Year 11s explore real-world science on Melbourne trip

Mansfield Secondary College’s Year 11 Chemistry and Physics classes travelled to Melbourne last month to visit locations that put the science they are currently studying into practice. An early start meant students and staff could get the most out of the long bus trip to the city. The Australian Synchrotron in Clayton was the first stop and the highlight for the physics students, with the group given a guided tour of the facility. The Synchrotron accelerates packets of electrons to almost the speed of light, generating x-rays that can have medical, forensic, and analytical applications. Students were shown how the facility detects heavy-metal absorption in plants, generates 3D video x-rays of living animals, and provided conclusive proof that Phar Lap was poisoned with Arsenic. The second stop was to Eurofins Environment Testing in Dandenong South, a commercial laboratory specialising in the analysis of air, soil, and water. Students followed the path a sample takes through the laboratory, from sample receipt, registration and preparation, to analysis and reporting. Room after room of high-end equipment, with names such as High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy, showed the chemistry students practical examples of what they had only seen in their textbooks. After the tour the group met laboratory staff and managers to discuss how a laboratory functions and learn about career options in chemistry. Managing Director Glenn Jackson said afterwards, “We loved having the Year 11 students from Mansfield Secondary College visit our labs — it’s always exciting to see young minds curious about science and the important work we do at Eurofins to care for our environment.” A third stop at aluminium boat fabricators Plate Alloy rounded out the visit, with students given a demonstration of how computer-aided design (CAD) and industrial-scale cutting machines can turn aluminium sheets into boat kits ready for assembly. Given the positive feedback received from both students and their hosts, Mansfield Secondary College plans to make this Melbourne science trip a yearly highlight of the senior science program.

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