This is it!

Wow. Hard to believe this is it, the last blog posting for CHEM 1000! It's been an absolutely crazy 8 weeks, and I'll be happy to have my "regular" life back for a bit before I get thrown into the chaos of packing and moving. I think I'm going to miss parts of this class though! More on that in a bit....

The only reading I had to do this week was chapter 14 in Uncle Tungsten, "Lines of Force." He talks about experiments he did that demonstrated electricity, and then goes on to talk about batteries and magnetism and how they link together. As an aside, I have to say that after reading this book I think his parents had remarkable patience. I can't think of too many people who would put up with his experiments, let alone encourage them. Anyway, it was interesting seeing how he "discovered" the activity series through making trees out of the different metals. This chapter ties in to everyday life because our society is so dependent on magnetism, batteries and electricity, and these three in turn depend on each other to function. Experience a power outage and you realize pretty quickly just how much you rely on electricity. Car's battery goes dead? You're in trouble. Camera or phone battery goes dead? You're frustrated. I'm using magnets, batteries and electricity right now sitting here typing this blog post. There's a show that started up last year called "Revolution"; the plot revolves around what could happen in our country if the power grid were to shut down. I watched the first half-season or so and then got too busy to keep up, but it illustrated just how much we depend on electricity. It's actually kind of scary, when you think about it... it makes you think about trying to find ways to not rely on electricity so heavily, just on the slight chance something were to happen!

This week I actually managed to watch all the videos before I did the ALEKS homework. Usually it's the other way around. I was very grateful for the videos on "Calculating pH" and "Calculating pH of Hydronium Concentration" since they showed how to do the problems on the calculator. I also started obsessively checking whether I was dealing with [H3O+] or [OH-] after the end of the video caught me off guard. The two videos on Le Chatlier's principle also made the concept so much simpler than ALEKS made it sound; if you add something to one side, it's going to want to move to the other side. On the other hand, if you take something away from one side, the other side's going to want to move in! Duh! I also liked the videos on "Oxidation States - Ions" and "Oxidation States - Compounds." I thought the "mathematical equation" way of approaching the problems was very easy to remember. Another video that I appreciated was the one on identifying buffers. It also made the concept ridiculously easy. I tend to be a visual person in many respects, so having these videos has made a big difference. I can read a concept and understand it pretty quickly, but seeing it worked out with reassurances of "Look, you see, it's not so hard" really improves my comprehension.

Overall, I think this course is an excellent introduction to chemistry, with emphasis on introduction. Anyone expecting the nitty gritty tiny details of chemistry will be either relieved or disappointed, depending on where you're coming from. (I, for one, was relieved; just an introduction to chemistry provided me with enough nitty gritty details, thankyouverymuch!) I thought the textbook was very good; I like books that have plenty of pictures and real-life examples, and this book provided both. I also liked that it gave lots of extra problems I could work on if I needed more practice with a certain concept. I took chemistry in high school and my memory of the class is pretty dim. However, from what I do recall I would consider this an excellent review. So based on the material covered I would definitely recommend this class to someone either looking to brush up on their high school chemistry or who has never taken chemistry before. However, I would hesitate to recommend it for someone who has a full-time job and/or might be taking other classes at the same time. I had a very flexible schedule this summer and there were stretches where I was barely keeping up. I kind of felt like Wile E. Coyote from this cartoon, alternating between "No sweat, I've got this" and "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh I'm going to dieeeeee!!!" If I were to recommend this class to someone, I would first let them know that it will take up a lot of time. I think I spent an average of 6 hours a day on chemistry-related work. Perhaps the semester-based class is a bit easier on time; if it is that might be a better fit for the working student or someone with kids. However, if a summer class is your only option, or if you're prepared to spend most of your day on chemistry-related work, then I think this class is a good choice.

Overall I thought the labs did a good job illustrating the concepts we were learning about. It was a bit overwhelming to get through 2 or so labs per week, and each lab was usually an afternoon-long production. I appreciated the emphasis on using items that are typically around the house. There were no outlandish supplies required; we made lots of trips to the store, but at least everything could be found at an Albertson's or Wal-Mart! That being said, sometimes my results using "homemade" supplies didn't turn out as well. I spent a couple of hours on preparing cabbage pH fluid and testing substances (from my infamous pH experiment debacle) before I realized that it wasn't working, and I had no idea why not. I had pH strips on hand that had been provided by the school with the lab kit, and I was ready to throw my hands in the air and use them. (I felt like someone going from baking using organic ingredients to purchasing pre-packaged processed.) Thank goodness the substitute blueberry pH fluid worked; it is fun to see how natural substances can show these scientific phenomena. However, it took another couple of hours to get the fluid prepped and the experiment underway again. If I were to make any changes to the labs perhaps I would include more specific details on how to prep the "homemade" supplies... for example, "Soak cabbage leaves until water is a dark purple-blue. If the water isn't dark enough that means it is too dilute and your pH strips won't work." The only other aspect of the labs I found challenging was, ironically enough, the worksheets. I think a part of my difficulties with them was due to the fact that I didn't yet have a clear grasp on the concepts. I was ready to tear my hair out after constructing a few gumdrop "molecules." I don't know if there's any way to have "Companion to Lab Experiment ___" videos; I think if I'd had a video showing a couple of examples of gumdrop molecules and how to construct them based on the formulas, it would've helped. Again, the visual talking-it-through is a big bonus for me, and it helped me so much in the homework and lectures, so if there was some way to incorporate that into the lab as well I think it would be fantastic! Overall, though, most of the experiments turned out beautifully and were a lot of fun, so I can't complain too much!

Overall likes and dislikes about this course... well, let's break it down! Likes: first, the discussion boards. I had a great time with this aspect of the course. I liked that they made us think about chemistry in relation to every day life; plus, each person had their own unique take on things, so it was a great way to get to know the other students a bit. I also appreciated that the boards gave us the chance to go behind things like PLA and fuel-cell cars and decide for ourselves whether they're all they are trumpeted to be. Second: the blog. I enjoy writing, and this blog showed me that I could even enjoy writing about chemistry! Plus, I think it's a good way for the instructor to get to know each student and to gain some insight into how the class is going. Third: the accessibility of the instructor. I cannot emphasize how much I appreciated having almost instantaneous help one text away. It's the first time I've been able to get in touch with the instructor so quickly in any online class I've taken, and it made such a huge difference. Now, dislikes. First: how much time I had to spend each day working on assignments. There's really nothing that can be done to change that, since it was an accelerated class, and we were warned before we started the class that it would be time-consuming. I've already touched on this, though, so let's move on. Honestly, the only thing that I really disliked about this class (at times) was ALEKS. In some ways it was fantastic and very effective, but it really became frustrating when I would get stuck in a section and hitting "explain" didn't explain enough. There were a few nights where I would spend two or more hours going in circles in one crummy section. I came to the point where I didn't care about understanding the concept anymore, since I'd just spent several hours trying to understand it and I wasn't getting it; all I cared about was getting the answers right. Ialso did not like that it gave no partial credit. I hated getting 3 out of 4 correct on a chart problem and then having to start all over again on another problem. I think my ideal homwork problem would give partial credit; it would also have an initial "Having Problems With This Concept? Here's a Quick Explanation" explain button, and if that wasn't enough, a "This Concept for Dummies" button that really broke it down and took it through step by step. With videos. Overall though, when I weight everything in the balance the positives of this class far outweighed the negatives.

