MOUNT Kelly recently welcomed representatives from Plymouth University who delivered a Royal Society of Chemistry ‘spectroscopy in a suitcase’ workshop. 

All Upper Sixth Chemistry pupils were involved in the workshop which covered both Infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy.

Pupils were given a range of different unknown compounds found at a mock crime scene to try and identify.  The most exciting part of the workshop was the opportunity to use an FT-IR machine that the team brought with them. 

The small-scale Infrared spectroscopy machine provided the pupils with invaluable hands-on experience using a device that is usually only found within the realms of university departments and in industry. 

The chemists thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the opportunity to see these analytical techniques first-hand was excellent preparation for their exams this summer.