Quarter+2

toc =Quarter 2=

Managing Impulsivity
This year for my science courses, I am taking AP Biology and General Chemistry. In AP Biology, we do labs every three weeks or so, and to be honest, they are not the most interesting labs in the world. We do things like growing plants or seeing if plastic beads respire, which is why when we do labs in General Chemistry, there is definitely the impulse to mix things randomly and see what happens--secretly we're all hoping something will explode. When we were mixing different solutions to see which ones formed precipitates, we were all so eager to make a precipitate that in the beginning we were simply mixing random solutions and hoping for the best. However, after a few failed attempts we realized we could simply use the chart to see which could be predicted to make a precipitate. After we understood this, the experiment became much more exciting and educational and we better understood how to predict whether or not a solid will form.

[|Precipitate Lab video]

Striving for Accuracy and Precision
Ever since I was young, my parents and teachers have stressed the importance of showing your steps and checking your work. My mom often reminds me there's no shame in not understanding a concept and needing help, but to understand something and make a silly mistake is simply foolish. Junior year has been undeniably stressful and tiring. Tests and quizzes every week, staying up late studying or trying to finish unprecedented amounts of homework--it takes its toll. Everyday I come to school weary and fatigued, just wanting the day to be over so I can go back to sleep. I've always been rather lazy with showing my steps and checking my work, but in my tired state, it's become an even bigger problem, and in junior year, when grades matter the most, you can't afford to make too many mistakes. During our quantitative chemistry unit, I consciously made the effort to show each step and each calculation, especially as the problems became more and more complex. When balancing eqations, I kept careful track of the amount of each element present, and often double- or triple-checked. I was reasonably happy with my quantitative chemistry test, which I scored 34/35 on. However, when looking over my test to see which problem I got wrong, I was dismayed to find that I had made a simple calculation error, writing that 0.03 x 2.02 = 6.06 rather than 0.0606. I indeed felt foolish. Next time I will be sure to check even more carefully and with a calculator.