The Week Before Winter Break

On Monday we started our lab. This lab taught us about how temperature and size can affect the reaction rate. In the first experiment our group did, we tested both zinc and zinc powder to see if the size of the  particles would affect the time it took for each reaction. We poured hydrochloric acid into the test tubes that contained the zinc. The zinc powder reacted almost instantly but the zinc solid slowly bubbled. After the zinc powder reaction it left a grey precipitate. This reaction showed that the size of the particle does affect the reaction speed. While we were doing our experiment two other groups did another experiment to see if temperature affects the rate of reaction speed of their experiment.  We then shared our results between the groups. They tested what kind of water would melt the ice the quickest. They found that the hot water melted the water the fastest. After we shared our data we then had to answer questions that applied to both sets of data.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I wasn't here for science class because I was sick. I am so bummed that I missed school because being sick is no fun.

On Thursday we had our test for this chapter. I did not take the test because I was absent on Tuesday and Wednesday. Instead I finished my lab. After finishing my lab I can say that it helped me study for my test. Also this lab showed me what factors can speed up  reactions.

On Friday there was no Science class. It was the last day before Christmas break. Instead, SGA had a door decorating contest. I was on the team that decorated Mrs. Puritis-Pulley's door. We decorated the door and even won first place.

This week I think I can improve on blogging daily because on my busy nights full of homework I always seem to forget. Even though this week I wasn't here for many days, I still got allot out of every day.

This weeks link is all about the stuff we did in our lab. http://www.chem4kids.com/files/react_rates.html

           

pH and Acids

  On Monday we began our red cabbage lab. This lab taught us about acids and bases. We used red cabbage juice in our lab because it is a pH indicator. A pH indicator is something that  changes color depending on the pH of the liquid.  On the pH scale 1-4 is an acid 5-7 is neutral and 8-12 is a base. In our lab we had to guess the pH just by the color and then look it up online to see how far off our prediction was based on color. Usually most acids turn pink or purple and most bases turn blue or green. We put 50 mls of lemon soda, apple juice and hand sanitizer into a cup and then poured cabbage juice on top. We made sure to label each cup with a sharpie so we didn't get any mixed up. The apple juice turned red which means it is a weak acid. The hand sanitizer turned purple which means it was a strong acid.

On Tuesday we worked on our lab. We finished shampoo, conditioner, baking soda, and vinegar. We tested the baking soda in varying amounts. The test with  a higher concentration of  baking soda made the color change to more of a green color than the test with the low concentration.

On Wednesday we started a new lab. This lab involved using pH strips and litmus paper to test different liquids for acidity. We tested a vast range of household cleaning products and food items. The majority of the food items were acids and the majority of the cleaning products were bases. To test each liquid if it was a acid or a base we used litmus paper. If the blue paper turned red it was an acid but if it stayed the same it was a base.

On Thursday we finished our lab. One surprising thing I learned in this lab is that most of the food products we eat are very acidic. Acids are very corrosive.

On Friday we attempted to do an elephant tooth paste experiment. We did the elephant tooth paste in science camp and it worked very well. When we attempted to do it to again in class for some reason it didn't work. I think the catalyst in the experiment was just old. A catalyst is something that speeds up a chemical reaction. It worked but it didn't work very well. The substance very slowly pushed to the top. It was not at all like the one we did at science camp. Sometimes it is good when science experiments don't work it just leaves lots of room for improvement. This week we took notes on polar substances and non polar substances. Polar substances can only combine with polar substances. That is why water does not mix with oil. Water is polar and oil is non-polar. I can definitely improve on finishing more of my lab questions at home so in class the work is more manageable. This week I can definitely say I learned some very interesting facts about pH.


For Science Olympiad this week I worked on picture this for about 1 1/2 hours on Monday  and 15 minutes on Wednesday. We continued with our practice and discussed new techniques to win.

This link helped me understand polar and non-polar a lot better. http://www.school-for-champions.com/chemistry/polar_molecules.htm#.VI5BflWJOuZ

                                          tested substances

                                         household products tested for pH

                                          substances about to be tested for pH
                                         

Busy Week

This week in science, we did not have a lot of time for class this week because we had a field trip to Medieval Times in Myrtle Beach, SC and we had to finish an art project for Explorations. These two activities took up much of our time at school this week.

