Escape the atom
Start new game
Continue previous game
Escape the atom!
Click on the carbon nucleus to begin
Great job chemist!
click here
Click the atom at any point to return to this screen
Escape the atom
You have been trapped inside this atom by your chemistry teacher! Visit the workplace of 7 different chemists to complete the tasks. Explore the work of the chemists to complete the atom and escape!
Click on a chemist to get started!
To start a new game click here
Sam Webster
Freelance Principal Medical Writer
I create written resources that communicate the value of medical interventions to patients, carers, healthcare providers and society. I love what I do because I am fascinated by the inner workings of the human body and will never tire of learning about the innovative ways its pathways and processes are targeted to treat disease and improve lives.
I need you to help me edit a document. When you're ready go to my office and log into my computer
Interested?
biograPHY
Start
I am a PhD student which is a university degree rather than a job. There are similarities to a job as you get some income and do not get specific holidays at Christmas, Easter or during the Summer. In a typical week I go to the university research laboratories everyday and carry out chemical experiments in my fumehood. A single experiment does not take too long to set up, all the reactants need to be weighed or measured out and then added together. The reactions can take up to 3 days to finish so we often do multiple reactions at one time. When the reaction is finished, isolation and purification can take more time.
Kate Ellis-Sawyer
PhD student
What I enjoy about doing a PhD in science is that you are part of a group of people working on similar things. PhDs are hard and you often get stuck but because you are part of a group you can share what you are stuck on with other people and figure out what to do next together.
I need your help, go to my lab!
biograPHY
PhDs at bristol
Start
An Applications Engineer usually takes solutions or products that a company has already developed and applies them to a customer's requirements. At OIPT we make plasma etching and deposition machines which are used to make semiconductor devices. My team and I develop processes which are used when making electronic devices that use light such as lasers in computer mice and LEDs. The electronics and semiconductor industry is moving fast and it is exciting to know that my work may play a small part in the new electronics in our lives.
Dr Katie Hore
I enjoy working in chemistry because it continually provides new ideas and challenges. Plasma is great to work with, they are superheated gases which contain very high energy particles which means reactions happen which would only occur very slowly at room temperature. This means I can use the plasma to make tiny holes in a material, a bit like a microscopic drill.
Got your PPE? My colleagues need your help in the lab!
Optoelectronics Applications Engineer,
biograPHY
careers
next
I manage a series of projects based at The University of Manchester and work closely with researchers that design robotics for use in nuclear decommissioning challenges. I manage budgets of approximately £20M and work with academics across the UK, I have had the opportunity to travel regularly both nationally and internationally as part of my job. I love working with people to find solutions to difficult challenges. We work with the nuclear industry to design and produce robotic solutions to remove people from harmful environments, reducing risk.
Dr Jenn Jones
Nuclear Robotics Programme Manager
Often we don't know exactly what the robot has to deal with. So we equip the robots with different sensors (chemical and radiological). I love the variety of the job, each day is different, each challenge is interesting and I really enjoy getting to work with such a wide range of people from a variety of backgrounds Most importantly we are trying to improve safety to remove people from harm whilst cleaning up legacy facilities for the benefit of future generations.
I need you to go to my lab to collect the data from our latest test robot.
biograPHY
robotics research
biograPHY
biograPHY
Start
I work for the British Antarctic Survey as a Paleoceanographer which means I study past changes in the ocean. I measure the chemistry of marine microfossils which helps us reconstruct what the ocean was like in the past and link this to changes in the Antarctic ice sheet. I find it amazing that we can learn so much from something so small and that is why I love my job! Understanding climate change in the past is also key to understanding it in the future and so this is an important thing to investigate.
Dr Elaine Mawbey
Paleoceanographer
We have been measuring the chemistry of tiny little fossils called foraminifera which live on the ocean floor. Their shells are made of calcium carbonate and through time they get buried in the sediment. The composition of their shells depends on the temperature and chemistry of the ocean when they were alive. When we take a sediment core near Antarctica, we can read the layers like a timeline with the sediments getting older the further down we go.
I need you to go to Antarctica and get the latest data for my lab.
biograPHY
careers at BAS
Next
As an analytical equipment manufacturer we have a varied customer base in many areas of industry. Equipping a laboratory can be very expensive so ensuring the right equipment is purchased is important. My main role at Markes is to ensure the equipment is fit for the analytical role it is being sold to perform. Potential customers submit samples to us for analysis. Results are reviewed at every step as the first method is often not the final method, which is where the problem solving aspect of the role comes in.
