All this chemistry is killing me....

Week 1 of the next half term is going to be...

MURDER WEEK

The job of forensic scientists depends on a number of scientific techniques which we will look at at the start of next term in the context of

MURDER

so just to get you in the mood we will be playing a game that week, a bit like Cluedo in which all of us will be involved in a spot of

MURDER

On the first lesson back we will finish off the work on the reactivity series that we should have started at the end of term. This will include looking up the mechanism of the Thermit reaction, which we will see on the last day of term and explaining how it works. Once we are all ok with the steps in the reactivity series then the game commences...

MURDER

The game is very simple. Think Cluedo and you're on the right track. In Cluedo you have to work out who was killed where and by whom.

All the names of all the pupils in the class will be in a hat. A list of "props" will be in another hat. Fially a list of locations around the school will be in a third hat. Each person will come to the front, pick a victim from the victim hat, a prop from the props hat and a location from the locatios hat. If they find they have picked themselves then put your name back in the hat and pick another one.

MURDER

The game then commences. Now every person in the room except for the judges and the police are potential murderers and victims. You don't know who is coming for you.

MURDER

The aim of the game is not to ACTUALLY kill anyone let me make that clear to you now! Kills are registered when you set up a situation whereby your victim unwittingly takes the item you are assigned to kill him/her with. The item must be taken willingly with room to deny.

MURDER

What does it all mean?! I hear you cry. Well let's take an example. Strontium has picked out of the hats the following...

Victim: Arsenic
Prop: Balloon
Location: Outside the art room

Stronitum would have to try to maneuver a situation whereby Arsenic would not suspect that being handed a balloon outside the art room is an ususual occurence. So Strontium thinks about it and designs a project to decorate the art room for a party. He calls Arsenic over and asks him to hold the chair while he paints "Happy Birthday" on the walls. Then turns to Arsenic and says

"Can you just hold this balloon while I dip my paintbrush in the green paint?"

Arsenic unwittingly obliges (but of course he has the opportunity to say no)

MURDER

By taking the balloon Arsenic has become a victim. Stronitum laughs heartily at him and shows him the 3 pieces of paper with hi name on. At this point Arsenic falls out of the game without telling anyone else that he is dead just to keep it interesting. Arsenic goes to the police (That's the volunteer who is helping set the game up) and reports the crime for the records.

MURDER

But in his death throes, Arsenic has one more task. In order for the game to continue smoothly, Arsenic needs to give his three pieces of paper to his killer. Strontium now has a new target, new prop and new location and a death score of 1.

But all the while someone has Strontium in their sights.

MURDER

No-one is safe...