Stoich Links

Khan Academy: One of my favorite sites for studying chemistry. Has an excellent method of preparing one for an exam and teaching the lesson. The stoichiometry lesson is very detailed and helpful.

ChemTeam: A great master-post of everything stoich related.

Magic Number Method: A shorter way of doing stoich problems may be helpful if you find yourself taking too much time on them. I, however, will continue doing the method we learned in class because I don't really want to learn a new method this close to the test date.

Chem 4 Kids: This site explains stoich in very simple terms.

Science is Cool: Some more stoich practice!

Lab Day 2

On day 2 of the Copper Chloride & Iron Lab, we were able to see that the copper had grown immensely over night. It was very interesting to see what was once a thin layer of copper on the nail, had about tripled in size in one day. The smell definitely indicated that it was copper. After removing the nail, we siphoned out the liquid, then cleansed the copper with acid, then water. It was actually quite difficult to siphon out the liquid without catching bits of copper, which would throw off the ending mass of the copper if we had accidentally siphoned off some of the copper.

Copper Chloride and Iron Lab

We had another lab today that stretches out over 3 days. Today's part consisted of mixing water and copper chloride (which was a stunning aquamarine color, I do say) and then putting an iron nail in the liquid, letting it sit. It took about 5 minutes, and as nothing major happened today, I am looking forward as to see what the results will look like tomorrow.

Such a pretty color!

The copper chloride when reacted with water, was a tealish color, as shown in the picture below. After being stirred a bit, it turned more blue in color.

Stirring the copper chloride and water

Next came the nail! As you can see, the liquid is much more blue after being stirred for a bit.

Almost instantly after dropping the nail into the liquid, a rust-colored solid started forming around the bit of nail that was in the liquid. It was very fascinating to see the copper form so quickly. I am very curious as to how big it will get tomorrow!

The part immersed in the liquid is surrounded by copper already!

Stoich Quiz Reflection

Today's quiz was pretty easy, at least for me. I finished about 20 minutes into class which is definitely a first. I usually take up to the bell, sometimes even more, to finish quizzes/tests. I even used some time to double check my answers. Although, it does freak me out a bit that I finished so early as I'm worried I did something wrong. However, I don't really know what I could've messed up on. We'll see though.

http://memegenerator.net/instance/56514255

Everything was pretty straightforward, and the questions were easy to follow.  For a couple of them, however, you had to really read the equation/problem fully to know what steps you need to take to solve it. I went back and caught some of my mistakes thankfully.

This site has a large variety of stoichiometry review games which seems like an interesting way to study.

First Couple Stoich' Lessons

We had our first lectures on stoichiometry today and Friday. Everything has been pretty easy as it just follows a few basic steps, and as long as you memorize which steps to take and when, it can be easily done. Other than that, all you need is knowing conversion skills which we learned in the measurement unit. The conversion factors we have been using are moles and grams, converting a certain number of moles of one substance into grams of another.

This Bozeman Science video covers what we learned incase you need a refresher, or you're having some trouble.

http://www.sciencewoodlands.com/honors-chemistry/stoichiometry

Overall, it seems to me that this unit is one of the no-brainer ones. Thankfully, the majority of the units for this semester have been fairly easy, so it doesn't seem like the final will be too bad.

Metals Lab

I had a great time in lab today. It was definitely one of my favorite labs as I loved seeing all these unexpected reactions. These observations ranged from a milky bubbling (Ca+H2O created a white bubbly substance, like when you put a straw into a glass of milk and blow into it) to a dark brown, murky substance (one word, nasty). The reactions that included calcium as a reactant tended to be very violent, and the majority of them produced smoke. Another reaction gave off a very pungent metallic odor. We couldn't tell which one as we filled the wellplate up, making it impossible to identify the exact reaction that was giving off that odor.

Some links that will be helpful for the test tomorrow are: 
https://www.stolaf.edu/depts/chemistry/courses/toolkits/121/js/naming/elec.htm
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/oxidation-reduction/redox-oxidation-reduction/v/oxidizing-and-reducing-agents-1
http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/chemistry/oxidation_numbers/quiz5772.html

RedOx Reactions & Oxidation Numbers

Today's lesson was more on the difficult side for me. I was fine with double replacement, but I'm a bit iffy on the acid base reactions and the redox ones we learned about today. There is a lot to memorize, and some aspects are confusing. I think I will just need to watch some review videos and do vigorous sessions of practice.

http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hydro/GWtutor/Plume_Busters/remediate_refs/redox_chemistry.htm

To summarize, redox reactions are reactions in which electrons have been transferred. This transfer can be separated into either reduction or oxidation, memorized by the mnemonic, OIL RIG. This means "Oxidation is Losing (Electrons) and Reduction is Gaining (Electrons)". We also learned about oxidation numbers in which each ion/element follows a set of rules to determine the number of electrons they lose/gain.

