PVS Students Participate in You Be the Chemist Challenge Competition

You Be the Chemist Challenge is an annual competition that provides students with a fun and educational opportunity to showcase their chemistry skills. The competition operates in a four-person team format with a highly interactive questioning system.

Each year in PVS, 8th graders are offered the opportunity to participate in this competition. On March 5, 2022, eight PVS 8th graders participated in this competition. This year, the competition was held virtually, so the team met at school on the day of the competition.

Prior to the competition, the students were trained by their Physical Science teacher, Dr. Farhana Chowdhury, weekly for nearly 6 months. Over this time, the students covered basic and advanced chemistry topics to prepare themselves for the competition.

The You be the Chemist Challenge competition, particularly the training sessions with Dr. Farhana, allow students to enhance their chemistry knowledge at early stages. Muhammad Shala (8th grade), explained that he has “learned new facts about elements… as well as tools for measurements.”

The competition also aims to enable students to build an interest in the sciences. This was certainly the case for Shala, who said that “learning all these facts [about chemistry] makes me interested in how many amazing phenomena are related to chemistry.” He also commented that he wanted to learn even more about chemistry.

The You Be the Chemist Challenge team and their team coordinator, Dr. Chowdhury should be applauded for their hard work. Students below 8th grade, especially those in 7th grade, should consider participating in the competition as they, too, may develop a long-lasting passion for chemistry.