Introduction

Image showing the texture and appearance of a Polyvinyl chloride cloth, a polymer commonly used in making table cloth or rain coat    Coils of thread for sewing, which is comprised with a kind of polymer called Polyester.

The Hong Kong Chemistry Olympiad for Secondary Schools is a project learning competition jointly organized by the Hong Kong Association for Science and Mathematics Education, the Hong Kong Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and Hong Kong Education City Limited. It aims at promoting the interest of students in learning Chemistry and developing students’ skills in problem solving, critical thinking, communication and science process through project learning. Details of the Olympiad are given below:

 

Theme:	Chemistry of Polymers (聚合物的化學)
Participants:	Each team comprises three to five Secondary 3-7 students and each school could entitle a maximum of TWO teams

A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units. Whereas the term polymer is sometimes taken to refer to plastics, it actually encompasses a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a wide variety of properties. Because of the extraordinary range of properties of polymeric materials, they play an essential and ubiquitous role in everyday life, ranging from familiar synthetic plastics and elastomers to natural biopolymers such as nucleic acids and proteins that are essential for life.

 

The theme of the Hong Kong Chemistry Olympiad for Secondary Schools in 2010/2011 is “Chemistry of Polymers”. It aims at

 

          (i)   Promoting science for everyone;

          (ii)  Allowing students to quest this well-perceived field by their own lens;

          (iii) Encouraging students to carry out investigative studies; and

          (iv) Encouraging students to perform and demonstrate their chemical knowledge in diverse formats.

 

*Rules and Regulations

 

For rules of the competition, please [rule.doc].

 

For information about the HKChO,  HKASME Chemistry blog at http://edblog.hkedcity.net/hkasmechem could also be referenced to.