I am a bit worried for Thursday's unit exam, as I am still confused on some portions of this unit. I should study. A lot. Bozeman's video on Redox reactions helped with today's lesson, and I plan on looking at Crash Course's as well.

Quiz and Lecture Reflection

The 11 question quiz we took today was not bad in means of content, but the timed aspect of it gave me much stress. Additionally, I kept getting the wrong balance for the balancing equation questions, and I had to use extra time to focus on those to make sure I was getting the right balance. And even further, I didn't have much time to look over my answers. I really need better time-management skills, especially when under pressure.

http://study.com/academy/lesson/neutralization-reaction-definition-equation-examples.html

In other news, the lecture today on acid-base reactions was new and a bit difficult, as it's very different than the reactions we've been learning about so far. We'll definitely have to know what distinguishes strong v. weak acids/bases, which is what makes it so complicated for me. I don't really understand the difference between a strong and weak acid or base. This video from Crash Course looks pretty helpful.

Chemical Reactions Lab

Friday's lab was a lab I thoroughly enjoyed! The lab had us combining various substances and seeing whether they'd have a chemical reaction or not. For the most part, our predictions were correct. We found two exceptions to the solubility rules. Potassium iodide and copper chloride would not have a reaction based on the solubility rules, but did indeed have one when we combined the two substances in lab. Additionally, we predicted that some reactions would result in a product of lead chloride, but lead chloride is actually soluble. It was really fascinating to watch how once one substance touched the other, the product immediately changed color or texture. Some products were really cool-looking while others produced an unpleasant color and texture. 

I see you, Column 1 Row 2!! (One of the most unpleasant substances)

On another note, we have a quiz tomorrow that will only contain 11 questions. One part of me is extremely grateful as it's very short, but another part of me is dreading it and fearing that I will miss some questions, giving me a much higher chance of getting a bad score on it. We'll see though.

Describing Chemical Reactions

Our lesson today revolved around breaking a molecular chemical formula, which uses the double replacement we learned yesterday, into a complete ionic formula, which shows the charges of each ion found in each reactant and product. Finally, that complete ionic formula can be reduced into the net ionic formula, which cancels out all repeated ions. I thought this lesson was pretty simple, no tricks or anything. The lesson used a lot of the solubility rules which are still pretty difficult for me to remember as there are many exceptions to each rule.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/393220611187663524/

Tomorrow is a lab day, and I am super stoked for it. It seems really fascinating and cool, and I cross my fingers that me and my lab partner will get into lab.

On a side note, I got my grade back for the last unit exam, and even though I did not receive a bad score, I'm not 100% happy with it, ya know? I'd wish I'd prepared some more which would've helped (BICARBONATE!!!!!!!).

Kick-off to Chemical Reactions

Yesterday, we started our Chemical Reactions unit. We first learned about balancing equations. This was pretty basic, and it was almost like chemistry commen sense. Of course you have to make sure both sides of the reaction are balanced in terms of charge and amount of atoms/ions. We also learned the CHO method.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/45528646206046702/

Today, we had a lesson on predicting chemical yield. As I came into class about halfway through due to club pictures, I missed a large chunk of the lecture, unfortunately. However, I got the notes from my lab partner, yet I was still slightly confused on the stuff I had missed. After a bit of practice, I think I have the hang of it. One thing I need to look over a lot is the solubility rules for Friday. It'll be rough. Wish me luck.

Chemical Composition Test Reflection

After taking the unit test today, I believe it is safe to say that I am smiling on the outside, but feeling pain on the inside. I studied a lot for this test, and even then, I don't think it was enough to prepare me for today. The majority of the questions were moderately easy, but I didn't get a chance to double-check them, so I pray to the chemistry gods that they were correct. The rest of the test, I was either confused on the wording, completely blanked on how to solve them, or simply didn't know how to do them. I guessed on roughly five of the questions which isn't too bad, I guess. We'll see though...

https://raymcdonald.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/caste-your-anxious-moments-on-jesus/

Throughout this unit, the majority of the concepts were not difficult at all, I guess just applying those concepts on the test was what made it so difficult. I am definitely going to need to review this chapter for the final exam. This is probably the first chemistry exam/quiz that I have not felt fairly confident in my answers. I'm really hoping that I did decent on it.

