Lucas

Week 4, May 15 1. This week we took place in a frog disection in which we learned about different parts of the frog. We learned about the external anatomy of a frog including what the underside and back of a frog were called. We learned that a frog has a three chamber heart and a membrane that covers the eye while underwater. We learned that our heart is a better design than the three chamber one. 2. We also learned this week about the organs of a frog. We learned about the stomach and what the different parts of the small intestine were called. We opened up the stomach to examine the contents within it and found some sort of digested food that the frog had eaten before death. We also learned about the excretion system of a frog and that everything leaves through the Cloaca. 3. One question I had is why the tongue is attached to the front of the mouth instead of the back. Week 3, April 23 1. This week we learned about the Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy. These laws state that mass and energy cannot be created nor destroyed by ordinary means, only changed in form. We tested the Law of Conservation of Mass in a lab in which we created reactions between baking soda and vinegar and tested the mass before and after the reaction was created. We tested both when the gas was released and when the gas was contained. 2. We also learned about balancing the equations of reactions between elements. We balanced equations like H+O2=H2O by multiplying each part by 2 tow balance them out. We did this for several equations to demonstrate the combinations that occur in nature to form certain compounds like water and Sodium Oxide. We also did several other compounds for practice. 3. One question I had is if all compunds are created from the numbers we used when we created the equations and balanced them out. Week 2, April 17 1. This week, we learned about compunds and how they go together. We created a list of compounds on a sheet of construction paper and listed the name as well as how the superscripts and subscripts fit together in certain compounds. We also listed how the the compounds were written when the two elements were combined. Ex. NaCl 2. We learned about the type of element in terms of metal or nonmetal in a lab that we tested in class. We tested the different properties of the elements to see if they were a metal or nonmetal. We learned that metals were malleable as well as shiny and good conductors. Non-metals, however were the exact opposite of the metal being poor conductors and dull. 3. One question I have is why did one of the carbon samples in the lab turn red when hydrochloric acid was added to the mixture. Normally carbon does not react to acid like the sample that the group added, and maybe they had something extra in the mix. Magnesium and Zinc both reacted with the acid but normally carbon should not react to the acid. Week 1, April 13 1. Last week we learned about the periodic table and about atomic number and mass. We learned that the the atomic number of an element is determined by the number of protons in that particular atom. Its mass is determined by the number of protons in the atom plus the number of neutrons. We learned how to draw Bohr models of atoms to show the number and mass. 2. We also learned about Valence electrons and the shells that the electrons fall in. The group in which the atoms fall in the periodic table is a quick way to determine how many electrons are in the valence shell. When using this shortcut, however, the groups are only tell in the first eight, skipping the transition metals. The period in which they are in is the number of electron shells. 3. Is there a shortcut for the transition metals in determining the number of Valence electrons. The shortcut for the other elements is that the group they are in is the number of electrons in the valence shell. This shortcut skips the transition metals and it only works for the eight groups other than these metals.