Machine Translated by Google

55th International
Chemistry Olympiad 2023
Further
Zurich, Switzerland
information
under:
www.icho.de

Participation Information Who can join?

This is the first of four selection rounds for the International Chemistry All adolescents and young adults who attend a secondary school in the
Olympiad. The Chemistry Olympiad is an individual competition. German education system in the 2022/2023 school year can take part in
Submitted group work or obviously identical solution contributions will the first and second round. From the third round, participation is only
not be considered and are excluded from the assessment. Submitted possible for students who have not yet reached the age of 20 on July 1,
solutions will not be returned. The use of specialist books and online 2023 due to international regulations.
sources is recommended for completing the tasks. The correction is
made by a teacher. The state representatives will be happy to answer
any questions you may have. Contact
IPN at the University of Kiel
To participate in the German selection process for the International Olshausenstr. 62, 24118 Kiel
Chemistry Olympiad, you must register in the online registration Phone: 04 31-8 80-31 68
portal. The addresses of the state representatives, the deadline and Fax: 04 31-8 80-54 68
access to the online registration portal for registration and the generation Email: icho@leibniz-ipn.de
of a registration form can be found at www.icho.de. The registration form
must
Register here ÿÿÿ
be added to the solutions.

4th round International competition

2nd round 3rd round July 2023 Zurich, Switzerland
1 round May / June 2023
February / March 2023
Dec 2, 2022
to 15 Sept 2022

Recommended by the

IPN • Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education

Machine Translated by Google

55th International
Chemistry Olympiad 2023
Zurich, Switzerland

Hot chemistry...

Task 1: Sharp as a Swiss army knife 33 points

The International Chemistry Olympiad in Zurich in 2023 is already casting element mass fraction
its shadow – Switzerland will therefore be welcoming students from all over
the world in the coming year. What is the first thing that comes to mind carbon 0.58%
when you think of Switzerland? Of cheese, chocolate, the Matterhorn - and chrome 14.20%
of course Swiss army knives!
molybdenum 0.56%
The blade of Swiss pocket knives consists of a steel that is colloquially vanadium 0.15%
referred to as Inox (from the French inoxydable, i.e. "non-oxidizable"). In
addition to iron, this contains carbon, chromium, molybdenum and vanadium. Table 1.1: Composition of a
stainless steel.

a) Explain, based on the elementary composition of stainless steel, why the blades of the Swiss army
knife do not rust.

In addition to the corrosion resistance of the stainless

steel blades, the sharpness is also a quality feature - the
blades are often only 0.1 mm thick at the cutting edge!
The exact manufacturing process of the stainless steel
blades is a well-kept secret: the steel has to be processed
at different temperatures in precisely defined processes.
This is possible
describe using a phase diagram. In the following, for the
sake of simplicity, "IChO" steel will be considered, which
contains only iron and carbon (0.58% by weight). The
associated phase diagram of the iron-carbon system is
shown in Figure 1.1 and can also be downloaded from
www.icho.de. Figure 1.1: Simplified phase diagram of the iron-
carbon system as a function of the mass fraction
of carbon. Fe3C describes the metastable
b) Describe based on the phase diagram compound cementite. (Areas not labeled can be
of the melting temperature of pure iron qualitatively the neglected.)
dependence of the melting temperature on the carbon
content. Justify the behavior that occurs.
c) Using the phase diagram, determine in which modifications or compounds iron and carbon are
present in a knife blade made of "IChO" steel after hardening and cooling.
d) Explain what a metastable compound is using the example of cementite.

The phase diagram of iron shows various modifications of iron, the structures of which are shown in Figure 1.2
based on their unit cells (ie the smallest periodically repeating unit in the solid).

Figure 1.2: Unit cells of ÿ-iron (left), ÿ-

iron (middle) and ÿ-iron (right).

286 pm 365 pm 293 pm

2
Machine Translated by Google

e) State the temperature ranges in which the iron modifications shown are most stable
represent modification. Please substantiate your decision.
f) Calculate which of the iron modifications shown should have the highest density.

The structure of ÿ-iron has even become a symbol of another major European city: The Atomium in Brussels (Figure 1.3) represents the unit
cell of ÿ-iron shown above. However, neither the Atomium in Brussels nor the representation in Figure 1.2 show the proportions between
atoms and the unit cell correctly.

Figure 1.3: Representation of the structure of ÿ-iron in the Atomium in Brussels (left). "Layers" of atoms in the unit cells of iron (right).

g) Sketch the top view (ie the top “layer”) of a unit cell of ÿ-, ÿ- and ÿ-iron with the atoms drawn to scale.

h) Also sketch a cross section (ie the middle “layer”) of the element to scale
mental cells. Add more atoms outside of the unit cell to your sketch and show that the top and middle “layers” are identical.