Formula of a Chloride Lab

I think with all this practice, these empirical formulas are becoming easier and easier to solve. Today's pre-lab quiz was really simple, and I was stoked that we were able to confer with our partners. It allowed me to catch some simple calculation errors that would've maybe given be the incorrect answer. However, I think the concept of finding empirical formulas is very simple. I just need to practice and memorize some more. The lab we did today was similar to Monday's lab, except this time, we heated zinc and hydrochloric acid. After a couple minutes on the hot plate, the zinc would dissolve into the acid, as shown in this picture.

The resulting product was a solid resembling table salt. 

Like the Formula of a Hydrate lab, we took the masses of the beaker, beaker plus zinc, and beaker plus zinc/acid. These masses would be used at the end to calculate the empirical formula of zinc chloride.

Overall, this lab was interesting. The only thing I absolutely despised was the SMELL of the chlorine gas. It smelled kind of like metal, but VERY pungent metal. Looking forward to future labs.

Empirical Formulas

Today's lesson was pretty simple, but chockful of tedious types of problems. We finally learned what empirical formulas are, as many empirical problems were on the pretest which I did not understand at all. However, after the lesson today, I am now aware that they are really simple. Empirical formulas are simply the lowest whole number ratio of the elements in a compound. For example, H2O is an empirical formula as the numbers of elements cannot be reduced any further. On the other hand, N2O4 is not an empirical, rather a molecular formula because it can be reduced. When it is reduced to NO2, it becomes an empirical formula. So, pretty straightforward. We also learned how to find the empirical formula of a compound using a given mass or percent of an element in that compound. 

Here are some empirical formulas practice websites: Chemistry.about and SoftSchools

Bozeman Science also has a video that contains some empirical formula lessons.

I am looking forward to our lab tomorrow. Hopefully, I will be able to look over the lab and my notes tomorrow and a bit tonight as I have not had much time due to having to stay at school until after 8 p.m for the fall play tech week. BTW,  everyone should come to the play!! Opening night is tomorrow at 7 p.m, and tickets are 5$. I'd love to see some of my chem pals support drama club!

Formula of a Hydrate Lab

On Monday, we had our pre-lab quiz for the copper sulfate hyrdate lab. To my relief, my partner and I both passed! I had been stressing over it for the entire day, so I was very glad to have passed. We first took the mass of the test tube and then the mass of the test tube and the copper sulfate. Next, we used the bunsen burner to heat the substance until it turned white, indicating that it had changed into an anhydrous salt. Apparently, we were supposed to take the exact number that was shown on the scale, but instead, we rounded the mass numbers to the nearest thousandths as that was what was on the lab paper. This led to a large percentage of error when we calculated for "n" of the hydrate based on our mass numbers. It was actually 14%! We went back and tried to recall the exact numbers that were on the scale. We also had to reweigh some of the items to get the accurate mass reading. When we re-calculated for "n" with our more accurate mass numbers, we still got about 14% error. Our last option was to heat the substance some more, making it much more whiter. This led to a decrease in the mass of the test tube plus the anhydrous salt. With THIS new mass number, "n" was much closer to the needed value of 5, giving us only a 1% error!

Final thoughts on the lab: I believed it was a pretty interesting lab; It was super cool to watch the blue gradually turn into white as the water evaporated. Hopefully, next time we will remember to use the whole mass reading on the scales to prevent errors.

Hydrates and Anhydrous Salts

On Friday, we learned about hydrates and anhydrous salts and how to solve conversion problems with them. I believe that these past couple conversion lessons are pretty easy with a lot of practice. It is however difficult to remember all of these rules and formulas for various types of problems, but I just need some more practice. The big picture idea for this lesson is that hydrates are substances that contain water molecules, and anhydrous salts are substances that previously contained water molecules. When water is removed from the hydrate, the anhydrous salt is what is left over. ChemTeam  contains some good practice problems for figuring out the formula for a hydrate.

http://fphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/Compounds/G0000P8DRfn82fkA/C0000AGiG6IN5fGI

We have a pre-lab quiz coming up on Monday which I am extremely anxious about. I have been studying quite a bit, but I am worried that a question will completely throw me off, and I won't be able to participate like during the Aspirin Lab. I will be practicing those hydrate problems to become more efficient at doing them in order to use my time wisely during the pre-lab quiz. The lab looks very interesting, and I very much hope I will be able to participate. Fingers crossed.

