Air bag Lab

Today we got to create our own air bag! We mixed a solution of vinegar and baking soda together to create the gas to fill up our "air bag". We had to write our own procedure for this lab and figure out the calculations we needed to do to determine the right amount of baking soda and vinegar to add. It really wasn't as difficult as I first thought it was going to be and it was a lot of fun to complete the lab!

Study Links!

Below are some helpful study links for the test this Friday!

Boyle's Law

Charles's Law

Avogadros Law

PV=nRT

Boyle's Law And Charles's Law Practice

Ideal Gas Law Practice

THE LAST UNIT, EVER!!

This week we started our gas laws unit, the last one of the year ( woot woot) and so far its been pretty easy! We learned about Boyle's Law, Charles' Law, Avogadro's Law, and the Combined gas law. Next week we get to do some cool labs so I'm looking forward to that! Hopefully this unit passes easily and without too much pain, haha.

Post Quiz Thoughts

Well today we had our weekly quiz for our current unit, gas laws, and I feel like I did alright. There we some questions I recognized from the test prep packets, and some questions I got slightly confused on. I was up pretty late studying because I had to work so that probably didn't help any. Overall I think I did okay, and I don't think it will negatively affect my grade too much.

Energy and Phase Change Notes

Phase Diagram Practice

Heating/Cooling Curve Practice

Endothermic vs Exothermic Processes

Q=MCDeltaT

Intramolecular vs Intermolecular Forces

Phase Diagram Transitions

Heat Capacity of a Metal Lab

Last week we got to find out the specific heat capacity of a metal and we got to test lead's specific heat capacity. First we set up a hot water bath with a beaker on a Bunsen Burner. Then we took a test tube, weighed it, then filled it 1/3 of the way up with lead, and then weighed it again. We then subtracted the weight of the test tube from the weight of the test tube + lead to find the weight of the lead by itself. Then we added the test tube to the hot water bath and let it come to a boil and let it boil for 5 minutes. Then we took the test tube and poured the lead into a Styrofoam cup of room temperature water, while that was happening we measured how hot the water got when the lead was added. Then we used the mcat = mcat formula to determine the specific heat capacity of the metal.

hot water bath!

Put-Put Boats!

We get to put our biodiesel to use! Our next lab was to design a boat with a motor that uses biodiesel. We were supplied with the motor and we used our own biodiesel that we had made previously, so all we had to do was design the boat. We decided to use a half-in-half carton as our boat and the poked holed in the bottom for the motor to go through and then sealed the extra holes with duct tape. After fixing a few leaks our boat worked pretty well! If we got one of the 3 fastest times in our class we would get extra credit! Unfortunately that didn't happen but our boat made it down the track so we got full points!

Biodiesel Lab

Last week we got to make biodiesel! It was a pretty easy lab, we took excess fryer oil from Chick-Fil
-A and measured 135mL of it into an erlenmeyer flask, then we added 32mL of KOH to the flask. Then we took a the flask and added it to the hot water bath, and let it heat for 20 minutes while keeping the temperature between 45-55 degrees celsius. Once it had heated we took it out of the hot water bath and poured it into a plastic cup to sit overnight. The next day we filtered out the KOH to be left with just the Biodiesel.

Pouring in the KOH

Hot water bath!

Viscosity Test!

What is Biodiesel?

How to Make Biodiesel

How Biodiesel is used

Pros and Cons of Biodiesel

Diesel Fuel

Biodiesel Video

When we came back from spring break, we began our new unit, Biodiesel, and our first project was to make a video about the benefits of biodiesel and submit it to the American Lung Association for a contest. The first place winners get $1200! We haven't gotten the results yet but hopefully they like our video!


BIODIESEL VIDEO!!!

Bonding Test

I felt pretty good going into the chemical bonding test, not quite as confidant as I was about the periodic trends, but still better than I've felt about some other tests. I studied for a couple of hours the night before and found some pretty helpful links that helped me study.

Definition

Valence Electron Configuration Practice

Bond length 

Electron Dot Formula Practice

Bond energy

Bonding Practice

Notes!

Chemical Bonding Lab

Last week we went to the library and got to practice making Lewis Dot Structures and identifying the electronic geometry of molecules. It was fun because we got to use the whiteboard tables and we got to make 3D models of the molecules which was really helpful in identifying the electronic geometry and determining the differences between the different types.

Periodic Table Activity

On Tuesday we were assigned a project to determine the placements of elements on a periodic table based upon the three sets of data that we were given, density, ionization energy, and a list of a reaction of each of the elements with a metal and a non metal, respectively. We did a similar project on Monday but it only contained one set of data with clues to a specific element. The one we got on Tuesday was a bit harder, but working with my lab partner, we were able to figure most of it out and I finished the last of it on my own.

The Unit Test

Helpful studying links:


Periodic Trends Practice

Practice Calculations

Quantum Number Practice

Electron Configuration Practice

Periodic Trends video

Electron Orbitals

QUIZ!

Last Friday we took our weekly quiz and I spent about 3.5 hours Thursday night studying for it. I printed off all the practice tests and worksheets and luckily all my hard work payed off because I got a 91% on it! That's like the highest grade I've gotten on a test or quiz since first quarter. I'm just hoping I can also get a good grade on the test tomorrow.  

