Battle of the Burets
MEETS ONCE A WEEK FOR 2 MONTHS (EARLY MORNING OR AFTER SCHOOL)
If you are taking AP® Chemistry this year or have an interest in chemistry, then Battle of the Burets, a titration competition, is a MUST JOIN activity!
What's a Titration?
A titration is a lab technique used to determine the unknown concentration of a solution, based on the known concentration of another solution. This technique is a tedious one; however, it is extremely rewarding as you can see the chemicals rapidly change colors. Titrations allow you to do "detective work," and Battle of the Burets celebrates this kind of work.
Time Comittment?
For about two months, you come to school once a week either early in the morning or after the school day for about an hour and a half and work on this lab technique with a partner and the rest of the teams at MICDS. Then, in order to determine which teams will go to the big competition (hosted at SIUE in 2020), each member of the Battle of the Burets Club competes with their partner in a competition in one of the chemistry classrooms at school.
What does the competition look like?
Bonnie Sneider, a 2020 Battle of the Burets competitor, says, "The competition is certainly a healthy one and is super fun no matter the outcome. The two or three teams who win the competition at school go on to compete in the bigger competition, where they perform the titration in five minutes. Roughly 24 eager titrator teams, from far and wide, compete after enjoying a pizza dinner together. When the results are in, the event coordinator distributes trophies to the teams who have found the most accurate unknown concentration of the solution. Precision is key!!
MICDS teams scored first place, second place, and fourth place this past year (2020), and fun was had by all. It was amazing being able to enter a university-grade laboratory to compete. Opportunities to not only nerd-out over a fun chemical lab technique, but also potentially engage in higher level laboratories do not come too often in high school, so I would encourage you to participate this year!"
Battle of the Burets is for students who are enrolled in AP Chemistry and it is invite only activity. If you would like to learn more, contact the faculty sponsors, Mr. Little at jlittle@micds.org or Ms. Anderson, at kanderson@micds.org.