2/2 to 2/8

Blog Reflection by Raymond Zhao

In, the past week we learned about  equilibrium.This included learning about the special properties of reactions like how they are affected by temperature and pressure. Some important formulas were 

 and Kp=Kc(RT)^delta(n)

 Also, the unique properties of certain reactio were taught from experiemtns. Another important idea was the types of reactions: exo and endothermic. The properties of the reaction will determine how the reaction will shift when other factors are changed. The pogils and packets and the book all really helped my understanding of equilibrium. I really liked how the packets take me step by step and If I have a question I can ask my table group.
    All these ideas about equilibrium can be connected by the different ideas I learned already like the different thermodynamic ideas. The earlier lectures and activities all greatly help me come to a understanding of the ideas this week because it established a good base for it. Thus, I rate the difficulty regarding last week about a 7/10. This is because it was challenging, but not such much that it can't be learned. I still wonder how to calculate K for reactions by changing other reaction's. They don’t make too much sense to me.Since that this my only question from last week, I'd say that my understanding is 9.5/10.
    Likewise, my participation was a good 9.5/10 too. I asked question and actively learned. Because of my good participation, my understanding was good.
    I feel fairly confident in memorization capabilities for learning trends.  But, I still need to work on memorizing on all the visualizations because I sometimes forget. For example, I don’t really get the idea of K much. The concepts taught in last week have made me feel more confident about equilibrium. I now know the concepts a lot more clearly and I know how to find all the important properties.
    Overall, the past week has been great. I learned a lot. Activities such as worksheets and white boarding greatly helped my understanding and development. I loved the time with groups to work together because it allowed interaction with each other. I feel like this helped me the most.

Blog Reflection 1/21/14

Gas Laws were taught Last week:

Boyle’s Law P1V1 = P2V2

Charles’s Law V1 / T1 = V2 / T2

Gay-Lussac's Law P1 / T1 = P2 / T2

Avogadro's Law V1 / n1 = V2 / n2

The Combined Gas Law P1V1 / T1 = P2V2 / T2

The Ideal Gas law PV = nRT

Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures Ptotal = Pa + Pb + Pc + …

van der Waals equation

Density of a Gas D=m/V

Graham’s Law r1/r2= sqrt (M2/M1)

Partial Pressure Pa= (P total)( mole fraction)

The average kinetic Energy of a Single Gas molecule KE=(½)mv^2

Molecular weight M=mRT/PV

Speed of molecules V rms=sqrt(3RT/M)

These laws all contribute to a greater understanding of the behavior of Gases. When used together, these laws allows scientists to find the speed of molecules, density, volume, pressure, temperature, number of moles, and many more things from just a few known characteristics. This is what makes these laws so great. Each law connects with each other like how Boyle’s Law, Charles’s Law and Gay lussac’s law makes the The combined Gas Law. Also, I’m a very mechanical thinking person. I really like like how these laws are “plug and chug.” In other words, the relationships are very straightforward and do not need super deep logical thinking because you can just use the formulas.  

I am  confident in my understanding of Gas laws. It would be about a 9.5/10. Like I said before, I really like straightforward, mechanical calculations. If I am given all the needed variables I can calculate the unknown. However, I did have some problems when I was given a longer problem which required multiple steps. I get really confused on those types. Luckily, there was a lot of whiteboarding and there was even a dry ice day. These activities helped me see what all the numerical variables meant in real life so I could make a faster and better connection. What also helped was that I participated with my table group during discussions and that I activity asked questions. I would rate my participation a 9.5/10 as well.

Unfortunately, I am still confused on multiple step problems. On the taskchain and chemistry worksheets, I do not know what to do because there is no clear path (By clear path I mean it is not as straightforward like finding V2 if T1, T2, and V1 is given). I think to fix this, I should just do more problems to get more experience.

After learning about Gas Laws, I am much more aware of my environment. I know why balloons slowly shrink, why dry ice makes things become tiny, and why heating something causes it to grow. I now wonder if any Gas laws like PV=nRT works on solids or liquids when the constant R is changed.

