The Odyssey

That day, Mdm Riza had carried out a distillation experiment before we stepped into the laboratory. Her aim was to collect pure water, which has a boiling point of 100 degree celsius. From the experiment, I learnt that distillation is to separate just two subsatnces in a mixture. When the temperature reaches 100 degrre celsius and water is collected, the water is PURE. However, if the temperature is 99.5 degree celsius, then the water collected isn't PURE.
We conducted an experiment on paper chromatography. Through this experiment, I understood how paper chromatography works. A spot of dye which is placed above the pencil mark on a strip of filter paper is inserted into a test tube of alcohol, which is known as the solvent. The spot of dye must be above the alcohol level so that the colours do not dissolve in the alcohol. The filter paper will absorb the alcohol and as the alcohol slowly spreads upwards, the dye gets separated. The colour with the most solubility will rise to the top while the colour with the least solubility will remain at the bottom.
I've learnt that paper chromatography and distillation can only be used for a mixture of liquids. For distillation, porcelain chips are used to ensure smooth boiling of the water in the distillation (conical) flask.

That day, we were supposed to present our solution to Mr Chang's problem to the class. My group had decided to use evaporation and filtration to achieve our three compounds. I've also learnt other ways of separating the three compounds through other groups' presentation. Mdm Riza had explained that using heat to separate the mixture might not be ideal, as the compounds might be broken down into simpler substances and not the original compounds we want. She also showed us a video on different separation techniques: Magnetism, Filtration and Evaporation. The video is really helpful as it illustrates how the separation experiment is carried out.

We had a mini quiz to test our knowledge on mixtures. We had to be clear about the differences between compounds and mixtures in order to be able to answer the questions. The questions required a true or false answer. WE also had to choose as a group the best solution to Mr Chang's problem and pen the steps down on a piece of A3 sized paper.

That day, we had our 1st test in term 3. The test required a good source of knowledge and plenty of calculation is involved. I would say that the test is pretty manageable and we need to be careful and read the questions CAEFULLY to avoid letting teachers eating our marks.

Yesterday, the lesson was dedicated to going through our worksheets. Mdm Riza continued with the checking of our workbook exercises from where we left off from the previous lesson. There was one question that i did not know how to do entirely. It was only after Mdm Riza's explanation did I know how to answer the question. I learnt that the "yellow powder" stated in the question is actually sulfur. I also learnt that we have to observe the question very carefully as it will give us clues as how to solve the question. The unknown substance, X, is a metal as it is attracted to a magnet. This metal is iron filings. This is an example of careful observation. In another worksheet, I got a question wrong. The question asked "What would happen if neutrons was missing from an atom?" Actually, the atom would collapse inwards as the electrons and protons would be attracted to one another, therefore resulting in the stated consequence. I enjoyed it when Mdm Riza gave us additional information about chemical equations which transformed from word equations. I think that this lesson was a really fruitful one and i enjoyed myself tremendously!!

Lesson was in the Living Lab that day and we carried on completing our workbook exercises. We were allowed to research for information so that we could answer those questions we were unsure of. I looked up for information on why aluminium alloy was used to make aircrafts instead of pure aluminium. From the given information, I realised that aluminium alloy was lighter than pure aluminium and thus, is used to make aircrafts. Some of us were chosen to present our answers to the class and explain why we chose the answers. Mdm Riza then told the class if the answers were correct or wrong and further explained why the answers were correct. She only went through part of the exercises we did that day, with the remaining exercises to be gone through the next lesson.
I used to think that textbooks would be able to provide answers to all questions, be it in exams, tests or workbooks. Now I think that my thinking was wrong. Not all workbook exercises answers are obtainable from textbooks. We need to conduct our own research in order to answer the questions. The exercises in the workbook test our general knowledge on that topic and thus, we need to widen our knowledge and be able to answer these questions should they arise in exams.

That day, the class went to the biology laboratory for our Science lesson. We merely did workbook exercises on that day. I did not expect that the workbook questions to be so tough that I had a hard time figuring out some of the answers. We were given several minutes to complete a few questions before she went through the questions and answers with us. I had to make sveral guesses for some questions, some of which were correct and others were wrong. While doing the exercises, we needed to refer to the Periodic Table but nobody had a copy of it with them at the lab. I referred to my notes but there was no mention of the Periodic Table. The notes are really important to us as we need them for revisions and are sources of information. We had no choice but to answer the questions based on our knowledge.

I feel that I would need to revise my work more often so as to be better equipped with information which would help me in tackling tough questions. Doing the workbook exercises enable me to know exactly how much I know about the topic and I will know which areas I need to improve on and thus, not repeating the same mistakes I had made previously.