Dr Steve Smith
Senior Product Specialist, Markes International
What I love about the job is the varied workload. I have analysed everything from African river water to some of the best known perfumes from around the world, air, plastics, leather, food, ink, to name a few. Without doubt the most exciting sample I have analysed was from the Murchison meteorite that fell in Australia in 1969 and has been studied extensively as it carries the signature of the solar system from around the time the sun was formed. The subsequent video conference with NASA was pretty awesome too.
A customer has sent us some cheese samples for analysis. Go to my lab for more details.
What we do
biograPHY
Start
I have chosen to specialise in petrology, specifically using mineral crystals within different lava and magma samples from volcanoes to try to determine the volcanic and magmatic histories. This involves getting detailed images of the crystal profiles, and determining the mineral chemistry which is linked to what volcanic processes are taking place. I have used these techniques to understand what processes resulted in the large eruption of Crater Lake! Although this is a complex process, the key to really determining what took place is all to down to chemistry.
Lilli Day
My next project is on the Ceburuco volcano in Mexico. I need you to collect some rock samples for analysis. Go to Mexico!
Volcanology Masters Student
biograPHY
volcanology at bristol
Drag 3 different rock samples into the bag
I need you to help me find some rock samples for analysis back at the lab.
Welcome to the Ceburuco volcano, Mexico.
I've prepared the andesite sample and put it on the microscope. Click on the computer to check it out.
Andesite is made of a variety of minerals, one of which is albite. Albite melts at 1100°C and does not conduct electricity. Which of the following describes the bonding in albite?
Covalent, Giant covalent, Ionic, Metallic
giant covalent|macromolecular
Albite has the formula NaAlSi O . Relative atomic masses (Ar): Na = 23, Al 27, = Si = 28, O = 16.
Calculate the relative formula mass (Mr) of albite (NaAlSi O )
3 8
3 8
262
Lilli Day
Volcanology Masters Student
Great volcanology skills! You've won the volcano badge! Find out more about volcanology by checking out the links below Go back to the atom to complete the rest of the challenges
Volcanology at Bristol
biograPHY
You've heard this office space is where Sam works. First you need to find her desk
Password...
Enter password
look under the mug
Fill in the blanks for this article on atomic structure.
in lowercase
nucleus
The is located in the centre of the atom. The 2 types of particle in the centre of the atom are the positively charged and the which are neutral The shells contain which are negatively charged particles.
water
protons|proton
neutron|neutrons
electron|electrons
Sam Webster
Freelance Principal Medical Writer
Great work! You've won the medical writer badge! Head back to the atom to complete the other challenges.
Interested?
biograPHY
This robot is being tested for use in a hazardous radioactive area. Retrieve the data from it.
You retrieve the data from the USB port. The main isotope sampled is shown below. How many neutrons are in this isotope?
143
Answer:
This robot has malfunctioned. Inspect the robot to find out what's wrong with it.
This robot has malfunctioned. Find out what's wrong with it.
You wriggle the copper wire and it has broken.Answer the following questions Pure copper is described as: An elementAn alloyA mixtureA compound
Metals are good conductors of electricity because: Each atom is surrounded by 6 other atomsThey form positive ionsThey are malleableThey have delocalised electrons
Try again!
check
Dr Jenn Jones
Nuclear Robotics Programme Manager
Well done! You've won the nuclear robotics badge! Check out the link below to find out more about our work. Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
robotics research
biograPHY
biograPHY
You are in Dr Hore's lab. Take a look around.
I've just prepared this silicon wafer for use in a solar panel. It needs to go to the lab for etching.
You are in the clean lab where the silicon wafers are etched.
This computer is locked. Enter the number of staff in the team.
Complete the dot and cross diagram of a molecule of HF.Drag the electrons to the correct place on the diagram below.
16
Dr Katie Hore
Optoelectronics Applications Engineer,
Well done for completing that task! You've won the semiconductor badge! Head back to the atom to try the other challenges
careers
biograPHY
Hi, I work in a university lab where we are trialing new methods to make compounds using specific wavelengths of light. The aim is to create compounds for use in the pharmaceutical industry. I need to do chromatography analysis on my sample. Find the following items and bring them back to me: A pencil, a bottle of propanol, chromatography paper
My product is a liquid with a low boiling point. Which separation technique should I use to purify it?
