Thursday, December 4, 2014

Cycle D - Practice Set (Solution Properties)

  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you really understood and why.  Give at least one example.
  • This entire cycle makes a lot of sense to me although it takes a bit of time to solve each problem. Using the A=Elc (A=abc) formula is fairly simple although doing more of the problems to improve my speed/accuracy wouldn’t hurt. The activity where we looked at the two different concentrations and seeing both of them vertically and horizontally.
  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you struggled with and why. Give at least one example.
  • I didn’t know/remember what a buret was so the first problem on Section 2 stumped me. Otherwise, I couldn’t find anything else that I really didn’t understand. With more practice, I think that I could easily tackle any problem.
  • At least one picture of something you did in class during the week with a description of the picture.
  • This picture shows a situation in which 2 solutions looked the same color when looked at vertically but differently when viewed horizontally. I also have an image of a smurf since its “blood” was used in this experiment.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Cycle C - Practice Set (Ideal Gas Properties)

  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you really understood and why.  Give at least one example.
  • The first problem which asked me to find the mole fraction of neon in the container was seemed a lot easier than I initially thought. I’m also familiar with the concept that volume occupied. I think that it’s safe to say that any problems having to do with partial pressure make a lot of sense to me. Finding molecular masses of different gas samples seemed straightforward and simple.

  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you struggled with and why. Give at least one example.
  • Finding the final pressure of an ideal gas was confusing to me since I didn’t use the approach. Determining different variables from a graph proved to be a bit challenging and a bit harder than I had expected. Overall, I had some trouble determining the numerical figures for my answers since I haven’t experienced too many of those questions. In class, we focused more on simply seeing if the numerical value was going to be greater/smaller rather than actually finding that value. I also forgot when a gas would be at STP.
  • At least one picture of something you did in class during the week with a description of the picture.
  • In this picture, we emptied a tea bag and then folded the bag into a cylinder shape before burning it. In this picture, the bag is in the process of burning.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Lone Pairs...More Important Than They Seem

Imagine a situation in which an unknown environmental agent stimulates the spontaneous loss of the lone pairs of electrons on ALL water molecules. Write a blog post that describes how this occurrence would change the face of the world as we know it. Your post must be at least 3 paragraphs and I challenge you to be as creative as possible in your description. Decide on your own title for the post. Good luck!
First off, a water molecule (H2O) is made up of an one oxygen and two hydrogen molecules. Due to its bent structure, water is a polar. This is formed due to the two hydrogen atoms pushing(arrows) towards the single O atom. However, removing the oxygen (O) atom, water would become a linear molecule. In addition, if water were to become linear, it would lose its dipole moments.
If a water molecule was to turn into a linear molecule, there would be no dipole moment. Losing the oxygen atom would cause the world to be quite strange and destructive. Water would lose its high boiling point and become increasingly easy to become flammable. Because of this, any water exposed near a flame would most likely result in an actual fire drill. Being polar, water has the ability to form London dispersion and dipole-dipole forces but without the “O”, the linear molecule would only have the potential to form the London dispersion.
Water would also become dangerous for humans to consume since we risk the possibility of being burnt every time we cook or light a match. On a hot day, all the oceans, rivers, lakes, etc. would evaporate and become as dry as the Sahara Desert. In addition, many molecules would no longer be able to latch onto water as there would only be two partially positive “heads”. To conclude, losing the lone pair is much more serious than it seems since it would turn a perfectly chemically balanced world into one where H2O is no longer usable.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Cycle A- Practice Set (Solubility Properties)

  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you really understood and why.  Give at least one example.
  • I understand how the “like attracts like” concept works and how to distinguish which Lewis structures are polar and which are nonpolar. Problems dealing with which molecule would be most similar to H2O or any other polar/nonpolar molecule are simple. The conditions behind how a molecule is polar/nonpolar makes sense to me and are fairly easy to remember. I also understand the single/double that the molecules can make and why some are stronger/weaker than others.
  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you struggled with and why. Give at least one example.
  • I’m having some problems with distinguishing which molecule has the greater polarity (methanol or acetone). I’m also having a bit of trouble with problems having to do with isomers. I still get a bit confused when it comes to anions with charges since it changes the Lewis structure.
  • At least one picture of something you did in class during the week with a description of the picture.
  • This picture shows the results of a lab our group did in class of hexane being mixed with water. The hexane doesn’t mix with the water since one is polar(water) while the other is nonpolar(hexane).