If I could change anything in the course, it would probably be the way ALEKS operates. I don't know whether that's possible, but I can dream! The only other thing I would change would perhaps be to add a "suggested schedule" section. I know there was a calendar provided, and everyone's schedules are different. Still, I think it might be a good idea to have it broken down a bit further. Maybe something like "Monday - textbook reading, perform experiment, begin ALEKS. Tuesday - Uncle Tungsten. Lab report draft. ALEKS. DB posting." I think a sample schedule to work from would've really helped me personally.

What would I keep the same in the course? Well, I would keep the discussion boards the same. I think those really add to the class. The blog is another thing I would keep going. Overall I would keep the labs the same (with the caveats I talked about above). I would also keep the students' editing each other's papers in the course, though maybe that's better suited to a fall or winter term than an accelerated class. It did take up a lot of time, but I found it very helpful. I would also keep offering the online meetings as an option. I know I was only able to attend one, but if I'd had the time I would have attended more. I know we covered some material while I was on vacation that I would've loved to gone over in a hangout, but the internet connection there was problematic. I would also keep up the utilizaiton of different web programs. I'd never uploaded anything to YouTube or used Google Draw or Google Presentations before; they were royal pains to figure out, but in the end I know how they work, which could come in handy.

It's kind of hard for me to say how my term has gone because I haven't been taking any other classes (thank goodness). In terms of this particular class, though, I'd say overall it's gone pretty well! I'm going to be seeing if I can get a couple more classes to transfer to Sheridan so I can apply for the dental hygiene program next year. I took this class thinking my other classes would be a slam dunk to transfer and this would be the last requirement I'd need. Now it looks like the microbiology might be a little dicey. I took pathophysiology through Weber State and I'm really really really hoping that's close enough to microbiology that I can get credit for it. I honestly don't want to take another class this year... I doubt I'll have the time or budget for it once I move. It would be too bad if that one class would stop me from being able to get in, especially after I've taken this one! I've heard really good things about the Sheridan program, and good things about the town itself, so I'm hoping it will be an option along with Weber State. Speaking of moving, that's my next big step. I got a job as a dental assistant, which absolutely blew my mind; I was prepared to waitress, work as a receptionist, at a daycare, anything that would cover my expenses. Instead, in a small town with kind of limited options, I end up with a job that prepares me for my long-term goal of dental hygiene! What are the odds?

I'm actually considering tweaking the name of my blog and keeping it up once I move. Like I said, I enjoy writing. I think it would be a fun way to keep my friends and family up to date on what I'm doing. I also enjoy photography (very casually; one of these days I'd like to take some classes, but for now I'm strictly amateur) so I could use the blog as a way to share the pictures for everyone to enjoy. I also enjoy cooking and baking, which I could incorporate in the blog as well. We'll see how it goes... Once I start working I might think "Blog??? Who has time for that?????" For now, though, I'll be keeping the blog. I probably won't be posting to it anytime soon, but I'd like to have it there in case I am able to do something with it!

I took my final exam this morning and wasn't thrilled with my results. I spent all yesterday afternoon and evening reviewing the lecture notes and videos, and I felt like I had a really good grasp on most of the material. It's frustrating when you feel like you've come away with more from a course than what your final exam grade shows (that's been the story of much of my academic career). I should know by now that the stuff I feel "just OK" about is the stuff that will pop up on the exam... it's just Murphy's law. I had to laugh because last night before I went to bed I was reading from Helen Keller's autobiography and this passage jumped out at me: "But the examinations are the chief bugbears of my college life... the days before these ordeals take place are spent in cramming your mind with mystic formulae and indigestible dates - unpalatable diets, until you wish that books and science and you were buried in the depths of the sea. At last the dreaded hour arrives, and you are a favoured being indeed if you feel prepared, and are able at the right time to call to your standard thoughts that will aid you in that supreme effort. It happens too often that your trumpet call is unheeded. It is most perplexing and exasperating that just at the moment when you need your memory and a nice sense of discrimination, these faculties take to themselves wings and fly away. The facts you have garnered with such infinite trouble invariably fail you at a pinch. 'Give a brief account of Huss and his work.' Huss? Who was he and what did he do? The name looks strangely familiar. You ransack your budget of historic facts much as you would hunt for a bit of silk in a rag-bag. You are sure it is somewhere in your mind near the top... But where is it now? You fish out all manner of odds and ends of knowledge.... but Huss, where is he? You are amazed at all the things you know which are not on the examination paper... Just then the proctor informs you that the time is up. With a feeling of intense disgust you... go home, your head full of revolutionary schemes to abolish the divine right of professors to ask questions without the consent of the questioned." (Helen Keller, The Story of My Life, chapter 20.) After 4 years at a liberal arts college and 3 years of online classes, I think I can say I've experienced almost the exact same feelings at each exam. I remember one final my junior year of college... it was the "lab" final, which is code for the science class. I had been up until 2 AM before my brain just gave out. I knew all the main bullet points and 95% of the little "detail" points. I was ready. Then the final was handed out (the majority of our finals were comprised of essay questions, though in math and lab we might be asked to demonstrate some theorems or propositions)... it had 3 parts... and part 3 was an essay question on one of the teeny tiny "detail" points on the review guide that I had figured needed no more than 2 sentences or so. I realized that I wasn't going to be able to answer the question. Freshman year I probably would've cried. Junior year was a bit different. I sat there for a second staring at it, thought "Hm, that's not good," and then decided to write a substitute essay on something I did understand. I was beyond caring that my grade would be awful, I just wanted to show that yes, I HAD been paying attention in class, even if I couldn't answer this one question! Sure enough, my grade wasn't good, but I didn't fail the class. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

On that "it's funny because it's true" note... I think it's about time to wrap this blog up (the chemistry part of it, anyway). It's going to be strange not sitting down every Sunday to talk about my week! A big thank you to my instructor for being so patient and encouraging with me. It's been a wild ride, but I've enjoyed it.

