Quiz Preparation and Reflection

For this quiz, I tried something new and completed all of the practice tests on schoology and felt a lot more confident after going over the ones I had gotten wrong. This unit comes a lot more easily to me it seems like. Once I miss a problem, it only takes a little bit of an explanation for me to figure it out, but for previous units, it would take continued effort all throughout the unit in order to see my score improve. After taking the quiz, I felt fairly confident and I understood every question on the test and felt that I did an adequate amount of studying to prepare. This quiz score, I believe was one of my best this whole year, meaning that if I want to keep doing well, I think I should continue to complete those schoology quizzes because they seem to be working!
 

Spectroscopic Analysis

This lab wasn't as fun as ones previous. It was still an interesting concept, and it was a good way to practice and see things put to practice from lecture. We used a very large machine called a spectrophotometer and recorded a whole lot of % transmittance and absorbency from the Chromium and Cobalt ions for many different wavelengths. This was just a time-consuming lab because we had to use the distilled water before each recording to re-calibrate the machine and we did over 15 different wavelength calculations.

Retake for Aqueous Solutions

Well. I got the same grade on the retake as on the 1st round of this unit test. I was extremely disappointed because I studied  for hours for this test and yielded the same results. I guess this just wasn't my unit. For the next unit test though, I heard it will be a lot easier from now on, so that's something to look forward to!

Flame Test Lab

For this pre-lab, we were told to do a wavelength calculation for partner A, then partner B had to interpret the results of partner A's calculations to tell what color is produced. Mikayla and I both passed, so we were let back into lab. I found this lab to be particularly fun because we got to use a bunsen burner to burn different substances to produce different colors. This lab was a fun way to burn stuff, but also to practice our wavelength calculations for the upcoming quiz.

Fireworks Reading

Today, our teacher wasn't in class, so we were told to read a packet on how fireworks work and why they do the things they do. I found it really interesting to read about this because we see fireworks every year, yet we don't really know that much about how they work. I really liked learning through this reading because taking notes and filling out worksheets really helps me to learn faster and retain the information longer. It was a good way to ease into this new unit focusing on periodic trends and electronic structure, and I'm eager to get started with a lecture tomorrow.

Post-Test Review

I felt like I had a good grasp on that test. The first half was fairly easy, but as I got to the end of the test I didn't have enough time to complete it to the best of my abilities. I got an answer down for every question though. I feel like I need to budget my time better and I will find that I will succeed on these tests more. I'm anxious to know my score and to begin a new unit next week that I will hopefully enjoy!

Preparing for the Unit Test

I find myself studying for another unit test and completing the practice tests in the hopes that I will improve from my quiz score. As usual I find the schoology quizzes posted to be the most helpful and I completed every problem in preparation for the test tomorrow. Again, I am nervous about how this test will be and how I will fair this unit. I heard that this unit is the hardest of the year and from here on out everything will be smooth sailing. I hope this is true, despite the fact that I like a good challenge. Happy studying everyone!

Titration Lab #2

This next week, we were told to complete a similar lab as last week, but instead of the unknown acid being a liquid, it was a solid. We used the same procedure as the one from last week to complete this lab. It was all the same, except we had to heat the acid in the distilled water on a hot plate to make sure all of the acid was dissolved before we began to titrate. For this lab, we only worked on it for one day, but we yielded pretty good results, only having a six percent error, giving us a respectable grade on this lab. After completing the lab, we completed a notecard, as usual, presenting our findings.

Titration Lab #1

Our first titration lab was one of my favorite labs so far. Mikayla and I were very focused and committed to getting this lab right. We were given the procedure for the lab, and were told to briefly outline the procedure for our pre-lab question. We both got in no problem. Once we were back in lab, we conducted our standardizing process for our baseline data. Then, we proceeded to test our 10mL of unknown acid to find its molarity. We were looking for a light pink color to indicate that the titration of the acid was complete. Our first day in lab yielded a larger percent error than we were hoping for, so we took to lab the next day to give it one more go. After completing the calculations, Frank told us that we had a zero percent error! It was such an awesome moment because we had worked so hard and put a lot of time and effort into this lab.

Our first attempt (not as good as we'd hoped):

Our second best titration, but still not perfect:

Our best attempt (zero percent error worthy):