Blog Post #15

 1. This week we attempted to design an experiment to show that matter does not disappear during a chemical reaction and instead stays there. We tried to prove this through the use of vinegar and baking soda as our reaction. We tried multiple different experiments to prove this idea with all of them but one not working because of different difficulties in them. For example, we had things such as the experiment not being an air-tight seal so air escaped or not being able to weigh accurately to show the total weight stayed the same. In the end, we came up with the idea to balance a cap on the vinegar that had baking soda in it and once we had the seal on it we would shake the car and flip the lid into the vinegar to cause the reaction. We learned about buoyancy as a result of this experiment because it is what led to the idea of the air-tight seal not being there in the first experiment we did. 

4. I can apply what I learned from this lab to my future teaching by learning to let students experiment and come up with their own methods of trying to get things to happen. When we did this in the lab we came up with a way that had not been done before and led to innovation and overall success but we had the failures prior that helped lead to our learning and also led to learning about other scientific concepts. Also, I will take to my future classroom that not everything may go as planned and be okay with that and find a way to turn that into a learning experience for the students and to also be prepared for all the questions they will ask you when things do not work exactly as they thought it would. 

5. Was there an actual way that was intended for us to figure out to do the experiment? If there was an actual way what was it?