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Monash University Interview

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shonakennedy:
for pH cant you just say that its a scale for acidity? or does it have to be a full on explanation of detail...

shinny:
You're explaining to someone which has no knowledge of chemistry whatsoever, so they won't even know what acidity is. Main problem I find is that I'm not sure where to draw the line between clarity (i.e. dumbing down) and scientific correctness. I guess overall I'd opt for the clarity though, since its mainly a test of communication, and not chemistry since we've already been assessed on that.

BA22:
The best way is to

a) avoid using techincal jargon

b) use an everyday item to make an anology

My friend had to explain condensation, she asked her interviewer to imagine being in the shower and noticing how the windows get wet and fogged up, she explained that a gas becomes a liquid at a cooler temperature. Therefore when the hotter steam, the gas, hits the window, a cool surface, it becomes a liquid.

It's not perfect but a good example of the way in which you should present your example

shinny:

--- Quote from: bec on November 26, 2008, 07:49:32 pm ---Anyway, to start the list.....explain the pH scale

--- End quote ---

For this one, I'm not sure the extent to which I have to explain everything (i.e. what an acid is, what a base is), and if these were required, then the interviewers would just enquire themselves. My response might be something like this:

The pH scale is basically a number which indicates how 'acidic' something is. Think of acids as things that give off 'acid particles'. Whenever an acid acts, there is also something called a base, which is something that takes the acid particles that acids release. Acids and bases are usually found mixed in water, so think of the water as a fruit basket, and the acids as apples, and bases as oranges. The pH scale is basically just a measure of how many apples are found inside this fruit basket, and the numbers it takes generally ranges from 0 to 14. For example, water is given a pH rating of 7 as it has an equal number of apples and oranges. Also, milk has a pH of about 6, and the way that the scale works is that by going down one number, this means that milk has ten times as many apples as water does. Similarly, by going up one number such as with seawater which has a pH of 8, this means that seawater has ten times less apples than water.

And yes I am well aware of the heap of scientific incorrectness in that, but I'm not too fussed and I don't think they are either (such as not relating it back to the consequent decrease/increase of 'oranges' in the last section). Getting rid of technicalities makes this clearer I think, and that's what I'll aim for.

Any takers for electrolytic cell and/or galvanic cell? This has come up before, and this one's hard even using scientific terms -_-"

EDIT: Oh and yes how'd I forget. Any comments/criticisms of what I did? Go all out if you want. That was the first de-tech I did and I've only got 3 days to learn till the interview ._.""

chlloe:
How did your interview go? :)

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