Student Safety Contract

The new Student Safety Agreement (or Student Safety Contract) is now available  as a pdf to download from

http://www.ausetute.com.au

you will find it on the downloads page.

The online version of the Student Safety Quiz is available in the Class/School Group Members area, while the printable version of the same quiz is available in the Teachers Only area of the AUS-e-TUTE website.

Safety in the Laboratory

Do you need teaching and learning resources to educate students about safety in the laboratory?
AUS-e-TUTE's Safety in the Laboratory topic now has a new tutorial, game, test and exam!

Visit http://www.ausetute.com.au and click on the "Safety in the Laboratory" links.

AUS-e-TUTE Members should log-in to the Members Only area to get the full range of resources on this topic.

Drawing the Line of Best Fit

You've got a table of experimental data.
You've plotted the data on a graph.
Now, how do you draw a line of best fit?
Why should you draw a line of best?

AUS-e-TUTE has just added new resources that answers these questions and helps you draw the line of best for your data by giving you a tool to use which makes the whole process as easy as clicking a button!

Visit http://www.ausetute.com.au and click on the Line of Best Fit link.

Your Phone: Your Spectrometer

Professor Alexander Scheeline of the University of Illinois has developed a method to turn a mobile (cell) phone into a portable spectrometer.

In a spectrometer, white light shines through a sample solution. The solution absorbs certain wavelengths of light. A diffraction grating then spreads the light into its colour spectrum like a prism. Chemists analyze the spectrum to tell them about the properties of the sample.

In Scheeline's device, a single light-emitting diode (LED) powered by a 3-volt battery (as used in key fobs to remotely lock a car) is used as the light source. Diffraction gratings are available from scientific supply companies, as are cuvettes, the small, clear containers to hold the sample solutions. The mobile (cell) phone is used to take a photo of the spectrum obtained. Then the JPEG photo is analyzed using a software program freely accessible online:
http://www.asdlib.org/onlineArticles/elabware/Scheeline_Kelly_Spectrophotometer/index.html

Further Reading
http://www.ausetute.com.au/spectros.html

Further Activities

1. Build a spectrometer as per the instructions given in here : http://www.asdlib.org/onlineArticles/elabware/Scheeline_Kelly_Spectrophotometer/HSFiles/3.html
   
2. Follow the instructions in the preparation of a solutions of different concentrations, including a blank.
3. Record each spectrum produced by taking a photo of it.
4. Upload the photos into the programme which you should download using the link above.
5. Data will be available as an exported csv file for excel.
6. Plot absorbance versus concentration.
7. Obtain a solution of unknown concentration.
8. Use the plot above to determine the concentration of this solution.