Week 15 Blog Post 05/07/2025

 

    The parts of lab today that I found clear was when we were performing our experiments with the baking soda and vinegar. Being able to understand that gas escapes during the lab was really helpful because I was able to see why our balloon blowed up, and why the mass decreased after the reaction was finished. A part that I am still slightly confused on would be at the end when we were discussing hydrogen and oxygen atoms and why some are more dense vs. less dense. I understand the density aspect, but once we began to use the candle demonstration I started to second guess my understanding.

    I can apply what I learned today about teaching to make sure that I allow my students to believe science and what they are seeing instead of saying "trust me" when something does not turn out the way that a usual experiment technically should. I think that hands-on learning and allowing experiments to play out and then comparing it to what a different way or the usual way happens is a much better way to approach this. Lastly, I learned that setting up an experiment correctly so that it is not frustrating can be a gamechanger. I will admit I was frustrated after doing our vinegar and baking soda activity because the order that we performed it in could have gone a lot smoother with a different order. 

    A remaining question that I have from class is what is the main factor of determining the density of gases and how to convey this to students who do not have the periodic table? Are there specific terms or phrases to describe these things without using words that do not yet have a meaning to students?

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