chemistry


 * In the months of February and March, students participate in a variety of different chemistry experiments. Students use the terms domino causality and cyclic causality to help them understand the material, rather than simply memorizing information. We create a number of different graphs that are used in writing lab reports. We finish the unit of study by making edible mozzarella  cheese in the lab. **

the movie below shows the three different models we used to create and atom. We drew a model of an atom on paper, manipulated marbles on a a board, and acted out the atom in the room.

media type="youtube" key="i1G-7Qr4rvI" height="315" width="420"




 * Chemistry Wiki Pages **


 * chemistry wiki page **


 * PROJECT 8 Change of State Lab **

Our first experiment for our study of chemistry, the students watched the change of state from solid, liquid, to gas using a hot plate. The students made a scatter line graph and wrote a conclusion on google docs. Here is an example of a few of the projects.

GARRETT B 6A Feb 2011 The lab we did in science was very eye-opening to me. I know how to boil water and stuff, but doing this lab was really, “dissecting” it getting a much closer look at what is really going on and how it happens, two things I would not otherwise know about. This lab was obviously cyclic causality because if the state-changing aspect to it. The water goes from solid ,to liquid and to gas then may become solid again. Referring to my graph, there are 2 flat parts of the temperature. These are occurring because at the beginning because the burner is still heating up and the ice is taking time to melt. this would appear at the end because there is no more room to heat up the water, because it is already at the highest possible temperature in the given circumstances. When the molecules begin to heat up, they move faster and separate into a gas. People may have taken longer times to heat up because the amount of ice put in was not kept consistent and it may have taken longer to melt the ice than others.

Parker H February, 22, 2011 COS Lab Conclusion I think that this was a great project for us students because we got to watch the process of a solid changing to a liquid to a gas. The experiment was cyclic causality because the water that evaporated rains back down to the earth, and we can use the water again. Our scatter graph had two plateaus at the top and bottom because the heat did not get much hotter because it was just warming up and just at it boiling point. When I was watching, I saw that the ice cubes melt into the water and then turn to gas, because when the ice is being heated, then the molecules loosen to the point where they are in a different state. Different people had different boiling times because they might not have put the thermometer in at the correct time, or made the temperature to hot on the burner. I wouldn’t change the experiment but I learned and saw the change of state from a solid to a liquid to a gas. I was also great for us because we got to use a burner! What kid doesn’t want to boil water over a 375 degree burner in science class! That's great! Anyway, I felt that I had a positive outcome from this experiment and that I definitely learned something from it. I loved the project and I thought it was really fun. **One reason the water might have taken different times is the different volumes each group had. I made sure to have your volume relatively low, since you were doing the experiment in one class period. In the longer class period, we had more water. More water means more molecules to move, so it’s longer to get to boiling.** **Add a graph to this conclusion** **Mr. D**

** PROJECT 9 Baking Soda and Vinegar Lab **

Students asked the question, "What ratio of vinegar and baking soda will have the biggest reaction?" and tested this in the lab.

Below is an example of one of a lab conclusion and graph.



After completing the ultimate fizz lab, I have come to the conclusion that it is an example of domino causality. It is domino because after a series of tasks, it does not end up the way that it was. If it was cyclic, it would have to end up with the same thing that we started with. That was not the case. I was very surprised to see how close our groups data was to the class. This shows that our group, Jack B, Jack M, Freddie H and Aaron H, collected the data well and accurately. The reason that I think that our data is so accurate, is the fact that not 1 number that we had was 1 off from the whole class average. Each step we went through carefully and slowly. This turned out to be a great idea because we got great data. Even though we were the last group to finish, I believe that it was worth it. Overall, the ultimate fizz lab really helped me in science. Both our group and the class found the 10 mL of baking soda to react the most with 30 mL of vinegar. This was a perfect 1:3 ratio. More baking soda does not necessarily mean a greater reaction.

Watching the chemical reaction was even more of an eye opener than the ultimate fizz lab. It showed me the different kinds of reactions that you can make. For me, I found it amazing that simple things like just bringing them together, like the Magnesium + Oxygen experiment, could create something so cool. In summary, I really enjoyed the demonstrations in the upper school.

** PROJECT 10 Chemistry Independent Study **

Students asked to investigate a number of different questions in chemistry. Each group had a different problem and had to design an experiment, carry it out, record the data, and share the results with the rest of the class.

Below are some examples of the data and graphs collected.


 * Testing the Solubility of Salt in Cold Water, Warm Water, and Room Temperature Water **


 * Testing the Boiling Point of Pure Water and Salt Water **


 * Testing the Effect of Temperature on the Reaction of Baking Soda and Vinegar **








 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Testing the Effect of Different Levels of Mixing in a Chemical Reaction **

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