CrystallisationDistillation Chromatography Filtration
Great! I'll set up the chromatography analysis
I tried to test the purity of my product using chromatography. My analysis is shown below. What 2 mistakes have I made?
try again
The spots were too small The lid was on the beaker The solvent was above the spots The line was drawn in ink The paper did not touch the bottom of the beaker
check
Kate Ellis-Sawyer
PhD student
Well done! You've won the research chemist badge! Check out the link below to see other research in chemistry you could do at Bristol. Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
PhDs at bristol
biograPHY
You've arrived just in time to help me. We've been asked to find out how the flavour profile of 3 different cheese samples compare. The client believes one of them is tainted with a toxin.
variable
Search the lab for the 3 sample tubes. When you find them put them in the autosampler.
I've just been doing some maintenance on the chromatograph.Steve left the samples somewhere in the lab. Find them and load the machine.
View the chromatograms
variable
variable
Cheese samples A, B and C were analysed by chromatography. W, X, Y and Z are toxins. Which cheese samples contain a toxin? A B C
distance moved by sample distance moved by solvent
R =
W X Y Z
Which toxin has an R value of 0.8?
try again!
A B C W X Y Z
Check
Dr Steve Smith
Senior Product Specialist, Markes International
Great work! You've won the analytical chemistry badge! Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
What we do
biograPHY
You have made it to the Rothera research station in Antarctica. The US research ship the Nathaniel B. Palmer is waiting.
You have arrived just in time to help us bring in the next sediment core.Find a helmet!
Enter the code to open the door
100
You've opened the door! Collect your helmet and go back to the deck.
100
Open
ERROR
Good work chemist. You've successfully helped to extract the core sample. Now get to the lab to check out the data.
The core sample has been prepared and analysed. Click on the core sample for the data
I have collected some values for the mass of carbonate at different depths in the core sample. I think one of the values is anomalous, click on the anomalous value.
Great!
Now calculate the mean value for each sample depth.
I have collected some values for the mass of carbonate at different depths in the core sample. I think one of the values is anomalous, click on the anomalous value.
1.29
2.58
3.87
Dr Elaine Mawbey
Paleoceanographer
Thank you chemist! You've won the Antarctic research badge! To see other careers at the BAS check out the link below. Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
biograPHY
careers at BAS
Escape the atom!
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Transcript
Escape the atom
Start new game
Continue previous game
Escape the atom!
Click on the carbon nucleus to begin
Great job chemist!
click here
Click the atom at any point to return to this screen
Escape the atom
You have been trapped inside this atom by your chemistry teacher! Visit the workplace of 7 different chemists to complete the tasks. Explore the work of the chemists to complete the atom and escape!
Click on a chemist to get started!
To start a new game click here
Sam Webster
Freelance Principal Medical Writer
I create written resources that communicate the value of medical interventions to patients, carers, healthcare providers and society. I love what I do because I am fascinated by the inner workings of the human body and will never tire of learning about the innovative ways its pathways and processes are targeted to treat disease and improve lives.
I need you to help me edit a document. When you're ready go to my office and log into my computer
Interested?
biograPHY
Start
I am a PhD student which is a university degree rather than a job. There are similarities to a job as you get some income and do not get specific holidays at Christmas, Easter or during the Summer. In a typical week I go to the university research laboratories everyday and carry out chemical experiments in my fumehood. A single experiment does not take too long to set up, all the reactants need to be weighed or measured out and then added together. The reactions can take up to 3 days to finish so we often do multiple reactions at one time. When the reaction is finished, isolation and purification can take more time.
Kate Ellis-Sawyer
PhD student
What I enjoy about doing a PhD in science is that you are part of a group of people working on similar things. PhDs are hard and you often get stuck but because you are part of a group you can share what you are stuck on with other people and figure out what to do next together.
I need your help, go to my lab!
biograPHY
PhDs at bristol
Start
An Applications Engineer usually takes solutions or products that a company has already developed and applies them to a customer's requirements. At OIPT we make plasma etching and deposition machines which are used to make semiconductor devices. My team and I develop processes which are used when making electronic devices that use light such as lasers in computer mice and LEDs. The electronics and semiconductor industry is moving fast and it is exciting to know that my work may play a small part in the new electronics in our lives.
Dr Katie Hore
I enjoy working in chemistry because it continually provides new ideas and challenges. Plasma is great to work with, they are superheated gases which contain very high energy particles which means reactions happen which would only occur very slowly at room temperature. This means I can use the plasma to make tiny holes in a material, a bit like a microscopic drill.
