Atoms are really confusing to me even though they are the basis of everything. Isotopes are also very confusing to me but with help with Jake, I was able to learn about them. I do think I am getting better at reading the periodic table because with several of these problems I was able to answer them easily.
I have always been really good at converting so this was fun for me. I also learned new conversions such as micrometers to milliliters. I think this was beneficial for me and once again, good practice. Overall, this was a good take home quiz which I think helped me in the long run.
This worksheet was actually really difficult for me and I had assistance from Jake and Audrey. I still don't get the last page very much so that is something I would like to practice on, but overall I did try my best to not only complete the worksheet but to also comprehend what I was doing. This was a challenging worksheet but in a good way.
Today in class we learned about the periodic table and reactions (rxns) and how they work in different structures. We learned how to periodic table can show how many electrons each element needs to take or give in order to create the octet rule. The octet rule is when two or more elements combine to try and create a full shell. For example, oxygen has 6 electrons on it's outer shell, and hydrogen has 1. So in order to obtain the octet rule, hydrogen must bond with oxygen twice making H20. The process of giving electrons is oxidation (not just with the element oxygen but all), and the process of receiving electrons is reduction. This whole process is chemical energy because there are mini explosions whenever two or more elements bond together. So the perfect lab to show this process is creating rocket engines. We first got a PVC pipe and taped off the bottom. This would be the container for the fuel, fuse, etc. for the rocket. We then created the fuel. We then mixed together sorbitol (sugar) and potassium nitrate on a hot plate. It was a white powder that looked like little beads, but once we heated it, it began to liquify and turn into a white paste. We took it off the hot plate right when it started to get a little brown because 1) we didn't want to burn it, and 2) there was a chance it could set on fire if heated for too long (it is fuel for an engine after all). It was very hot, I would know because it burned and blistered my finger. After we heated it, we poured it into the PVC pipe 3/4 of the way (to leave room for the cement plug we would later put in). It cooled fairly quickly and became very similar to cement. Once it was cooled enough, we took the tape off and let it cool a little more before putting cement in the space that wasn't already filled. That had to cool for two days, which is why we tested the actual rocket engines today, Thursday. While we were away, Andrew drilled a hole into the bottom and top, one to allow smoke and air to come out and one for the fuse. We did not have the ejection charge, but we got a look for what it would look like by the amount of smoke that was produced. Looking back: Our experiment apparently worked very well. We didn't have the ejection charge, so we didn't really get to see what it would look like if it was a rocket, but we had a large amount of pressure come from the engine. Andrew also said that ours was the best so far (even though we went second). Here is a video of the experiment: Looking beyond:
The whole reaction starts with the fuse. When the fuse is lit with fire, it creates enough energy (heat) that the atoms debond from each other. This then creates a reaction and correlates with Newton's third law equal and opposite reaction. This means that the little explosions create enough reaction inside to push the rocket up. Looking inward: I think that we got desirable results, even though I don't think we would know if they were desirable enough without someone telling us. Luckily Andrew told us that ours worked really well and if we had the ejection charge, it would've run very smoothly. I'm glad to say that nothing extreme happened, such as nothing popped off or exploded, and the right amount of smoke came out of the engine. I think I performed well in this lab with collaborating with my peers. We each did a little with the lab even though there wasn't much to do. Overall, I am proud of our work. Looking outward: I worked with Brianna, Olivia, and Darcy. I think we worked very well together and we usually do when it comes to labs. However, if this was a project I wouldn't want to do it with this big of a group or let alone a group at all. I enjoy working on my own when it comes to projects so its nothing against them, just preferences. Overall I am happy with this lab and feel pleased with the results we received. Dimensional analysis is something I find myself to be pretty good at, but like most problems, I do have issues with interpreting the interactions (or questions) correctly. One problem that I did slip up on was the calorie one. I didn't know how to do it because I wasn't conceptualizing the question correctly. It is actually a really easy problem if you think about it right, which I failed to do.
This take home quiz was very easy for me but I did enjoy practicing using scientific notation. Even though there wasn't any questions pertaining to scientific digits, they can be extremely confusing to me. I think it's mostly when zero is at the end of the number that I do not know whether to count it or not. Overall, I am pretty good with scientific notation and thought this was a good worksheet.