First Lessons on the Mole

Today and Wednesday were lecture days. After being so confused while taking the pre-test, I was surprised to learn how fairly simple these first couple concepts are. It is mainly converting moles into various units and vice versa for both elements and compounds. Doing more practice will definitely make me more efficient at doing these sorts of problems. This site, Chemistry.wustl.edu, looks very helpful. I believe I have stated before that one of my favorite chemistry videos to watch are Bozeman videos; this one corresponds to the Mole lesson. Another video of his that is very detailed and easy to follow is this one explaining mole conversions.

http://t-shirtguru.com/2013/01/31/mole-problems-t-shirt-mentalfloss/

At first, I was a bit confused since I thought that moles and molecules were the same things, but in reality, moles are just a unit of measuring particle amount. Moles can either be of atoms of an element or molecules of a compound. Additionally, it will be crucial to memorize those polyatomic ions and nomenclature rules. I will definitely be reviewing those as making a naming mistake leads to wrong answers.

Chemical Composition Pre-Test

Today we took our unit pretest on chemical composition. The test contained questions regarding density and molecules. I was uber confused on the questions asking how many molecules in a specific mass or volume. Some questions I tried and re-tried calculating, but it didn't work, so I just guessed. This unit seems to be one of the harder units. I hope those confusing concepts will be made clear after the lectures. One concept I had not ever heard of were empirical formulas.

http://jencrazyscience.blogspot.com/2012/09/chemical-composition-of-earth.html

I am very curious as to what and how to calculate problems according to molecular mass. I also need to review the poly-atomic ions. Additionally, I am also very interested as to what the project/lab will be for this unit.

Reflection of the Measurement Unit

This unit has drawn to an end as we took our unit test on Thursday. Overall, this unit was not too difficult for me. Some concepts, such as significant figures, took a bit more of review and memorization, but after a bit of practice, I got them down completely. I practiced using Science Geek and KhanAcademy. However, the actual unit test, I am not so confident about. The majority of the test covered the basics of what we learned and were fairly simple, but many questions combined sig figs and dimensional analysis and took a VERY long time to answer. I had to triple check my answers, and some questions I did not even have time to look back at which makes me very worried. Nearing the end-of-class bell, I was frantically trying to recalculate my answers to make sure they were right. Hopefully, I am. 

One thing I was definitely not confident about were the dimensional analysis questions that required MULTIPLE steps, much more than the ones we practiced in class. I will look over this site for some additional help. This video from Crash Course also looks promising.

http://brookdale.jdc.org.il/?CategoryID=311

Reflecting on the party on Friday, I thought everyone brought in some delicious food. However, it didn't help that I came to class with a full stomach, so I was not able to enjoy everyone's food to the full extent. Good job everyone though!

Measurement Quiz Reflection

I thought this first quiz was fairly simple, not bad at all. I'd stated in a previous blog post that I found significant figures pretty confusing, but after rereading the textbook and doing some online practice problems, I found myself getting the hang of it. One resource I found that was extremely helpful was Bozeman Science's video on significant figures. I enjoy watching his videos before any quiz/test as he is excellent at explaining scientific concepts.

One thing I had trouble on were the significant figure questions that included multiple operations. Since the problem would have both multiplication and addition, I was confused on whether to round the answer based on addition rules (lowest decimal) or multiplication rules (lowest number of sig figs). I wish we would've gone over this a bit more in class.

I am curious as to what we will be learning for the rest of the week. My plans for tonight are to work on the last meal project.

Recap of Signficant Figures Lesson

I'd never thought we'd be learning about the importance of zeroes, but today in class, I was proved wrong. The lesson covered how to round with decimals according to chemistry and how to identify significant figures. At first, I had no clue what was going on and was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of rules I needed to remember to accurately solve for answers. I think if I just go over the characteristics of a significant figure some more, I can probably grasp the hang of it. It'll just take some (a lot) of practice. This site contains some great practice problems. I hope we can also do some more in-class practice and review.

http://apchemcyhs.wikispaces.com/Uncertainty+and+Significant+Figures

Mole day is tomorrow!

