On Saturday 15 Feb 2020, the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge will be hosting a new chemistry competition called the Cambridge Chemistry Race. Teams of 3-5 sixth-form students will compete in solving chemistry-related problems in real time. The goal of each team is to answer as many questions as they can within the two-hour time limit. Once a question is answered successfully, the team is presented with a new one and a live leaderboard is updated. Half an hour before the race ends, the ranking is hidden and the final winners are announced at the closing ceremony.

The questions range from easy riddles through tasks of A-levels difficulty to complex chemical problems. Any books, notes or other paper literature are allowed since the problems mainly aim to test problem solving skills and chemical understanding, rather than knowledge. Therefore, even though bringing literature is strongly recommended, the winning team is definitely not simply the team who brought most books.

If you are a sixth-form student interested in science, then gather your friends and form a team. If you are a sixth-form teacher, then make sure to advertise this amazing opportunity to your students. Remember, we are not looking for chemistry geniuses, but for students who love science as much as we do; the main aim of the competition is for all participants to enjoy the thought-provoking questions with a little bit of the race thrill.

We will post example problems on this website in the next few days to give you an idea of what to expect. The registration will open soon after that.