Almost there!

This week was actually a bit slower! I had a hard time believing I was so on top of things! I probably could've done a better job of trying to work ahead; looking at everything I need to get done before Friday gives me a miniature panic attack. That being said, it was nice to be able to have breathing room this week.

This week I read from chapter 15 on "Chemical Equilibrium" on rate of chemical reaction, activation energy, LeChatelier's principle, and (surprise!) chemical equilibrium. This chapter was pretty straightforward; it made sense right away that increasing concentration, temperature, or pressure would increase the rate of reaction. LeChatelier's principle made a heck of a lot more sense in the book than in ALEKS; I think ALEKS tends to throw more complicated stuff at you right away rather than easing you in. The discussion board on equilibrium really showed me just how important equilibrium is in our everyday lives. Without equilibrium we wouldn't be able to function; in fact, I think our body systems would shut down pretty quickly. The world would be a very unstable place.

This week I read chapter 7, " Chemical Recreations," in Uncle Tungsten. Sacks starts off fairly generally, talking about the fun he had making crystals and "chemical gardens." After a bit he starts talking about acids and bases, and describes the experiments his uncle showed him. I particularly enjoyed the very end of the chapter where Sacks talks about how he collected bus tickets that had a chemical symbol with the corresponding atomic weight on them. I've saved the tickets for almost all of the movies, shows, and operas I've seen, so it sounds like something I would do. I was also struck by how Sacks said he had a new respect for salt after watching the violent reactions that produced it. Salt is such a basic ingredient in the cupboard that I've always taken it for granted; I think I have a bit more respect for it now too.

This week also showed me that there are acids and bases all around me every day. We have a lemon tree outside, so we have plenty of access to acidic lemon juice. We use vinegar on a fairly regular basis, and that's also an acid. I wash my hands every day using soap, and I wash my hair with shampoo; both of those are basic. It seems like acids are a good choice when you need to break down substances (for example, we use vinegar to help get rid of calcium deposits on dishes); on the other hand, drain cleaner is strongly basic, and that also dissolves things like hair and grease in clogged drains. When you're cleaning you'll probably want to reach for an acid-based cleaner to clean metals, and if you're dealing with other, more organic substances, you'll probably need something that's basic.

The videos this week were pretty straightforward overall. The redox playlist gave me some good tips; I liked how the math was set up in "Oxidation States - Ions" and "Oxidation States - Compounds." "Activity Series Application 2" was a helpful companion to the material in the book. I also appreciated the help with "Calculating pH of hydronium concentration" and "Calculating pH." One thing that has been tripping me up is identifying whether acids and bases are strong or weak, so I was happy to see the video on that. I'm still a little unclear about how exactly it works; I think I may have missed where we talked about monoprotic and diotic and comparing it to the oxygen. I also couldn't remember where the piece was on strong bases. I got an idea of how it worked from the video but I'm going to have to study it a bit more.

Thinking back over the last 7 weeks, overall I have been pretty happy with how this class has been. It definitely started out overwhelming. I wish there was some way for the setup to be a bit more condensed; I got the hang of it after a couple of weeks, but for the new student it was kind of like "Whaaaaa??? Where do I go for this? How about this? Oh... these are in here... then where am I supposed to upload this?" I also was not expecting to spend quite so much time on it each day. I thought I would be working 3-4 hours a day total (max!), so when I was spending closer to 5 or 6 depending on what was going on I got a bit frazzled. I'm glad we were warned in advance that this class would take a lot of work; I think it might be worth it to really emphasize that in the future and tell students that they can expect to spend an average of anywhere from x to y hours per day on class-related work (not just homework). I'm torn about the idea of students' critiquing each others' lab reports. I've worked as a tutor before and I have done plenty of paper grading and critiquing, so it wasn't difficult for me. However, it did take up a fair bit of time and was another thing I had to remember to do on top of everything else. On the other hand, I did appreciate the critiques; people picked up on typos or showed me where I needed to be clearer. I think perhaps this might be a good idea for a semester-based class where things are a bit more spread out. I have really enjoyed the discussion board assignments. I think the topics have been good ones and I like that they all have related to chemistry in everyday life. It's easy to forget that chemistry is fundamental to our existence and start seeing it as a bunch of symbols and numbers and mathematical formulas. The discussion boards bring it back to earth and show how diverse it is. They also are a way to help me get to know the other students at some level. I always have fun going and reading everyone else's posts and seeing what examples they've come up with. I think some of the "response questions" have kind of been cop outs... for example, "Isn't it fascinating that such-and-such that you just clearly showed has such an effect?" (I've had a couple of those myself, so I'm not pointing a finger at anyone.) However, a lot of the questions have really sparked some interesting responses, so that aspect of it is a bit of a mixed bag. The labs have been pretty enjoyable as a whole. I appreciate that they require (for the most part) such basic ingredients. It goes to show that you don't need a fancy shmancy lab with high tech equipment to demonstrate the principles of chemistry. Also, even though the oral report was a bit of a pain to put together, I think it is a good requirement. It was fun seeing how everyone approached assembling their videos and adapting the experiment so it would work well on camera. I've noticed that many of the aspects of this class have made me more familiar with basic computer programs like Google Docs, Blogger, and YouTube. It's a nice bonus to have some experience with these programs under my belt.

I'm a bit nervous about the final exam. I need to take it a day early because the testing center isn't open on Fridays, so that only really leaves me Wednesday to study. I've done it before (flashbacks to my up-til-2-AM-night-before-final experiences), so I'll cram it all in. Any final is nervewracking though, and since I'm really trying to keep my grade in the range it's in right now I need to do well!

Lab this week was another one of this unexpected surprises. The first part of experiment 12, where I dissolved the aspirin tablets, went off without a hitch. I ran into some snags in part two. The cabbage pH indicator fluid I'd made wasn't even close to being strong enough, so the paper strips were not changing color. At all. Of course I didn't have any more cabbage, so after some "What do I do???" texts to the instructor she suggested I make blueberry pH liquid. I had never thought of such a thing, and I had to laugh as I was prepping the strips: "Well, I can check stirring paper strips in a bowl of warm blueberry liquid off my bucket list." But lo and behold, it worked! I think I'll be using blueberry pH liquid instead of cabbage in my next experiment because the results were so much better. Experiment 13 went a little smoother. I was a bit surprised by the results with the glowstick; why did it get so much dimmer in a glass of ice water than in a freezer when a freezer is at 0 degrees and the water's in the low 30s? I kept the glow stick in the freezer as long as I could but it wasn't for 24 hours, so maybe that was a part of it. The iodine and calcium C part of the experiment was fun; the color change is pretty spectacular.