Thoughts on the Measurement Pre-Test

While taking today's pretest on our new unit on Measurement, I found myself being stumped by a majority of the questions. However, some of the questions could be directly answered simply by looking at the periodic table or calculating some simple math on the calculator. I am interested in this unit because from what it seems, much of the unit revolves around math, and for me personally, math is very straightforward and easy to understand. I'm curious to how the concept of moles will tie in with this unit and also what significant figures mean. A large portion of the test involved significant figures, and as I had no clue what they are nor how they work, I just used some basic rounding rules to calculate my answers. I don't think that was the correct way to identify signficant figures, so I am definitely interested in what they are.

http://softpmomarketing.appspot.com/enterprise_project_performance.html

BTW, I am very much looking forward to Mole Day! (food... nice...)

Aspirin Lab

Today, the Wednesday groups took their pre-lab quiz. The quiz took a long time to complete, and I ran out of time trying to finish writing the steps of the lab. I regret choosing to do the lab today, rather than on Monday, because the questions on Monday were more simple and short. I hope all the aspirin made from Monday turns out well! 

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/taking-aspirin-linked-to-lower-risk-of-colorectal-cancer-201307166473

Final Thoughts on Unit 2: Atomic Structure & Radioactivity

Looking back on this unit, I believe we learned some fairly simple concepts that furthured our knowledge on atomic structure and how atoms react over time. We first learned about the different scientists and what they contributed to our knowledge on atomic structure. Dalton created basic postulates that characterized atoms. JJ Thompson experimented with a cathode ray and discovered the electron. He created a plum pudding model where all the electrons are placed equally apart from one another inside of an atom. Ernest Rutherford performed a gold foil experiment and discovered the proton and neutron, creating a model that had a dense center of positively charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons surround by orbiting electrons. In this unit, we also learned about calculating average atomic mass which was pretty easy; you just needed to double check that the input on the calculator was correct so you get the correct number. For Chapter 19, we began discussing the various types of radioactive decay and the impact it has on an atom's nucleus. Alpha, beta, and gamma were some of the most significant types. Additionally, half-life was another concept we learned. Half life is the time it takes for half of the original sample to decay. I thought this was the hardest concept for me personally since each half life problem would be worded differentlly, and I had trouble figuring out what steps to do to figure them out. However, with some more practice, I'll be able to get half life perfectly! The last thing, we did not learn in class but was also on the test, was nuclear fission & fusion. I wish we would've talked about this in class as it is a pretty interesting topic to discuss. However, this was also a pretty easy concept to understand: fission is neutrons disbanding to form lighter elements and fusion is neutrons joining to create a heavier element.

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom

I walked in today for the unit test feeling very anxious and frazzled. However, once I sat down and took the test, I was feeling pretty good about it. Even the half life problems were not that difficult. Overall, this unit was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the star log project that went along with it.

Half-Life and Forensic Archaeology Lab Recap

Today in class, we learned a new lesson on half-life. An overall summary of what half life is is that half life is the amount of time it takes for half of the substance to decay radioactively. We followed up the lesson with doing some practice problems. The problems would give you the mass, amount of time gone by, and the half life. Then, it would ask you to calculate the remaining mass left over after that time has gone by. For the most part, I thought this lesson was fairly easy, but I should just practice more with a variety of different types of half-life problems. I found this website that has many problems, including a short lesson to refresh my memory. I'll be doing some more practice on there.

http://www.m2c3.com/chemistry/VLI/M3_Topic2/M3_Topic2_print.html

In the second half of the class, we began a new lab dealing with what we just learned about half lives. We started the lab by measuring out a 24 cm by 24 cm paper and then cutting out 567 squares from it. This was extremely (!!!) tedious, but it did not actually take that much time. It was mostly just me trying to make the lines straight and the squares even. This lab's purpose was to give a demonstration on how radioactive decay works. We would scatter the squares onto a surface and then count the number of squares that have the colored side face up. Those squares represented how many "atoms" decayed. We would repeat this process 6 times, each time discarding those decayed atoms. Overall, I think this lab did give me a good model of how elements decay over time, losing their radioactivity.

Recap on Beanium Lab

Upon hearing the name "beanium," I was interested in what it was exactly. Today's "beanium" lab consisted of an activity to apply our new skills of calculating atomic mass. The element we were calculating was beanium, and a single atom was a single bean of varying color (red, black, white, and spotted). Each variant of bean counted as an "isotope" which we then calculated each isotope's mass and average mass. At the end, we calculated the overall atomic mass of all beanium atoms.

