Weekly Quiz over Chemical Reactions

This weekly quiz wasn't too bad. It was nothing compared to the previous quiz. This one was really easy. The part that helped me the most was the fact that there was no review on the quiz. And this lesson itself isn't too hard. I didn't spend too much time studying. I studied about 15 minutes in my math classroom. I kind of remember the solubility rules of the top of my head now. Everything was going well, but then my friend told me that there were a couple questions about a precipitate. I forgot what that meant so I got nervous. I tried finding it in my book, but then I saw my friend. I asked her and she told me that a precipitate is the driving force. After I learned that, I was confident again. I answered every question and only guessed on one. This equation was kind of hard to balance so I kind of gave up and guessed an answer. A lot of people said that I guessed the right answer so I was happy. I think this might have been my first hundred in the class. Hopefully, the unit exam is also this easy.

Solubility Lab

This was the first lab for the Chemical Reactions unit. This lab was quite interesting. As usual, there was a lab quiz, but whether you fail or pass, you get to do the lab. The pre-lab question wasn't too hard. Again, there was a partner A and B and I was partner B, again. As usual, partner A gets the easy question and my partner got done in 10 seconds. It didn't take me too long though. I finished in about 2 minutes. We both got it right and entered the lab. The lab was basically dropping two liquids and watching to see a color or substance change. It was kind of cool in the beginning, but it got boring towards the end. This lab wasn't that special so there isn't much to talk about. After the lab, we were told to write the equations for the ones that worked during the lab. This was a lot of work. Took me a whole 15 MINUTES!!! My hand hurt a little after writing 2 pages of chemical equations. I was tired, but then I got over it. And then I turned it in. I took a couple pics. Too bad they aren't selfies... :/ Selfie with the well thingy is kind of hard.

 

Web Resources for the Chemical Composition Unit

Here is a list of a couple web resources that I used for this unit. This unit involved a couple concepts so I have a resource or two for each concepts. I have also summarized the information in each website so that it will be easier for you guys to study from.

1. Conversion/Mole map - This website includes some information on the molar map. It also has a couple practice problems.
2. Calculating Molar Mass - This website tells you how to calculate molar mass. It also contains a couple practice problems.
3. Molar Mass Practice Quiz - This website contains a practice quiz on calculating molar mass of compounds.
4. Moles - This website gives more information on moles. It is very useful for those who are still confused on the mole concept.
5. Percent Composition Practice Quiz - This website has a practice quiz on percent composition by mass.
6. Empirical Formulas - This website clears doubts for those who are unsure about empirical formulas.

All of these websites helped me understand this unit. If you guys need study resources for the test, these websites will prove to be helpful for you. Good luck on the test guys.

Formula of a Chloride Lab

Yesterday in class, we did the formula of a chloride lab. We made zinc chloride in the lab. To first do the lab, we had to do a pre-lab question. It wasn't too hard but I was happy that me and my partner passed it. I think about 2 groups failed and the rest passed. When we went to our lab station, we first weighed a dry 100 ml beaker. Then we added a tiny piece of zinc to the beaker and weighed the mass again. After that, we measured 10 ml of 3M HCl in a graduated cylinder. Using a hot plate, we heated the mixture until all the zinc dissolved and until all the water disappeared. We had to take it off right after the water disappeared or else the salt would decompose and start releasing chlorine gas. So after we took it off the hot plate, we placed it on a hot pad and let it cool with a little help from the paper fan. After that we weighed the beaker and recorded the mass. This was the end of the lab procedure. We didn't want to finish the work cause we were too tired so we decided to eat the Doritos from Mole day. Even though that was a long time ago, the Doritos still tasted pretty good.

Chemical Composition Weekly Quiz #1

This was actually a very hard test. I don't know how to explain it. Even though it felt like you knew everything on the test, you couldn't solve anything. The first question was what threw me off. I don't know why but on most chem tests, the first question is very difficult. If you don't skip it and come back to it later, you will not be able to do good on the test as a whole. I was very anxious about what this test is gonna do to my grade. Also, this test was 17 questions so if u miss 4, you are down to a C. When I got the results, I was pretty happy with what I got. I mean it wasn't the best, but it also wasn't the worst. I know already about two of the questions I missed. What I don't know is the third question that I missed. I was even more happier when I found out that my grade only dropped about 1%. Well that's it for today. Cya later, my fans.

Hydrate Lab

This lab was pretty interesting. The pre-lab question was kind of new this time. We get to choose if we want to be Person A or Person B. Person A gets the lab information question and Person B gets the math question. I was Person B... It was intense. My partner got his question right in 10 seconds and that put more pressure on me. I was nervous. And we only got 3 minutes for the pre-lab. I passed it all right. The lab was about heating copper sulfate. I was happy that we got to play around with fire. I was even happier that there weren't any accidents. The bad part was that heating and weighing was pretty much all we did in the lab. It wasn't anything else. I was amazed that this took us all hour though. Well atleast now I am confident in calculating everything. I think I am gonna ace the test we are taking tomorrow. I don't think I need luck for this test. I will be back to post again tomorrow, after the test.

Lecture on Hydrates

Yesterday in class, we learned about hydrates. Hydrates are compounds that have water molecules as part of their chemical structure. If they lose the water in them by like evaporation, they become an anhydride. A substance can only be an anhydride if it was a hydrate before. The cool thing about hydrates is that if they become anhydride, they can be rehydrated by adding water to them. The nomenclature for hydrates is very simple. It is regular nomenclature plus the word hydrate with a number prefix for hydrate. The prefix represents the number of water molecules. We also learned to use the ratio of the anhydrous salt to the water to solve equations. These equations were fairly easy to complete but a small mistake in any calculation can be devastating. This lecture was not in the textbook, but it was specifically for the Hydrate lab that we will be doing on Monday.

Here is an example of a Hydrate

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Pre-Test for Chemical Composition Unit

This test was very hard. I arrived a little late first of all but time wasn't the issue on this test. I had absolutely no clue what this unit was about. I didn't know the main thing in this pre-test. We previously didn't learn on how to convert from moles to mass and mass to moles and the test had like 30 of those questions. The only thing I did on this test was guessing. I knew about the last couple questions as they didn't have to ado much about moles. I have never used moles before so I didn't know what to do with them. A mole is a pretty big number and I have no idea what it represents. I am not looking forward to this unit. I don't like the fact that we have two tough units in a row and that could be terrible for my grade. I actually did surprisingly well on my unit exam for last unit, which was measurement. I think my grade is safe but, not for long...

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