Week 11

What we learned this week

This week we did different stations that all had to do with chemistry and figuring out why certain things happen. We did six different labs, cold soda, plunger push, ice melting, coke float, baking soda and vinegar, and M&Ms in water. During these labs, we did the hands-on experiment at our own pace. 

Station 1: Coke Float 

We all had a close hypothesis for this station, but none of us were correct. For some reason, the big Coke sunk, but everything else floated. This was interesting; we think it's because the big Coke is denser. 

Station 2: Baking Soda and Vinegar 

This station we were all familiar with and have done many times; we knew that the baking soda and vinegar were going to combine and bubble. We didn't realize that when it bubbled and released the air, it became a super cold substance. 

Station 3: M&M in Water 

This station we were also familiar with this. We knew the M&M color would be released into the water when combined. Something we found interesting was that, for some reason, the colors would not mix unless we took the urgency to mix them. Not sure why this happens. 

Station 4: Cold Soda 

This station was kinda a failure for us. The soda could not get as cold as it does on a summer day, so the bottle had no condensation. Maybe that was the purpose of the experiment, or maybe we just weren't patient enough; I don't know. I don't have a picture, whoops.

Station 5: Plunger Push

This was my favorite station. We found that it stuck to the table but wouldn't stick to the cardboard; we think it was because it wasn't a smooth enough surface. It also didn't stick to Miah's head, haha!

 

Station 6: Ice Melt

This station was super cool. We thought the ice would melt more on the wood, but the ice actually melted so much faster in the metal pan. This was cool and made me think about why this might have happened; this is fun to prove hypotheses wrong. 

Relate what I knew to what I learned

I knew that the baking soda and vinegar would react and inflate the bag and bubble a lot, I never really knew or remember touching the liquid, and it is so cold; this was really cool!

Confusing

The lab was super clear and really fun!

Questions 

This lab really reminded me how much I think I know; yes, I can say what happened in all of them, but when im asked why I just don't know what to say; haha, excited to be able to actually describe why and how the reactions happened.