帝国 化学PS 赏析

申请帝国理工学院、华威大学、爱丁堡大学、圣安德鲁斯大学和牛津大学

你为什么想学习这个课程或学科？

多年来，我一直以为可口可乐只是普通的清爽饮品。直到有一天，令我惊讶的是，我发现它作为清洁剂的应用。这让我觉得有点奇怪，怎么会用来去除油渍的东西会是这么愉快的饮品？化学是答案所在，虽然这只是一个微不足道的例子。通过化学，我们有安全的饮用水和飞机用铝。这种范围和相关性让我渴望深入了解。无论未来进入哪个化学领域，我都渴望有机会为当今世界做出贡献。

在大学里，我特别感兴趣的是X射线晶体学和红外光谱等分析技术，因为到目前为止我只在理论上进行了探索。我对深入学习化学感到非常兴奋，最近一直在观看大学的讲座和播客，以扩展我已有的知识。这不仅是教育意义，也强化了我申请化学并将其作为职业的愿望。

你的资质和学习如何帮助你准备这门课程或科目？

我在化学课上最喜欢的经历之一是确定氨气与1-氯丙烷反应的机制。我特别喜欢这个练习，因为我必须运用之前对试剂行为的了解，才能独立推断反应的机制和产物。尤其令人满意的是，仅凭逻辑和演绎思维就能得出正确结论。我最喜欢的反应，同样与机制相关，是乙醚与溴在氯化钠存在下发生的反应。它让我看到化学家用一种方法来测试他们理论上假设的机制，实际上是否真的发生了。

我喜欢化学，因为我可以独自阅读相关内容，帮助我在课堂上更好地理解这些内容，同时我也有机会在小组中扩展知识。这可以是在实践课程或关于所学内容的讨论中进行。举个例子，我的AS化学课在绿色化学模块中讨论人为排放是否值得关注。双方使用相同的数据，我能够单独查看数据，然后作为小组成员提出和讨论想法。这次练习展示了科学数据可以被多种方式利用，这凸显了准确解读数据的重要性，这一技能我希望在大学中进一步提升。

由于我也对数学感兴趣，我在暑假期间自学了A2应用数学模块。我发现数学本身就很有成就感，但我更感激它，因为它与学习化学相关且互补。由于对物理学有浓厚兴趣，我加入了物理学会，以便能够查看最新的相关信息，并访问《物理世界》杂志等资源。

你在教育之外还做了哪些准备工作？这些经历为什么有用？

在校外课程之外，我已经参加了三年的爱丁堡公爵奖。我的黄金探险在捷克共和国进行，我能担任翻译和协调员，因为我会说斯洛伐克语，这两者和捷克语是互通的。这是培养和应用沟通与团队合作技能的理想方式，这两者都是成为化学家成功所必需的。我看过许多大学在视频分享网站上发布的化学讲座。我在讲座中特别喜欢的一个主题是利用形式电荷预测共价分子的最佳刘易斯结构，以及如何将其扩展到分子的三维形状。

英文版本

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

For years I assumed Coca-Cola was just a common, refreshing beverage. Then one day, to my surprise, I came across its application as a cleaning agent. This struck me as something slightly odd, how can something used for removing oil stains be such a pleasant drink? Chemistry held the answer, though this is just a trivial example. Through chemistry we have safe drinking water and aluminium for aeroplanes. This scope and relevance makes me keen to learn more. I am eager for the opportunity to contribute to today's world, no matter which field of chemistry I may enter in the future.

At university, I am especially interested in using analytical techniques such as X-ray crystallography and infrared spectroscopy, as so far I have only explored them in theory. I am thrilled at the prospect of studying chemistry in further depth, and have been watching university lectures and podcasts to expand on what I already know. This was not only educational but also reinforced my desire to apply for chemistry and choose it as my career.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

Among my favourite experiences in chemistry class was determining the mechanism of reaction between ammonia and 1-chloropropane. I especially enjoyed this exercise because I had to apply my previous knowledge about the behaviour of reagents in order to independently deduce the mechanism and products of this reaction. It was particularly satisfying as the correct conclusion could be reached through the use of logical and deductive thinking alone. My favourite reaction, likewise related to mechanisms, is between ethene and bromine in the presence of sodium chloride. It showed me one way chemists can test if what they assume to be mechanism in theory, happens in practice.

I enjoy chemistry as I am able to read through topics alone, helping me understand them better when they are being studied in the classroom, though I also have the opportunity to expand my knowledge in a group. This can be in practical sessions or discussions about the material being learnt. An example is when my AS chemistry class was engaged in debate on whether anthropogenic emissions are a cause for concern, as part of the green chemistry module. Both sides used the same data and I was able to look at it individually before presenting and discussing ideas as a member of a group. The exercise demonstrated how scientific data could be used in a number of ways, which highlighted the necessity of being able to interpret it accurately, a skill which I hope to develop further at university.

Due to finding mathematics captivating as well, I studied my A2 applied mathematics module independently during the summer. I find mathematics is rewarding by itself but I appreciate it doubly as it is relevant and complementing to studying chemistry. Having an active interest in physics, I have joined the Institute of Physics to be able to view up to date information on the subject and have access to sources such as Physics World magazine.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Outside school curricula, I have been participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award for three years. My gold expedition took place in the Czech Republic, and I was able to act as a translator and coordinator due to being able to speak Slovak, which is mutually intelligible with Czech. This was an ideal way to develop and apply my communication and team-working skills, both of which are necessary to succeed as a chemist. I have watched a number of chemistry lectures posted by universities on video-sharing websites. A topic I especially enjoyed in the lectures discussed using formal charge to predict the best Lewis structure for covalent molecules and how this can then be expanded to predict the 3D shape of the molecule.