Reflective Blog 10-19/10-23

     As we entered the class Monday morning, many showed smiling faces while others were disappointed from the test results we took on the previous Friday. Happy or sad, we came in on Monday ready to learn Unit 6. The focus of this unit is to examine particles and their internal structures, We did this through a variety of labs and worksheets that were handed out over the course of the week.

     Starting off on Monday, we were given an introductory worksheet on the "Thomson Model". This required us to grab the Chromebooks and go to a specific website to read about all three of Thomson's experiments. Each question asked about a certain experiment, and the last question asked about the model itself. The model shows a particle with negatively charged electrons in the particles interior. We were then asked to whiteboard the results to make sure everyone had the same idea as to what the model looked like.

     The next couple of days were filled with a fun lab called the "Sticky Tape" lab. The labs goal was to get us to understand where the charge coming from the tape is actually coming from. "Why is the charge present in the tape?", was the more specific question. We were asked to take the tape, place one piece on top of the other, and pull them apart to create a charge. Then we were given multiple cases, where we had to use the tape to attract aluminium foil and paper. This gave us a better understanding that opposites attract and others don't. We were then given a post-lab write up, which we as a class to formulate what we thought the particles looked like at different stages of the lab.

     On Thursday, we started the "U-tube" lab where we were asked to take notes on a tube filled with Chlorine and Copper and see what happens when charges come into play. I am still a little confused as to what happened in the lab, and more specifically the results. I realize that the charges need to cancel out, and I understand that part, but in some cases I can't seem to find why. It was very cool, although, to see the copper form at the bottom of the tube, and the greenish yellow fluid that formed on the Chlorine side. 

     This brought us to Friday, where we finished up the "U-tube" lab and we started a worksheet. We whiteboarded our results of the lab and has a class discussion. Like I said I am still a little confused but I am hoping that we will clear things up on Monday. As for the worksheet, we started that and it seemed to be a slight review of particle diagrams and formulas. As we head on to next week, I know I can see a test in the near future, so I really want to get this material down. Next week should be packed with review and hopefully more labs, and I am quite excited.

Reflective blog 10-12/10-18

     This previous week a log of reviewing was done. The big problem coming into Monday was that many of the students in the class did not know how to properly find the Empirical formula as well as the Molecular formula. Our main goal the past week was to get us prepared for our test on last Friday. But I will go further in depth of how and what techniques we learned to be as prepared as we could for this test.

     On Monday, we worked on getting the same answers for the homework that was assign over last weekend. I was quite confused at first by some of the later questions on the worksheet. I was absent on Monday so I missed out on the discussions about the worksheet, but I was able to get ahold of a friend to get me the answers. On that day we also had a short quiz to see if we were able to apply changing grams into moles and vice versa. One of the harder things on the quiz was placing the right amount of "sig figs". But Dr. J was nice enough to not take points off for unaccurate amounts of "sig figs".

     Tuesday, we recieved the study guide and we worked in class on the study guide as well as worksheets for Empirical formula. We were asked to apply the conversions between moles and grams, to find the Empirical formula. What we had to do was divide the other moles by the smallest amount of moles found and use the ratio to find the Empirical formula. Then, based on the molar mass, you must divide the molar mass by the moles of each elements combined. Thursday we reviewed the study guide and worked on it in class. Finally Friday was the big test. I found a question specifically hard because I forgot to study that question on the study guide. I feel confident that I missed a couple questions, but hopefully the damage wasn't too bad.

     Overall, the week was pretty relax with reviewing. The week ended stressfully with a test, but I feel comfortable going into next week, and I am excited to learn a new unit. I am glad I got the opportunity to learn and actually understand Empirical formula and all, instead of acting like I do but don't actually don't.

Reflective blog 10/5-10/11

     As I reflect on what we did over the past week, I figured out the meaning of what all this "Relative Mass" and "Moles" nonsense is. We spend a vast majority of the week focusing on conversions between mass and moles and vice versa. We focused on worksheets, a lab, and a demonstration to help grasp the understanding of what moles represent, and how to calculate them using the periodic table. Overall, this week was set up to get us ready for our quiz on Monday, and most importantly, our test at the end of next week.
     On Monday, we started class by doing a worksheet called "Relative Mass and Mole". This worksheet gave us an example using two different types of eggs, chicken and quail, and using the mass we had to determine the ratio between the mass and the number of eggs present. The goal of this worksheet was to see if we could convert specific units into other units. This led to a second worksheet we got, only this one gave us information on what a Mole is equal to. We learned that 1 Mole=6.02E22. We also learned that the amount of Moles in an element is equal to the Atomic mass of that element. For example, the amount of Moles in Carbon would be 12.01 because that is Carbon's Atomic mass. We used this information to make the conversions when it asked us to find the number of atoms and the number of moles.

