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.