Energy and Place Project
Second semester focused on two essential questions: How does energy production and consumption impact place? How does your sense of place, environmental ethic, and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production and consumption?
These questions were explored through two projects: (1) creating and conducting an energy related experiment, and (2) researching and creating an infographic regarding energy (shown below). This project was jointed with my Humanities class, with Chemistry focusing more on energy, and Humanities more on place.
These questions were explored through two projects: (1) creating and conducting an energy related experiment, and (2) researching and creating an infographic regarding energy (shown below). This project was jointed with my Humanities class, with Chemistry focusing more on energy, and Humanities more on place.
Second Semester Reflection
The first project for the Energy and Place unit was to design, test, and analyze your own experiment. The big takeaway I gained from completing my own experiment and scientific paper was that experiments will NOT always go as planned. Previously, all experiments I completed were designed by a chemistry teacher and tested by others to ensure it worked. However, when you create your own experiment, even if you complete proper research, the experiments do not always go as planned. For example, my group studied the affects of different acidities on voltage and amperage of a penny battery. Our experiment portion of the test went well, with the results staying on trend with what we predicted. The problem arose when, at the end of the project, we couldn't figure out why acidity altered energy production. We finally discovered that acidity does not relate to voltage and amperage, but it is the electrolytes that matter. Did I mention that we came to this epiphany after the paper was turned in? Things do not always go as planned. Even though our paper turned out to be off track, this gave me an insight into what actual scientists must deal with and how you must adapt to the experiment and be flexible to sudden changes.
The second project in this unit involved creating an infographic regarding a research topic about energy. I chose to focus on plutonium, an output from nuclear power plants, and how plutonium can be reused. Plutonium is very dangerous, so many people are wary about using it for anything. When I first heard about plutonium, I was against it. It sounded dangerous, and I didn't want any more dangerous substances involved in our daily lives. However, I felt it was necessary to highlight the benefits of plutonium, clarify confusions about it, and suggest higher usage of it in the future. Since I had such a strong anti-plutonium standpoint, I figured it was in my best interests to view the other perspective so I could make a rational decision on what I believe. This infographic is the depiction of my work on the pro-plutonium side of the spectrum. Looking back, I'm glad I chose to research something I didn't believe in or fully understand so that I could form an unbiased opinion on this topic.
The second project in this unit involved creating an infographic regarding a research topic about energy. I chose to focus on plutonium, an output from nuclear power plants, and how plutonium can be reused. Plutonium is very dangerous, so many people are wary about using it for anything. When I first heard about plutonium, I was against it. It sounded dangerous, and I didn't want any more dangerous substances involved in our daily lives. However, I felt it was necessary to highlight the benefits of plutonium, clarify confusions about it, and suggest higher usage of it in the future. Since I had such a strong anti-plutonium standpoint, I figured it was in my best interests to view the other perspective so I could make a rational decision on what I believe. This infographic is the depiction of my work on the pro-plutonium side of the spectrum. Looking back, I'm glad I chose to research something I didn't believe in or fully understand so that I could form an unbiased opinion on this topic.
Click here to see the Humanities portion of the Energy and Place Project
First Semester Reflection
Throughout the first semester, we gained knowledge which assisted us in answering two questions: How has the chemistry of materials shaped our past, present, and how may it shape our future? How does the structure of matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels determine a material's properties?
To answer the first question, I will use pencils as an example. Before 1564, pencils were composed of lead. Lead was a known metal that left a light mark on papyrus (an early form of paper). It worked well enough, but was toxic and only left a very light mark. When graphite was discovered in England in 1564, people learned it was not only non-toxic, but also created a much darker mark, so it began being used in place of lead. The refinement of pencils was led on by the discovery of another metal, and, like many other instances, created a better work. However, discoveries can only lead to so much of an evolution. Not every refinement of an object can be due to a discovery. This is where materials science comes in. Since we have discovered so much about what materials are made of and why, we are about to create materials that are more cost-effective, durable, long-lasting, and have a higher performance rate. The chemistry of materials has allowed us to analyze the properties that make up objects, see what possible improvements could be made, and look at how that can be done.
Science has evolved exponentially over time. We used to just analyze products on the macroscopic level (what we can plainly see), because we didn't have the technology to analyze things on any other level. Now, as science has advanced at such a profound rate, we are able to discover so much more on why things happen the way they do, how things work, and why things have the qualities that they do at the microscopic and atomic levels.
If we look back at the history of pencils, it's hard to imagine that, with the ever-growing knowledge of materials science, inventions will do anything but stagnate.
In regards to the second question, ultimately, a materials properties come from how it's built on the subatomic level, meaning the amount of protons, neutrons, and electrons decide each material. Different types of bonding equal different creations. Matter is made from different atoms bonding in different ways, and these ways determine properties such as malleability, conductivity, and luminescence. Think about baking cookies. If you increase the amount of flour, the cookies become denser. Increase the amount of ginger, and you just made gingerbread cookies. Decrease the amount of sugar, and you just made a healthy snack (let's not evaluate the validity of this analogy). Baking cookies can be synonymous with the properties of materials. Each ingredient represents protons, neutrons, and electrons. This is the atomic level. When you compile all the different types of cookies in a package, you create a gift. This is similar to the macroscopic level and how looking at things on a bigger scale is also beneficial, and, in this case, delicious. Since different types and amounts of materials create different things, looking at matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels are all equally important in knowing why things are they way they are and have the properties that they do.
Take a look below at some of the projects I completed in my first semester.
To answer the first question, I will use pencils as an example. Before 1564, pencils were composed of lead. Lead was a known metal that left a light mark on papyrus (an early form of paper). It worked well enough, but was toxic and only left a very light mark. When graphite was discovered in England in 1564, people learned it was not only non-toxic, but also created a much darker mark, so it began being used in place of lead. The refinement of pencils was led on by the discovery of another metal, and, like many other instances, created a better work. However, discoveries can only lead to so much of an evolution. Not every refinement of an object can be due to a discovery. This is where materials science comes in. Since we have discovered so much about what materials are made of and why, we are about to create materials that are more cost-effective, durable, long-lasting, and have a higher performance rate. The chemistry of materials has allowed us to analyze the properties that make up objects, see what possible improvements could be made, and look at how that can be done.
Science has evolved exponentially over time. We used to just analyze products on the macroscopic level (what we can plainly see), because we didn't have the technology to analyze things on any other level. Now, as science has advanced at such a profound rate, we are able to discover so much more on why things happen the way they do, how things work, and why things have the qualities that they do at the microscopic and atomic levels.
If we look back at the history of pencils, it's hard to imagine that, with the ever-growing knowledge of materials science, inventions will do anything but stagnate.
In regards to the second question, ultimately, a materials properties come from how it's built on the subatomic level, meaning the amount of protons, neutrons, and electrons decide each material. Different types of bonding equal different creations. Matter is made from different atoms bonding in different ways, and these ways determine properties such as malleability, conductivity, and luminescence. Think about baking cookies. If you increase the amount of flour, the cookies become denser. Increase the amount of ginger, and you just made gingerbread cookies. Decrease the amount of sugar, and you just made a healthy snack (let's not evaluate the validity of this analogy). Baking cookies can be synonymous with the properties of materials. Each ingredient represents protons, neutrons, and electrons. This is the atomic level. When you compile all the different types of cookies in a package, you create a gift. This is similar to the macroscopic level and how looking at things on a bigger scale is also beneficial, and, in this case, delicious. Since different types and amounts of materials create different things, looking at matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels are all equally important in knowing why things are they way they are and have the properties that they do.
Take a look below at some of the projects I completed in my first semester.