SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: Students must wear the following or they will not be allowed to participate: close-toed shoes, OSHA approved chemical splash goggles with indirect vents, pants or skirts that cover the legs to the ankles and a lab coat or apron that reaches below the knees. Gloves are optional. Students who unsafely remove their safety clothing/glasses or are observed handling any of the material or equipment in a hazardous/unsafe manner (e.g., tasting or touching chemicals or flushing solids down a drain and not rinsing them into a designated waste container provided by the supervisor) will be disqualified from the event.

Students Should Bring: It is important that teams bring the following equipment: (1) pHydrion paper (2) hand lens (3) 9 volt conductivity tester (no testers will be allowed that run on 120 volts.) (4) Beral pipettes or eye droppers (5) containers appropriate for testing conductivity, and solubility (spot plates, beakers, etc. are fine) (6) test tube holder and test tube rack if using test tubes (7) spatula and (8) stirring rod. The team may bring no other items. Supervisors will check the equipment a team brings and have the right to disqualify a’ team for using equipment not on this list. Do not bring pens or pencils. No reference materials or calculators are allowed.

Event Leaders Will Provide: 1.0 M NaOH, 1.0 M HC1, distilled water, and two different colored writing implements. Possible Equipment That MAY Be Provided: thermometer, balance, hot plate, and anything else the supervisor decides to distribute. If the supervisor feels instructions are needed in order to use something provided, the instructions will be available.

A TEAM OF UP TO: 2 APPROXIMATE TIME: 50 minutes

THE COMPETITION:

Contestants will be given a sample of one pure substance. Equipment and test chemicals listed will be provided. The supervisor will make the selection of equipment and chemicals. Students and teachers are NOT to know what substance has been selected before the event. Students will be expected to perform relevant tests using the materials provided. Emphasis in scoring is placed on careful and organized observations.

1 .Teams will use various tests to characterize the substance. These tests are to be determined by the students, not the supervisor. It is recommended that students be given 25-3 5 minutes to do these tests. The supervisor will provide a data sheet and the 1st writing implement to collect data/observations.

During testing and observation of their substance, students must record their data. Any mistakes oi~ changes should be crossed out. The data should be numbered sequentially as it is collected. The I writing implement will be collected before the questions are given to the team.

2.Next the supervisor will collect all samples and students will be given a 2~ writing implement and a list of questions about the characteristics of their substance. The ability to answer these questions will depend on the quality and thoroughness of their investigations. Questions will have answers that derive from student observations. If the team has sufficient data and/or observations to support the answer to a question, they are to simply place the data number(s) beside the question. Place a number for all data that supports your answer to the question. Questions will not be asked about melting point.

Examples of Possible Substances: baking soda (NaHCO3), borax, Epsom salts, sugar, alum, chalk, non- iodized table salt (NaCl), sodium acetate (NaC2H3O2), starch, talc, calcium carbonate, ammonium chloride, boric acid, copper (II) chloride, copper (II) sulfate, etc. Note: Colored, as well as white salts are permissible.

Sample Questions about the Substance: -

1. Is the substance soluble in water?

2. If soluble in water, is the solution capable of conducting a current?

3. Does the substance react with an acid to produce a gas? -

4.  If soluble in water, what is the approximate pH of the solution?

5. If soluble in water, does the substance dissolve endothermically or exothermically?

6. Using a hand lens, what is the shape of the individual particles or are they too small to see?

SCORING: Each question is worth 5 points. The number of points awarded will depend on the quality of the data and/or observations. If the team remembers an answer to a question but does NOT have the supporting data and/or observations, they may write the answer to the question with the 2~’ writing implement and receive a maximum of 2 points. Using the most answers that received 5 points, then 4, then 3, etc will break ties. Time is not a tiebreaker!