Marvels [Action Heroes] of Applied Sciences

12 Aug 2014

Meet Cheryl, a second year student from the Diploma in Food Science and Technology (DFST) course! Together with her friends, Cheryl was one of our ‘action heroes’ who played host to our friends from nine secondary schools at The School of Chemical and Life Sciences (CLS)’s recent Marvels of Applied Sciences event. Our secondary school friends got a taste of six of SP’s applied sciences diplomas as they toured our facilities and got their hands on some cool activities. Cheryl tells us about her experience working on the event.

Hi guys, I’m Cheryl, a second year student from the DFST course. I recently helped out at the Marvels of Applied Sciences event where our secondary school friends got a taste of the applied sciences taught in SP. This was my first time on super action hero duty! Together with my course mates, Priscilla, Waipeng, Kai Chin and Qin Ping, we hosted our secondary school friends on a fun food chemistry experiment.

We showed them how to make ‘moodles’ which is a special noodle that changes colour according to the pH of the solution it is in contact with. The ‘moodles’ were made from the extract of purple cabbage and a gelling agent. In its liquid form, we feed it through tubings which are then cooled in an ice bath. Using water pressure, the ‘moodles’ are pushed out from the tube. For the experiment, the ‘moodles’ were placed in solutions of different pHs, where they would change colour accordingly.

The most interesting part of this experiment was when we immersed the ‘moodles’ into the different pH solutions, as it was kind of magical watching the ‘moodles’ change colour!

Moodles

redbluegreen

Through this event, I also got to brush up on my presentation skills. I’ve always had difficulty trying to present information to others as I tend to get very nervous and forget what I want to say for the presentation. But on the event day, the group of secondary school students that I took was very cooperative. The jokes that they cracked also lightened the mood there and made me less nervous, so I was able to convey what I wanted to confidently. *PHEW!

This event is definitely a memorable one for me, and I am lucky that I was part of it. Through this event, I also got a chance to interact more with my course mates!

Bet you never thought that food chemistry could be so much fun huh. Imagine a tom yum soup with red noodles, isn’t it cool? Or imagine that there are red pearls inside a 7-up bubble tea beverage, will you like the beverage even more?

Editor: Thanks Cheryl, sounds like you guys had a great time! Here’s a snapshot of the happenings at the Marvels of Applied Sciences event from all six diplomas.

Diploma in Applied Chemistry with Pharmaceutical Science (DACP)

Participants were given the opportunity to observe the preparation of a common medicine, Aspirin and to apply laboratory techniques to analyse and identify the active ingredients.

Diploma in Perfumery and Cosmetics Science (DPCS)

Participants were welcomed to world of Fragrance and Flavour as they were taken through the 3Cs process of formulating a product – Conceptualisation, Crystallisation, and Communication.

Diploma in Food Science & Technology (DFST)

Participants conducted an experiment with purple cabbage extract. Made into a noodle-like ‘moodle’, its colour could be manipulated by chemical parameters, such as pH.

Diploma in Applied Chemistry with Material Science (DACM)

Participants were introduced to the world of polymers where they discovered how different polymer structures look under a microscope. They also got to form and mould their own polymeric products.

Diploma in Chemical Engineering (DCHE)