about particle pictures and melting points. The worksheet shows a particle picture of a gas within a solid glass jar. The jar is also drawn from particles. Students consider what exists between the gas particles and think about why some substances are gases at room temperature whilst others are solids. This task challenges students to think deeply about the particle model and melting point. ( PDF)

Tackling misconceptions about the particle model

KS3 activity and worksheet on common particle model misconceptions. Students are presented with a number of questions that challenge common misconceptions about the particle model. This activity is best done in small groups. ( PDF)

Latent heat and internal energy

Click here for resources on latent heat and internal energy stores.

↵ Back to Chemistry teaching resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Particle pictures: solids, liquids and gases

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Worksheets and lesson ideas to challenge students aged 11 to 16 to think hard about solids, liquids and gases (GCSE and Key Stage 3) The particle model for solids, liquids and gases is a controversial topic in science education. Many teachers believe it introduces misconceptions that we spend time unpicking later.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reflection on Junior Cycle Specification

# data[].attributes.subject
Reflection on Junior Cycle Specification

# data[].attributes.body
From the website Education in Chemistry, this is an article about the real life applications of separation techniques, food science in this case. Accompanying the article are a number of worksheets and activities which my students found extremely enjoyable.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In August 2008, China was host to the Beijing Olympics, one of the biggest sporting events ever staged, attracting billions of global TV viewers. But as the world looked on, one of China's most famous food safety scandals was already unfolding. Babies were falling ill in Gansu province in the north-west and 50,000 would eventually be hospitalised. By 22 September, four babies had been reported dead and at least two more are thought to have died before the scare was over. The culprit? A chemical called melamine, which was traced to powdered milk used in baby formula. Melamine was used by parts of the Chinese dairy industry to bulk up their milk - its high nitrogen content gives a false impression of protein levels during nutritional testing. Unfortunately, melamine crystals can also form kidney stones that block tiny tubes in the kidneys, leading to kidney failure.

More babies fell ill and more companies became embroiled in the scandal as it developed. Potentially tainted milk was soon discovered in some of the food industry's best known brands. Chocolate producers Cadbury and Mars pulled products from the shelves. During all of this, chemists in food analysis labs everywhere were receiving calls from concerned food manufacturers. They had to work hard to identify those products that contained the toxic chemical. The trouble was melamine was not one of the chemicals that labs usually tested for and, initially, they didn't know how to identify it. Campden BRI was one of the UK companies facing this problem. 'With an issue such as melamine, there is no standard method that works on food, drinks or ingredients,' says a spokesperson for the company. Analysts at the company had to work fast to develop a reliable testing method, a process that took them around a week. That sounds fast, but every second counts in a food safety crisis.

Key to their new analytical method - and those of other food analysis companies, such as Premier Analytical Services (PAS) - was chromatography. Chromatography works by exploiting the different solubilities of different chemical substances. During the melamine scandal, both Campden BRI and PAS used chromatography as a separation method to pull melamine out of the mix of ingredients in their clients' products. This is never a straightforward process, since most processed foods contain many different ingredients, including chemicals that may be very similar to the contaminant the food analyst is searching for. 'When looking for a specific contaminant, this often has to be separated from the bulk of the food matrix, and then from other compounds with a similar chemical nature by chromatography,' says Campden BRI.

Chromatography is one of the most accessible and engaging topics in chemistry; pupils often leave primary school having done some chromatography experiments. Because of this, they may feel they have already covered the whole topic, but they often don't understand chromatography well. Additionally, some pupils think techniques studied in school science must be old-fashioned and not much use in modern science. This short article is perfect for sharing with students, showing them that chromatography is still at the cutting edge of analytical science.

Liquid chromatography is a good choice for separating out the individual chemicals when looking for non-volatile compounds like melamine that don't vaporise very easily. However, gas chromatography can also be used if melamine is first chemically converted into more volatile derivates. Gaseous methods have the advantage of allowing 'odour port assessment' - analysis by expert 'sniffers', who are experienced in identifying taints by their smell. Food analysts also have access to mass spectrometers, which they use to carry out the definitive final analysis of components from a separation. Each compound generates a specific spike on a mass spectrum, indicating its molecular mass.