     The next day, we began to work on a lab. This lab was split up into two days, given the fact that we had to heat the substance over night. The first day, we were asked to weigh the mass of a beaker and the pour the Zinc into the beaker and weigh the combined weight. We then poured Chlorine on top of the Zinc. This made the substance turn a purple color that  proceeded to fizz and bubble for a while. After recording the masses, we placed the beakers on a heating plate and left them there over night. The next day, we took the beakers back to the scale, and weighed the mass of the Zinc chloride. The substance was now a solid purple blob at the bottom of the beaker. To find the mass of the Zinc chloride 3 times, we had to heat the bottom of the beaker until the substance started to smoke, then let cool for a couple minutes and proceed with weighing the beaker. We repeated this process 3 times. This gave us a reason to use the conversions to find the amount of Moles in Zinc and Chlorine, and finally find the ratio, which turned out to be a 2:1 ratio. We finally analyzed the results of each group and made a table. This gave us a better understanding of how the other groups got their data, and how they applied the formulas.

     The end of the week came around, and we continued our journey into Moles and mass. We finished the week off by starting one last worksheet to really get us to understand the concepts. We originally were going to have a quiz on Thursday or Friday, but Dr. J saw that many of us were struggling with conversions an Moles overall. I finally understand the formula to convert and when and where to use specific numbers. I am confident going into Monday's quiz and I hope that I will be ready for Friday's test. As I do final reflecting on the previous week, I realize that practice does make perfect. The worksheets need to be taken seriously, and with the help of fellow classmates you realize that, something you may not understand isn't as hard as it seems.

Reflective blog week 3 9/28-10/2

This previous week in Chemistry 2A has been a blend of emotions as we have transitioned from Unit 4 to Unit 5. We took the time this week to do a mixture of review as well as learn brand new material that has tought us to use new techniques and new formulas. 

     The first day back from last weekend, we spent the day reviewing for our test on Tuesday, the next day. This consisted of us, as a class, finishing up the study guide and white boarding the answers. This gave us a better understanding of how everyone else does a problem compared to how you, yourself does a problem. Particle diagrams were drawn to show us in a more clear aspect, how Avagadros Hypothesis comes jnto play. We were also asked to match and know the definition of a compound, mixture, element and pure substance. 

 On Tuesday, we took the test itself. Now preparing for this test, I took all the information on the study guide and looked back on previous worksheets to study the night before. For the first half of the class we took the 2 page test and for most of the questions it was clear as to what the answers were, but for some I was still a little confused. We finished the test within 30 minutes, and immediately dived into the next Unit 5. The first thing we did was we were asked to guess how many packing peanuts were in a bag. The first thing I thought was "What is the point of this", but it soon became more clear. By measuring the mass of one packing peanut and by measuring the mass of the whole thing, we could find out how many there were in the bag! The total came out to 1,200 peanuts but most of the class guessed between 200-500.

     For the rest of the week we focused on a worksheet that was titled "Relative Masses". This worksheet asked us to calculate masses of containers with nuts, bolts, and washers in them and compare them. We were then given questions that helped us analyze the masses in different situations. We ended Friday by white boarding the worksheet and having a class discussion. So overall this week has been pack full of intense studying and learning new things! My understanding of what is going on in class is pretty good when it comes to relative masses. I feel like more practice would actually help me get the full grasp of things, as there is still a part of me that isn't completely sure of the main idea. As we proceed to tackle the driving question, I will feel more comfortable and with the help if my table mates it will be great extra help. Most of that worksheet is just understanding the conversions. That is my weak spot as I still am unsure of the technique Dr. J taught us. I plan on working hard this week to come to really understand the concepts. Next week will lead to an elaborated lesson on Unit 5 and, I cannot wait to see what else we have to learn in this unit.