Ps

My passion for chemistry grew unknowingly through my fascination for art and colour. I couldn’t help but feel intrigued and question how different paints have various viscosity, pigments and ability to harden and mix to create pieces of art. This marked the beginning of my gradual increase of curiosity of properties and make-up of all matters and brought out my hidden underlying interest to understand the depth of chemistry. It helped with my determination to delve deeper in discovering the fundamental compounds in which the universe is created.

I have always been captivated by the relationship between the physical, tangible properties compared to the make-up of elements of a substance. Studying art at A-level increased my desire to understand the chemical fundamental of paint.  ‘The consumer goods chemical guide’ by John Emsley intrigued me about the practical applications of chemistry and how everything around us has some implication towards chemistry.

I am highly interested in organic chemistry and I believe it has an immense impact on medical science. An example which captivated me was the thalidomide tragedy where poor understanding of the enantiomers of thalidomide resulted in a tragedy and if the chemistry of the chirality of thalidomide optical isomers was better understood a disaster may have been avoided.

Participating in a team for the maths Ritangle competition has enhanced my numerical abilities and provided me with greater calculating and analysis skills. I can apply what I have learnt when faced with problem-solving questions to work out theoretical amounts of energy within a reaction, mole calculations, amounts of substances and the like. By understanding the chemical formulas behind these concepts chemical industries such as the Haber process can use percentage yields to ensure that the maximum amount of product can be made.

I believe that the periodic table is the most important implement in the history of chemistry. Reading ‘The disappearing Spoon’ by Sam Kean deepened my knowledge on how some of these elements such as how radium and polonium was discovered through Carries research on uranium. My interest art can help me fully understand theoretical modelling of compounds and sub-atomic particles as they appeal to my creative side and allow me to visualise 3-D representations of elements and increasing my attention to detail which aid monitoring and recording chemical reaction.

Doing an EPQ on ‘How paints using inorganic pigment have developed’ was able to give me an insight into independent research and introduced me to the relationship between sub-atomic particles of transition metals and colour.  By understanding how the electrons in the d-orbitals create energy gaps I was able to understand how colour was formed by unabsorbed wavelengths of light passing through the gap. it has provided me with an alternative perspective on the paints and acknowledged that being able to comprehend how the smallest parts of matter behave everything around us can be explained.

 Having accomplished a silver and bronze DofE award was a huge challenge and test of my stamina as I lead a team while navigating and reading a map through difficult and complicated terrain, testing my leadership and tolerance. I also volunteering at a tuition and at a library which required good communication skills and organisation.

Chemistry connects other sciences to each other and is helping me understand the world around me. The subject is thought provoking and due to my inquisitive nature to learn and motivation I am passionate about going into depth. What had initially commenced as a curious thought on the make-up of paint has sparked a desire to pursue a degree in which the fundamentals of life are discovered