NZ Scholarship Chemistry case studies
NZ Scholarship Chemistry · Put your knowledge to work in context.
New Zealand Scholarship is an award that recognises top secondary school students, and Chemistry is one of the Scholarship subjects students can enter. It is aimed at the most able candidates: assessments are designed to be challenging, and to be awarded the Scholarship you are expected to show deep understanding of the subject, demonstrate high-level critical thinking, and apply your understanding to complex situations. The NZ Scholarship Chemistry case studies are 5 cases and about 3,437 words.
1Buffer Selection for a Thermostable Enzyme Assay
A lab is developing an assay for a thermostable esterase that operates at 37°C and requires pH 7.40 ± 0.10. The enzyme is inhibited by inorganic phosphate above 20 mM.
725 words, about 4 min2Choosing Conditions for Chlorine Production from Seawater
A remote aquaculture facility needs to generate a disinfectant (active chlorine as HOCl/OCl−) from seawater by electrolysis. The seawater has [Cl−] = 0.50 M, pH 8.1, and is at 20°C.
762 words, about 4 min3Troubleshooting a Low-Yield Azo Dye Synthesis
A student prepares the azo dye methyl orange by diazotizing sulfanilic acid and coupling with N,N-dimethylaniline. They dissolve 1.73 g (0.010 mol) sulfanilic acid in 25 mL of 1 M HCl, cool to 0–5°C, and add 0.70 g (0.010 mol) sodium nitrite.
561 words, about 3 min4Which Solid Controls Lead Solubility in Contaminated Soil?
A contaminated soil site has porewater at pH 6.5 with [Cl−] = 0.10 M, [SO4^2−] = 0.010 M, and total dissolved carbonate = 1.0 × 10−3 M. The solid phases present include PbCO3(s) (Ksp = 7.4 × 10−14), PbSO4(s) (Ksp = 1.6 × 10−8), and PbCl2(s) (Ksp = 1.7 × 10−5).
704 words, about 4 min5Maximising Yield in a Parallel Reaction
A pharmaceutical intermediate D is produced from substrate S by a first-order reaction with rate constant kD. A competing first-order side reaction forms impurity I with rate constant kI.
685 words, about 3 min