On Monday we worked on our types of chemical reactions lab from last week.  This lab taught us how to determine different chemical reactions. Some reactions we had determined were single replacement, double replacement, and synthesis. In this lab, we also had to balance equations and determine what kind of chemical reaction it was. First we finished the reactions which we did it with our our table groups. The sodium sulfite and hydrochloric acid reaction didn't smell too great. The zinc and copper sulfate reaction made the originally silver metal turn black.

On Tuesday we finished our lab. This lab helped me learn how to balance equations a lot better. I also learned how to determine which type of chemical reaction it was.

On Wednesday we took a quiz on balancing equations. With all the practice from the lab, I found the quiz to be pretty easy,  although some of the longer equations were more challenging. One rule that definitely applies when balancing equations is, practice makes perfect.

On Thursday we took a field trip to Medieval Times for Language Arts and Social Studies. I thought the show was great and the food was very tasty. My favorite part of the show was watching the knights ride their horses.

On Friday we had to finish out art work for Explorations. This took up the whole class time so we didn't have science at all that day. I think everyone's artwork turned out great. As you can tell we didn't have much time dedicated to science class this week.

For Science Olympiad we had a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. We all shared what we had done up to this point and shared our thoughts. I presented my ideas for the bridge and the bottle rocket. I thought it all went well and got some great ideas from the meeting. Also, Emma and I met on Friday afternoon for Picture This.  I can definitely say we are doing much better! I think as a team for Picture This we can improve on shortening the time it takes us to guess the answer. Hopefully at our next meeting we will guess much faster!

 The following link is a great link to use when determining different chemical reactions  http://misterguch.brinkster.net/6typesofchemicalrxn.html

                                      

So much to learn

On Monday we finished our lab. We tested the metal Lead. Lead was a lot thicker than all the other metals we have tested so far in this lab. The piece of lead almost felt like a piece of chewing gum. It was very malleable but not as shiny as copper.  After we had tested all the metals we found that magnesium was the most reactive. It reacted with every chemical except itself. Without testing the metals you could have figured out that magnesium was the most reactive by looking at the periodic table.

On Tuesday we learned about ionic and chemical bonding.  We learned how to do Lewis dot structures with ionic and covalent bonds. There are two types of covalent bonds, polar and non-polar. Polar is when there is an unequal sharing of electrons but non- polar is when electrons are shared equally. I thought the Lewis dot structures were kind of challenging at first but the more I practiced it the more it became easier. When doing a Lewis dot structure for an atom you put the element symbol and dots around the symbol to represent the number of valence electrons. When doing an ion it is the same thing accept you would add brackets around the symbol and then at the top put its charge.  

On Wednesday we learned about balancing chemical equations. To balance chemical equations it is almost like solving a puzzle. First to make it easier write down the number of each element you have on each side of the equation. It is almost like laying out puzzle pieces when completing a puzzle. Then play around with different numbers until both sides of the equation is balanced. When we first learned this I didn't know what I was doing but with more practice I understood how to balance the equations allot better. 

On Thursday to see if we were getting the intense chemistry topics we have been learning this week, we took a pop quiz. Some of the the material on the quiz I thought I knew well, but looking at my results I didn't. I think I can improve on when I have a question or when I am confused about a topic, review it and ask for help. After we finished the quiz we started a new lab called, types of chemical reactions. We used this lab to teach us all about how to classify chemical reactions. With a Bunsen burner we burned copper and magnesium. Copper wasn't that exciting it just turned black, but magnesium was like a light show. It was so bright we were told not to look at it directly. Both reactions were synthesis reactions. Do you know what a synthesis reaction is? A synthesis reaction is when two simple things turn into something more complex. It helps to think of photosynthesis.  

On Friday we retook the pop quiz. After  retaking it I can definitely say I understand the topics allot better. Then after that we tested powdered copper. To test it we put it in a test tube and put it over the Bunsen burner. Before it was a blue green powder but after, it turned black. Another thing that happened is it produced carbon dioxide. To prove this, we put  a burning stick in the tube and as soon as the flame hit the inside, it went out. This week I can definitely say I have learned from my mistakes! This link is if you are like me and balancing equations is hard for you. https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/physical-processes/stoichiometry/v/balancing-chemical-equations

Good Study Habits

This week was a great success for the seventh grade class because we got a good class average on our chemistry test. On Monday we started a new lab. We did this lab to learn about chemical reactions. During this lab we learned that in the product of a chemical reaction,  the chemicals trade places. To begin the lab we used a well spot plate and filled it with different chemicals. Most of these chemicals were some what dangerous so it was extra important that we were careful when handling the chemicals. The chemicals were labeled with numbers and letters to go in the spot plate. After all the chemicals were put in the correct wells we took a strip of magnesium and tested it to see how reactive each chemical was. In between each reaction we cleaned the magnesium with steel wool. This was important because anything left from the previous reaction could throw off the next one. Magnesium did not react with magnesium but the other chemicals did.

