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'Spectroscopy in a Suitcase' excites Petroc scientists

Students at Petroc Tiverton had the chance to learn about spectroscopy through hands-on experience this week, thanks to a national initiative run by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

‘Spectroscopy in a Suitcase’, delivered by university students, is designed to cover the principles of spectroscopic techniques using expensive equipment that would normally be unavailable to colleges.

Spectroscopy, the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy, features heavily in the A Level syllabus. The visit comes at an ideal time for the students, as it is an important part of the unit on which they will be examined at the end of January.

The event at Tiverton was hosted by the Chemistry Department at Bristol University and post graduate student Emily Baker visited the campus with a mass spectrometer, an infra-red spectrometer and an ultra violet/visible light spectrometer.

A Level chemistry students and BTEC forensic scientists were able to perform a series of experiments using the equipment to analyse the spectra of a range of chemicals. The aim of the exercise was to identify the unknown chemicals and measure the concentration of a certain chemical found in the blood of a victim to find the cause of death.

The RSC outreach scheme has a strong emphasis on encouraging young people to study chemistry at a high level and the career opportunities available.

Tony Barnett, a chemistry lecturer at Petroc, said: “It was excellent for the AS chemists and I will certainly use ‘Spectroscopy in a Suitcase’ again. It will provide an excellent background experience when the AS students study infra-red and mass spectroscopy later on this year.”