Unit 1

In Accelerated Chemistry, I learned how to draw and interpret graphs, draw particle pictures, and use and apply mathematical models. After doing the first lab, Build a Boat Make It Float, the class white boarded on what our thought processes were on making our boat, discussed our best and worst features of our boats, and also explained why our boats did or did not work as we wanted them to. I then began learning about mass and also measuring mass.

I learned to draw particle pictures displaying what I saw but on the particle level. This helped me better understand mass and volume and also help me to know the different states of matter. I did a lab on this subject and I drew a particle picture for each different part. I learned a few new terms in the lab including: system, and environment/surrounding. The system is all the materials in a lab experiment such as a beaker, liquids, graduated cylinder etc. The system does not include the surrounding air or any other materials because that is the environment. I learned how to use these words while explaining my observations and I also was taught the Law of Conservation of Mass which also uses the words system and environment. The Law of Conservation of Mass states that in a system, mass can be reformed and changed in many ways, but the amount of mass will always stay the same unless particles of mass enter into the environment or they enter from the environment into the system. After a few labs I was taught more about physical and chemical changes. A physical change is most often only a change in a mixture’s color, smell, or a change in state, while a chemical change is when a substances particle composition is changed, when energy is released often in the form of temperature, and it can also be a change in color and smell but will most often be accompanied by another change. I then moved on to learning about volume and measuring it. I did a small lab where I observed the relationship between cm3 and mL using water.

I used something the class learned about called GAMMTRB to do the lab. GAMMTRB means to Graphically and Mathematically Model The Relationship Between two or more substances, or in the case of this lab was the relationship between cm3 and mL. After measuring the water in a graduated cylinder and then measuring the box that I poured the water into, I graphed the measurements. I learned how to read the graph and also read the equation of the graph to help me recognize any errors I made. Next I learned to find density by dividing mass by volume. Finally, I was taught how to use significant figures in my work of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing while solving the different equations for density, volume, and mass.

Significant figures are a way of finding an estimated digit in a measured number and also a way to properly estimate any measured number found in an experiment. These are all the things I have learned in Accelerated Chemistry in the past few weeks.