Today Andrew took multiple substances, took a small portion of it and added a few drops of water, and then put it over a bunsen burner. A bunsen burner is a type of propane burner that emits a calm yet incredibly hot flame over the surface area of a half dollar. Our setup had a sturdy stand holding both the bunsen burner and propane fuel can in place. The propane had to be at an an angle because of propane not being all gas. Then, a gas line was run from the propane can to the burner. We were then ready to light some stuff on fire in the name of chemistry!
Copper (Cu) = Green Sodium (Na) = Yellow orange Boron (B) = Light Green Strontium (Sr) = Dark orange Pottasium (K) = Violet Magnisium (Mg) = White (Above are results from taking multiple substances in small quantities and burning them) Looking Back: I found that although we were burning different chemicals, some tended to burn near the same color, which could probably be a topic for research. "Why do some chemicals, although different, burn the same color?" Looking Beyond: What do you think has happened? What’s the science? After a brief talk on the basics of whats happening on a molecular level, I understood that our substances are heated up to a very specific level as a result of a very specific heat being applied. When that energy is released, or the substance has it's heat source taken away, it falls back down the levels and on the way down releases light or color. Looking inward: Humans doing science - Lab Practice I think we could have gotten better results. Some particles from different substances found their way onto the bunson burner, making the chemical reaction for the other substances tainted. We were still able to see the other colors that each substance produced, even though another substance was still in play. I think we could have avoided this by having multiple metal rods to put the different substances in so that there was no contamination from the previous substances. Looking outward: Collaboration and Impact Not applicable, Andrew had most of the fun. A few students were able to come up and hold substances over the flame, their reactions were funny. Looking Forward: What next? I could definitely see myself doing a lab like this one, and I would probably use a wide array of chemicals and substances to maximize the results I get. Take aways: I was able to learn that on a molecular level, I am able to much better understand how things are reacting and why chemicals do what they do when being heated.
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AuthorGabriel M. Archives
December 2015
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