Common Theme Among College Science Fair Winners

There was a recurring question running through the winning projects from the Year 7 Science Fair at the College – what do the things we put into our bodies contain and are they good for us?

After an all boy podium in last year’s competition, this time it was girls who took out the top three places! In first place was Emma Jorgensen, who carried out a rigorous experiment to determine which foods she should be eating to get the most vitamin C into her system. Emma tested nine foods – apple, beans, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, corn, lettuce, orange and pear – using iodine as an indicator of the amount of vitamin C. She discovered broccoli had the highest concentration of the vital nutrient while lettuce had the least.

Second-place getter Samiya Patel tested whether chewing gum, mouthwash or an apple was the most effective at removing the plaque accumulated from a day of eating. Her hypothesis was that mouthwash would be the most successful method. However, following her investigation, which involved two subjects and a strict set menu for each day of testing, she found chewing gum left the least residual plaque. This was confirmed by further research including talking to a paediatric dentist.

Danielle Mayer took out third place with her inquiry into the make-up of various margarine products. She examined which brands have the highest water content, and the difference between the regular and lite versions within each brand. The results were in line with her hypothesis, which was that lite versions had a higher percentage of water content, some more than 50 per cent.

The projects also opened other avenues of scientific inquiry. During Emma’s analysis, an eyedropper caused the iodine to overflow from its bottle which led to a discussion about Archimedes and the theory of displacement. Noticing a difference in the melting times of lite and regular versions of the margarine prompted Danielle to research how melting points are related to chemical composition, specifically the fatty acids.

The projects were adjudicated by staff from the Senior School science department, based on the thoroughness of the scientific method, level of thought and understanding, originality and innovation, technical skill and presentation.

1st: Emma Jorgensen - Vitamin C

2nd: Samiya Patel - Slurp, chew or crunch?

3rd: Danielle Mayer - Is it margarine or waterine?

Highly Commended: Nathan Smith - Under par

Highly Commended: Xanfira Goulder-Chisholm - Lush-ious looks

All five students will represent the College at the NIWA Manukau Region Science and Technology Fair this weekend. We wish them the best of luck.