Test Day Tomorrow.

The Stoichiometry Test Is Tomorrow

The test is tomorrow, and I hope that I am ready. I have done much to prepare, but I fear it may not be enough. However, I still have a couple of hours left in this day to study to make sure that I can do my best, not matter what, even though I struggle with math problems in general. Last minute study videos / websites below:

1.) Khan Academy: Stoichiometry

2.) ChemTeam: Molar Ratios

3.) ChemTeam: Limiting Reagent

4.) ChemTeam: Mass to Mass Problems

5.) ChemTeam: Mole to Mass Problems

6.) ChemTeam: Mole to Mole Problems

Stoichiometry Quiz 1

Weekly Stoichiometry Quiz

The weekly quiz we took this week revealed alot about how we should run these problems! The idea is to be fast and not to second guess yourself after you identify what you are solving for. Also make sure not to make stupid mistakes, like not reading the problems all the way or not using the right equations. Just make sure to read all the problems all the way through and everything will be alright.

Copper (II) Chloride and Iron Lab

Copper (II) Chloride and Iron Lab

This lab was very interesting and cool for many reasons! Not only did it provide a visualization of a stoichiometry problem, it also gave us a cool transformation to watch! The basics of the lab are:

1.) Record mass of starting materials (CuCl2, Fe, Jar)

2.) Mix CuCl2 and Fe in jar

3.) Leave them in the jar overnight

4.) Clean copper and nail.

5.) Wait two days for copper to dry.

6.) Mass remaining copper to perform the problem!

Stoichiometry Day 1

Stoichiometry Day 1

The beginning of a new unit brings the beginning of a new hope for my grade in chemistry. In stoichiometry, you start with grams or moles of  'Substance A' and then attempt to convert it into 'Substance B' Or to attempt to find the amount of a material used up in a reaction. Overall, I think this will be a good start to the unit!

Chemical Reactions Test!

Chemical Reactions Test

                 This test was definitely a lot easier than the last test, mainly due to the fact that I was more awake and alert. The only questions I messed up on where the oxidation numbers and one of the solubility ones. I do feel that this test will help my grade a ton though! Hopefully when I go ever the test all my answers will be answered.

Helpful Link for Solubility:

http://www.chem.sc.edu/faculty/morgan/resources/solubility/

Helpful Link for Oxidation Numbers:

http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch2/oxnumb.html

First Chemical Reactions Quiz!

First Chemical Reactions Quiz

This first chemical reactions quiz definitely could have gone better, but it never helps to know that you are being timed when taking a quiz! Most questions I got wrong where stupid mistakes I would've caught if I had taken my time :L. Regardless, only missing 3 questions on an 11 question quiz isn't horrible, especially I only count one of the questions as truly wrong, and I still don't know how to solve, better get that taken care of quick!

Double Replacement Lab!

Double Replacement Lab

In this lab, we tested about seven or so different reactants to see if they reacted with each other! Even though our group ran out of time, I still had lots of fun completing the lab! We have another lab coming up soon, where we will test lead and create our own re activity series based off it!

Helpful link for double replacement reactions!
http://www.chemteam.info/Equations/DoubleReplacement.html

First lecture on Chemical Reactions!

Balancing Chemical Equations.

Balancing equations was tricky when I first learned it in Phys science, but now it seems a bit easier. All you have to do is make sure that all of the elements are balanced. Also don't forget those nasty diatomics!

Link to Khan Acadamy help for Balancing Equations:  https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chemical-reactions-stoichiome/balancing-chemical-equations/v/balancing-chemical-equations-introduction

Chemical Reactions Day 1

Chemical Reactions Day 1!

This unit so far is starting out good, definitely a better start than the disaster of the last unit. I plan to do a lot more studying and to get more study materials. I also hope to finally nail down those Poly atomic's once and for all! This useful website will help with those ever so tricky polys!

Lab! Formula of a Chloride Lab.

Formula of a Chloride 

This lab was much like the Formula of a Hydrate lab. The procedure was very much like the lab, with the lack of the Bunsen Burned because of a gas leak. One thing that was interesting about this lab was that we got to boil hydrochloric acid! The change wasn't as visually appealing as the Formula of a Hydrate lab, but it was interesting to watch the hydrochloric acid boil away! I really added to the unit and I believe that this will help out with practice on the test.