On Tuesday it was Veteran's Day so we did not have school. It was good to have a day to relax. On Wednesday we reviewed for our test on the elements which was on Thursday. Instead of the usual grunge ball we played a game were we had to organize the periodic table. Instead of the real elements on the periodic table we were given fake made up elements we had to organize into the table regarding a set of questions. The questions gave us clues to where each element went. It took almost all of class but it definitely helped me learn how the periodic table works. 

On Thursday we had our test. As a class this was our highest average for a test this year. When going over our test I was so mad at my self for the question  I got wrong . I can improve on my tests by rereading the questions to make sure I answer 

every part of the question. I hope our class can continue to keep up the class average and continue good study habits. 

On Friday to celebrate our high test scores we celebrated with donuts and milk. After that we finished our lab. On Monday we did the magnesium strip but on Friday we did the copper and zinc strip. Copper wasn't really that reactive but it did turn black. Zinc was reactive but not as reactive as magnesium. The zinc strip reacted with only a few elements but the magnesium reacted with all but one. When we were done with our spot plate we couldn't just empty it out in the sink because the chemicals might cause a reaction. So one by one we had to pour each chemical in a jar with a dropper. This is just one example of the safety precautions in a lab with chemicals. This week for Science Olympiad I spent about 10 minutes on Picture This  making a list of words for our meeting next Monday. I am looking forward to working with Emma this week. I think we are going to be an awesome team! This link tells why magnesium is so reactive. http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=18014.0 

Conservation of Matter

On Monday we worked on our "meet the elements" project. We began researching facts about the element. My element was chlorine. One interesting fact I found in my research is that chlorine was named after the Greek word chloros which means pale green. During the research I found out many facts I didn't  know already. I didn't realize how much the element chlorine is used in our daily lives. In fact the human body couldn't function without chlorine because it is in the compound sodium chloride which is vital to human life.

On Tuesday we started a new lab. This lab taught us about conservation of matter. We did the first procedure, and our group's results were not what they should have been. The starting weight before the chemical reaction occurred was 6 grams but after it was 4 grams. According to the law of conservation of mass which states that mass stays the same throughout chemical changes, we must have spilled some liquid while pouring the liquids. This activity not only explained the law of conservation of mass better it showed me why it is so important to be careful while pouring and carrying out the lab procedures especially with chemicals. This is definitely one area in which I can improve.

On Wednesday we finished the experiments. For the first experiment we weighed the two beakers separately before combining them. After the chemical reaction occurred we weighed the beakers again and as the law of conservation of mass states the mass did not change. We did an experiment but this time to show that the mass still stays the same even when a gas  is let off. We put water into a bottle and weighed it, then added an alka seltzer tablet and sealed the bottle. The alka seltzer produced a gas, then after the chemical change we weighed it again. It remained the same proving the law correct.

On Thursday we painted our boxes for our "meet the elements" project. We painted the boxes according to the color on the periodic table. Each group had their own color. My element was Chlorine so I painted my box bright blue.Some people had problems with their paint color and had to switch colors many times. We also reviewed notes. We went over transition metals. The interesting thing I learned about transition metals is that they are very diverse and they have many different properties. We also went over Lanthanides and Actinides. Before reviewing them I didn't really know what they were. I learned that most of them are man made and radio active. Lanthanides are more natural and the Actinides are more man made.

On Friday we finished taking notes. We learned a lot more about how the periodic table is organized. We learned that the levels of re-activity vary depending on if the element is left or right. This week has been super fun and I hope that next week is way more fun. Just in case you wanted to know more about the element chlorine. http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele017.html

Halloween Week

This week was awesome because we only had four days of school. That made the week so much better because Friday was Halloween. On Monday we reviewed for our test by playing grudge ball. Every time  we play grudge ball it helps me understand the material allot better. This time when we played grudge ball I wrote down the questions to help me study. By doing this it helps me better prepare for what's on the test.

On Tuesday we had the test. This test was a lot shorter than our regular tests. I like it when the tests are shorter because it takes a lot less time. On Wednesday we reviewed our test. When I saw my grade I was so close to an A. This just means I can improve by working harder and reviewing the material allot more. When we reviewed our test it helped me see the mistakes I made . We also took notes on unit four. In unit four  we are learning about the periodic table. I think it is important to study the periodic table and know how it works because we use it so much in chemistry. Another thing we are doing with the periodic table is another project. We are making a large periodic table out of cereal boxes. Each person is assigned to a different element and when we stack the boxes together it will form a giant periodic table.