A follow up from last week: I made rock candy. Or rather, I attempted to make rock candy. I've had a wooden skewer (which, I was told, was a perfectly acceptable substitute for string) in sugar water for about 6 days now and nary a crystal in sight. The weather has still been fairly humid until recently, and thinking about it I believe the extra moisture in the air could have been keeping the sugar more saturated. The only other thing I can think of is I added a splash of vanilla (which I was also told should work just fine, according to the recipe I used)... maybe the alcohol affected it somehow? Anyway, here's what 4 cups of sugar got me. (I'm trying not to think about how many brownies I could've made with 4 cups of sugar.) I had moistened the stick and rolled it in sugar before putting it in the sugar water solution (again, something that was supposed to guarantee bigger crystals), so that's the sugar you'll see towards the top.

I can't believe I just have one more blog entry left after this! Less than a week left!

Fountains, Oobleck and Gak-Slime

 Two weeks left in Chemistry, and I'm starting to burn out. I'm enjoying the material, but there is just so much to do every day! I'm just barely keeping up with the deadlines, which is not like me; I like to have stuff done in advance so there's no rushing at the last minute. I'll also be moving to Wyoming next month, so I think there are a lot of things on my mind and it's harder to focus. But there are only 2 weeks left, so the finish line is in sight!

Well, this week I read from chapters 11, 12 and 13 on "Gases," "Liquids, Solids, and Intermolecular Forces" and "Solutions," respectively. It was all pretty straightforward (except for intermolecular forces, which make sense but are hard to keep track of); I enjoy this part of chemistry, especially the different states of matter. I think I also enjoy it because these are very tangible subjects for me. We see examples of gases, liquids and solids every day, and it's cool to see how these different substances are held together. What I've been discovering is, while the concepts are pretty easy, the homework in ALEKS can be very tricksy. I'll get an explanation for a problem, think "OK, that makes sense," go to start a new problem... and then they throw a whole new twist in it and I get stuck. Even if I have the concept right there will be one little conversion error somewhere that throws the whole thing off. Chemistry is definitely a precise science, and for good reason... it's just not so fun for the student on hour 3 of homework when you find you were off by one decimal place.

 I was going to try making rock candy but it's been so humid the last few days that I gave it up as a lost cause. I'm going to give it a shot this week; my little brothers will love it. I do understand something about how it works; when the sugar liquid is heated it's able to hold more sugar than it would at room temperature. (I saw this demonstrated in an experiment earlier in the course.) As it cools, however, the solution becomes super saturated and the sugar begins to precipitate out. Put a string in and voila! If all goes the way it should, you have rock candy, courtesy of the principles of saturation that we learned about this week. I love it when chemistry relates to food. We used to subscribe to the magazine Cook's Illustrated and they often talked about the science they would use in their recipe development; almost all of it was chemistry-related.

Speaking of food, when I started thinking about it, I realized that most of the food we eat is in solution (maybe all, but I don't quite see how a hamburger is in solution... would that count as a solid solution?). Certainly nearly all the fluids we drink are solutions (except water, that's usually the solvent in the solution we drink). Even something like cold cereal is a solution; it's a solid in a liquid. I just had a glass of pear hard cider as I worked on my homework this afternoon, and that was an example of a gas solute in a liquid solvent. Solutions are everywhere in our food options!

The videos I found most helpful this week were in the solutions playlist. The first few were pretty commonsense material for me ( the two "Mass Percent" videos and "Molarity"). Given how tough the ALEKS homework can get, though, I was very appreciative to see basic straightforward examples in the "Dilution" video and the "Solution Chemistry" videos. Solution chemistry has been giving me a rough time in ALEKS so it's nice to have the videos as a reminder that the basic concepts are basic. It's just a matter of trying to break everything down and see where the missing links are.

I did two labs this week: the "Fountains, Oobleck and Gak-Slime" experiment and the experiment with vinegar and Alka-Seltzer. I had so much fun with the first experiment. I love mixing things together that turn into substances with absolutely no resemblance to their components. I think my favorite moment was trying to get my little brothers to play with the Oobleck. My youngest brother absolutely refused to touch it for quite awhile, but when he did I was ready with a camera. His face was pretty priceless.

"What IS this stuff? Eeeewwww!!!"

The Alka-Seltzer experiment proved to be an unexpected headache. First off, I didn't realize until AFTER the experiment that the store-brand Alka-Seltzer we had used was primarily for cold medicine. It seemed to work just fine until it came time to do the calculations. I was getting absolutely bizzare numbers and had to go back and re-do and adjust everything before I could do all the math for the final results. Then I started overthinking things and spent about an hour trying to figure out how to calculate the final mass of carbon dioxide, using these fancy conversions and calculations. Eventually, with my brain turning to gel, I realized "Oh. Subtract the final mass of the cup from the initial mass. DUH." At least I think I understand the principles behind the results, even if said results were funky.

And that was my week in chemistry! Crazy as always (I'm starting to resign myself to that) but interesting. Let's see what this next week will bring!

History and chemistry

 I think the tagline for my experience with this class should be "If it's not one thing it's another." I finally started to get into a rhythm this week, and then I got sick! Thank goodness for assignment extensions, but I've had some catching up to do the last few days. I think I'm at a pretty good place as I start the week, but we'll see if anything else pops up unexpectedly.

Well, last week I read from chapters 6, 8, and 11 in the textbook, which covered "Chemical Composition," "Quantities in Chemical Reactions" and "Gases," respectively. Chapter 6 was pretty straightforward; mass percent is really easy, and I've never had much trouble with empirical or molecular formulas. Chapter 8 was a bit trickier. Mole-mole and mass-mass conversions weren't too hard, but limiting reactants took some work. Overall, though, I think I understood everything. Chapter 11 covered kinetic molecular theory, pressure, and Boyle's and Charles's Laws. Other than remembering the conversion factors for pressure units I don't think I'll have much trouble with the material that was covered.

The videos this week were short and sweet, just how I like them. I copied all the example problems for "moles-atoms," "atoms-moles," "grams-moles," grams-atoms," "molecules-grams," "mole-mole," "grams-grams," and "mass percent composition" into my notebook for easy reference. I also found that the limiting reactants video was really helpful. I'd gotten through the homework on that topic on ALEKS, but it didn't give any tricks for easily identifying the limiting reactant. I liked that the video showed that you can look for the smallest number and go back to the original formula in that "sequence," and that will be the limiting reactant.