Cute l'il red solo cup!

The various "isotopes" of beanium

Overall, I think this lab was an excellent lab which helped us practice calculating atomic mass. The whole "bean as an element" idea was very amusing. I did not find the lab to be particularly difficult in any sort. After today's lab, I think I've got a handle on calculating atomic mass. My favorite part of the lab had to be the mini solo cups for measuring mass; I thought they were absolutely adorable.

Isotopes and More!

Today marked the second lesson of the atomic structure and radioactivity unit. We learned the basics on atoms and what they are made of, how to calculate atomic mass and how to write an isotope in proper notation. The things we learned today covered a big chunk of the questions I was confused on during the pre-test. I now know how to calculate the amount of subatomic particles in a given atom of an element based on the isotope notation. I do not remember learning this concept in Physical Science, so this is an entirely new concept I have just learned. I really enjoy having those practice problems where we can actually interact with it via a wireless app. They let me apply my knowledge and practice for the quizzes/tests.

At first, I was a bit slow on understanding how to solve for the amount of a subatomic particles because I had to remember which number is which and how they all relate to each other. But I think after some more practice, I will be able to do those problems with no problem!

I'm also very interested to see how tomorrow's Beanium Lab will turn out and how it will be executed.

https://www.gourmetstore.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product_full/B108_PebbleBeans.jpg

First Concepts Learned on Atomic Structure & Radioactivity

For the first lesson about atomic structure & radioactivity, we learned about various scientists and their contributions to the atomic model. We also learned how to calculate percentages of an element found in a certain chemical compound. After taking the pre-test, I was incredibly confused by many of the concepts, but after today's lesson, I now understand the basics of the unit. Some highlights of today's lessons include Dalton's Atomic Theory, Thomson & Rutherford's atomic models vs. the modern atomic model, and using the mass of an element to calculate its percentage. I understood everything we learned today, and I look forward to what other concepts we will learn and how they can be applied to the real world.

For some further and more detailed information on what we learned today, Study.com has some awesome resources, including an excellent video and also a quiz for comprehension on the various scientists and their contributions to the atomic theory.

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/443893437972873217

First Thoughts on Atomic Structure & Radioactivity

While taking the pretest for this unit, I was extremely stumped by a majority of the questions. I have no idea what alpha and beta means in terms of chemistry or how to balance chemical reactions. The only concept I understood for the most part was half-life. It was easy to understand that half life is how long it takes for a chemical to retain half of its mass. However, it was difficult to calculate specific percentages of how much chemical is left after a certain amount of time based on its half-life. Overall, I am curious on what new concepts we will learn in this unit and how they can be related back to our first unit, Nomenclature. I am also interested in what labs we will doing in this unit and what they have to do with atomic structure.

http://www.wpclipart.com/energy/atom/atomic_structure.png.html

Final Thoughts About Nomenclature & Frontier Chemistry Project

Overall, this unit was fairly simple to comprehend. It allowed me to understand how scientists name chemicals and how they differ from each other. It was much easier to understand chemical formulas in this class compared to my physical science class. The frontier chemistry project provided real world experience with nomenclature. Identifying chemical constituents found in various medicinal plants gave me an understanding of what chemicals can be found where. Reflecting on the frontier chemistry project, I believe that I could've started working on it much earlier. I regret starting to write information too late, which caused a lot of unnecessary stress. However, the frontier chemistry project was very educational and provided some information on chemical compounds in the wilderness and what their purposes are. I enjoyed taking nature walks and looking at different flower types.

http://www.ipb-halle.de/en/

What I Learned About Nomenclature

During the unit of nomenclature, I learned the various types of chemical compounds and how to name them. There are Type 1, 2, and 3, polyatomic ions, and acids. At first, I had some difficulty understanding charges and balancing them, but after some practice problems, they became extremely simple. I believe the hardest part of the unit was remembering prefixes and suffixes for naming acids because there are many things to remember. Additionally, I also learned the difference between an ionic and covalent compound.

http://www.mvla.net/MVHS/Class/431-Ms-Pham/11287-Chemistry-of-Life.html

Introduction Page

My name is Erin, and I am a sophomore at Francis Howell. In my free time, I enjoy participating in drama club, spending time with friends, and watching movies/TV shows. Science is one of my favorite subjects to learn about; I find it very interesting. 

This blog is for my chemistry class, and it is where I will post various unit projects over the course of this year.