Blog Reflection 12/16/13

Blog Reflection by Raymond Zhao

In the past week, we learned about thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is a very important topic in chemistry. Some important ideas about thermodynamics are the first and second law of thermodynamics, standard state conditions, enthalpy, heat of formation, bond energy, hess’s law, heat capacity, specific heat, entropy, and gibbs free energy. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can only be converted and not destroyed; the energy in the universe is constant. The second law of thermodynamics states that if a process is spontaneous in one direction, it can not be spontaneous in the reverse direction. Standard state conditions are used for state functions: enthalpy change, entropy change, and free energy energy. The conditions are that all gases are at 1 atmosphere pressure, all liquids are pure, all solids are pure, all solutions are at 1 M concentration, and usually the temperature is 25 or 298 kelvin.  Enthalpy change is a measure of the energy released or absorbed by the substance; when bonds are formed, energy is released, and when bonds are broken, energy is being absorbed. It is calculated by the formula: Enthalpy change= Enthalpy change in products- Enthalpy of products- Enthalpy of reactants. Heat of formation is the change in energy when one mole of a compound is formed from its component pure elements under standard state conditions(usually at 25C). Bond energy is the energy required to break a bond- it is always an endothermic reaction. Hess’s Law states that if a reaction can be describes as a series of steps, then the enthalpy change for the overall reaction is simply the sum of the enthalpy change for the entire process. Heat capacity is how much the temperature of an object is raised when it absorbs heat. A high heat capacity would mean that by absorbing a large amount of heat would result in a smaller change in temperature. Specific heat is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of substance one degree celsius. Entropy is a measure of the “randomness” of a substance. If there are more particles or the particles have more kinetic energy, then it would have more entropy compared to a substance that has less particles and less kinetic energy. Gibbs free energy is a way to measure the spontaneity of a process. This could also be said as measuring how thermodynamically favored a process is. All of these important concepts link together so that reactions can be better understood and so people know how energy behaves.

Many activities allowed me to have a good understanding of thermodynamics. There was a precipitation lab that made students learn about the behaviors of compounds and the characteristics of them. We would test each substance and observe the reaction it had with other substances. Also, whiteboarding helped greatly. I learned a lot from discussing with my table.

I would say my participation was very good. I activity asked questions and I answered some questions from my tablemates. I would rate my participation as a 10/10. My good participation lead me to have a pretty good understanding too. I would rate my understanding as a 9/10. I still am very confused when it comes to things that have to do with equations. I fully understand the other concepts like entropy and or gibbs free energy, but a chemical equation always seems to confuse me. I think I need to rewatch the lectures that have to do with the chemical equations. Then I should do some practice questions that are online or something.

Overall, I have learned a lot from last week. I know a ton about thermodynamics now. I can tell which way energy or heat is going in many everyday processes, like heating a cup of water. It is very cool understanding how basic things in daily works. Now I just want to understand how to use chemical equations to calculate properties from simple reactions. I am still pretty confused on doing that.

Blog Reflection; Week of 10/7/13

Blog Reflection by Raymond Zhao

In the past week, we finished learning all the material needed in the trimester. We took the test about intermolecular forces (properties of solids and liquids determined by the intermolecular forces and the structure; the role of bonding in vapor; and Lattice energy). Also we started to focus on the brass lab and got the first lab returned. A better idea of lab reports was given to us since the brass lab is due on monday.