Composition Unit Test

Chemical Composition Test

The test for this unit was very difficult, and was very stressful. I feel like all the odds were stacked against me, for we took the test on a Monday and during first hour! A double whammy! Regardless, I will still review for this unit to make sure that I don't forget it! I already know that I failed, and I hope that we will maybe be able to retake the test. I also know that I could've studied a bit more, but I don't know what difference it would have made. I also failed to direct my studying at what really mattered. I spent all my time studying for the large empirical formula question that I completely forgot how to do everything else, the worst part being that I didn't even get to that question. Let's just say that I am very worried about my Chem grade after this test! :C

Empirical Formula help for those who still need it! https://www.chem.tamu.edu/class/majors/tutorialnotefiles/empirical.htm

A website I wish I found before the test: http://www.gcsescience.com/m20.htm

Chemical Composition Weekly Quiz Post Report.

Chemical Composition Quiz Post Report

I did decently on the Chemical Composition quiz, it was quite difficult, with things I didn't know how to do, but I hope to get studying those things and hopefully be ready for the quickly approaching test. I had the most problems with remembering the Poly atomic ion formulas, which I think will be very useful on the test.

This useful website can help with remembering those tricky polyatomic ions! http://getchemistryhelp.com/chemistry-lesson-polyatomic-ions/

Lab Report! Formula of a Hydrate!

Formula of a Hydrate

This lab was very fun! I enjoyed it a ton. In the lab, you find the CuSO4 * nH2O. To do this, you take the mass of the unknown sample, then heat it to drive away water molecules. After that, you determine the amount of water driven off by subtracting the CuSO4 anhydrous solution from CuSO4 * nH2O. The color change that occurs when heating the substance is quite cool to watch. It goes from a blueish crystal to a white powder.

A good website to help with Molar Mass!: https://www.boundless.com/chemistry/textbooks/boundless-chemistry-textbook/mass-relationships-and-chemical-equations-3/molar-mass-41/molar-mass-of-compounds-223-7524/

Measurement Unit Test Post-Report.

Measurement Unit Test Post-Report

I tried my best on the test, but ultimately I ran out of time and I'm quite certain that it killed my grade. I don't have the test back yet, but I don't know if I want to see it :(. The grade is far from horrible, but I have higher standards for my grades in this class. Hopefully it can be like the nomenclature unit from last quarter and just be a bad start to an otherwise good quarter. Not to mention that we also have finals coming up X_X. 

Chemical Composition pre-test.

Chemical Composition Pre-Test

     The pre test for this unit was difficult, as it involves what appear to be very nuanced numbers and equations. This unit will be difficult and I need to be ready for the long run. The test gave you a density of a atom, and then asked questions about it, or it gave you the density (in g/mol) of separate elements in a compound and asked for the chemical comp. All and all, I predict that this unit will be trying and I hope that through studying and paying attention that I can turn this unit to my advantage. 

This website is useful for finding chemical composition: http://crescentok.com/staff/jaskew/isr/chemistry/class10.htm

This website is good for finding % Comp!: https://www.chem.tamu.edu/class/majors/tutorialnotefiles/percentcomp.htm

Measurement Unit Quiz

I did okay on the measurement quiz, but I know that I need to improve if I have any chance of an A on the test. I probably will have the most problems with the math portions, but I think things will go well. I studied a lot, but I always have trouble doing math equations in a timely manner, I guess it's just something I'll have to deal with on test day.

Some helpful study links:

Precision vs. Accuracy

Unit Conversions

Sig Figs

Make a Mole Project!

Make-a-Mole Project

The Make-a-Mole project is a project in which we create a stuffed mole suited to the person's liking. We do this project to help celebrate Mole Day. We also celebrated mole day with a super fun Mole Day party! This project took a somewhat long time, mainly because the sewing was difficult and attaching the belly of the mole to the sides of the mole took some time.

Measurement pre-test Post-Report

Measurement Unit Pre-Test

The measurement pre-test was quite stressful, as I definitely don't know most of what is on the test. From what I can gather from the test, the only thing lacking was the unusual units of measurement used, what a significant zero is, and some formulas (+ brushing up on nomenclature and poly-atomic ions). This unit will have a ton of math, something I am no quite too excited about, but I think it'll get better once I can obtain a firm grasp of the formulas. All and all, I think that this will be an excellent unit to kick off the quarter with.

Some helpful links:

Significant Zeros

Scientific Notation

Start of the second quarter!