Alkynes of trouble ice creamFor this lab, I made ice cream from scratch and created my own label for the ice cream. I decided to make it called Alkynes of Trouble which is a very dorky science pun. From this I learned what alkynes are and also how to make ice cream. Ingredients:
Looking back: The results of my experiment were very tasty. I decided to make vanilla ice cream and add Oreos and Reese's because I thought it would fit well with the title (Alkynes of Trouble). Especially because many of my friends said that was a gross combination! The process was to add the heavy whipping cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla in a pot and melt down the sugar. Once the sugar dissolved, which occurred because I applied energy (heat) and increased molecular motion, I put into the fridge and let it cool overnight. When I came to class the next day, I divided the ingredients. I then turned on the ice cream machine, which was partially frozen so ice could be transferred into the cream. When it was mixing, I added the cookies and peanut butter cups to mix in the ingredients. The ice cream mixed for 10 minutes. When I then took it out of the machine, it was really liquified and icy so I put it into the freezer. Looking beyond: I did get desirable results, but I do feel as if it wasn't creamy enough. It was really icy which led me to think about what I might've done wrong. I think I put it into the ice cream machine too long and didn't freeze it enough. Or I didn't put it in long enough. Either way, it was delicious and the consistency was okay, but not great. I tried really hard to make good ice cream and think of a punny name, but it did take me much longer than I wanted it to. I don't think it should've taken me as much time as it did to write up the lab either. Overall, I did do a good job at this lab, but if I had used less time I think it would've been more beneficial to my final grade. Looking outward: I collaborated with Brianna, but we made separate ice creams. I think that this was really good because we were able to buy ingredients together and bounce off ideas. Also, it was easier for me because she went first and I was able to see the pros and cons of doing certain things. I think we both individually performed really well, but I also think that our collaboration really helped. Looking forward: If I were to do this lab again, I would've used less time to do this and make a more interesting ice cream flavor. I also should've documented better, because I lost/didn't take a bunch of photos. There wouldn't be anyway to keep this lab going unless I made more ice cream with my label, but I am not interested in doing this. Overall, I would have done it almost the exact same as how I did it; with a person to bounce ideas off of, but not to make ice cream with. Yesterday in class we did an experiment with hydrogen, magnesium, citric acid, and water. We did this to show the structures of atoms. We learned that atoms are created with three subatomic particles; protons (p+), electrons(e-), and neutrons (n^o). We also learned that the structure of an atom is similar to an onion. Each layer is called an energy level and this is where electrons are. Protons and neutrons are in the nucleus (the center and mass of the atom). After we learned about the basic structure of an atom, we learned about the periodic table and how to read each element to find out how many electrons, protons, neutrons, and the atomic mass. We learned that the number of electrons and protons is the atomic number and the amount of neutrons is the atomic mass minus the amount of protons. We then started our experiment. We first started with a beaker and we had to fill it with magnesium. We coiled it up and it put it in along with citric acid. We then poured water into the beaker and put the balloon on right away. This ensured that the hydrogen, when it started to escape from the beaker would go into the balloon. Almost right away the magnesium started to fizzle and evaporate into the acid. The beaker then became really hot and started to smoke. The smoke, which was hydrogen, went into the balloon and the balloon began to inflate.
I believe this occurred because the hydrogen began to detach itself from the critic acid because the magnesium atoms took over the job of the hydrogen. That isolates the hydrogen, which rises, and goes into the balloon. After the balloon filled up with hydrogen, we took it off the beaker and tied it off. The balloon began to float higher and higher because was lighter than the air around it. After this we attached it to a meter stick and lit a candle. We then put the balloon in the fire and there was an explosion. This was like a mini Hindenburg (an explosion). This occurred because hydrogen is highly reactive meaning with just a little flame, it can explode. My experience with this was really good. I thought this experiment was a great way to learn about atoms and how the bond together. I collaborated well with my peers and we were successful with the experiment. I also found lighting the hydrogen on fire super fun. Looking back on this lab, I realized that I did actually learn a lot and that it was really enjoyable. I found this worksheet really easy but not too easy. It was really good practice because this is something that is applicable to the chemistry process. I don't think it was too repetitive, but I wouldn't want to do another worksheet on this topic. Overall, I didn't learn much from this worksheet, but it was good practice.
This worksheet was very confusing to me and I didn't get it all alone. I needed help from Jake, and when I did get help, I was able to comprehend the content. I still find it very confusing, but I think that I will get it if I practice more. The main part that I do not get is the meaning of the columns and how it works. Overall, I learned from this worksheet, but I haven't mastered it yet.
|