Today, the S section finally got their wish, and mine. I showed them the amazing hydrogen ballon demo, as well as the potassium dichromate demo, and now all is right with the world. When I show these, it isn't just a show; it is education at its best. I write the chemical formulas on the smartboard, show which type of reactions they are, comment on balancing the formulas, then I let it rip.
So the S section today also learned how to balance equations and to differentiate between the four different types of basic chemical reactions. I have a video of this to post, but left it at school. Tomorrow morning it will show up right here:
The W and L sections also learned about the types of reactions. They had time to take a quiz, which demonstrated they knew what they were doing, and that I was a good teacher. I had over 75% of them get a perfect, and offered those that scored low the chance to retake before I record scores. I also offered the chance to balance equations for extra credit. I gave them a sheet and offered 1 pt for each correctly balanced equation (balanced equations obey the law of conservation of mass). There are 15 equations, but some are very tricky. Encourage your son or daughter to take advantage of this opportunity.
The O section learned about acids and bases. We discussed the pH scale (0 - 6 = acid; 7 = neutral; 8 - 14 = base) and watched a short video with a pre-test and post-test. Tomorrow in class we will practice using our knowledge of pH testing. We learned that mixing an acid and a base gives you salt water. An acid provides an H+ ion, or more correctly, is a proton donor. A base is a proton acceptor. Many bases have an OH- ion in solution, which is what accepts the proton. Our hydrogen bark lab dealt with HCl, a strong acid, reacting with a metal (Ca and Mg) to produce H2 gas.
Three school days to the holiday break.
The best part about today was taking our donations over to the Clare House on Chestnut Street in downtown Lancaster. Kate Hurd organized this for us, coming up with the idea and accompanying us today along with her mother and young sister. The people at Clare House were very nice and appreciative. I estimated our contribution at over $500 worth of household supplies. Thanks to everyone for helping with this. I had sent a call out on Friday night through the automated calling system. It doubled our collections. Perhaps this will become an annual event for the OWLS team.
Sweet justice.