I got to read more of Uncle Tungsten this week; this time I read about "Chemical Language." Sacks essentially covered the development of chemistry as a science. He begins with the investigations of Boyle, who showed that air was a material substance and not some "ethereal, all-pervading medium" (p. 104). He then moves to Lavoisier, who debunked the prevalent theory of phlogiston, and showed that combustion was a chemical process. He also defined elements, demonstrated conservation of mass and "rewrote" the language of chemistry to make it more uniform and scientific. One of my favorite parts had to be footnote number 2, which listed Lavoisier's many accomplishements. Talk about an overachiever! And then to be guillotined in the French Revolution. Wow. I was curious about what happened, so I went to Wikipedia to look it up. According to their article about him, "Lavoisier was convicted with summary justice of having plundered the people and the treasury of France, of having adulterated the nation's tobacco with water, and of having supplied the enemies of France with huge sums of money from the national treasury. Lavoisier, along with 27 of his former colleagues, was guillotined on the same day." It reminded me in some ways of the brilliant young scientists who were killed in WWI; I think it can be easy to overlook the fact that war and revolution have destroyed some of the most brilliant thinkers in the world. This chapter actually related a lot to my life because I had studied Boyle and Lavoisier my sophomore year at college; we read their original works and discussed the exact progression of chemistry as laid out by Sacks. I don't remember many of the particulars, but I do remember reading a copy of an original text by Lavoisier. This was from the day when they printed their "s"'s to look like "f"s. Unfortunately Lavoisier used the word "suck" pretty regularly ("I used such-and-such apparatus to suck the air out of the chamber") so it was quite a scandalous read. I just remember sitting in the dining area with my friends, reading our Lavoisier assignments, and everyone with a "I wish my mind wouldn't go there" look on their faces.

For experiment 8 this week I created "airbags" out of plastic baggies, vinegar and baking soda. I really enjoyed this experiment; it was fun to mix everything in the bag and then throw it a respectable distance away and watch the bag expand. I kind of hoped I'd see a bag explode, but no such luck. Experiment 9 looked really easy, but, of course, turned out to be more of a hassle than I expected. First I thought "Oh, the size of the bottle won't matter, as long as it's close-ish." Wrong. I tried using a Del Taco enchilada sauce packet, a mustard packet, a soy sauce packet, and a ketchup packet with that darn 20-oz bottle, with absolutely no results. After ransacking our "recycle" bottle bags, our plastics drawer and our cupboards, we found a 16 oz vanilla bottle that was commandeered to serve in the name of science. Luckily the ketchup pack worked with the new bottle size. Then I tore the art supplies shelf apart for silly putty. No silly putty. My mom tore the shelf apart ("I KNOW we had some!"). No silly putty. So I googled homemade playdough and mixed up 2 cups of the stuff so I could have a little wad for the experiment. I added playdough to the pencap, subtracted it, stuffed it in the opening, stuck it on the pointed end, wrapped it around the barrel... nope. No matter what I did the pen cap stuck stubbornly to the side of the bottle or sank to the bottom. Eventually I gave up. Luckily part 2 of the experiment went beautifully; I think it was to make up for all the fuss in part 1. I had to use Google Draw again to help demonstrate the results. When it comes to Google Draw I have absolutely no pride. As long as you can sort of tell what's going on, that's all I ask of myself.

I thought it was funny that I used champagne as an example for the sections on gas we read this week, especially Boyle's Law and Charles's Law. You see, we hardly ever have the stuff in the house, but a friend brought a bottle of peach almond champagne for us on the 4th, and we finally broke into it last night. As my dad was opening it I was thinking "The volume of a gas and its pressure are inversely proportional" and "The volume of a gas and its Kelvin temperature are directly proportional." (Introductory Chemistry.)  "The bottle's been in the fridge so according to Charles's Law the volume should be lower... it's going to pop, it's going to pop... *POP* Boyle's law at work!"

I was thinking more about what I wanted to do for my "free space" in this post, and my mind went back to the opening of the Uncle Tungsten reading this week. I also related to the opening of this chapter, where Sacks talked about his love of history and his desire to see chemistry through its historical lens. I too love history; I think the most dry, boring subects (for the record, in my book chemistry doesn't fall in that category!) can come alive if you're able to see the historical side and gain some insight into the people involved. Maybe that's why I love History Channel programming and the live-reenactments that are popular on TV these days, such as the "Killing Lincoln" show I saw recently. It makes all the difference to SEE what happened, rather than just reading about it. It sounds like Lavoisier's life would make a great movie or TV film; he sounded like such a dynamic character. I've been getting to see my family history lately... my sister and I are working on digitizing all of my late grandma's photos and letters. Of course I'd heard about my great-grandparents (her parents), but finding my great-grandmother's photo scrapbooks and my great-grandfather's WWI scrapbook brought them to life in a whole new way. My great-grandfather started the Bloedorn Lumber Company, so it was fascinating seeing the old photos of my grandma in her baby buggy in front of the original "Torrington Lumber Company" when he was just starting out in the early 1920s.

 From a trip to Wyoming a couple of years ago.

We found out that my grandmother had been engaged to a paratrooper who was killed in the Battle of the Bulge. We also discovered the letters my grandparents sent each other when they first met and started dating. I had never heard much about that time of their lives, so it was fascinating seeing how their relationship developed. I also learned from those letters that under my grandpa's quiet, laid-back exterior beat the heart of a true romantic. Some of the things we find raise new questions too; my grandpa was sent to the Pacific Theater during WWII, but he never told us anything about any of his experiences. However, we found a box of WWII ribbons and decorations hidden away in a closet. We researched them and at least a couple looked like they were Japanese. I would give a lot now to be able to ask him how he came across those and to learn more about what he went through. To anyone who thinks history or chemistry is boring, I'd say follow Sacks' example and "understand how these early chemists thought... imagine myself into their worlds." Whether it's your grandparents or Lavoisier, it makes the past come alive.

It's a juggling act

 Well, this week marked the halfway point in my summer chemistry class, and it was another hectic one. We left Northern California on Tuesday so I had to get all the assignments due that day in on Monday. Then Wednesday I was playing catchup with ALEKS (thank goodness I was able to turn my DB assignments the next day), and Thursday was the 4th of July so other than the DB assignments I didn't do any further work. That meant Friday I was playing catchup with ALEKS again and rushing to get the lab sheet in. Maybe... just maybe... next week will be better?

 Miss Daisy Celebrating Independence Day

This week I read from chapters 5 ("Molecules and Compounds"), 18 ("Organic Chemistry"), 7 ("Chemical Reactions"), and 6 ("Chemical Composition"). For the most part chapter 5 didn't cause any problems, though naming acids could prove to be a bit tricky. Chapter 6 was a lot of math but not too bad. I understood all the concepts in chapter 7, but it's a lot to keep track of, so that's probably going to be my main obstacle there.

