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Blog posts

Problems with omega-6 14 February 2013

Some time ago I wrote a question for an IB exam and the markscheme essentially said “If they give the answer ‘yes’ and this reason award the marks; if they give the answer ‘no’ and give this... more

A dangerous stimulant? 1 February 2013

It is not often that a drug hitting the headlines has a very simple structure. One that has been in the news recently is commonly known as 1,3-dimethylamylamine or DMAA. In fact its IUPAC name is 4-methylhexan-2-amine... more

A seven subject IB Diploma? 29 December 2012

Happy New Year for 2013 to everyone. Did you notice that last month one of the underlying paradigms of the IB shifted? The ‘Hexagon’ is no longer. After forty years of loyal service it has gone. In... more

Errors in books and websites 25 November 2012

Did you know that if you eat meat you are likely to be a liar, a cheat and a thief and be a violent person who commits sex crimes? This is a claim made in a book written by David S Podder called New Healthway... more

Liquid nitrogen 10 November 2012

The common thermos flask which most people use for keeping drinks hot was actually invented by James Dewar in 1892 to keep condensed gases cold. In recent years liquid nitrogen, which boils at – 196... more

Reducing air pollution 4 October 2012

Can your denim jeans help combat air pollution? In Option E : Environmental chemistry under sub-topic E1 students are asked to both describe the main sources of oxides of nitrogen in the air and to evaluate... more

Gender bias in teaching 26 September 2012

A good topic for discussion in TOK classes is ‘prejudice’. Students can look at the factors which give rise to prejudice such as upbringing, cultural background and experience and consider ways of... more

Threat to the heuristic method. 27 August 2012

Is the heuristic method of teaching in danger of being suffocated by the IB? The Oxford English dictionary defines heuristic as “enabling a person to learn or discover something for themselves.” I’ve... more

A golden bullet 18 July 2012

A recent finding provides a good example to cover several different areas of IB chemistry. One traditional foodstuff which contains antioxidants listed under Assessment statement F.3.11 in the Food... more

Looking into the future 23 June 2012

It’s that time of year again. Within a couple of weeks students will know what grade they got in the IB and those that make the grade will be eagerly looking forward to spending the next three or four... more