Week Three

This week we compared the densities of different liquids. We started off by just finding the density of water. To do this we used a graduated cylinder to find five different volumes and then their masses. When trying to find the density of the water we realized that there were different ways to find it. One way was to use the mathematical formula which is density equals mass over volume and you can also find the density by graphing the mass and volume. After plotting all the points on the graph we used the line of best fit to calculate slope. After we found slope we realized that slope and density were the same thing, rise over run. After finding the density of water decided to find the density of other liquids and compare them. Every group took one of the liquids. My group chose apple juice. We then proceeded to pick five different volumes. After having some trouble pouring the apple juice out of the box and into the graduated cylinder. We then had our volumes and our masses and proceeded to find the density using the best fit line on our graph like we did for the density of water. That night our tweet 180 project was to list the densities of all the different liquids from lowest to highest. Which we got to see all the other groups data by posting all the data on to our lino board. My group decided that it was fruit punch, apple juice, oil, water, dr. pepper, coke and sprite. I wasn't in class on Thursday so I'm not sure if that was the right answer or not.

Friday was test day. I was nervous for my first test in honors chemistry, I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't find it that easy and I think that was because I may have under prepared. Also I didn't dress for success so that may have been a factor also. Now that i took my first one I think I'll know more of what to expect regarding the format and everything for next time.

Experiments of the Week

 This week we did experiments everyday and I loved it. I found myself looking forward to 7th hour more and more as the week went on thinking about what we would do that day. On day in class Mr. Abud told us that we wouldn't technically get  homework and told us about tests. Its definitely different from what I'm used to but as he started to explain his reasonings it started to make more sense to me. I like that the tests are short and to the point and the fact that we can reassess. I agree with that we should we graded on what we know and we able to go back if we didn't know it at the time.
We did a lot of experiments this week. The thing that i liked about it was that after we finished the experiments we would talk about it as a class so we could consult with other students and see what we did wrong or right. One of the experiments we did was comparing mass and volume of different objects. We would take five objects and measure their volume by using the length times width times height formula. Then we would weigh the mass by using a balance. To my surprise the two numbers were relatively similar. After getting all the data gathered we graphed it to see the patterns. Along with learning that relation between mass and volume we also learned that you just because an object is small doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot of mass. Sometimes a small object can have more mass than a larger object.
Another experiment we did last week when each group experimented on a different thing. My group experimented with calcium nitrate and sodium carbonate. To start we weighed the glass of calcium nitrate and the glass of sodium carbonate together. Second we poured on solution into the other and weighed the empty cup and the mixed cup together. The mass of the solutions separate and the solutions mixed together were the same. The only difference was that when we mixed the calcium nitrate and the sodium carbonate together it turned from clear to more of a white color. This was probably my favorite experiment of the week.

Starting in Chemistry

At the beginning of the week we started with an activity that made us take different things and find other things that had something in common. Being the kind of person that likes to know what is the right answer, this activity twisted my brain After rearranging and conversing with my classmates we realized that there was no right answer. The point of the activity was for us all to reach a mutual agreement.Working as a team the the class reached consensus. This taught us that sometimes there will be no right.

Next, as we continued to get accustomed to the classroom we had another activity and racked our brains. A cube with 6 sides was on the floor and and we had to figure out what the side faced down to the ground enclosed. First, we observed the cube. My group noticed that the cube was like a dye. On a dye the opposite sides add up to seven so since one was on the top we decided that the bottom number was six. Sadly, not all the groups agreed on our observation. Some groups assumed that the cube had no bottom. After we talked about it for a little all the groups were ok with assuming it had no bottom. After reaching consensus, the class went back to the cube to see if our observations were correct. When the cube was flipped over, it had no bottom. This activity shows that some things do have a right answer but the more important thing is how we reached the answer and the preparation we did. 

Later in the week, Mr. Abud informed us of the tweet 180 project. This project involves tweeting everyday something about class. That way we will have all these tweets about things that we have done in class. This also helps us to reflect on what we learned in class that day when we tweet about it.