Lesson 4: Experiment Viewing Thursday 22 July 2010

Yesterday, the lesson was held in the Living lab. We had to make predicitions before an experiment was conducted. Only that we are watching a video of an experiment as Mdm Riza said it was too dangerous to conduct live. The experiment was about dropping 5 metals at a time belonging to the 1st group of the Periodic Table into a water trough. The 5 metals are:
-lithium
-sodium
-potassium
-rubidium
-caesium
We were to predict what would happen when lithium was dropped into the water. I predicted that the metal would rust and sink as i thought all metals rust. (What ignorant thinking!) However, when the video was played, the lithium did not sink and rust. Instead, it produced a bright spark before zooming everywhere on the surface of the water, like a full-speed motorboat. It also produced a gas. I learnt that not all metals rust and that when some metals come into contact with water, they produce gases.

*As each metal was dropped in according to the order above, the spark produced increased in the intensity of light and more smoke was produced each time. A hissing sound could be heard each time the metals are dropped in.