 | | The 2005 ESAT Young Scientist Competition |
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|  | | Stephanie Kim preparing her geodesic domes for the Competition |
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 | | David Hayes and Daniel Lockley received a Display Award for their project ‘ The effect of wax in the ear canal on decibel levels at the eardrum’. David and Daniel constructed a model ear canal and measured reduction in Decibel levels due to increasing thicknesses of wax. |
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|  | | Max van de Poll and Enda Hannan received a Highly Commended in the Intermediate Maths Physics and Chemical Sciences section with their project ‘UV radiation- are we over exposed?’ Max and Enda used a UVA probe linked to a CBL and graphing calculator to measure the amount of UV radiation which is able to penetrate windows sunglasses and acetate sheets coated with sunscreens. They made some interesting discoveries in that brands of sunglasses claiming to be 100% UV protective were in fact allowing UV radiation through. |
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 | | Jessica Pitcher and Kelley Staab received a Display Award for their project - ‘ The effect of insulation on minimising heat loss in homes.’ They painstakingly built two model houses – one with triple insulation and a lining of NASA reflective foil and the other insulated like normal homes. They showed a significant reduction in heat loss in their test house. Kelley and Jessica were interviewed for RTE’s Science programm ‘Scope’. |
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|  | | Stephanie Kim in 5th Year received a Highly Commended in the Senior Maths Physics and Chemical Sciences Section with her project – A Study of Geodesic Domes. Stephanie built models of different geodesic dome types and studied their surface area/ volume ratio and their abilities to absorb and reflect light. |
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 | | Harry Guinness of 2nd Year studied the number PHI in his project entitled – ‘1.618 is the magic number’. Harry decided to study the occurrence of this ‘golden ratio’ in nature after reading ‘The DaVinci code’. He took measurements from fellow students and analysed the results statistically. Harry was also interviewed for RTE radio. |
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|  | | Rebecca Bell and Hannah Gordon of 4th Year studied the bacteria that lurk in peoples’ fridges in their project ‘ The microbiology of the domestic fridge.’ They found that fridges harbour a number of species of bacteria and that temperature is critical in keeping the bacterial content of foods to minimum. They were delighted to inform Ms Fitzgerald that of all the fridges they tested her antibacterial fridge was microbe free. The girls were interviewed for RTE radio. |
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 | | Leah Doyle and Rachel O’Sullivan of 4th Year received much interest from the Environmental Protection Agency for their project – ‘Rhododendron – Weed or weedkiller.’ They made extracts of the leaves, the roots and the flowers and tested the effects on small herbaceous plants. They highlighted the problems of Rhododendron in Ireland as a plant which spreads rapidly in Woodlands at the expense of the natural flora. |
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|  | | Nicola Costigan, Niamh Barnwell and Rebecca Tyrrell of 4th Year produced a super project – ‘An investigation into dormancy of common fruit seeds’. The girls investigated reasons why common fruit seeds like lemon seeds and orange seeds will necessarily grow a new lemon or orange plant without certain treatments. The girls were interviewed for RTE’s radio programme at 6pm. |
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 | | Yusuf Bhujwalla and David Murphy spent many hours traveeling to NUI Maynooth where they were given use of the Labs for experimenting for their project ‘Biowaste disposal using Mycology’. They received much help from Dr Kevin Kavanagh and his team in the Mycology Department in their research. They grew Fungi like Mucor common bread mould on different types of food media to see which type of food they colonised the best. They hope to continue with their research and enter the YS again. |
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|  | | Simon Yeates in Second Year scooped the 3rd Prize in the Junior Maths Physics and Chemical Sciences section with his project ‘Using titration to measure the levels of phosphoric acid in soft drinks’. Simon started his project last March and during Wed afternoons in Science club he used a pH probe linked to a CBL and graphing calculator and titrated sodium hydroxide against a variety of cola drinks. He also obtained human teeth from the dental hospital and monitored their loss of enamel when immersed in dishes containing different cola drinks. He discovered the most acidic of all the drinks and therefore the worst for the teeth was a well-known cola brand with a hint of citrus fruit juice in it. |
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