Today marks the start of the second quarter! While there are finals in this quarter, it also means Christmas. This quarter also will be the determining factor for many people's grades in what I call 'swing' classes. For example, if you got an %88 in a class for the first quarter, you have a chance to bring the average up enough in the second quarter to get a total %90 in the class. It's probably the most wonderful and stressful time of the year.

NEW UNIT! - Measurements

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 New Unit: Measurements

Today we officially start the new Measurements unit in chem! I am excited to see what this new unit has in store for everyone and what exactly we will be learning! Also, as with every new unit, we will take the pre-unit test. This test serves as a bench mark for the individual taking said test, giving the teacher and the student a starting point.

Post-Unit Test Report

The exam for this unit was very stressful! I do not yet know what grade I got, but I think I did okay. There were many different questions spanning many different subjects. From % Abundance, to half life calculations, there was no shortage of challenging questions to answer. One part I always kinda struggled with was finding the average mass, but this website helped me a ton!

Forensic Archaeology Lab Post-Report

The Forensic Archaeology lab was a simulation of an isotopes' half life. We put around 576 small squares with color on one side into a box, and then shook them up. After that, we counted all the of squares that landed color up and called them the atoms that decayed. We had to do this until all 576 of our atoms where split up into the two different categories, then fill out a worksheet about them online. This lab was suppose to help us have a more visual understanding of the scale of atoms, but I wish it could've been done with fewer squares. :C

Pre-Unit Exam

Tomorrow is the unit exam for the Atomic Structure and Radioactivity unit! I am very excited for this quiz, and cannot wait to see if it raises up my grade any. It was quicker than the last unit, and a bit easier to understand. Well, everything except some of the formulas for half lives and stuff similar to that. Once I study those formulas and some of the particles that are given off by atomic decay, I feel that I will be more than ready to succeed on this test! To help study, I used this website for half life equations!

Elements in the Stars Project.

We have a new project! The Elements in the Stars. It will be much like the last project I have done having it's own separate page and everything. We are to: Identify 15 solar bodies, include the chemical makeup of said bodies, the location in space, spectrum analysis of each body, stellar classification, and a photograph. I can't wait to begin working on this project, I love astronomy! This most likely will link back into the Atomic Structure and Radioactivity unit somehow, I'll let ya'll know when I find out.

UPDATE: Now that I've been working on the project, this awesome website really helped a ton!

Beanium Lab Post Report

The beanium lab simulates an element and its isotopes. In the lab, we had to find the average atomic mass of the elements, and the average mass for each isotope and it's % abundance. Unfortunately, I failed the pre-lab quiz that was needed to participate. However, I and the others who failed formed a group and finished the lab questions needed to get a good grade.

1st Atomic Structure and Radio Activity

My first quiz in this unit went great! It raised my grade up. Even though the unit is getting more and more complex, I feel that this strong foundation will help me throughout the rest of the unit. There was also some nomenclature questions on the quiz, I did pretty good on those too. For me, it takes time for information to really sink in. Hopefully this trend will continue throughout the quarter. I've been having trouble finding % abundance, and the ChemTeam website really helped me with it! I wish I would've studied the early atomic models too, as I also had some trouble with those.

Atomic Structure and Radioactivity Pre-test

I know I did horrible on the pre-test, but luckily, it is just that, a pre-test. It is a bench mark to see what everyone knows from the start, and to let us know what we can expect ahead. Unfortunately, the themes seem complex and maybe a bit overwhelming, but I know that I need to go the extra mile to get the grade I want in this class. Lets hope for smooth sailing this unit.

Nomenclature Unit Final Results

I initially though the nomenclature unit test was easy, but I was wrong. The grade I got was by no means super horrible, it even raised my grade up, but I wasn't happy with the score. I scheduled an appointment with my teacher and hope to go over the test in greater detail to try to get a better understanding of what went wrong. I hope that this will be just an adjustment unit and will have no more complications from
here on out.

Frontier Chemistry Post Report

To end off our nomenclature unit, we wrote a Frontier Chemistry essay. We were given a prompt, which included aliments, habitat, and supplies. We had to solve our problems using the plants in our given environment. In my case, I was in a tall grass prairie with severe sunburns and bear attack wounds. It was difficult to write at first, but luckily our chemistry teacher wrote out the exact aliments she was looking for. I was at a disadvantage, because I definitely don't have as many Tall Grass Prairie plants as I do Eastern Deciduous Forest plants. I managed to get through it though. I used about 4-5 different plants. I managed to treat skin blisters, bleeding, swelling, broken bone, dirt, and some of infection.

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