On Thursday we took a break from science class and celebrated Halloween by making fake blood. We also played with dry ice a little. We made bubbles with the dry ice by putting water and dry ice in a container with a tube and dipped the tip of the tube in soap. This produced bubbles that gave off a very ghostly look. I wish I had dry ice at home so I could try this. We also produced bubbles by putting dry ice and water into a bowl. Then dipping a string into soap dragging the string along the edge of the bowl. This produced a half bubble that  also gave off that haunting ghost bubble effect. To help us fake a bloody nose or open wound on Halloween we learned how to make realistic looking fake blood. To make the blood we mixed red food coloring, red fruit punch,corn syrup,cocoa power, chocolate syrup,and corn starch. The cornstarch was used for thickening the blood. We used cornstarch to make it less transparent The punch and the food coloring was used for the red color. The chocolate syrup and cocoa powder was used for making it look more like blood. I though this mixture looked just like the real stuff and cant wait to try it a t home.

This week I also worked on Science Olympiad.  I made a list of scientific words for picture this. I think I spent about 30 minutes making this list. This week was super fun and and I hope next week is even better. This link is to a website explaining why fake blood can also be different colors  http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/10/28/coloursofblood/

Mole day and more!

This week was awesome! If you didn't know already it was mole day last Thursday. A mole is a unit of measurement 6.02x10^23. We celebrate mole day on October 23rd.

On Monday I learned about the Lewis dot structure. The Lewis dot structure helps give a visual of how many valence electrons each element has. You can determine how many valence electrons each element has by its group number. Also, valence electrons are the most reactive.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we worked on our mole day t-shirts. While we worked on them we made sure to tell plenty of mole day jokes. "What is a mole's favorite soda?" Coca-Cola!

On Thursday it was the highly anticipated mole day. We got to wear out t-shirts that we decorated. We took lots of selfies and pictures. WECT news visited our school to report on our activities and captured our human/teacher whack-a-mole. We got a chance to play the game for $1, and the money raised went toward our Science Olympiad. It obviously wouldn't be mole day without the pledge and ten commandments. Mole day was also the first time I ever tried guacamole. I tried it because it was one of the mole day ten commandments.

On Friday we cleaned out our oh so heavy binders. We also worked on our study guide in class. I like when we work on our study guide in class because I can ask questions when I need to. One thing I definitely need to improve on is making sure I don't put things in the wrong tab. I realized this when I cleaned out my binder on Friday.
The week ended with the Halloween dance on Friday night. I went dressed as baby North West. It was a fun week but I am exhausted.

The following link is to the National mole day foundation  http://www.moleday.org/

Every thing you ever wanted to know about atoms

This week we learned a lot about atoms. On Monday we made a replica of an atom out of fruit loops and paper plates. The most challenging part about this was finding the amount of protons, neutrons and electrons contained in my element Oxygen. This activity helped me learn how to calculate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in each element. We also watched a video that showed an experiment that helped scientists find out that the atoms were not hollow. I thought this experiment was cool and left me wondering how they were so smart to construct such a complex experiment that could determine atoms weren't hollow but that they contained a nucleus in side.

On Tuesday we played with fire. OK, not literally but we did do a pretty cool experiment using it. In the test we did a series of flame tests to determine the color each element would give off when we burned it. The color of the light depends on its energy level of the element. This experiment surprised me because before this lab I thought all fire was the same and couldn't change colors. If you don't believe that fire can change colors  click on the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvLP1R9mUqM
I thought is was cool when the elements were on fire and it would change the color when you looked through a piece of cobalt glass. When burned, sodium is usually orange but when looked at through the cobalt glass is turns a white color.

On Wednesday, we finished burning the chemicals. This time we had two mystery chemicals that we didn't know what they were. We had to determine that by looking at the colors each one gave off. I thought this was cool and found it a little bit challenging. We also retested any chemicals that were not the color they were supposed to be. If you try this experiment, you will need to use distilled water because later we found that the impurities in the tap water affects the color it gives off.
On Thursday we had our quiz. I thought the quiz was hard. I mixed up atomic mass with atomic number. One way I can improve is associate the words with things I know like neutron and neutral.
On Friday we went over our quiz. When we go over our quizzes it helps me improve on the tests.

