This week in class we went over a lot of new and old material. We are reviewing most of the information from our last test because we are going to be retaking it. Some new things we started this week involve word equations and an extensive lab we did in class.
   
     The redo work we are doing is all related to our last test. To prepare for the redo we are taking a

bunch of quizzes on noodles under the taskchains section. There are 6 different categories of tests we have to complete. This is what the categories are. We did some of the quizzes in class and had to finish them as homework. While doing some in class we got to ask questions and discuss with other people to help us figure out were we went wrong. I think starting this in class really helped me to understand what I was doing wrong and have my peers explain it to me. The taskchains were a good idea to help us prep for the redo test.
   
     The new stuff we learned this week was doing word balancing problems. In the past we had done some balancing problems from formulas and as a class we seemed to have a pretty strong understanding of that. However, when we started the word problems, a lot of people became confused. The main problem with the word problems was making the correct formula described. To get us more comfortable with this we did a lot of these problems and went over them as a class. We went over them as a class on whiteboards and discussed the problem and if there was a mistake we would talk about it and understand why that was wrong. The whiteboard strategy was very helpful to me because you got to see how other people thought about the problem and maybe something they did worked for you.
   
     We also did a lab this week. In this lab we witnessed 10 different chemical reactions and recorded what we noticed and specific changes that happened. For instance, things like temperature rising or falling, changing color, different smell, and other types of observations. This lab was to help us see and understands how certain chemical react with each other and to maybe make some connections as to why they reacted that way. One of the cooler reactions we saw was when silver nitrate was formed. I found this the most intersting because it looked cool when it was forming and the price value of it was shocking to me. This lab was fun and I enjoyed doing it. I think it helped to understand the different ways in which substances can react with one another.

     This week in class we went over a lot of the material we've learned so far to help us prepare for our test that we had on Monday.  We also learned a little bit of new material.  We learned how to properly name particles and we learned more about charge and how to get a formula to have a equal or zero charge.  To do this we had to learn more about how the periodic table works.
     The first thing we did this week was learn how elements on the periodic table are placed for their charges.  This picture helps to show this.

This shows how each row has a set number as the charge.  All except for transition elements.  We used this table with the charges to finish a Naming Ionic Compounds worksheet.  For example if you have a compound containing both potassium (K) and sulfur (S), the formula would be K2S.  This is because if you look at the table above sulfur has a 2- charge and potassium has a 1+ charge, so you would then need 2 potassium molecules in the compound for the charge to be equal.
     We then learned about polyatomic ions.  We learned that certain combinations of elements create special charges and are called different names like nitrate (NO3) and sulfate (SO4).  However, we did not have to memorize all of these polyatomic ions.  We were given a list of them with their names, charges, and formulas to work with and that is shown here.
     Then to pratice our skills at naming and writing/making formulas we did a practice worksheet and packet.  These packets were good practice for me because it really helped tie everything together for me.  It helped me to get more comfortable with using the periodic table and memorizing the charges for each row.  The practice also helped me understand the new concept of polyatomic ions.  On the worksheet we also had to practice drawing polyatomic ions.  Through drawing I think I really understood the concept of an ion.  That an ion isn't just on type of element.  That it was made up of multiple elements all put together.  By drawing I reached that conclusion and became much more comfortable working with ions in practice problems and also on the test.
     To help us prepare for our test we were given a Unit 6 review packet.  This packet really helped me to prepare for the test because it went over some concept that I had forgotten about.  For example, the sticky tape lab.  I had forgotten about the electron movement, until I did the packet.  It also helped me with remembering Thompson's experiments and the conclusions he had come to.  Without the packet I would have completely blanked on those two concepts.  However, I did the packet, and I remembered them for the test.

This week we did three labs, two revolving around the charge of atoms and elements, and one on the conductivity of elements.  The first lab that we did was called the Sticky Tape Lab.  The second lab was the U-tube lab.
     Both labs were done to teach the class about the charge of elements.  However, the sticky tape lab we to get us used to the idea of the three categories of charges; positive, negative, and neutral.  We then compared how each charge reacts with each other.  Here is a table break down of what happened when the charges are put up against one another.

		neutral	positive	negative
positive		attract	repel	attract
negative		attract	attract	repel
neutral		nothing	attract	attract

     The other lab we did about charge was the U-tube lab.  This lab was to show the charge of elements. The lab had one negatively charged graphite stick (left), and one positively charged graphite stick (right).  The U-tube was then filled with CuCl or Copper(I) chloride.  Then we waited to see what would happen.  After a couple minutes we checked on the lab to see if anything was happening.  We noticed that the negative charged side had bubbles of some gas forming on the the graphite.  To better our understanding of the gas, we decided to see if the gas had an odor.  The gas smelled exactly like chlorine.  So by    this we determined that chlorine must has a positive charge, since it was attracted to the negatively charged graphite.  
     
     Then the next day we checked back in with out experiment and discovered that the copper had formed off of the positively charged graphite.  So from that observation, we determined that copper must have a negative charge.  

