9/16/13 Weekly Reflection

This week, our main focus was on stoichiometry, which deals with the relative quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions, the format of labs and lab reports, absorbance and transmission of light, and concentration of substances. They were all linked by the common thread of our first ever lab in AP Chem, the Blue #1 Concentration lab. In this lab we learned how to use a colorimeter and our lab notebooks, and did fairly simple calculations and took similarly simple measurements in an effort to learn more about concentration and how it affects the transmission of light. We concluded that, as the concentration of Blue #1 dye increases, the amount of light absorbed also increases and the amount of light transmitted decreases. The relationships between some of the main ideas were put into formula that we looked at as well in an effort to get to know the subjects we were studying even better. Also, we did worksheets and moodle quizzes to further cement our knowledge on the subjects, along with informative in-class discussions during which we had the opportunity to struggle and win the knowledge we were trying to acquire. I still have some questions about what we learned. Some of them are more extensions on what we learned, while others are more of a vague curiosity or confusion about topics surrounding the experiment, while still others are specific points that I'm confused about in the lab. For example, what property of distilled water gives it a color and how does it respond to different wavelengths? How is k found in A=kC, excluding when it is possible to just solve for it? I felt a bit over my head this week, although after completing the lab questions I understand everything we covered much better. Given that, I thought my participation level was certainly appropriate, and I did my best to learn from the people around me. I also did my best to share any sudden realizations I had and help my group to understand everything better. My understanding of the subject matter is fairly good, but although I understand the theory and ideas presented I have yet to gain any intuitive sense about the material we studied this week. Mostly I need to work on balancing chemical equations and more complicated conversion problems, like the questions we answered in class that were later part of the lab report. I had no idea how to figure them out and was frustrated by that as well as the fact that I had to rely on other people who got it faster and easier than I did. I understood how it worked after the fact, it was just getting there that I had trouble with. I have a lot to think about in terms of stoichiometry and concentration, especially in everyday situations.