On monday we reviewed for tuesday’s test about intermolecular forces: solids and liquids are both determined by the type molecules it has and the intermolecular bonding. Solids can be a Covalent network solid, Molecular solid, and and metallic solid. Covalent network solid is when the molecules are covalently bonded to each to each other to form a strong and hard to break bond. Molecular solids are covalent molecules that are held with london dispersion forces, thus, they are not very strong. Metallic solids are when the molecules split so that the cations are surrounded by a “sea” of anions. Liquids are very different from solids. Liquids are when molecules spread out instead of being in a clump. Their viscosity is determined by the intermolecular forces: the greater the intermolecular force, the greater the viscosity. Vapor pressure is the pressure the vapor of a substance exerts. The vapor is from the molecules that can “fall out” of the liquid because the molecules are just moving around randomly. Vapor pressure and boiling point are inversely related. Lattice energy is about the energy to separate the ions in ionic bonds. The energy depends on the charge and size of the ions. The greater the charge is away from 0 and the smaller the ion is, the greater the lattice energy is. This makes sense because bigger charges and smaller ions means more attraction.

The ideas add up learned last week not only ended the information need for the trimester, but also it summed up and organized all the ideas learned before now. I know now the importance of periodic trends and bonds in everyday life because I learned about it.

The learning heavily enforced by class activities like pogils, whiteboarding, and discussions. I enjoyed working with my group because they helped me alot. I think asking questions and getting them answered helped me the most.

I would say my participation was a 9/10 because I actively asked questions and worked well with my group. We had very nice discussions that helped greatly. My understanding is about a 8/10. I sometimes do not remember my polyatomics and periodic trends. I still need to study more about bonding in general, I think I don’t a few key details that contribute to some confusion. Maybe I need relook at the powerpoints.

Overall, my understanding of bonding, and chemistry in general, definitely has gotten better. I now know about intermolecular bonds, intramolecular bonds, and much more. I like how knowing this explains the properties of daily things like water and sugar. I now think about everything by their chemical and physical properties.

Blog Reflection; Week of 11/3/13

Blog Reflection by Raymond Zhao

In the past week, we finished learning about bonds (since the test is next tuesday or monday). We learned about the properties of solids and liquids determined by the intermolecular forces and the structure; the role of bonding in vapor; and Lattice energy.

Solids and Liquids are both determined by the type molecules it has and the intermolecular bonding. Solids can be a Covalent network solid, Molecular solid, and and metallic solid. Covalent network solid is when the molecules are covalently bonded to each to each other to form a strong and hard to break bond. Molecular solids are covalent molecules that are held with london dispersion forces, thus, they are not very strong. Metallic solids are when the molecules split so that the cations are surrounded by a “sea” of anions. Liquids are very different from solids. Liquids are when molecules spread out instead of being in a clump. Their viscosity is determined by the intermolecular forces: the greater the intermolecular force, the greater the viscosity.

Vapor pressure is the pressure the vapor of a substance exerts. The vapor is from the molecules that can “fall out” of the liquid because the molecules are just moving around randomly. Vapor pressure and boiling point are inversely related.

Lattice energy is about the energy to separate the ions in ionic bonds. The energy depends on the charge and size of the ions. The greater the charge is away from 0 and the smaller the ion is, the greater the lattice energy is. This makes sense because bigger charges and smaller ions means more attraction.

All these ideas add up to form a better knowledge about intermolecular bonding, or the bonding/ attractive forces between molecules. They tell the main ideas of compounds: the melting points, the boiling points, the strength, and the structure.

These experiments were heavily enforced by class activities like pogils, whiteboarding, and discussions. I enjoyed working with my group because they helped me alot. I think asking questions and getting them answered helped me the most.

I would say my participation was a 9/10 because I actively asked questions and worked well with my group. We had very nice discussions that helped greatly. However, I my understanding is about a 7/10 still. I am not too sure about where the molecules bond with each other. I sometimes see molecules that doesn’t seem to have a place to bond. For example, how would water molecules bond with each other in water? Would the oxygen bond to another hydrogen or something? I am very confused about this.

I still need to study more about bonding in general, I think I don’t a few key details that contribute to some confusion. Maybe I need relook at the powerpoints.

Overall, my understanding of bonding definitely has gotten better. I now know about intermolecular bonds instead of just intramolecular bonds. I like how knowing this explains the properties of daily things like water and sugar. I now think about molecules in a bigger picture.

