chemistry

Roger Slack

Roger Slack is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Roger Slack rather than just read about it. In short: Charles Roger Slack (22 April 1937 – 24 October 2016) was a British-born plant biologist and biochemist who lived and worked in Australia (1962–1970) and New Zealand (1970–2000). In 1966, jointly with Marshall Hatch, he discovered C4 photosynthesis (also known as the Hatch Slack Pathway).

Key takeaways

Roger Slack belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Roger Slack to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Roger Slack from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Charles Roger Slack (22 April 1937 – 24 October 2016) was a British-born plant biologist and biochemist who lived and worked in Australia (1962–1970) and New Zealand (1970–2000). In 1966, jointly with Marshall Hatch, he discovered C4 photosynthesis (also known as the Hatch Slack Pathway).

Biography Slack was born on 22 April 1937 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England; the first and only child of Albert and Eva Slack. He studied biochemistry at the University of Nottingham, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1958, and a PhD in 1962. He married Pam Shaw in March 1963, and had two children. From 1962, Slack worked as a biochemist at the David North Plant Research Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (funded by the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd). In 1970, he joined the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in New Zealand. From 1989 until his retirement in 2000, Slack was a senior scientist at the newly formed Crown Research Institute for Crop & Food Research in Palmerston North. Slack died in Palmerston North in 2016.

Roger Slack Award In 2007 the New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists renamed their annual award after Slack. The award is made to society members to recognise an outstanding contribution to the study of plant biology. It was renamed in recognition of his outstanding contribution as a plant biologist and biochemist in New Zealand, his role in the discovery of C4 photosynthesis (also known as the Hatch Slack Pathway), and his contribution as an early member of the New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists.

Honours 1970: Peter Goldacre Award from the Australian Society of Plant Scientists (previously called the Australian Society of Plant Physiologists). 1980: Charles F Kettering Award from the American Society of Plant Physiologists, shared with Hugo Kortschak and Marshall (Hal) Davidson Hatch. 1981: Rank Prize for Nutrition, shared with Hugo Kortschak and Marshall (Hal) Davidson Hatch. 1983: Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1989: Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Bibliography Selected articles:

References

External links Royal Society Te Apārangi – Charles Roger Slack Obituary and Bibliography

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Roger Slack

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Roger Slack claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Roger Slack before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Roger Slack ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Roger Slack

In research: Roger Slack appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Roger Slack in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Roger Slack is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1937 births, 2016 deaths, Alumni of the University of Nottingham, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Roger Slack outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Roger Slack in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Roger Slack means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Roger Slack out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Roger Slack in simple terms?

Why does Roger Slack matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Roger Slack?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Roger Slack.