How suitable are spent coffee grounds for heavy-metal remediation in water and soil?
Published output
A published review of 30 studies, with a comparison of five material categories and their practical limitations.
I published a systematic review of 30 studies in the National High School Journal of Science on 21 October 2026. I compared five categories of coffee-ground materials, examining how preparation methods and treatment conditions affect heavy-metal removal. The review identifies promising applications and priorities for long-term field research. Sabrina Hu, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, mentored the work.
MTH / 02
Mathematics · Internal assessment
A steak, a cross-section, a heat equation.
The question
How can the one-dimensional heat equation be used to model heat transfer through a steak as it cooks?
I use the one-dimensional heat equation to model how temperature changes inside a steak as it cooks. The investigation connects position and time to heat transfer, applying partial differential equations to a question from my own cooking.
PHY / 03
Physics · Internal assessment
What does another layer change?
The question
How does the number of bubble-wrap layers (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 layers) surrounding a beaker affect the cooling constant, k, of water from 80 °C to 40 °C, determined from temperature–time measurements using Newton’s law of cooling?
I investigate how layers of bubble wrap affect the rate at which water cools. Using temperature–time measurements and exponential fitting, I compare cooling constants and examine how surface heat loss and wrap attachment affect the model.
CHM / 04
Chemistry · Internal assessment
Heating, juice, and what a titration measures.
The question
How does heating time (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 min) at a water bath temperature of 60.0 °C affect the concentration of iodine-reducing substances, expressed as ascorbic acid equivalents in mol dm⁻³, in Juhayna carton orange juice compared with prepared ascorbic acid solution, determined by iodometric back titration?
I compare orange juice with an ascorbic acid solution after controlled heating, using iodometric back titration to measure changes in iodine-reducing capacity. Comparing each sample with its initial concentration helps me examine how the mixture in orange juice affects the result.