Chapter 18... oh my goodness, chapter 18. Again, I think I understood the concepts, but so much to remember! I feel like a lot of the material this week is stuff I would do great with if I could have a chart in front of me for reference... but unfortunately that's not quite how it works. Plus it's such detailed material. When I was doing the homework in ALEKS I would follow the more basic examples without much trouble, but then they'd throw a tricky problem at me. Even though I remembered the rules the particular structure or formula would throw me for a loop, so I'd apply them as best I could. Usually I was off somewhere so I'd be marked wrong and have to start all over again. Overall the nomenclature has been very challenging, not so much in theory, but definitely in practice.

I realize that most or all of the concepts I study in the readings have some relation to me and my daily life, but at times that's hard to see. The "Everyday Chemistry" sections in the chapters have been very helpful in that regard. For example, in chapter 5 I learned about how polyatomic ions are in everything from bleach to baked goods to Tums (p. 140). I only read one math-related section in chapter 6, so nothing jumped out at me there. Chapter 7, on the other hand, talked about evidence of chemical reactions. I see examples of that every day (color change, formation of a solid, formation fo a gas, emission of light, and the emission or absorption of heat), so that was easier to relate to me personally. Chapter 18 talked about scents and smells, which are obviously a huge part of everyday life. In fact, as I was studying earlier I noticed one of my favorite smells coming through the window, the smell of woodsmoke.

One of the discussion board assignments this week was on carbon. We had to read a work entitled (surprisingly) "Carbon" by Primo Levi and, using Google Draw, sketch the travels of the carbon atom. The reading itself was challenging but interesting. I'm not going to be super excited about a block on the periodic table with a "C" on it, but this reading made carbon come to life. It showed that atoms would have amazing stories to tell if they were able to communicate. Parts of the reading were fascinating... other parts were just confusing. Levi had a tendency to use "high-falutin'," flowery language, which was fun when it was understandable but some places were next to incomprehensible. The drawing was... well, it was an adventure. I'd never used Google Draw in my life but I have used online drawing programs once or twice. Let's just say I'd never been thrilled with my results. I'm no artist, but I can produce a reasonably good pencil sketch when I need to. Oh boy, did Google Draw take my pride down a few notches. It took me forever to figure out how to use the different features, and I never did successfully create an arc. Not where I wanted it to go, anyway; I was able to produce arcs everywhere but where they were supposed to be. Eventually I started relying on the "Scribble" feature and used it to draw most of what I ended up using. My falcon was either obese or had just eaten a huge dinner, but at least it was recognizable as a bird.

The other discussion board assignment, where we posted photos of examples of chemical change, ties into the question of how this course is relating to my daily life. Again, when I'm doing the homework problems I'm usually wondering what on earth this has to do with anything practical in my everyday life. But when I saw all the examples that everyone posted it drove home to me again just how much chemistry is a part of our everyday experiences. Everything from BBQ to the weather, from our pets to our kitchens, from our travels to our celebrations... chemistry pops up in all of them. I was honestly surprised at how many examples I was able to come up with, even though I jumped in later in the discussion and I was trying not to repeat what anyone else had done.

Lab this week was challenging. Between the trip home, unpacking, and the holiday (we have an ice cream social every 4th to watch the fireworks from our back porch... 70 people showed up this year) I hadn't been able to study as much as I would've liked. I felt like the material wasn't that hard, but I didn't fully understand it yet so I got quite a few answers wrong. I had to laugh at myself the next day. I popped awake in the morning and thought "Oh shoot. I just wrote NR. I bet you anything I was supposed to write out the full formula and then write NR afterwards." And sure enough, I was right. Why couldn't that insight have come to me while I was doing the assignment? I think I understand the material better now, but I may print the sheet up again and try to solve everything again before I take the exam.

There were a lot of videos this week. A lot. But since I usually find they make things easier for me to understand I didn't mind. The first few videos were pretty much review; for example, "Law of Constant Composition," "Chemical Formula Terminology," and "Binary Compounds - Fixed Charge Metals." The videos on naming acids ("Naming binary acids" and "Naming oxy acids") were very helpful. I like that the videos break everything down to individual topics so I'm not worrying about keeping which acid is what straight when I'm first learning about them. Nope, I learn just about the binary acids in the first video. Then it's clear to me that naming oxy acids will have a different set of rules. It also helps me keep the endings straight (I swear all those different variations on the endings will be the death of me). Given how much trouble I had with the organic chemistry section the videos on naming and the structures of alkenes, alkynes and alkanes were very welcome. I was especially grateful for the video on complex structured alkanes.

All in all, I feel like I understand nomenclature better. However I'm not at all confident that I'll be able to remember all the names and rules and "meths," "eths," "enes," "anes," "ynes," "ics," "ates," etc. Like I said earlier, I feel like I'd get along just fine if I was able to reference charts or lists, or if I had more time before the exam to really memorize it all. I think I'll be spending most of my time before this next exam trying to cram it all in. It's not necessarily that hard once you understand it, there's just a lot of it and it all sounds very similar so it's easy to get tripped up. I'm not sure I'll feel ready for the exam, but I'll certainly do what I can! That's what worries me most about the rest of the course as the concepts get harder, trying to get all the homework and assignments done and having the time to really understand what's going on. When I started out this class I think I predicted I'd do somewhere in the range of 4 hours a day of homework. What I had in my head was 4 hours a day of chemistry, period. I'm discovering that this is almost full-time work, between the different requirements, and if I miss one day then heaven help me the next day! And of course, I start thinking "Holy cow, I've been just managing to keep up so far and it's been the easy stuff! What's going to happen once we get to the tough stuff?" I have to keep reminding myself that this is an accelerated class, so we're already halfway through and we're already into the tough stuff. Hopefully now that I'm home I'll be able to organize my time better. I really do feel like, with enough time and studying, I'll be able to fully understand all the different concepts that will come up.

On to the over-halfway-mark this week! Until next time!

So glad I'm not taking another class right now!

I just wrapped up week 3 of my summer chemistry class. I’m still up in Northern California and I must admit it’s been one of the less-relaxing vacations I’ve had so far. I spend most of my afternoons doing the readings or homework or assignments… I never feel like I’m truly done. It’s too bad because the weather cleared up and it’s been nice and warm, but I almost feel guilty spending time outside doing fun things. In the back of my head I’m always thinking “There’s that discussion board I need to remember to post on, and there’s that homework objective I need to finish, and oh yeah I need to review for the exam, but I can’t do that tomorrow because we’ll be gone so I need to try to squeeze that in today, and…” But in the grand scheme of things this class is more important to my future than this vacation, so I just need to deal with it!