Periodic Trends

This week we learned about periodic trends. There are four trends found on the periodic table, trends in atomic size, trends in ionization energy, trends in electron affinity, and trends in electronegativity.
For atomic size the trend is that as you move down a group the atoms tend to get larger. It is also noticed that as you move across the periodic table from left to right, the atomic size decreases. The trend for ionization energy is that it increases as you move up and to the right. For electron affinity and electronegativity the trend is also that it increases as you move up and to the right.
Therefore the element Cs has the largest atom, He has one of the highest ionization energies, and the most electronegative element is F because Noble gases do not normally combine with other elements so electronegativity is not a valid term for these elements.

Electronic Structure Week 1 Post #1

On Friday we learned about the four levels of organization which describe the location of an electron in any particular atom. The first level is the Principal Energy Level, the second is Sublevel, the third is Orbitals, and the fourth is Spin. We also learned about three rules for placing electrons: the Aufbau Principle, the Pauli Exclusion Principle, and Hund's Rule. Then we drew energy level diagrams and orbital diagrams. We also color coded our periodic table with specific colors for each of the four types of orbitals.

Flame Test Lab

Last week we got to discover the color of certain metal compounds by taking a wooden splint which was dipped in that compound and then hold it in the flame of a Bunsen burner to see what color the compound burned. For some of the compounds we had to use a cobalt glass square in order to see the color of the flame of the burning compound. Overall the lab was really fun and interesting to see what color some of the compounds burned.

Acis Base Week 3 Post #1

Here's some helpful links I found to study for the test tomorrow:

Arrhenius Acids and Bases

Bronsted Lowry Acids and Bases

BL Practice

pH and pOH Practice

ICE Box Method

ICE Box Practice

Unknown Acid Lab

Today we began the unknown acid lab which happens to be really similar to the Percent Acetic Acid in Vinegar lab we did last week. The only difference being instead of doing the vinegar step we have to get 0.2 g of a solid, unknown acid and dissolve it in distilled water and then complete the titration. After we have completed two trials of this step, we then should be able to figure out the identity of the unknown acid.

Acid-Base Week 2 Post #2

In class last Monday we learned about titration, as a preface to the lab we did Wednesday-Friday. During the lab we used a tool called a buret which contains the base or acid you titrate with. The buret always measures in even numbers because its calibrated to 0.2 mL. We used the buret to figure out how much NaOH we used to reach the endpoint of the KHP and the vinegar. You know the endpoint has been reached when the solution you are titrating turns a completely new color and stays that color. All of this information was helpful in the completion of our lab last week.

Acetic Acid Lab

Last week we spent 3 days completing the Percent Acetic Acid in Vinegar lab. First we took 0.5-0.8g KHP and dissolved it in 75mL of distilled water in an erlenmeyer flask by swirling it around in the flask, then we titrated the that solution with NaOH until it turned a faint pink and recorded the volume of NaOH used. The next step was to take 10.00mL of vinegar and dilute it with 90.00 mL of distilled water and then titrate that with the NaOH and record the volume of the NaOH used. We did each part twice and  overall it was a pretty easy and fun lab to do, the only time consuming part was dissolving the KHP in the distilled water.

Acid Base Week 1 Post #1

Last week we learned about the two different types of acids and bases, Arrhenius acids and bases and Bronsted-Lowery acids and bases. Arrhenius acids produce hydrogen ions in a solution and Arrhenius bases produce hydroxide ions in a solution, while Bronsted-Lowery acids donate a proton (H+) and Bronsted-Lowery bases accept a proton (H+). Also Bronsted-Lowery acids produce conjuagte bases and Bronsted-Lowery bases produce conjugate acids. We learned how to identify the different types of acids and bases in chemical equations and how to tell whether an acid was strong or weak and if a base was strong or weak. This unit is pretty complex, so I'm a little nervous going forward.

Vitamin C Lab

Last week on Monday and Tuesday we completed the Vitamin C Lab. It was a really fun lab because we got to discover how much Vitamin C was in grapefruit juice, apple juice, V8 juice, and pear nectar, respectively. At the beginning of the lab we each wrote down our guess for the ranking of the vitamin C concentration in each of the juices from lowest to highest. I guessed, in order of lowest to highest, apple juice, pear nectar, V8 juice, grapefruit juice, I was right about grapefruit juice having the highest concentration of vitamin C but the rest of my guess was wrong. The correct order was, from lowest to highest, pear nectar, V8 juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice. Overall I liked the lab because I got to learn something new and interesting about the juice that we tested, like how much of ia certain juice you would need todrink in order to get your %RDA of vitamin C.

Aqueous Solutions Week 3 Post #1

Tomorrow is the unit test and I really need to do well on it because I didn't do so hot on the last quiz so my grade really could use a boost. I've been using the practice tests as study materials and I also found these helpful websites below:

Dilution Video

How to Calculate Molarity

Molarity Practice

Dilution Example Problems

Dilution Practice

Concentration of Ions

Aqueous Solutions Week 2 Post #2

Last week we completed the murder mystery lab, here's some pictures from our lab:

Figuring out the murder weapon 

AgNO3 + NaCl

Separating the solid from the liquid

Aqueous Solutions Week 2 Post #1

We started the Murder Mystery Lab on Monday, and I'm really excited to complete it tomorrow. At first it was really confusing but then once I understood it, I realized it was going to be really fun to do. It's like we get to play Clue in real life, and Clue is one of my favorite board games, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Aqueous Solutions Week 1 Post #1

Today we got to do the dilutions lab.We mixed 20 drops of  food coloring with 10mL of water and then took 1 mL of that solution and added it to another cup and added another 9 mL of water to make a new solution and continued doing this until the new solution was clear. I liked this lab because it was really fun and we got to practice doing dilution calculations during the lab. 

our solutions!

dilution equation