Chemistry Experiments

Since I am taking Chemistry this year, there have been an abundance of lab experiments to perform. When I took Biology, I didn’t really enjoy the experiments as much. Sometimes I still have a bit of dread when it comes to lab time, but it’s starting to grow on me. J I am a visual learner, and the experiments have really helped to solidify what I have been learning.

Chemistry experiments have been a lot more fun than I was expecting! Seeing things react and undergo changes can be quite thrilling!

I’ve done lots of experiments this year so far, and I thought I’d share a few pictures from lab time. Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures of all of them, so you will just have to imagine some of these, like: Lab safety (how to use an alcohol burner safely, how to whiff odors properly, etc.); air has mass (involved balloons tied on a yardstick); air takes up space (involved a glass with a paper towel going into a container of water upside down); comparing conversions and measurements; calibrating a thermometer; making observations and interpreting what is observed; measuring density; identifying isotopes of an imaginary element and determining the abundance and average atomic mass of the element (involved lots of dried beans); graphing the periodic trend; building models of molecules; determining the chemical formulas of household chemicals and carrying out ion-specific tests for certain ions; making a solution and a colloid to illustrate the Tyndall effect and see what happens when an ionic substance is added to the colloid; make and observe the characteristics of a gel (this was one of my favorites!); studying the conservation of mass (involved baking soda, vinegar, and a balloon); and how temperature affects reaction rates. Whew! That was a lot!

Now for a few that I did take pictures of:..

This experiment was on the density of liquids. Maple syrup is on the bottom, water is in the middle, and olive oil is on the top.

All set up to do an experiment on metal ions. I performed tests on different metal ions to discover their characteristic colors (spectra.) This was lots of fun!

This experiment was on solubility and reactivity. It was showing the difference between a chemical and a physical change, as well as demonstrating the properties of NaCl (sodium chloride) and CaCO2 (Calcium Chloride)

This experiment was very tasty. J I constructed models of some cubic system unit cells. My reward? Lots of mini marshmallows!

Ok, this wasn’t actually a chemistry experiment. I had one biology dissection left over to do (with our house flood, I got a little bit behind.) Froggy was interesting to dissect. Let’s just say I’m glad to be done with dissecting animals! J

This experiment was on chemical reactions. I learned about stoichiometry, limiting reactants, and calculating the percent yield of the reaction.

Josiah was interested in watching the calorimetry experiment. I was trying the find the specific heat of lead.

The chromatography experiment was another favorite of mine. It was so neat to see all of the colors of the transparency markers separate out into their basic components!

Still to come this year is Le Chatelier’s Principle, oxidation-reduction, electroplating, buffer, gas, nuclear decay, solubility of organic and inorganic materials, and saponification. That should keep me busy!