 Beautiful, isn't it? So happy the sun decided to come out!

Speaking of trying to get things done, I’ve noticed that I’m having a hard time trying to balance all the requirements for this class. I feel like there’s a lot of “busy work,” which is usually fun work, but I’m concentrating so much on getting those assignments in that I have a hard time fitting in the actual textbook reading. I also feel like I haven’t been able to actually study the material… a lot of it sinks in through the homework, but I’m having a hard time staying one step ahead that way.

Well, on to what I did for the class this week. I read chapters 10, and 17 in the textbook (on “Chemical Bonding” and “Radioactivity and Nuclear Chemistry,” respectively). I remember most of the material that was covered this week; it helps that I’ve always enjoyed working with chemical formulas and things like half-life. In thinking over how these readings relate to my dental hygiene major, I have to admit nothing from chapter 10 jumped out at me, other than the mention of “How Soap Works” on 343. One of the most fundamental rules in a medical field: wash wash and wash your hands. I’m sure there’s more there that I will pick up on once I start my dental hygiene studies, but for now there was nothing obvious. On the other hand, I did see how chapter 17 related to dental hygiene. I volunteered in a dental office for a couple of months earlier this year and learned how to develop the x rays. A dental hygienist is responsible for taking x rays, which are a form of electromagnetic radiation.

I also thought the section on the Shroud of Turin on page 632 was interesting. I recently watched a fascinating BBC special that examined new evidence supporting the claim that it is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. The carbon-14 dating is still an obstacle, but looking at the historical and medical aspects of the shroud definitely throws some doubt on it being a medieval forgery. Here’s the special in case anyone is interested in watching it. If you’re interested in history, religion and/or chemistry it is definitely worth the watch.

In “Uncle Tungsten” I read chapters 8, 20 and 23. I had to laugh reading chapter 8 (“Stinks and Bangs”) because we took a day trip up to Lassen National Park on Thursday, and there is a section along the road through the park that has some sulfur springs. There is definitely a strong “rotten egg” smell right along that section, and my 12-year-old brother always pulls his shirt over his face and begs our dad to “Go faster, get me out of here!” Unfortunately the speed limit at that stretch of the road is 15 mph, so he suffers for awhile. The college I graduated from a few years ago is also located right by some sulfur springs; we couldn’t smell them from campus but you sure could as you approached the entrance from the road. We all called it “the smell of knowledge.” Chapter 20 (“Penetrating Rays”) fit right in with the use of x rays in dental hygiene. It was fascinating reading Sacks’ description of the history of the x ray, and I got a giggle out of the prim Victorians’ horrified reaction to the… lack of privacy… they anticipated from x rays. In some ways it reminded me of the current controversy over full-body image scans at airports. Chapter 23, “The World Set Free,” focused on radioactivity, half life and radiation. The most interesting part of the chapter to me was when he said on page 284 that “The earth was still living, in terms of atomic energy, on the uranium and thorium that had been present when the earth was formed.” I had never thought about radioactive elements helping keep the earth warm, nor had I thought about how radioactive elements can be traced back to those original two.

The videos this week were very helpful. “Electronegativity & Polarity” covered a topic that can easily get confusing for me, but it broke it down and made it clearer. The videos on “Alpha Decay,” “Beta Decay,” “Positron Emission,” “Decay Series,” and “Half Life” all made the math involved in solving the problems look easy and I understood everything without a problem.

Moving on to experiments! Looking back over the last several weeks, I have to say my favorite one has probably been the layering liquids experiment. I loved seeing how the different colors floated on top of each other. It illustrated the concept of density clearly and in a fun way. I thought the section with the sugar water was especially illuminating. In the other section I took totally different liquids… soap, oil, water, etc., and layered them. It’s clear that they have different densities, but if you didn’t think too much about it you could just say “Well, they’re different substances with different ingredients. Maybe that’s why one floats on the other.” On the other hand, the only difference between the sugar water samples was the number of sugar particles in each, so density was the immediate explanation for the results. As a side note, a close second for the experiments would have to be the experiments involving Skittles and M&Ms, for purely selfish reasons, unfortunately.

I did my oral presentation this week! The experiment itself was pretty easy and straightforward, though I believe I overthought the question about relating the different particles to the different colored blocks. I took a break and after I allowed my head to clear out a bit I understood it better. Assembling the film was a bit of a production. I hadn’t anticipated that our family would be taking our annual boat ride on the lake on Saturday, and I hadn’t been able to start the presentation before. The whole time I was on the boat I was thinking “I gotta work on that video… I gotta work on that video… oh yeah, I have to do that video.” So when I got back to the cabin I rushed to the computer, still in my swimsuit and feeling nasty from the sunscreen and started work on the video. Initially I was really stumped because there wasn’t much “exciting” to show for the camera… you can only show yourself shaking a bag of M&Ms and counting print-side-up candies so many times before it gets monotonous. I stressed for about an hour without making any progress, retrieved the leftover M&Ms to console myself, and eventually worked out a format that *hopefully* wouldn’t bore the audience to tears. Once I got it uploaded to Youtube (my first ever video on Youtube!) and watched it all at once I was pretty happy with it. Here it is!

Lab 4 was interesting because it was a lab sheet and not a report. I thought that meant it was going to be a cinch… oh boy was I wrong. I was still having a hard time with the concept of molecular geometry at that point so initially I was spending way too much time cross checking and second guessing myself. It took me several hours just to make the gumdrop structures, and then when I went back and looked at them I realized several of them were wrong, so I had to go back and redo them. I then spent another couple of hours filling out the rest of the sheet. I think I got the hang of it by the end of the experiment, but I was very relieved to see that experiment 5 involved nothing more complicated than shaking bags of M&Ms and wooden blocks!

Well, so ends week 3 of chemistry. I have a feeling the next couple of days are going to be super stressful; we go back home Tuesday so I need to have everything that’s due that day done by tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to cramming for an exam and packing on the same day. Oh well, hopefully once I’m home I can get more of a routine going! Until next week!

Welcome to this special edition of Jenessa’s Chem 1000 Blog, brought to you from Lake Almanor, CA! We arrived yesterday evening after 12 hours of travel, me with textbook, notebooks, computer, scanner, and lab supplies in tow. When chemistry homework will allow, I am more than ready to kick back and enjoy the next week or so sunning, swimming and enjoying everything the mountains have to offer. It looks a little drab in the pictures, since we’ve got some cold weather, rain, and thunderstorms (imbalance of charges!) in the forecast tomorrow… so the sunning plans will have to go on hold for a few days. If I’m going to be stuck inside, though, it’ll be a good time to really work ahead on the assignments for this week!

