Keeping The Momentum

Spring break is over, and the end of the semester approaches rapidly. It is vital that you do not break your momentum at this point in time. You still have lab activities to complete that are worth more than one third of your final lab grade. As well, you should be making the big push to be on time for lectures and do well on your quizzes. Quiz grades become important if you are on the fence between two letter grades.

Another useful thing you could do at this point in time is to review materials from the entire semester. If you wait until finals week to cram, you will find yourself overwhelmed with information. It is much more useful to use small review periods daily between now and the final exam. Consider studying with a buddy or two. Review of homework problems and workshop concepts is just as important as reviewing your class notes.

Remember key study strategies:

No TV. Avoid distracting environments. Music works for some people, and distracts others.

Take a break after 15-20 minutes. Get up and walk around. Give yourself a 5-10 minute rest before returning to your studies.

Know yourself. Are you a notecard person? Does rewriting your notes help you? Is it better for you to read out loud or silently? Use the strategies that have been successful for you in the past.

My last piece of advice is this: let me know if you are struggling with a particular concept, so we can schedule time to work together. I am here to help when I can.

:-)
Pat

Paper and Poster Expectations for Open Inquiry Lab

Turn in, as a team, one copy of a written report. This is due at the beginning of lab on March 21. Late reports will not be accepted. Posters will be presented in class on March 21. Late posters will not be accepted.

The report should contain:

* A statement of what you hoped to find during your experiment.

* A paragraph listing what system and chemicals you used, as well as any resources you used to plan your lab. This includes specific experiments from your lab text that were useful in the planning process.

* A detailed section that is a combination of your plan you came up with before lab and what you actually did in lab. "We planned to.... We used.... We discovered it was more effective to... once we began doing the experiment."

* Paragraphs stating what you observed with respect to temperature, mass, color, texture, states of matter, etc... Include any changes that occurred. Also include calculation results (Change in temperature values, change in mass values, average heats, average heats of reaction determined from graph slopes, mole ratios determined from graph slopes.) and comparisons to theoretical values.

* Data tables. For example, a table listing time/temperature data or a table listing mass and moles of substance used, change in temperature and heat. REMEMBER that the results of calculations should also be mentioned in PARAGRAPH form for full credit.

* Graphs of your data, where appropriate. Contact Pat via email if you are unsure of how to graph your data. You must submit your data in Excel columns (with headings) if you want Pat to evaluate it. Data for evaluation must be submitted to Pat no later than midnight, Monday, March 17.

* A conclusions paragraph, stating whether you found what you expected to or not. Include any interesting findings and any possible sources of error.

*Reaction equations, where you think most appropriate in your report. Be sure to subscript where appropriate and include states of matter.

Your poster should:

** Be an outline of your report. This means you should use outline formatting and brief phrases to make your points. If you just print out the paragraphs from your report and paste them on your poster, points will be deducted.

** Contain all tables and graphs from your report. Tables should be reformatted to 14 point type minimum. Graphs must be full page, landscape oriented.

**Contain reaction equations with proper states of matter and subscripts. Double check all of your chemical formulas. These should be printed separately from outline materials, and a minimum of 18 point font is suggested for visibility.

Use of color is encouraged on posters, for visual impact. However, graph plot areas should still be white. Use of color is an option, not a requirement. Pictures from books or Internet sources are nice additions if you can find them, but you must properly document on the bottom right corner of each picture the source, including web addresses for Internet sources.

All partners are expected to participate in writing up the report, analyzing the data and making the poster. Points will be deducted for not participating. All partners are encouraged to present the poster together. At least one partner must present the poster, and partners who do not present will be required to do a peer review of a paper. You must see Pat before poster presentations begin if you are electing not to present your poster. Presentations should be 5-8 minutes long approximately. Shorter or longer presentations will not be penalized. However, your presentation should be clear, logically ordered and include all elements of your paper (idea, plan, data analysis, sources of error, conclusion, interesting facts or findings).

Be creative and have FUN!!!

Open Inquiry Lab For March 14

Open inquiry labs are different from our usual format. You are in the driver's seat on this one, Folks!

We have explored mass relationships through our examination of Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate. We have explored stoichiometry and molar relationships through our examination of the reaction between elemental Zinc and Hydrochloric Acid. We have explored heat energy relationships through our examination of the dissolution of Magnesium Sulfate, and as part of our Hess's Law investigation.

Based on what you have learned conceptually, and what you have learned of laboratory technique and inquiry methods, you will design your own experiment. Look over the options listed on your syllabus. The pages related to open inquiry systems are located near the back of your lab text. Discuss with your lab partner which 3 options appeal to you the most. Do some preliminary investigation of the options you are interested in.

Respond here to let me know your ideas and interests.

Hess's Law

So... Hess's Law is pretty cool! We are able to determine the heat of reaction for one specific reaction using combinations of other reactions. As long as the net reaction is the same in terms of the reactants and products, we can use known heat of reaction values to calculate another heat of reaction value.

For the purposes of our lab, we are attempting to experimentally prove Hess's Law. The sum of the average heats of reaction for reactions 1 and 3 should come out to be pretty close to the value for reaction 2.

Post your insights and questions here! :-)

Pat

Excel Issues

Lab Sections 2 and 4, General Chemistry:

What are your issues with Excel? Let's talk about the problems we are having here, so the whole class can benefit. This will be our running "how-to" discussion for Excel issues. You will be able to access previous questions and solutions, ask your own questions, view my solutions to your specific problem, and also contribute your knowledge to benefit others.

Excelsior!

Pat