As a result of the rigorous tests carried out, food testing companies were able to provide their clients with a definite answer as to whether their products had been tainted with melamine. In the majority of cases, Campden BRI says, it was able to reassure clients their supply chains had not been affected. In the remaining cases, products could be traced and recalled.
Worksheet, ages 11-14, 14-16
The tests developed by chemists a decade ago have proved useful more recently too, for testing nutritional supplements used by weightlifters and other athletes. Melamine can also be used to falsely bulk up the protein content of some of these supplements. In 2015, South African scientists tested 138 nutritional supplements for melamine using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. They found that 64 contained melamine. Although the contaminant was present at what are considered safe levels by the World Health Organization, athletes who use higher than the recommended dosage of supplements may be risking their health. So the scientists recommended food safety authorities continue to test for melamine and track levels in these products.

In China, consumer confidence in the dairy industry remained devastated for a long time following the 2008 crisis, but the melamine scandal did influence the country's revised food policy and new food safety law, which came into effect the following year.

England

*AQA trilogy: 5.8.1.3 Chromatography

International

Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Scotland

Wales

More recommended resources

You can use a number of resources on Learn Chemistry to add variety to chromatography lessons.

Pupils investigate the colours in jelly babies in this experiment, which is suitable for a science club: rsc.li/2KOMDzi.

This open-ended extension practical gets 16-18 year olds investigating colour-changing felt tip pens: rsc.li/2rw5irE.

This chapter from the textbook That's chemistry! has concept cartoons and resources, and is useful for primary teachers and non-specialist teachers of 11-14 chemistry: rsc.li/2G27ZWh.

The structure determination chapter of Starters for ten has short in-class activities. These are useful for teaching thin-layer and GC-MS to advanced students and 16-18 year olds: rsc.li/2jNHknF.

If you need support developing your knowledge in analytical chemistry, this online CPD course takes you through the core content you need to teach, common student misconceptions, experimental techniques and interesting stimuli for classroom discussion: rsc.li/2KQ1Jon [£].

If you need support developing your knowledge in analytical chemistry, this online professional development course [£] takes you through the core content you need to teach, common student misconceptions, experimental techniques and interesting stimuli for classroom discussion.
Article by Hayley Bennett, a science writer based in Bristol, UK. Teaching resources by Kristy Turner, a school teacher fellow at the University of Manchester and Bolton School, UK

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In August 2008, China was host to the Beijing Olympics, one of the biggest sporting events ever staged, attracting billions of global TV viewers. But as the world looked on, one of China's most famous food safety scandals was already unfolding. Babies were falling ill in Gansu province in the north-west and 50,000 would eventually be hospitalised.

# data[].attributes.body
Activity where students research various structures of the atom which were proposed by different scientists.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This game explores the meeting of five famous scientists from the past. During the meeting, the panel members will be asked to present, in chronological order, their model of the atomic structure and how it relates to others. Feel the electricity in the air?

# data[].attributes.body
Scoilnet contains many resources for this learning outcome as well as the rest of the learning outcomes which can be found on the Junior Cycle Science Specification. Resources are arrange by learning outcome making it easy to find what you're looking for.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

# data[].attributes.body
A number of simple experiments which students can carry out in the lab to demonstrate the conservation of mass.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
UK-based teacher Jack Forrest overcomes the challenges of teaching the principle of conservation of mass by having lab partners complete 3 quick labs that reinforce the concept right in front of their eyes. The series of labs intentionally progresses from simple to more complex examples of conservation.

# data[].attributes.body
Interactive resource for students which goes through states, changes of states and interaction of atoms. Useful for students to see and experience how changes occur instead of being told. Many other resources relating to other aspects of science can also be found on this same site.

# data[].attributes.body
TY Forensics module which draws on CW2 LO. Brings science to life for students and allows them to see real life applications.