Midvale student wins chemistry contest

Luke Ahlemann, an eighth-grader at Salt Lake Center for Science Education, a charter school in Salt Lake School District, beat eight other middle-school students from the Salt Lake area to win the "Utah State You Be the Chemist Challenge" title.

The winning question was: "What percentage of the universe does hydrogen make up by weight?" The answer: 90 percent.

The challenge is an academic question-and-answer competition created by the Chemical Educational Foundation and sponsored locally by BHS Marketing. The contest aims to engage fifth- through eighth-graders in chemistry through a dynamic event that partners members of the chemical industry with schools and organizations in the communities in which they operate.

This is the first year that Utah students have competed. The top five students won iPods.

Ahlemann, of Midvale, will compete in the national contest in Philadelphia on June 19.

For more information, go to www.chemed.org.

— Amy K. Stewart