But now back to our Swiss Army Knife - let's assume its blade is made of pure ÿ-iron.

i) Calculate how many layers of iron atoms an average cutting edge of the blade of a
Swiss army knife is thick.

j) Explain why a decreasing blade thickness with the same material does not impair the knife
mer sharper.

Task 2: Spicy like chili 33 points

A different kind of sharpness than that of the Swiss army knife can be found in a plant species from the
Find the nightshade family: Paprika (Capsicum anuum).

The place of origin of these plants is in Central America. Since the time of Christopher Columbus' voyages, the pepper plant has spread
all over the world and has also become an integral part of the diet in Europe. The spiciness valued by many people is based on the
ingredients capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, which are formed in the plant through multi-stage reactions starting from the proteinogenic
amino acids leucine or valine on the one hand and phenylalanine on the other.

a) Mark and name the functional groups in the end product capsaicin.

3
Machine Translated by Google

b) Complete the biosynthesis of capsaicin (note: CoA (“coenzyme A”) activates the molecule so
that further reactions can take place sufficiently quickly. It is split off again unchanged at the
end of the biosynthesis.)

The burning sensation on the tongue is triggered by capsaicin binding to TRPV1 thermoreceptors.
The 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to molecular biologists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian
for their discovery of the human receptors for temperature and touch. You can also find a task on these
receptors in the task sheet for the International Biology Olympiad 2023 (www.biologieolympiade.info). Shown
below is the binding site on the TRVP1 receptor with which capsaicin interacts.

c) Mark and name the amino acids in the structural

section of the receptor
d) Draw the interactions between capsaicin and the binding
site on the TRVP1 receptor.
e) Name the type of interactions.
f) Justify that the interactions are directional by using the
following terms:
Electron pair, covalent bond, electronegativity,
orientation, polarized

The sharpness of a substance is given in the unit SHU (Scoville Heat Unit). The Scoville scale ends at 16
million SHU, which corresponds to the degree of sharpness of pure capsaicin. The compounds
nordihydrocapsaicin and homodihydrocapasaicin, which are structurally related to capsaicin, are much less hot
than capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin.

g) Make a hypothesis for the explanation of the different levels of sharpness given above
called evoke molecules.

One possible pathway of capsaicin degradation in the body is hydrolysis, yielding G and H as end products.
The hydrolysis is enzyme-catalyzed.
Capsaicin is difficult to hydrolyze in the laboratory without the use of enzymes.

h) Draw the structure of the two hydrolysis products G and H.

i) On the basis of suitable mesomeric boundary structures, explain why capsaicin over hydro
lysis is very stable.

4
Machine Translated by Google

Task 3: Hot minerals - a hot idea? 33 points

In contrast to a variety of hot spices based on organic substances, there are practically no hot spices with inorganic
origin - perhaps a gap in the market?
When searching for corresponding minerals, one comes across nitronatrite, also known as sodium nitrate, which is
said to have a pungent and bitter taste. Conveniently, sodium nitrate is already approved as a food additive.

a) Indicate under which E number sodium nitrate is authorized as a food additive.

Examine the ingredients on the packages of various foods for sodium nitrate and identify a product
that contains sodium nitrate.

Since nitronatrite is a very rare mineral, it would have to be produced primarily industrially to be used as a spice.
The reaction of special industrial residual gases, which contain a lot of nitrogen dioxide, with a basic solution is a
good idea. In addition to dissolved nitrate ions, nitrite ions are also formed.

b) Draw the Lewis formulas of nitrogen dioxide, the nitrate and the nitrite ion and name them
each the oxidation number of the nitrogen atom. Formulate the partial equations and the overall
equation for the redox reaction described above.
c) Using the principle of least constraint, explain two possibilities, such as equilibrium
of the reaction described can be moved to the product page.

Another candidate for a mineral spice could be tachyhydrite (CaMg2Cl6ÿ 12 H2O), which is also said to taste
hot. A cheap tachyhydrite should have a purity of over 90 percent by mass and only be contaminated with small
amounts of bishopite (MgCl2ÿ 6 H2O) and halite (NaCl).

d) Calculate the mass fractions of the individual elements in pure tachyhydrite

should.

For the analysis of a sample of the above tachyhydrite, a sample of mass 2.022 g is taken and heated for a period
of time until the mass of the sample remains constant at 1.316 g. Tip: In this step, the minerals in the sample
completely release their water of crystallization.
e) Explain what is meant by crystal water and why it is released at comparatively low temperatures.

f) Calculate the amount of water in the examined sample.