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Big Idea #1 Reflection: Structure

A list of the objectives (1-16) you really understand. Include 1-2 paragraphs that details why. Do not make a reflection for each objective. Simply make one general reflection for all.
I understood all of the stoichiometry objectives since they were simply review of what I did last year in chemistry. They seemed pretty easy once I remembered what I was doing and didn’t present a problem for me. From our most recent cycle, all the material made sense to me as this seemed like the easiest cycle so far this year. The constant mass calculations were basic and very similar to stoich which made it seem easy or even easier than it already seemed.
Looking back to the previous cycles, I remember Coulomb's Law and periodicity making sense to me after a bit of review. This along with the types of types of bonds didn’t initially make too much sense but after going through my material, the process of completing these problems no longer were as difficult since I got the hang of it.

A list of the objectives (1-16) you still struggle with. Include 1-2 paragraphs that details why. Do not make a reflection for each objective. Simply make one general reflection for all.
I understand the majority of problems but some of the VSEPR and bonding structures confuse me from time to time. Otherwise, most problems are good to go except ones that are over-the-top. For example, finding the lewis structure of something ridiculously difficult or one dealing with compounds that are rarely or never used. Having more of these problems show up in the second quarter should definitely patch up any confusion.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Cycle D- Practice Set (Mass Structure)


  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you really understood and why.  Give at least one example.
  • I really understood the Lewis Structures and finding the type of compounds based on the information given. Using the “percent to mass, mass to mole, divide by smallest, multiply to whole” strategy, the problems seemed fairly basic to me. For example, a question would be to find the compound formula for a hydrocarbon given 55% of it being carbon and the rest being hydrogen.
  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you struggled with and why. Give at least one example.
  • Defining the term asymmetric seemed to be the most difficult task if any. This cycle seemed pretty simple and there weren’t any aspects where I had major or even minor problems.
  • At least one picture of something you did in class during the week with a description of the picture.
  • This pictures shows a lab we did in class where we had to determine the number of moles of water molecules in epson salt.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Cycle C - Practice Set (Lewis Structure)

  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you really understood and why.  Give at least one example.
  • I understood bond order and how to solve for them. For example, I could solve for the bond order for the molecule O3 (ozone). The Lewis structure of sulfur trioxide and any other molecule seemed easy to find. Basically, anything having to do with Lewis diagrams seems easy to me for the time being. In addition, the resonance structres and formal charges made sense to me.
  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you struggled with and why. Give at least one example.
  • The problem about the tetrahedral structure confused me since I didn’t know what it was and how to approach it. Some of the dipole moment and finding the largest/smallest one was difficult. Determining the geometry of each molecule was challenging along with hybridization. (Ex: Describing the hybridization of carbon in a carbonate ion)
  • At least one picture of something you did in class during the week with a description of the picture.
  • Below is a picture of our Chromatography lab on the Explore day. It shows the different colors on the piece of paper we put into the water. As seen in the picture, the blue dye has a slight edge over the orange and red dye.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Cycle B Quiz - Bonding Structure

  • At least one paragraph that reflects on how you prepared for the quiz.
  • In order to prepare for the quiz, I once again reviewed the notes I had taken from the Lesson video and rewatched the video.  I also looked at the Practice Quiz again and watched the video where Mr. Musallam went through each problem.
  • At least one paragraph that reflects on how you felt during the quiz. What did you understand? What did you struggle with?
  • I felt pretty confident during the quiz and felt that I knew what I was doing. Some parts were a bit confusing and stumped me. Having Mr. Musallam not be in class made it impossible to ask him a question if I didn't understand a specific question. the last question for Metallic Bonding was definitely the hardest but I had a general idea of what was happening.
  • At least one paragraph that describes a few things you will do differently in preparing for our next quiz. If what you did this time completely worked for you, clearly describe your strategy.
  • Next time, I will visit Mr. Musallam before the quiz and ask him any questions I may have. My mistake this time was not finding time in my schedule to do this which made it difficult a bit more difficult on my end. Possibly doing a few more extra practice problems wouldn't hurt.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014


Cycle B - Practice Set (Bonding)

  • At least one paragraph that describes the types of problems you really understood and why. Give at least one example
  • I really understood the different types of Alloys (Interstitial, Substitutional, and Interstitial and Substitutional.) I also understood the general idea behind melting points and ionic, polar, and nonpolar bonds. I do understand how Sodium Iodide (NaI) and other similar compounds could fit into the ionic group while other compounds would have other types of bonds. The whole idea of ionic transfer and electronegativity also make sense to me.
  • At least one paragraph that describes the types of problems you struggled with and why. Give at least one example
  • I had no idea what lattice energy was an was stuck on the question regarding it for some time. I could also use some help with classifying types of metals and where each compound fits into which type of bond. I’m also still a bit confused with the different sizes of each alloy and how they’re affected in terms of malleability when combined.
  • At least one picture of something you did in class during the week and a description of the picture.
  • These are pictures from our group’s “Spark” on the Practice Day. It shows the electrons moving through water in order to light up the light on the other edge of the dish.



