Week 6 Reflective Post

Starting off this week, we dove into right into chapter 6.  The very first worksheet we did was the Thomson Model of the Atom.  This worksheet examined the experiments of J.J. Thomson, a scientist who did multiple experiments with Cathode Rays.  He did three experiments that helped him come up with his model of the atom.  After the three experiments, he concluded that the rays are made up of extremely small particles known as electrons.  He also discovered that these small particles have a negative charge.  After these experiments, he also came up with a model of the atom known as the plum pudding model, as the model kind of looks like a plum pudding.  This worksheet helped us gain a better visual of what electrons in atoms look like and they interact with other charges.
Our first lab of the week built on the the knowledge we learned from our first worksheet.  Known as the stick tape activity, we experimented with the different reactions tape has with strips of paper, aluminum foil, and other tape.  We observed that when we rip the two pieces of tape apart, the two pieces of tape gain an electrical charge,  However, the top one has a positive charge and the bottom one has a negative charge.  After putting the two pieces of tape next to the various strips of materials, we realized that like charges repel each other and opposite charges attract each other.  As most of us knew this information, this activity just built on a foundation of previous knowledge, however, it was till beneficial as it gave us specific examples of how these properties worked.
Following up the sticky tape activity and the worksheet we did with it, we went over a sticky tape post lab worksheet that reinforce our understanding of the lab and why the tapes attracted and repelled each other at certain times.
The next lab we did was an experiment to see what substances are conductors and what substances aren't conductors.  We went around and looked at 15 different substances, and tested their conductivity with our conductor stick.  Basically, if they were conductors the LED on the stick would light up,  If it didn't conduct, the stick didn't light up.  From this experiment, we discovered that all metals conduct, no matter what form they're in.  We also discovered that only a certain number of non-metals conduct and most of them only conduct if they are in a certain state, such as a liquid.  This was a very eye opening lab as we could see what elements and compounds are conductors and what aren't.  We can easily relate these concepts to our daily life.
Finally, the last lab we did was an electrolysis lab.  We attached a positive charge and a negative charge to two separate ends of a u-shaped tube that held Copper chloride.  Once we turned on the electricity, we discovered a very interesting concept.  Because the chloride was on the negatively charged side, it was attracted to the positively charged side and eventually it went all the way around the tube and evaporated.  The opposite happened for the Copper.  Because it was positively charged, it was attracted to the negatively charged side and it formed copper crystals underneath the conductor.  This electrolysis lab was extremely helpful as it demonstrated another way that positive and negative charges can be demonstrated.

Before

After

We finished off the week with the Worksheet 1 of Unit 6 which basically had us comparing ratios of ions in certain compounds.  Hopefully we will do more experiments involving conductivity and elements, as they're really fun and interesting.