The product obtained is then dissolved in 100.0 mL distilled water in order to determine the content of chloride
and alkaline earth metal ions by titration. For this purpose, 20.0 mL of the solution is transferred to an Erlenmeyer
flask and titrated as shown in the following table:

Volume of sample Consumed volume

No. To determine... standard solution
solution used the measure solution

1 AgNO3 (aq) 20.0mL 50.1mL

chloride ions
2 c = 0.100 mol/L 20.0mL 50.9mL
3 Na2H2EDTA (aq) 20.0mL 36.8mL
alkaline earth metal ions
4 c = 0.050 mol/L 20.0mL 37.4mL

g) Give an indicator that you use for the titration with AgNO3 or Na2H2EDTA solution
can use.

h) Formulate the balanced reaction equations for the reaction of AgNO3(aq) with Cl- (aq) and of
Na2H2EDTA(aq) with Ca2+(aq). For both reactions, explain why the chemical equilibrium is strongly
on the product side and why this is important for titrations.

i) Calculate the amount of chloride and alkaline earth metal ions in the original sample.
j) Calculate the mass fractions of tachyhydrite, bishopite and halite in the sample and judge,
whether the product actually achieves the promised purity of 90%.

5
Machine Translated by Google
greetings
The Federal Minister of Education and Research and the President of the Conference of Ministers
of Education invite you to take part in the Science Olympiads, which include the Chemistry Olympiad.
Government
©Bergmann
Federal
-Guido
Dear students, dear parents, dear
teachers,
how is an effective vaccine made? How do we produce green hydrogen? How are
images of breeding icefish created and what follows from the discovery? The questions
that scientists deal with today will shape our lives tomorrow. It is therefore important
to understand how the many clever people in science and research work, how they
come up with the right questions and ideas and how they implement their findings.
With the competitions organized by the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics
Education, we invite you on a tour of discovery into the realm of science. More than
10,000 schoolchildren from all over the country embark on this adventure every year
and register for the Science Olympiads and the Federal Environmental Competition.
Dear students, this is your chance. Join
us. Solve exciting tasks from biology, chemistry and physics or work on your own
questions about the environment and sustainable development. Use your keen mind,
leave room for your creativity and inspire yourself and others. Because just as
important as a clever head is the ability to work well together. Science is real teamwork.
In the competition you can exchange ideas with like-minded people and at the same
time gain authentic insights into the work of scientists. Participation is therefore
worthwhile in any case.
Dear teachers, dear parents,
As the Ministry of Education and Research, it is important to us to get young people
interested in the natural sciences and thus promote young scientists. But we need
you for this and that's why I ask you: Support your children to show their talent in the
Federal Environmental Competition and in the Science Olympiads.
Thank you very much.
To everyone who takes part: Good luck and, above all, have fun solving
the puzzle!
Bettina Stark-Watzinger
Member of the German Bundestag
Federal Minister for Education and Research
IPN • Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education
Schleswig-
Education,
Holstein
Science
Culture
Ministry
State
and
the
of
of
©
Dear students, dear parents, dear teachers,
we need people who are committed to Germany as a science location with
enthusiasm and sound specialist knowledge.
This applies in particular to the fields of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences
and technology (MINT). The current corona epidemic and the rapid development of highly
effective vaccines have made it clear to all of us how important scientific knowledge and
developments are for future coexistence on our planet Earth.
We need young scientific talents - and initiatives that motivate and support such talents
while they are still at school! The six science competitions organized by the Leibniz
Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN), the Science Olympiads, offer a
wide range of opportunities. Nationwide, more than 10,000 students from the 5th grade
are challenged and encouraged. In several rounds, they solve exciting and challenging
tasks in biology, chemistry and physics at home or at school or work on projects in the
field of environment and sustainable development. As with the Olympic Games, it is not
(solely) about winning. The Science Olympiads awaken and promote “science spirit” and
they bring young people together. Those who take part can deepen their knowledge and
skills, make contact with interesting people and gain great experience.
Competitions for schoolchildren play an important role in promoting young scientists:
They enable children, adolescents and young adults to try things out, to discover their
abilities and to deal with a wide variety of content and methods beyond school lessons.
Competitions such as the Science Olympiads motivate people to achieve
extraordinary things. The Conference of Ministers of Education therefore
recommends participation in the competitions.
I would like to thank the specialist teachers in the schools and the Leibniz Institute for
Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Kiel for their great commitment.
And I wish all participants every success, but above all a lot of fun in the competition!
Karen Prien
President of the Conference of Ministers of Education