Friday, September 12, 2014

Cycle A Quiz - Electronic Configuration

  • At least one paragraph that reflects on how you prepared for the quiz.
  • I prepared for the quiz by looking over my notes in my notebook and reviewing them for a bit. I also looked at and completed the practice quiz which gave me a good understanding of what the quiz might look like and what type of questions I could expect. These two methods along with asking Mr. Musallam concepts that I didn’t completely understand helped clarify my questions. In addition, I rewatched the video on Electronic Configuration to hear the process being explained again.
  • At least one paragraph that reflects on what how you felt during the quiz. What did you understand? What did you struggle with? etc.
  • When I first got the quiz, I was obviously a bit nervous. Doing the Stoich part first, the easiest quiz section in my opinion, helped me calm down a bit and put aside my nervousness. I understood the majority of the questions but a few stumped me. Aside from a reading error and some confusing terms, the main problem I had was trying to remember the difference between finding Ionization Energy and Atomic Radius. I would later solve the problem by remembering examples done previously but the time spent doing that definitely chewed up some clock. 
  • At least one paragraph that describes things a few things you will do differently in preparing for our next quiz. If you what you did this time completely worked for you, clearly describe your strategy.
  • I think what I did this time worked well. I will continue to review my notes, complete the practice quiz, and ask Mr. Musallam if I have any questions regarding the next quiz cycle. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The method I used worked and repeating it again seems to be a good idea.  In my case, my approach for studying for quizzes is working so I’ll keep doing what I’m doing until it no longer works.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Cycle A - Practice Set (Electronic Configuration)



  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you really understood and why.  Give at least one example.
  • I really understood electronic structure the configuration of the different elements on the Periodic Table (Ex: Cl being 1s22s22p63s23p5). I also understand how Ionization Energy and Atomic Radius differ. In addition, the periodic trends and the graphs produced.
  • At least a paragraph reflection that describes the types of problems you struggled with and why. Give at least one example.
  • I am still a bit confused with Coulomb’s law and how to use it to define my answer. I also need to work on determining the values of each peak for the graphic view in the Photoelectron Spectroscopy. I also get confused when multiple elements end up having the same number of electrons in a question (Ex: P, Ar3+, Al2-).
  • At least one picture of something you did in class during the week with a description of the picture.
  • This is the picture of our group’s Electronic Configuration activity on the “Explore Day.” This activity showed me how energy levels and shielding worked before actually learning them later on in the week. As atomic radius increased, Ionization Energy decreases and vice versa.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

ABCC Analysis

1. D. In a chemical reaction, the mass and atoms transferred over must be the same on both sides. Therefore, option D is the correct answer for this question. Since the chemical equation is balanced, the terms and figures on each sides must also be equal.
2. E. Gaseous water is filled with water vapor which will cause the bubbles to rise in the water.
4. B. After dissolving the 1 pound of salt to the 20 pounds of water, you simply add the numbers up to find the combined weight of the two.
5. D. Since there was originally six S atoms in the original equation, two of them are left out in the final diagram since only 4 need to be used to balance out the equation.
6. E. As the water evaporated, the majority of the molecules left while a only a few remain.
7. B. The part of the match that burns remains as the same amount of matter that it was before the match was struck.
9. C. The equation shows us that combining the hydrogen and oxygen bonds help make the hydrogen-oxygen bonds needed to release energy.
11. A. Although the size of the aluminum has changed, the density/mass of each cubic center has not changed.
12. C. Once again a simple addition problem, the gas remains in the tube and the mass would simply be both the weight of the tube itself and the iodine inside added together.
13. B. The mass remains in the tube; therefore, the mass remains the same inside the tube.
17. A. The water received a larger amount of energy than the alcohol since it was heated for a longer period of time and water needs a greater temperature to reach 50o.
18. B. Water has a higher boiling point which makes it take a longer amount of time in order to heat up.
20. B. As more salt is dissolved, more solid salt is deposited at the bottom of the concentration of solution.
21. C. Solid sulfur (S) combines with oxygen (O2) to become sulfur dioxide (SO2).
22. A. Initially, the plate warns up the ice and water to no avail but after a period of time, the plate begins to warm and the temperature increases.  
23. B. The heat first dissolves into the environment but after a period of time, the heat from the hot plate goes to the ice and water and heats it up.
24. D. The heat makes the aluminum’s temperature rise at a constant rate.
25. D. Since the aluminum particles are closely held together, the rate of temperature increase is consistent.


27. E. Energy from outside of the cup flows through the styrofoam and copper cup in order to cool down to liquid inside the copper cup.