For Science Olympiad, I also met with my team member's coach and my coach last week and we discussed how to hold the maximum capacity with the least weight for our bridge. I have some ideas about how to do this. We met for one hour.

Atoms, Protons, Neutrons and Electrons

Why can't you trust an atom? They make up everything. This week we learned all about atoms. We also had a test this week. This week I decided to improve my studying habits a little bit by using the techbook study  assessment. This really helped me on the test. While taking the test it was a lot easier because I remembered all the questions from the techbook. This week we also learned about protons, electrons,and neutrons and the people who found out they existed. James Chadwick discovered that neutrons are inside the nucleus. Neutrons give off a neutral charge. However protons give off a positive charge and electrons give off a negative charge. Electrons orbit the nucleus like someone juggling balls.

John Dalton was the first person that discovered atoms. However most of his theories aren't relevant today I think it is still cool that he was the first person to discover atoms especially because they are so small. In fact the number of atoms in an orange would be like if the whole word was filled with blueberries. I think I can improve on remembering to print out my notes because I always forget. I learned that atoms are small but their nucleus is even smaller. A cool link describing how atoms work is attached. http://science.howstuffworks.com/atom.htm

Two Guys, Charles and Boyle

This week was consumed by two guys Charles and Boyle. Well not them, but their very important laws. Apparently they are like the super heroes of volume, temperature, and pressure. I guess Avogadro is also a super hero too. He is not the hero of avocados but numbers.

To start out the week to help us learn about state change we did a lab where we recorded data every 30 seconds on how fast water changed state. This lab was like watching paint dry because we had to stir water for 20 minutes. This week also I learned about Charles' and Boyle's law. To show us examples and help us apply our knowledge we did a bunch of experiments sort of like last week. In these experiments we had to determine whether they exhibited Boyle's law or Charles' law. A way that we could determine whether it was Boyle's or Charles' is if it had something to do with pressure  and volume for Boyle's law or  temperature and volume for Charles' law.

My favorite experiment we did was with the marshmallows. We placed a marshmallow in a syringe and then pumped out all the air. After that without letting any escape we put our  finger on the hole on the front. Then pulled back the handle. The marshmallow grew bigger and bigger and when you took your finger off the hole the marshmallow shriveled up. This is an example of Boyle's law because it involves pressure and volume.

This week I think I need to improve on remembering to get things done, like science olympiad papers signed, because I almost forgot this week. I learned a lot about Charles and Boyle's law. Is it just me or is everyone else super excited about science olympiad? Can't wait!
http://www.education.com/reference/article/boyle-gas-law/

Some new stuff and some old stuff

This week was full of chemical and physical changes. To help us understand more what physical and chemical change is we did a lab a to help us. During this lab we did a series of experiments and we had to determine if they were chemical changes or physical changes. My favorite experiment we did in this lab was the milk and red bull experiment. I liked this experiment because the chemical reaction resulted in a precipitate. In this case a precipitate would be a solid that comes out of a chemical reaction. The milk curdled in the experiment because of the acid in the red bull.

This week I also learned about and took notes on the different types of energy. Do you know the difference between kinetic energy and potential energy? Kinetic energy is the energy of motion but potential energy is stored energy.

This week we also had  a quiz. This was technically our first real quiz because our last quiz was just generic science stuff. I thought this was quiz was pretty easy but I had some trouble with the vocab. I can definitely improve on my studying by thoroughly studying the vocab.

This week we reviewed chemical and physical changes and learned about the different types of energy. I thought this week was fun even though we had a quiz. Since we were doing so many experiments I thought this link was relevant.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfqmzHXmTMY

just for laughs

red bull and milk station

Kanuga Week

Interesting week this was! Instead of having a regular Monday we had to get on a bus at 4:30 IN THE MORNING to get to Kanuga. After that we rode for six hours to get to Kanuga. The bus ride to and back from Kanuga was probably the worst part of the trip because it was so long. When we finally got to Kanuga we ate lunch. Just like any camp food there is always something everyone eats all of. In this case it was the tater tots. After lunch we took a hike. Walking up hill for two hours isn't exactly fun for some people. On the hike I had a visitor crawl in-between my feet. A SNAKE!!! It was a small harmless snake but a snake is still a snake. My favorite part of the hike is when we all got to lay down on a rock for ten minutes. Later that night we went to learn about the animals  of the Appalachian wilderness. My favorite animal the guy showed us was the ground hog. After he showed us the animal we got to touch some of them. I touched a snake for the first time and I also touched the ground hog.


