Every year, the online Cambridge Chemistry Challenge takes place from November to June. Each month, a new set of cryptic Chemistry quiz questions is released and Chemistry enthusiasts worldwide of all ages compete to answer the questions as quickly as possible. There are monthly and overall leaderboards, and the competition is surprisingly fierce! It is a great fun competition requiring not only good chemistry knowledge but also good Googling skills and ability to spot subtle clues in the questions! If you need any hints, there's usually a popular Student Room thread but make sure you have go at the questions yourself first!
There's also a popular Lower Sixth paper, which is sat in schools in June each year - if your school doesn't already do it, ask! This is a great thing to add to your UCAS form, and the top scorers will be invited to attend a residential camp at the University of Cambridge at the end of August! For past papers, have a look on the downloads page of their website.To sign up for this years online competition or look at past quiz questions, visit their website.
I have taken part in the online competition for the last two years, and it has been good fun! The questions don't just test your Chemistry ability but also general knowledge - for example one question required you to recognise pictures of famous chemists while another involved calculating the minimum mass of carbon that would be required to coat the surface of the Earth in a single graphene sheet! Some people take it more seriously than others and stay up all night to complete the questions as soon as they are launched (midnight), but most of us wait until the next morning! You have a whole month to complete each set of questions, but the longer you leave it the lower your score.
I did the Lower Sixth paper last year, and it was surprisingly challenging! It is similar to the Maths Challenges and Chemistry Olympiads in that it is a fun competition requiring you to really understand the subject and apply your knowledge to very unfamiliar situations. Even if you don't achieve a Gold award, it's still good to mention your participation on your UCAS form as it shows an interest in the subject outside of your A level qualification. The residential camp also sounds amazing!
Katie Prescott (participant 2012-13)
