Chem Blog Week 4

Every week in chemistry we learn something new, however everything I learned got applied to what I learned in the past and my past information became so much clearer. This week, we did an experiment using candy of all things. While I am not a particular “sweets person” I was intrigued with what Mr. Abud had in mind for them. He told us that we needed to find the volume of the candy. A few groups got Starbursts and the rest of the groups got M&M’s. In our first trial to find the volume we used a graduated cylinder and filled it up with an exact amount of water. We then placed the candy (wrapper and all) into the cylinder and subtracted the total volume from the volume gained due to the Starburst. We then were told that we should find the volume of the candy without the wrapper. When we did this we found that the wrapper (while lightweight and thin) affected the total volume more than expected. After the experiment Mr. Abud told the class about water displacement. This was the strategy to find the volume of the candy. Like I said from the start, even though I knew about water displacement, I was able to get a greater understanding of it!

The next day we were told by our sub to find the thickness of aluminum foil. We first found the mass of the piece of aluminum we were going to measure to also find the density. We then measured the length and width of the square which made it able for us to find the thickness. My original plan was to get a square of aluminum foil then foil it continuously until we could measure it with a ruler and then divide the number of layers of foil. But then thinking about it, I knew it was way too complicated to do and it would be almost inevitable to be precise. After the experiment the class came up with a variety of results for the aluminum foil. So to get a consensus, we did an average of all the data. On Friday we talked more about this and the particle diagram of the front and side of the foil. This then brought up the thought that particles could be different sizes but then I thought if we are unable to see these actual particles how do we know what size they are. Oh well, we’ll find out Monday…

The following day, we were told to find the volume of a gas. Mr. Abud gave us some beakers, a trough, an fizzing tablet, a tube connected to another beaker and something that reminded me of a giant contact lens. What we needed to do was fist fill the trough with water we then had to fill two of the beakers with water and flip them over into the trough without losing any of the water inside. I was bestowed with this difficult and messy task. We used the first beaker in the trough and slid it over a hole which was attached to a plug inserted in another beaker. We filled this beaker with water and put in the tablet then covered the beaker quickly with our plug. The gas that came from the tablet went up the beaker, through the tube and into the beaker in the trough. Due to water displacement, the air to the place of the water and we were able to find the volume of the gas.

Overall this week has been very exciting and I learned a lot, including something about myself. When taking my reassessment, I found out that I sometimes think about things too hard and it only gets me into more trouble. I just need to be calm and all the answers will come to me.