     Now, when you put both elements together with their charges, Cu-Cl+, the positive and negative cancel out and the compound becomes neutral.  After the class discussed this, we determined that all compounds must have a neutral charge.  So for example if you have Fe(2-)O, oxygen's charge would have to be (2+) in order for the compound to be neutral.

     The third lab we did was to see what makes something conductive.  To do this we had a conductor stick with a 9Volt battery on it, and used that to see what elements and compounds were conductive.  In the end our conclusion were that only metal elements and compounds with metals in them were conductive.

     This week we learned a lot of new ideas and topics.  At first the conductivity lab was fairly confusing for the class because finding something common between all the nonconductive and conductive elements/compounds.  However, once we figured it out, the concept was fairly easy.  The other two labs demonstrated their ideas very well.  It made the concepts simple to understand.  Personally, I found the U-tube lab to be the most interesting, and it made the most sense to me.  Especially once I saw the charges written in the formulas, the concepts made itself easy to see.  I feel confident in my ability to solve problems surrounding these concepts.

     This week in science we learned about moles and relative mass. We did many practice problems to understand the concept. Then after about four worksheets, as a class, conducted an experiment to see how mass at the beginning of a lab doesn't effect the outcome.
     
     The one packet that we did in class involved comparing the mass of chicken and quail eggs.  We made a table of the masses for both then created ratios for the masses and the number of eggs for each mass.  We discovered that no matter the difference in mass between the two, the ratio was always the same.  This is because the general mass of one egg is consistent throughout, so as long as you have the same number of eggs, the ratio of the masses will always be the same.  To find the ratio of the eggs, you would take the  (mass of the chicken eggs)/(mass of the quail eggs).  You then reduce your faction and you then have your mass ratio between your two objects.  The ratio of this example turned out to be 16:1.  Later on in the same packet we proceeded to dothe exact same thing with another table, only this one was comparing the mass of oxygen and sulfur and the ratio turned out to be 1:2.

     Also during this week we learned about moles.  A mole is the amount of pure substance containing the same number of chemical units as there are atoms in exactly 12.00 g of 12^C.  We also learned that one entire mole is 6.022 x 10^23.  This number is used in formulas when trying to figure out how much of a mole something is.  While learning about moles we also learned how to create relative size equations.  What you would do is take a whole mole, or 6.022 x 10^23 and divid that by whatever number you have, for example 36 x 10^22.  When you would divid this you would find the answer to be 1.67, which is then your relative size. Some more examples of these problems are on this worksheet shown.  

     We did more examples involving moles on another worksheet.  On this worksheet we used moles and mass to figure out how many atoms are in something.  In our example we looked at a copper pipe in clas, which had a mass of 151.5g total and its weight of copper was 126.4gCu.  You then take the mass of the copper, 126.4gCu and multiply that by 1 MoleCu/63.6gCu then multiply that by 6.022x10^23/1 MoleCu and get 1.120x10^24, which is your answer for how many atoms are in the copper pipe.  We did another problem involving how many moles of something was in a substance. That example is on the worksheet shown here, as well as then one above.

     We also did a lab in class, but I was only there for the first day, which mostly involved taking measurements.

     This week in class we took a test on Wednesday.  To prepare for the test we went over a unit 4 review.  We then went over this review sheet in class on white boards and went over our answers as a class.  It was our responsibility to check our answers and make sure they were correct.  The packet had roughly seven problems with subquestions to each one.  The packet went over everything we have learned for far for unit four.  It went over definitions, describing pictures, drawing particle diagrams, understanding the difference between monatomic and diatomic molecules, finding ratios and using the ratio to draw out particle diagrams and figuring out their formulas, and lastly the packet went over how to draw a graph representing when something boils out of a mixture based on temperature. A picture of this packet is shown to the left.  One of the last things we went over as a class before the test was a way to remember which elements are diatomic on their own.  The way we learned this was either the "7 up" method or BrINClHOF.

     Then immediately after we finished the test we were given a sheet with the objectives for unit five. Unit five is about counting particles, without actually counting them so we are just beginning to start this unit and we started off by weighting and seeing how we can use weight to determine how many particles are within a substance.  We practiced this by going over some practice problems in class and determining how exactly to go about solving the problem.  Dr. J also went over how to convert units from kg to g and so on.  We then learned about relative mass and how that works.  The math for that is shown here.  Then we also compared the relative mass to that of the element carbon for the washer, nut, and bolt.  By doing this we created different elements like, Sulfur for the bolt, Oxygen for the nut, and Carbon for the washer because the washer was just 1.00.



     This worksheet was used to show the ratio between oxygen and hydrogen.  It gave us the density of each at standard temperature and pressure.  The ratio was 16:1.  This represents how much more massive the oxygen molecule is compared to the hydrogen molecule.  We then had to draw the 16:1 ratio as best we could.

     We then compared Daltons relative mass theory to the adjusted mass.  We saw the difference in the table of masses that we made.  The main difference was that Dalton was not aware that oxygen is a diatomic molecule so his masses were half of what they should be.  This table was used to help show use that difference and to remind us that when using mass to count how many particles are in a substance, that we always have to remember the eight diatomic elements when weighting and drawing things out.  It's very important to closely analyze what elements are being combined and whats they individual mass is in order to properly figure out the total mass.
   