On Tuesday we all had to get up early so we could go white water rafting. I had never been rafting before so it was a real challenge. We had Ben and Kenaniah  in our group so we all had to listen to howling and banging all the way down the river. My favorite part about rafting was that we got to jump of a cliff into the water. Even Mrs. Upton jumped. Halfway down the river we stopped so we could take the rafters pictures. Our instructor Tim tied us on the rocks and another raft hit us and knocked Mary out of the boat. Mary didn't fall that far away from the boat so we easily pulled her back in. Tuesday night we had our campfire inside because the campfire area was wet from the rain. We had to create a commercial  for a random object.Our group did Pokemon balls for unicorns. After that we tricked a whole bunch of people to think that they were auditioning for a new movie but really they were just acting and the things that they were doing was all taking place on a toilet. After that we played a game where we had to come up with as many songs as we could with the word baby in it. Our team loss because we couldn't think of any more songs. Then Mr. Simon sang and we had ice cream sandwiches instead of s'mores.


On Wednesday our group went to the climbing wall. The climbing wall was fun and I cant believe I made it up to the top. I was so tired afterwards I just fell asleep on the bus. I had a great time at Kanuga and look forward to next year. We returned to Wilmington around 8pm on Wednesday night. I was exhausted!


On Thursday we worked on our blogs and thankfully Friday was a teacher workday and I was able to sleep in. Thank goodness for a long weekend! I learned that when white water rafting, if you fall out of the boat to keep your nose and toes out of the water. I can definitely improve on being in better physical shape next year so I don't pass out from hiking!


 Advice I wish I had on the bus http://www.wikihow.com/Enjoy-Yourself-on-a-Long-Bus-Ride

mountain ecology

white water rafting

Cram Week

This week has been super fun even though we had a test, which really wasn't that bad, it was just really long. Aside from our regular schedule, all the teachers had to cram every possible test and quiz in this week because  we are going to Kanuga next week and have a teacher workday on Friday!


On Monday to review scientific notation, Mrs.G put review cards all over the room for us to convert. She hid them really well to the point where I couldn't find them. This activity helped me better understand scientific notation which helped me a lot on the quiz. On Tuesday we played grudge ball to help review. After the game everyone held a grudge against each other (hence the name). Grudge ball helped me review the vocab. It helped me learn how to use the conversion formulas.


Oh the dreaded test on Wednesday!! Actually the test wasn't that bad, it was just really long and had many time consuming conversions with dimensional analysis. We had to convert a billion seconds into years for crying out loud! On Thursday, as with every test or quiz we reviewed it. After that we started on a new lab on Friday. This lab is going to help us understand physical change and chemical change through a series of small experiments with vinegar and baking soda, and potato and iodine.


I need to improve on checking the what you need to bring to class wall before I get to class because most of the time I'm just guessing what I need for class. I had a great week this week and can't wait until Kanuga. I was so excited that I thought you should at least get a taste of Kanuga at ......


http://www.kanuga.org/camps-and-outdoor-education/camp-kanuga/

Vinegar and baking soda experiment  

Potato and iodine experiment

Dimensional analysis practice

The Week of Fudge

This week if you couldn't tell already by the title ,we made fudge/mushy dark chocolate. Also, we finished our lab aprons. The week went so quickly because we didn't have to go to school on Monday because it was Labor Day.

To start off the week we learned all about dimensional analysis. I think by the end of the week everyone was sick of it. I learned how to convert units of measurement, such as gallons to teaspoons which took forever it seemed. Learning to do these conversions will definitely help me when I am baking and cooking.

On Wednesday we started our fudge lab, but we just did conversions, we did not make any fudge. To make the fudge, Mrs. Giacomelli gave us the joyous task of converting all our ingredients into different units. On Thursday we actually made our fudge. Since the hard part of converting the ingredients was already over, making the fudge was pretty easy. We didn't even need the fire extinguisher! The fudge tasted like mushy dark chocolate icing.

This week Mrs.Giacomelli  told us a story but not just any story, a story about significant figures and how the zeros couldn't get into a club. This story helped me understand a little bit more of how significant figures work. I learned that if a zero is ''sandwiched'' in between two non zero numbers it is considered significant. This was a really neat way of remembering this! This week I think I can definitely improve on triple checking my labs to make sure that I have all the questions right. This week was filled with fudge and significant figures.

Attached is a link to how we should have made our fudge.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-time-chocolate-fudge-recipe.html

''fudge''

making the ''fudge''

my lab apron