Forensic Archaeology Lab (Graphing and Post Lab)

Yesterday, we completed the graphing aspect of the lab. My computer was not loading fast enough, so I got behind very quickly and was scrambling at the end to complete the graph. The actual graphing was simple, but the process of editing the graph was very technical and required a lot of different steps. Then, we were told to use our graph to complete the rest of the lab to find the missing person. Cristen and I concluded that it must be Sue Crayton because her body and time of death fit most with the amount of decay. I thought it was pretty cool that we combined forensics with chemistry even though someone had to die in order for us to do this...:). We were told them to complete the rest of the post-lab questions, so I will finish those tonight and then submit them to SCHOOLOGY.

Here you will find the post lab questions and data table we had to complete:

Forensic Archaeology Lab (Data Collection)

For this lab, we were told to gather 1 sheet of 12x12 paper, 2 pairs of scissors, 1 ruler, and 1 plastic cup. After getting the materials, I was very curious to see what we were actually going to be doing with all of these things. We were to draw a 24x24 grid on the white side of the paper using the ruler and after, should cut them all out individually. This proved to be a very tedious task. When done cutting, we threw away 9 squares immediately in order to have the necessary 567 total squares. We put the squares into the plastic cup and shook it up, then poured them out on the desk. Then, we separated the squares into two separate piles- white side up and orange side up. After the separation, we counted the number of atoms that decayed (orange side up), recorded that data, then subtracted that number from the starting number of squares (567). For the next decay, we threw away those that landed orange side up and put the white side up ones back into the cup to repeat the process. We repeated this 6 times total. Even though most of the work was tedious, I really enjoyed this example of decay because I was able to visualize the half life process. Tomorrow we are going to be graphing the data collected, which is exciting because, for some reason, I really like to GRAPH, and here's a link to a brief preview for tomorrow.

Here you can see the pieces of paper used to complete the lab and the data collected.

Post-Quiz Reflection

After about a week of Atomic Structure and Radioactivity, we took our first quiz over the material. I studied all of the material last night and reviewed my polyatomics :), to review to make sure I was ready to take the quiz. I felt confident about the review material, which felt really good. The new material was fairly easy as well; the scientists' models clicked and I breezed through the matching section. I'm actually coming to like this section and I'm ready to learn more.  Overall, I think I'll succeed in each of the objectives and hopefully this will help me for other quizzes and tests to come.

Here you will find the Learning Objectives highlighted in this unit:

Beanium Lab

Today, we were told to complete a lab in order to calculate the average mass of the isotope, the percent abundance, and the total mass of all the atoms of the isotope, which was appropriately named Beanium. This new element is shaped like a bean and can actually seen by the naked eye. During the lab, we weighed each of the different isotopes (colors) of beans, making sure to tare the scale, and used that to find the total mass of this isotope. Then, based on the number of atoms of the isotope present we were able to divide that number by the total number of beanium atoms in the sample. I really liked this lab because it was a fun and simple way to further review the concept of calculating average atomic mass and it had a clever lead in to explain the nature of the lab.

(Here is a basic example of how to calculate average atomic mass)



(Here you can see the different Beanium isotopes and the cup we put them in to measure their mass)

(And finally, HERE you can refer to this example of the whole Beanium lab expalined in great detail.)

Find Someone Who...

Today in class, we had our second lecture day. It was rough. I forgot my calculator, so that was my first mistake. We learned how to calculate the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an element and its isotopes as well. At the end of the lecture, we broke off and completed a worksheet where we had to find someone who knew the answers to the questions asked on the sheet. All of the topics were review, but I realized I hadn't retained much information from the first lecture, but I readily knew the information we learned today. It was a wake-up call to start reviewing for the upcoming quiz on Wednesday, which will contain some items for review. I think doing the cumulative review is a great idea because that way, we are constantly reviewing and retaining the information that we need to know for the final. In this link HERE, you can see the documented benefits of using cumulative review.

Obscurtainer Activity

Using the activity during class yesterday, I was able to mimic RUTHERFORD'S model of making inferences to determine his atomic model. We were told to make an educated guess of the shape inside the closed cylinder that the ball was hitting off of, which proved to be very difficult. After a few tries I got more accustomed to the basic shapes inside and I actually guessed a few correctly. Through this, I was experiencing the guessing process used by this revered chemist for his view of the atomic model.

Rutherford's Model

Lecture/Notes Day 1 Reflection

After our first day of atomic structure and radioactivity notes, I have a basic understanding of the changing atomic theory. From Dalton's atomic theory, which came to have 1 1/2 postulates refuted, to Thomson and Rutherford's which brought up the discovery of subatomic particles through two ground-breaking experiments. These all led to the present day model of the 3D atom with the nucleus containing protons and neutrons and negatively charged electrons surrounding it. With this knowledge in mind, I think it will be easier to process other information regarding atomic structure in the days to come. A brief overview of the history of the atom can be found HERE, but contains an earlier history and a later history than those discussed in the lecture in class.

Real World Uses of Binary Compounds and Acids

Knowing the uses of binary compounds and acids proves to come in handy in the real world for many reasons. For example, in the grocery store assignment we completed, we were told to name various compounds and acids based on its description and properties, then find common items containing them. This project let me realize that Chemistry can be applied to everyday situations even though we might not know it. And to think, students always claim we won't use the information we learn in school, in real life! Distinguishing compounds and acids in foods or other products could be vital in maintaining someone's health and could possibly used to save their life.

Frontier Chemistry Nomenclature Reflection

I found over the course of the Frontier Project, that I had no previous knowledge about local flora in the least. Through this project, I was able to effectively distinguish between plants and quickly treat a list of maladies. I wasn't able to say that before! The most difficult part of the task was making sure that I had all of the requirements in my blog and was properly equipped for the constructed response essay in class. Although that was difficult, I really enjoyed problem solving in a real life situation where I used the information collected outside of class to show my growth through the whole process.