Reactions are all around us and it is common to not think about the forces behind the chemical reaction’s that are present in our lives. From our bodies to our houses; chemical reactions occur and they drive our modern society. Over the past few weeks, we have been learning all about the different types of chemical reactions and have been beginning to understand their prevalence in society. My group and I eventually created a video centered around a self-chosen driving question. Our video was focused on one chemical reaction type (combustion).
*Written reflection
Major Competencies
Contributing to care of self, others, community, and the wrold through individual or collabortive approaches.
With any science, it is important to apply it to real life whenever possible. It is easy to not think about how the research you are doing relates to you. In my project, I focused on tying my research to my life whenever possible. For example at the end of the video we created, we gave suggestions to how people could use the knowledge we discovered. I plan on remembering what I have learned and created next time
Analyzing cause-and-effect relationships
The project we focused on global warming which by its nature is a very crucial human cause-and-effect relationship. We had to understand the true impact of human actions through research and our experiment. We diagnosed that global warming is nearly completely a human-caused issue and we discovered how powerful these actions can affect environments.
Collect reliable data (quantitative and qualitative)
During our experiment, we measured the impact of the incandescent bulb to balance its effect on all three greenhouses
In our experiment, we forced to explore different ways to collect data. In the end, we choose to used ice cubes and thermometers to measure temperature. We used a number of different methods to ensure quality data including balancing the thermometers and ensuring that greenhouses we created began at equal temperatures. We took a number of different precautions and ultimately our data could be improved with more trails but within the limits of my experiment, I was quite proud of our efforts.
Major Concepts
Lewis Diagrams
Lewis Diagrams were a critical concept that we learned this unit. They allow me to simplify and understand the different compounds and molecules. I found that using Lewis diagrams to share and understand chemistry was infinitely easier than Bohr diagrams that we learned last year. Lewis Diagrams gave me the ability to share my ideas so much easier and I believe it to be the most valuable competency I have learned.
Understanding different scientific concepts are always essential to my learning but being able to apply those skills is infinitely valuable than reciting them on a test. I will always work to be able to apply every one of my skills and in a project; I am able to combine research, competencies, and concepts to create a product that I am proud of. I am proud of what I accomplished in this project and I think I showed my skills well this project.