Got your PPE? My colleagues need your help in the lab!
Optoelectronics Applications Engineer,
biograPHY
careers
next
I manage a series of projects based at The University of Manchester and work closely with researchers that design robotics for use in nuclear decommissioning challenges. I manage budgets of approximately £20M and work with academics across the UK, I have had the opportunity to travel regularly both nationally and internationally as part of my job. I love working with people to find solutions to difficult challenges. We work with the nuclear industry to design and produce robotic solutions to remove people from harmful environments, reducing risk.
Dr Jenn Jones
Nuclear Robotics Programme Manager
Often we don't know exactly what the robot has to deal with. So we equip the robots with different sensors (chemical and radiological). I love the variety of the job, each day is different, each challenge is interesting and I really enjoy getting to work with such a wide range of people from a variety of backgrounds Most importantly we are trying to improve safety to remove people from harm whilst cleaning up legacy facilities for the benefit of future generations.
I need you to go to my lab to collect the data from our latest test robot.
biograPHY
robotics research
biograPHY
biograPHY
Start
I work for the British Antarctic Survey as a Paleoceanographer which means I study past changes in the ocean. I measure the chemistry of marine microfossils which helps us reconstruct what the ocean was like in the past and link this to changes in the Antarctic ice sheet. I find it amazing that we can learn so much from something so small and that is why I love my job! Understanding climate change in the past is also key to understanding it in the future and so this is an important thing to investigate.
Dr Elaine Mawbey
Paleoceanographer
We have been measuring the chemistry of tiny little fossils called foraminifera which live on the ocean floor. Their shells are made of calcium carbonate and through time they get buried in the sediment. The composition of their shells depends on the temperature and chemistry of the ocean when they were alive. When we take a sediment core near Antarctica, we can read the layers like a timeline with the sediments getting older the further down we go.
I need you to go to Antarctica and get the latest data for my lab.
biograPHY
careers at BAS
Next
As an analytical equipment manufacturer we have a varied customer base in many areas of industry. Equipping a laboratory can be very expensive so ensuring the right equipment is purchased is important. My main role at Markes is to ensure the equipment is fit for the analytical role it is being sold to perform. Potential customers submit samples to us for analysis. Results are reviewed at every step as the first method is often not the final method, which is where the problem solving aspect of the role comes in.
Dr Steve Smith
Senior Product Specialist, Markes International
What I love about the job is the varied workload. I have analysed everything from African river water to some of the best known perfumes from around the world, air, plastics, leather, food, ink, to name a few. Without doubt the most exciting sample I have analysed was from the Murchison meteorite that fell in Australia in 1969 and has been studied extensively as it carries the signature of the solar system from around the time the sun was formed. The subsequent video conference with NASA was pretty awesome too.
A customer has sent us some cheese samples for analysis. Go to my lab for more details.
What we do
biograPHY
Start
I have chosen to specialise in petrology, specifically using mineral crystals within different lava and magma samples from volcanoes to try to determine the volcanic and magmatic histories. This involves getting detailed images of the crystal profiles, and determining the mineral chemistry which is linked to what volcanic processes are taking place. I have used these techniques to understand what processes resulted in the large eruption of Crater Lake! Although this is a complex process, the key to really determining what took place is all to down to chemistry.
Lilli Day
My next project is on the Ceburuco volcano in Mexico. I need you to collect some rock samples for analysis. Go to Mexico!
Volcanology Masters Student
biograPHY
volcanology at bristol
Drag 3 different rock samples into the bag
I need you to help me find some rock samples for analysis back at the lab.
Welcome to the Ceburuco volcano, Mexico.
I've prepared the andesite sample and put it on the microscope. Click on the computer to check it out.
Andesite is made of a variety of minerals, one of which is albite. Albite melts at 1100°C and does not conduct electricity. Which of the following describes the bonding in albite? Covalent, Giant covalent, Ionic, Metallic
giant covalent|macromolecular
Albite has the formula NaAlSi O . Relative atomic masses (Ar): Na = 23, Al 27, = Si = 28, O = 16. Calculate the relative formula mass (Mr) of albite (NaAlSi O )
3 8
3 8
262
Lilli Day
Volcanology Masters Student
Great volcanology skills! You've won the volcano badge! Find out more about volcanology by checking out the links below Go back to the atom to complete the rest of the challenges
Volcanology at Bristol
biograPHY
You've heard this office space is where Sam works. First you need to find her desk
Password...