     This week a lot of new ideas were shown and demonstrated in class and so far I understand them fairly well.  I still need to work on converting units still using Dr. J's equation for more practice to understand the concept better.  However, besides that I understand the material very well and feel confident in my ability to do most of what we learned on my own.

     The main ideas we learned about this week involved the making and finding of elements, finding the ratio of compounds, and we demonstrated that we know how to react certain elements together to create certain elements.  All of these aspects tie together to the Law of Definite Proportions.  The worksheets that we did in class all focus around this single aspect.
   To learn how the elements began being discovered and made we looked at a reading packet called Matter ; Atoms from Democritus to Dalton.  This packet went through the history of several different scientists and their personal stories of how they got involved in science at all, to how they discovered their own unique elements.

     This is a picture of the packet.  While or after reading this packet, Dr. J had us fill out a worksheet about the information we learned about.  This packet also had definitions of certain keys terms that are important.  These terms included atoms, compounds, and molecules.  This terms are very important to know and understand because they are the basis for studying chemistry.  It also taught us fundamentals such as how when reactants are present in excess of the fundamental proportions, some reactants remain unchanged after the chemical reaction occurs.  The reading used this informations to elaborate on how the scientists used these facts to base theories off of.






In the worksheet Unit 4 Worksheet 2, we were introduced to how to draw out a chemical reaction happening between two different elements, and having no leftover gases or molecules.  This also relates to the Law of Definite Proportions because ever separate atom has a certain set of each, which is the definition of a proportion.  While doing this worksheet, however, we did not realize that this is what we were doing.  This worksheet also mentioned some of the scientists that  we learned about, such as Gay-Lussac.  So the worksheet mentioned above and this one here are related or linked in that sense.  They also use the same type of vocabulary words that were defined in the above sheet.
This worksheet also helped us to learn how to work out the formula for the elements or reactants, we were drawing our or making.

The next worksheet that we did was Unit 4 Worksheet 3.  This worksheet was mainly about finding the ratios for each compound based on weight.  We did this to learn about how the ratios compare and bow to compare them.  We also learned how to figure out the simplest form of each compound by using the ratios and math.  An example of this is shown here.  By doing this we also learned how to write out the formula for each compound mixture we made.  The ratios and how the ratios are used, all ties back the the Law of Definite Proportions.

That is mainly how all of the ideas we went over this week are related.  

To help us understand this topic as a class, Dr. J had us whiteboard out some of our answers and review them as a class and discuss them.  An example of what a whiteboard looks like is here. 

This is how a standard whiteboard would look and then we would talk about them. 

     

     This week I feel like I understood most of the material being taught and I don't feel very insecure about anything in particular.     I just need to review before the test and I should do well.   

     The main ideas we learned about this week in class had to do with pure elements, mixtures, and compounds, and the difference between them.  We learned the difference between atoms and molecules.  We also learned how to find the equation for water using a special devices.  We did an experiment using sugar, water, and ethanol.
     To learn what pure elements, mixtures, and compounds look like we did a worksheet in class called, Chemistry - Unit 4 Worksheet 1.  This worksheet had us separate and decide which groups were either mixtures or pure substances, and compounds or only elements.  We also had to decide which method of separation would work best for certain mixtures.  We then went over our answers in class to check and ask any questions if we had any.  We also worked on a packet called Classification of Matter.  This packet mainly focused atoms, particles and molecules.  We had to work as a group to come up with our own definition of the word "particle" and describe how a particle can be both a molecule and a single atom.  This packet also helped us to review certain aspects of atoms, like what holds them together and how to properly code an atom or molecule.  We also deciphered which chemical formulas were elements, compounds, and mixtures, similar to what we did in the previous worksheet.  The packet also went over chemical methods of separation and physical methods of separation.  After we finished the worksheet, each table white boarded out a problem and we checked our answers and asked questions if we had any.
     We did an experiment to find out how the equation for water was discovered.  This model was very interesting and I enjoyed seeing it in person because it helped me to visually see what happens, rather than reading and watching videos about it.
     As a class, we performed or witnessed, an experiment that involved dissolving a sugar cube in water and ethanol.  This experiment was to show how the chemical reaction between certain substances is different and also how they're density difference many have influenced the rate at which the sugar cube dissolved.  Then as table groups we drew out what we believed the particles of sugar, water, and ethanol looked like at a microscopic level.  We then went around and left comments on each tables board, leaving constructive criticism to help make their boards better next time.

       All of these activities relate because we started off with review which was then built upon to be demonstrated in real life situations, such as the dissolving sugar and witnessing how the equation for water is shown to be true.  However even in doing these worksheets and experiments/demonstrations, I still need to work on the difference between and molecule and a compound.  I get the two confused often because they contain atoms that are chemically bonded.  That is the main area I need to work on from this week, however besides that I feel that I have retained all information I have received this week.   Once I get that concept down, I will be great.