The Hutchins School

The Hutchins School is a K‐12 boys school in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Science is studied formally from years 7 through to 12, with science being compulsory at Hutchins in Years 7 – 10.

In years 9 and 10 students study the main disciplines of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology through the themes of Energy and Change, Natural and Processed Materials, Life and Living and Earth and Beyond.

In Year 9 and again in Year 10 as part of their course students are required to undertake an experimental research investigatio on a topic of their own choosing. Students can conduct these investigations either at school or at home. Students are then invited by the Hutchins Science staff to attend the CHATS Youth Science Forum on the basis of the investigaion they have undertaken.

Official Site

Hutchins School Participants

Teachers:
Ross Towns

Students:
Michael Manthey
Sam Crofts
Anton Roberts
Charles Haward
George Dargaville
David Lord

Hutchins School Project Abstracts

Soil salinity in the Coal Valley – The effect of using recycled water on agricultural crops
Anton Roberts

In the last 12 months the Coal Valley has had a recycled water scheme implemented only for those who had chosen to be part of the scheme and buy water rights. The recycled water that is used only costs a fraction of the cost compared to the fresh Hobart water, however the recycled water is not available 24/7. The recycled water is ideal for constant irrigation on crops that need that consistency of irrigation. Using water that has already been used is not only relatively cheap but it is also very efficient especially when in times of drought as every drop counts.

This investigation seeks to establish whether recycled water is able to be used on paddocks and for the care of stock and the effect recycled water has on paddocks compared to the Craigborne water.

This experiment was conducted by testing approximately 100ml of subject soil and mixing it with distilled rainwater to measure the salinity of the soil with a calibrated salinity meter. The results from this investigation found that the recycled water had a higher salinity reading compared to non-recycled water irrigated paddocks. Recycled water is to be used ideally for harvesting crops such as Lucerne, Barley and Oats but it not recommended for watering of stock because of the high salinity readings gathered.


How Age Changes Hamstring Flexibility
Charles Haward

This experiment is being conducted to test how hamstring flexibility changes with age. At this stage of experimentation, 56 people have been tested from two distinct age groups (9-10 Years of Age and 15-16 Years of Age). The experimentation process consists of a warm-up protocol (jogging on the spot for one minute) followed by the measurement protocol, conducted on the Sit and Reach Box. The results that have been recorded so far suggest that hamstring flexibility decreases with age.


Developing a Personal Energy Source
Sam Crofts and Michael Manthey

Hydrogen fuel cells are seen by many as the answer to energy needs in the future. It may therefore be useful to have a portable hydrogen fuel cell as a personal source of power as an alternative to batteries since the usage of hydrogen is beneficial from both environmental and economic perspectives.

The aim is to design and build a personal energy source that runs on hydrogen. Considering the theory behind hydrogen power, we built a hydrogen powered model car from a kit, examined how it worked and conducted several tests. We came out with several electrolyser designs and plans and subsequently, combined the best aspects of the designs to build an electrolyser.

We are also considering some possible developments of this project. We hope to look into the design and fabrication of a hydrogen fuel cell to recombine the hydrogen and oxygen. In addition, we will compare the efficiency of the fuel cell with that of commercially produced cells, hence, allowing us to get a better evaluation of our product.


Testing the Effectiveness of Red Blood Cell Membrance Stabilizers
George Dargaville

In human medicine, patients are often given solutions intravenously, which are either very high or very low in salt concentration. There is the potential risk that giving these solutions rapidly will lead to haemolysis, i.e. breakdown of red blood cells.

Our research aims to test the effectiveness of different membrane stabilisers on the degree of haemolysis in different salt concentrations and conclude whether red blood cell membrane stabilizers are effective in preventing or reducing haemolysis. We hypothesized that membrane stabilizers will reduce haemolysis induced by high or low salt concentrations.


Investigating a Gauss Gun
David Lord

A rail gun is a device that speeds up a metal projectile through a process of acceleration being provided by a series of electro-magnets. This requires a huge amount of electric current to fire a single metal projectile.

A Gauss Gun may be an alternative as it is a less energy intensive device which uses permanent rare earth magnets and works through a process of magnetic attraction and kinetic energy. This project aims to investigate ways to optimize the velocity of a fired ball bearing using 1-4 magnets, taking into consideration the arrangement of the ball bearings and magnets.