Enter password
look under the mug
Fill in the blanks for this article on atomic structure.
in lowercase
nucleus
The is located in the centre of the atom. The 2 types of particle in the centre of the atom are the positively charged and the which are neutral The shells contain which are negatively charged particles.
water
protons|proton
neutron|neutrons
electron|electrons
Sam Webster
Freelance Principal Medical Writer
Great work! You've won the medical writer badge! Head back to the atom to complete the other challenges.
Interested?
biograPHY
This robot is being tested for use in a hazardous radioactive area. Retrieve the data from it.
You retrieve the data from the USB port. The main isotope sampled is shown below. How many neutrons are in this isotope?
143
Answer:
This robot has malfunctioned. Inspect the robot to find out what's wrong with it.
This robot has malfunctioned. Find out what's wrong with it.
You wriggle the copper wire and it has broken.Answer the following questions Pure copper is described as: An elementAn alloyA mixtureA compound
Metals are good conductors of electricity because: Each atom is surrounded by 6 other atomsThey form positive ionsThey are malleableThey have delocalised electrons
Try again!
check
Dr Jenn Jones
Nuclear Robotics Programme Manager
Well done! You've won the nuclear robotics badge! Check out the link below to find out more about our work. Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
robotics research
biograPHY
biograPHY
You are in Dr Hore's lab. Take a look around.
I've just prepared this silicon wafer for use in a solar panel. It needs to go to the lab for etching.
You are in the clean lab where the silicon wafers are etched.
This computer is locked. Enter the number of staff in the team.
Complete the dot and cross diagram of a molecule of HF.Drag the electrons to the correct place on the diagram below.
16
Dr Katie Hore
Optoelectronics Applications Engineer,
Well done for completing that task! You've won the semiconductor badge! Head back to the atom to try the other challenges
careers
biograPHY
Hi, I work in a university lab where we are trialing new methods to make compounds using specific wavelengths of light. The aim is to create compounds for use in the pharmaceutical industry. I need to do chromatography analysis on my sample. Find the following items and bring them back to me: A pencil, a bottle of propanol, chromatography paper
My product is a liquid with a low boiling point. Which separation technique should I use to purify it?
CrystallisationDistillation Chromatography Filtration
Great! I'll set up the chromatography analysis
I tried to test the purity of my product using chromatography. My analysis is shown below. What 2 mistakes have I made?
try again
The spots were too small The lid was on the beaker The solvent was above the spots The line was drawn in ink The paper did not touch the bottom of the beaker
check
Kate Ellis-Sawyer
PhD student
Well done! You've won the research chemist badge! Check out the link below to see other research in chemistry you could do at Bristol. Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
PhDs at bristol
biograPHY
You've arrived just in time to help me. We've been asked to find out how the flavour profile of 3 different cheese samples compare. The client believes one of them is tainted with a toxin.
variable
Search the lab for the 3 sample tubes. When you find them put them in the autosampler.
I've just been doing some maintenance on the chromatograph.Steve left the samples somewhere in the lab. Find them and load the machine.
View the chromatograms
variable
variable
Cheese samples A, B and C were analysed by chromatography. W, X, Y and Z are toxins. Which cheese samples contain a toxin? A B C
distance moved by sample distance moved by solvent
R =
W X Y Z
Which toxin has an R value of 0.8?
try again!
A B C W X Y Z
Check
Dr Steve Smith
Senior Product Specialist, Markes International
Great work! You've won the analytical chemistry badge! Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
What we do
biograPHY
You have made it to the Rothera research station in Antarctica. The US research ship the Nathaniel B. Palmer is waiting.
You have arrived just in time to help us bring in the next sediment core.Find a helmet!
Enter the code to open the door
100
You've opened the door! Collect your helmet and go back to the deck.
100
Open
ERROR
Good work chemist. You've successfully helped to extract the core sample. Now get to the lab to check out the data.
The core sample has been prepared and analysed. Click on the core sample for the data
I have collected some values for the mass of carbonate at different depths in the core sample. I think one of the values is anomalous, click on the anomalous value. Great! Now calculate the mean value for each sample depth.
I have collected some values for the mass of carbonate at different depths in the core sample. I think one of the values is anomalous, click on the anomalous value.
1.29
2.58
3.87
Dr Elaine Mawbey
Paleoceanographer
Thank you chemist! You've won the Antarctic research badge! To see other careers at the BAS check out the link below. Head back to the atom for the next challenge.
biograPHY
careers at BAS