Clean It Up - Project Blog




Summary:

In the process of neutralization, a substance that is either acidic or basic becomes neutral. This is called "neutralization." Acids and bases are like "opposites." Some properties of acids are that they are sour, and when put to a litmus paper test, the paper will turn red, meaning the substance is acidic. Properties of bases are that they are slippery, and they will turn litmus paper blue. Litmus paper is used to determine how acidic or basic a substance is.

If we are trying to neutralize an acid, we could do this using a base. Universal indicator can be used to determine when the substance has become neutral. We can do this by comparing it to the pH scale. On the pH scale, there are 14 numbers. If a substance is from 0-7, it is acidic. The colors for acidity on the pH scale are red, orange, and yellow. If the substance is from 7-14, this means that it is a base. The colors for bases on the pH scale are blue, dark green, and purple. If a substance is exactly 7, this means it is neutral, which would appear as light green on the pH scale.

An example of neutralization would be by using baking soda solution as your base, and vinegar as your acid. Using indicator to show when the substance is neutral would also help when attempting to determine how much of a base it takes to neutralize an acid. As you add different amounts of baking soda solution to vinegar, you will see that the color changes, and so does the number on the pH scale. Adding indicator does not cause a substance to become more or less basic or acidic because indicator and litmus paper are neutral.


Backward-Looking

What process did you go through to produce this piece?

To produce this piece, there were two parts that we needed to complete and turn in. In the first submission, we created an infographic about a specific chemical that was in our "spill." Our spill was warheads sour candy, so for our chemical, we chose to talk about malic acid. In the first part of the project, we also created a news story of how our spill came to happen. This could be creative, or something that would realistically happen. In the second portion of the project, we created an experimental planning worksheet or lab report page where we prepared what we would do in our experiment, as well as the conclusions of the experiment. After, we also created a newscast or a news report which tells us everything that we did in the project, including our efforts to clean the spill.

Inward-Looking

How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece or work?

I feel good about this piece of work because we took a lot of time in school and at home to complete it to our best effort. I particularly enjoyed when we were creating our news articles because we got to be creative and make it look realistic. I enjoy how we were allowed to plan and create our own experiment and conduct it however we thought we were going to clean up the spill because we learned how to plan and carry out an investigation. One thing that I did not like the most about our piece of work is that we were rushing towards the due date because we did not plan our time as well as we could have.

Outward-Looking

Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? In what ways did you do it differently? In what ways was your work or process similar?

Our work was different from the way other groups did theirs because we all had different techniques to clean up the spill. We also had different materials and neutralization solutions. Since each group planned their own investigation, each group did theirs a little differently. Some ways that our process was similar was that some other groups were also trying to neutralize their spill, and other groups also used Tide detergent as their base or neutralization solution.

Forward-Looking

What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?

If I had a chance to do this piece over again, I would plan our time and due dates for when we would complete various different parts of the project because we were really rushing on the last day to work on the project. If we planned our time better, we would have been able to add more components to our project and complete it to our best effort. Another thing I would do is ask about other groups' techniques and what their experiment is so that we could get inspiration on what to do and how other teams are completing the assignment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Musical Instruments and Sound- Weekly Blog (3/11-3/15)

Image
Sound Energy - Musical Instruments by SolPass Summary We understand how sound is produced, and how sound waves can travel through different mediums, but how do musical instruments produce sound? There are hundreds of instruments in the world, producing various pitches, tones, and chords. There are three main types of instruments: wind, percussion, and string. The sound is produced differently based on the type of instrument. The first type of instrument is a string instrument. In a string instrument, the sound is created from the vibration of strings. For example, when you play guitar, you pull on the strings. As the strings vibrate, the air molecules start vibrating as well, producing sound. The next type of instruments are wind and brass instruments and are made when we blow sound into them. The shape and position of the instrument affect the overall tone and pitch. The most common kind of wind instrument is a reed instrument. Blowing on the reed causes it to vibrate, mak
Read more

The Food Chain (10/26-10/30)

Image
This is an example of a land food chain http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/foodchain/foodchain2.htm Summary: This week in class we started to learn about the food chain. We watched a video about the food chain, and then we had to answer a few questions. First you need to know that food chains always start with plants and end with animals. But remember, humans are animals. Humans are usually at the top of the food chain. But that does not means that they are always at the top, what if a lion ate the human! Then the lion would be at the top of the food chain. There are different types of food chains. If you want to see a full list then go to this website: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-food-chains.html . In the video they talked about the ocean food chain. The ocean food chain is a food chain that happens in the ocean. Here is an example of an ocean food chain: phytoplankton (tiny little plants), get eaten by zooplankton (tiny animals
Read more

African Forest Elephants (2/5-2/9)

Image
https://c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/photos/1019/images/story_full_width/Forest_Elephant_7.30.2012_hero_and_circle_HI_8480.jpg?1345583833 Summary: The African forest elephant is an herbivore, and commonly eats leaves, fruit, and bark. African forest elephants range from 2.5 - 3 meters in height, weighing from 50-200 pounds. Their color is usually brown and grey, and even though other coloring is possible, it is very rare. They live for about 60-70 years, which is quite a lot compared to some other forest animals. The African Forest Elephant lives in Central and Southern Africa, traveling through the forests and grasslands searching for food and water.  Why Endangered: The populations of these Forest Elephants is decreasing because of illegal poaching. The poachers kill the elephants for their ivory tusks to sell. They are also decreasing because of habitat destruction such as deforestation, which results in less food and shelter, which they need to survive. According to defen
Read more