Yay! My guess was right!

Blog Reflection; Week of 10/27/13

Blog Reflection by Raymond Zhao

In the past week, we dived deeper into bonds.This included learning about the special properties of the bonds like melting points and strength. Also, the unique properties of ice were taught from models about skating. Another important idea was the types of bonds: Network covalent bonds and metallic bonds. Network bonds is when atoms are held together by a lattice of covalent bonds. The electrons are held in place and cannot move. In a metallic bond, it is basically a group of nuclei surrounded by a sea of mobile electrons. Also, I learned about van der waals forces. There are dipole dipole forces, london dispersion forces, and hydrogen bonds.  Dipole dipole forces is when the the molecules connect a positive end to the negative end so it must be polar. London Dispersion forces occur between non polar molecules. LDFs are not very strong. Hydrogen bonds are like dipole dipole even more strong. The pogils and packets and the book all really helped my understanding of bonds. I really liked how the packets take me step by step and If I have a question I can ask my table group.

All these ideas about ionic bonds can be connected by the different ideas I learned already like the different charges or the periodic trends. The earlier lectures and activities all greatly help me come to a understanding of the ideas this week because it established a good base for it. Thus, I rate the difficulty regarding last week about a 7/10. This is because it was challenging, but not such much that it can't be learned. I still wonder why hydrogen bonds and LDF work because they don’t make too much sense to me.Since that this my only question from last week, I'd say that my understanding is 9.5/10.

    Likewise, my participation was a good 9.5/10 too. I asked question and actively learned. Because of my good participation, my understanding was good.

    I feel fairly confident in memorization capabilities for learning bonds.  But, I still need to work on memorizing on all the visualizations because I sometimes forget. For example, I don’t really get the sea of electrons too much. The concepts taught in last week have made me feel more confident about covalent bonds. I now know the concepts a lot more clearly and I know how to find all the important properties.

    Overall, the past week has been great. I learned a lot. Activities such as worksheets and white boarding greatly helped my understanding and development. I loved the time with groups to work together because it allowed interaction with each other. I feel like this helped me the most.

Blog Reflection; Week of 10/20/13

Blog Reflection by Raymond Zhao

We learned about the other type of bonds in the past week, ionic bonds. Ionic bonds are bonds that are made of atoms that aren’t metals so they are nonmetals like hydrogen or carbon or oxygen. Also, ionic bonds can include polyatomics. Before learning about ionic bonds on thursday, there were review days for lewis structures and ionic bonding, a test day, a mole day, and a pretest day. So, we didn’t get very in depth on ionic bonds yet. However, there were still a lot of material covered: Ionic bonds are when atoms give up or receive electrons instead of sharing them like ionic bonds. They strength of bonds depends on the size (larger atoms=weaker bonds) and the energy level (higher the energy level= greater the melting point and strength).

So far, there were only 2 pogils about ionic bonding. The pogils were fairly easy for me, but this was because ionic bonds were taught in ACIS 2 and the pogils were just introducing us to the topic. I remember in ACIS 2 there were a ton of pogils and activities dedicated to ionic bonds so it is okay if I know some background information about ionic bonds.I still learned about the bond strength from the pogils so it was still very valuable.

My participation was very good last week, maybe a 10/10. I participated, especially on mole day’s jokes, every day. Because of this I think my understanding on ionic bonds are really good-10/10. I am very confident about my chemistry ability right now, but I sure this will change once more complex topics about ionic bonds are introduced. However, I am still a bit confused on how the number of orbitals affect ionic bonds. So I need to work on that more.

I wonder if atoms with 7 valence electrons could give up 7 electrons because I never did that before. I would think that it is not possible, but I don’t know for sure. For example, could chloride give up 7 electrons to have an octet as an alternative to gaining 1 electron?

After this week, my views on ionic bonding has changed because I now think of the bond strength and the melting points. I also can quickly think of the charges and valence of electrons of different element based on the group in the periodic table