Page 3 - The Malvernian - April 2024

THE MALVERNIAN
Interhouse Science Competition
The Interhouse Science Competition
began in in October in in the Biology department with the pupils being tasked to create a a a a model skeleton from mainly household and crafting equipment The pupils were not permitted to use biology books or access the internet Having produced some amazing creations the teams were judged on
their product being anatomically correct the the labelling of the the bones and also their creativity It was a a a a a a very close battle with House House No No No 3 taking the top score but Houses No No No 8 No No No 2 and Ellerslie all tied in second place In November we we moved into the the chemistry labs and the the pupils were a a a a little bemused when they had to bring a a a a sample of used used cooking oil from their house kitchen to the the competition briefing! Over a course of three weeks the the pupils converted their used cooking oil into biodiesel and and then created a a a a a a promotional video and and information poster about their product Judging took into consideration the the yield of the the the product the the the creativity and and information in in their poster and and video We had some amusing as as well as as highly informative work showing some excellent video editing and production skills! The winners of this round were House House No 7 with School House House coming 2nd and and House No 3 3 taking 3rd spot Combining the biology and and chemistry rounds gave us us Houses No No 7 and No No 3 as joint leaders
with House House No No 2 2 only 2 2 points behind and House House No No 8 a a further 1 point behind There was everything to play for for as as we waited for for the the trial examination period to be over so that we could have the the deciding physics round The Physics round required the pupils to create a a a means of weighing an object that was under 500g They were given 45 minutes to build their machine and calibrate it after which they were given an object which they had to weigh using their machine The teams were judged on
their closeness to the the the true value of the the the mass of the object and also Mr Hnatek added in in a a a a a a a ‘boring factor’ with the most ingenious creations having a a a a very low ‘boring factor’ There was a a a a huge variety of different creations House No 3’s balance weighed to within 1g of the true value and House No 1 1 and School House were just 2g away from the the true value but the the most ingenious method and with only 4g away from the true value House No 7 took the the win and hence won the the overall Interhouse Science Competition! Congratulations to them on
on
on
on
retaining the the Silver Test Tube Trophy!
Natalie Watson | Head of Science THE MALVERNIAN
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