I thoroughly enjoyed a great amount of the projects we did for chemistry, and the tasks that come with those projects. Those projects included the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan internship. For the SWPPP internship, everyone in our group of five was assigned a different job. The primary goal of the SWPPP project was to gain knowledge and to raise awareness of our storm water systems, and the issues surrounding them. Next was the Poisons project. The topic of this project was how chemistry can be used in lethal ways, as in poisons. I was able to choose a partner for this project to help create a piece to represent our poison, which was phenol. A challenge in this project was finding reliable sources for our research, as some websites said different things about our poison. Finally, my partner and I collected enough research and we made a faux radio advertisement from the early 1900s, when phenol was prominently used as a poison. The most recent project, and last one of the year, was the chemistry demos project. Each student was able to choose a chemistry experiment they would like to research and eventually perform several times to learn about. I learned about the maillard reaction when I baked cookies over and over, changing different components to see how they would turn out. At the end of the project, we did presentations and then a live demo about our experiments.
There are some things I’d change about the chemistry demo project. I would likely put more time into research, even if I wouldn't put that research into my presentation. There was one question that I didn't know the exact answer to, but I would be able to easily answer if I had put a little more research in. In the project itself, I had to do the experiment 4 times which felt like a little bit much. Maybe the results were different for others, but I got similar results every single time. Next year, I’d like to work on research and my artistic skills. I can practice doing both of these over the summer. If I don't take a break from doing school work, it will be easier to get the groove of school work next year. I want to put more effort into school in general to get good grades, because I know that I can do great work if I try.
During the three main projects in chemistry, I learned I do better work if I actually enjoy the topic of the work I’m doing. I did better work in the Chemistry Demos project than I did in the SWPPP project, because I am not particularly interested in stormwater or things revolving around stormwater. On the contrary, I am interested in baking, which is why I enjoyed learning about the maillard reaction in baking for the Chemistry Demos project.
As much as I enjoyed doing chemistry this year, it wasn't perfect. The projects overlapped each other in the very end. The Chemistry Demos project and the SWPPP group project started at the same time, and we didn't have much time for SWPPP as Chemistry Demos were much more heavily emphasized. My groups SWPPP project could be a lot better with more content. Other than that, I learned a lot from this class and wouldn't change much.
SWPPP was probably the most useful project because it counted as an official internship with the city of San Marcos. The class was also able to learn about the negative impacts pollution has on our storm drains, and also how the drains function. If I ever wanted to get a job for the city, it would help. For example, a city planner would need to know about the drainage system. I hope the students who work on SWPPP next year are given more time to do their final SWPPP project, because I don't think many students this year achieved their final goals.
There are some things I’d change about the chemistry demo project. I would likely put more time into research, even if I wouldn't put that research into my presentation. There was one question that I didn't know the exact answer to, but I would be able to easily answer if I had put a little more research in. In the project itself, I had to do the experiment 4 times which felt like a little bit much. Maybe the results were different for others, but I got similar results every single time. Next year, I’d like to work on research and my artistic skills. I can practice doing both of these over the summer. If I don't take a break from doing school work, it will be easier to get the groove of school work next year. I want to put more effort into school in general to get good grades, because I know that I can do great work if I try.
During the three main projects in chemistry, I learned I do better work if I actually enjoy the topic of the work I’m doing. I did better work in the Chemistry Demos project than I did in the SWPPP project, because I am not particularly interested in stormwater or things revolving around stormwater. On the contrary, I am interested in baking, which is why I enjoyed learning about the maillard reaction in baking for the Chemistry Demos project.
As much as I enjoyed doing chemistry this year, it wasn't perfect. The projects overlapped each other in the very end. The Chemistry Demos project and the SWPPP group project started at the same time, and we didn't have much time for SWPPP as Chemistry Demos were much more heavily emphasized. My groups SWPPP project could be a lot better with more content. Other than that, I learned a lot from this class and wouldn't change much.
SWPPP was probably the most useful project because it counted as an official internship with the city of San Marcos. The class was also able to learn about the negative impacts pollution has on our storm drains, and also how the drains function. If I ever wanted to get a job for the city, it would help. For example, a city planner would need to know about the drainage system. I hope the students who work on SWPPP next year are given more time to do their final SWPPP project, because I don't think many students this year achieved their final goals.
phenol_-_2_8_19_2.10_pm.mp3 | |
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