Chemistry Coding

In this project, we learned a lot about chemistry, but even more about coding. Throughout the project, we did a few experiments and a lot of theorizing, but most of all (in my case at least) what we did was coding, and more or less learning how to code in scratch.

At first, we did a lot of textbook work. It was boring but from the textbooks was how I learned more or less what I needed to know to do the project, although all you really needed to know to do everything but the test was, that atoms go around faster the hotter they are or the more energy they have and the colder they are or the less energy they have, the slower they go.

About the project. I started with trying to do a platformer (like Geometry dash) but after a few days of trying, I realized that coding my game wasn’t just going to be easy. So I re-started completely. I figured out how the functions worked to make a pong like game that steadily speeds up.

CIt was a two player game which was pretty fun. Making it got my knowledge of coding in scratch to a new level and I started on an atom simulator that would be like the one on the website our science teacher showed us. In the end, I didn’t do it fully because of some functions not working as planned and because I couldn’t do something which would more or less do if TEMP = 520 delete scratch H and scratch O, If TEMP = 520 run scratch H2O. Maybe there is some way to do that in scratch but for now I have no idea.

Now onto what I learned, didn’t learn, and what challenged me the most. I learned a lot about molecular theory, the formation of elements, and the kinetic molecular theory. It wasn’t challenging to learn it once you figured it out. I learned it and went on. Then there came the challenging part which was the coding. The coding was hard because no one knew that well how to code in scratch and we had to learn by testing different functions. It took a while to do so and when I got to the level that I was better than someone who just started but not good enough to make a good game. So, now I can more or less understand the statements but not fully incorporate them and know how to do what I should do to do what I want to do.

I think that in the end I did learn a lot about atoms and molecular theory and I also learned a lot about coding in scratch. I think that the people at scratch HQ should put in more functions and IF statements. It was a fun project and and I’m excited for the next one which if my sources are correct will, be about math 🙂 Because math is my favourite part of science.

Now onto the part where I talk about the competencies.

We did a lot of teamwork throughout the project although I should’ve lead my group to have the work more equally distributed and not as much with me doing one thing and my other group members, especially Nathan not knowing what to do for most of the time. Next time I will try to make the groups I work in more socialist and democratic instead of a capitalist dictatorship