KAMLOOPS-After writing the 2004 UCC Chemistry Contest test on campus May 19, 40 Grade 11 students from area schools will get a chance to work in the university chemistry lab, doing a little consumer research.

The students will be in two labs (S237 and S269) from 2:30 until 3:45 p.m. analyzing various types of sunscreen. They will extract the compounds responsible for absorbing UV radiation from sunscreens of different SPF value and brand, cleaning up and diluting the extracts, then testing them to see how the absorbance of the solution varies between their samples.

“What’s great about the lab experience,” explained Dr. Sharon Brewer of the UCC Chemistry Department, “is it allows students hands-on experience with real samples in an analytical lab. The students will have to prepare and clean up the samples, distilling a clear solution from a gooey cream, as they do in a real analytical lab.”

Brewer added that media are welcome to drop in to the sessions to see and photograph the experiments (and experimenters) in action. For more information, please contact Dr. Doug Bickley at 828-5455 or Dr. Sharon Brewer at 371-5548.