This past week I read chapters 3 and 4 in the textbook (on “Matter and Energy” and “Elements and Molecules,” respectively). I remember all of the material from high school chemistry, so I was still in review mode. The one thing from chapter 3 that I’ll need to keep working on is the math involved with temperature scales and changes. I can do the math with no problems, but it’s remembering all the conversions and formulas that gets me. I enjoyed re-visiting the periodic table in chapter 4; I’ve always enjoyed studying the elements. I also enjoy the math aspect of it much more than the conversions we were dealing with earlier. I’m not sure exactly why, but maybe it’s because I feel like a detective trying to solve a mystery (like when we’re given fractions of isotopes and asked to find the atomic mass). Overall I felt that the reading was understandable, though since I didn’t really learn anything new it wasn’t exactly interesting. The one exception was reading about the radioactive isotopes in the “Chemistry in the Environment” section on page 110. Since we live within an hour or so of the troubled San Onofre power plant I appreciated learning more about how these plants work.

Thinking about how these readings tie into my major, dental hygiene… I don’t see a direct connection in how I would use what I learned. However, certain elements are used in the dental field, so learning about the trends and characteristics of elements on the periodic table would help me understand why an element like titanium would be used in dentistry. In fact, when I started researching titanium for my elemental brochure, I was surprised to see that it was used for both dental implants and in toothpaste.

Speaking of the brochure assignment, I really enjoyed working on it. I had no idea that titanium had been named after the Titans, and since I love Greek mythology I thought that was a fun fact. I also had been told that titanium wedding rings were too strong to be cut off if the finger began to swell, so it was interesting to discover that wasn’t true. I enjoyed looking at my classmates’ brochures as well. I thought the brochure on mercury was fascinating, especially reading about how it has been found in Egyptian tombs (I’m also a history fan, so seeing chemistry tying in with ancient civilizations is especially fun for me).

I have really been enjoying “Uncle Tungsten”; even though I’m not nearly as passionate about chemistry as he is, some of his enthusiasm rubs off on me! In the first chapter we read this week he talked about the development of the periodic table. I loved the different ways he described the table… a gorgeous banquet set with eighty-some dishes, different realms or kingdoms, and, perhaps my favorite, the enchanted garden of Mendeleev. I also thought it was fascinating that Mendeleev was able to tell which elements had yet to be discovered and was able to predict what their characteristics would be. In the next chapter he talked about spectroscopy – a method of detecting elements through the colors they produce. The fact that this method could be used to see that helium is present in the sun is amazing. The final chapter discussed the importance of the atomic number in determining the physical and chemical properties of elements. What I found most interesting about these readings actually came from the footnotes. Reading about Moseley’s “charming and boyish” spectroscopy experiment with a train and then reading about his death in WWI was surprisingly moving. I had never thought of these brilliant minds as being among those fighting in the trenches, but it reinforced the terrible toll that war takes on almost every aspect of life. I was also fascinated by the fact that the German scientist Noddack had been right about the atom being split but was ignored because of previously unsubstantiated claims. Thank God for those unsubstantiated claims… it’s amazing that something so seemingly unimportant could’ve been the difference between Germany with the atomic bomb instead of without it.

I watched all of the videos for this unit before doing the readings. Some of them, such as “How to Read Periodic Table Symbols” and “Valence Electrons” were review. But I thought the videos “Groups on the Periodic Table,” “Periodic Trends” and “Electronegativity and Polarity” were very helpful. I do best when things are explained in a very simple, straightforward manner without any frills, like those videos were. I am so happy that we had a video on “Condensed Electron Configuration.” When I watched the “Electron Configuration” video and realized what the longer formulas would look like I thought “Oh boy… I’m in trouble…” And then I watched the “Condensed” version and thought “Whew!” Here are the two videos side by side so you can see what I mean!

Lab this week was fairly straightforward, but turned out to be more time-consuming than I thought. I wanted to do labs 2 and 3 at the same time to give myself a little breathing room at the end of the week while prepping for the trip. I goofed a bit on the steel wool/water part of experiment 2 and measured the water levels on the containers instead of the jars. I need to sit down and read these labs word for word so I don’t keep making silly mistakes like that. Other than that, my main problem was keeping my younger siblings out of the M&Ms and Skittles experiment 3. Whenever the instructions read “Dispose of candies” I had no problems finding willing takers.

I also got a little ahead in the ALEKS homework this week, which was a big help. I have found the ALEKS homework to be helpful in some respects, but in others I find it lacking a bit. Let’s start with the helpful aspects. I like how it’s able to determine what you need to work on and what you already know. It’s very satisfying to see the progress on the pie chart, and the homework problems are very well set up. On the less-than-ideal side, it’s very frustrating when you get a concept down but are marked wrong due to a math error and are given more problems to work on (and if there’s another math error the cycle continues). I know it can’t tell where I went wrong in my math, but I think that’s where paper-and-pencil homework has the advantage. That way I can see that I actually do understand the concept but goofed on a significant figure in the calculations or on rounding. It’s a tough call when doing online homework. I think my ideal homework program would be something like ALEKS, but with a section that allows you to do the problem step-by-step and checks each step to make sure you’re on the right track. That way, instead of going back and doing the complex problem over again (and then discovering the answer isn’t 6.0 but 6.1), you’re able to see exactly where you went wrong.

Speaking of goofing on math problems, I took my first exam today. It was a bit of an ordeal. Of course, we were traveling all day yesterday so it was difficult for me to review. Today the Wifi at the house crashed so I wasn’t able to check our objectives to see what exactly to review. I went over the textbook and did some practice problems, waited to see if the Wifi would come back so I could review… and then realized that I needed Wifi to take the test. When it became clear the Wifi was AWOL I went down and sat outside the realtor’s office to take the test. I wasn’t expecting to see so many math-related problems, and I started blanking on lots of the conversion factors. Usually with some time I’m able to collect my thoughts and get rolling, and I can go back and check my work, but with only about 2 minutes for each problem time wasn’t a luxury I had! I eventually settled in and I was able to solve each problem, but after seeing my grade I suspect lots of those little math errors came back to bite me. Between that, my frustration over the internet situation and my disappointment that I hadn’t been able to prepare better, chocolate was necessary when I got back to the cabin. Well, at least now I have a better idea of what to expect. The first exam with any new class is always nerve-wracking.

So ends week 2 of Chem 1000. I feel like I’m navigating the sites better, and I’m enjoying interacting with the other students on the discussion boards. On the other hand, it was stressful trying to work ahead in preparation for this weekend, and my exam grade is a bit of a bummer. But hopefully this week will be more chill and I’ll be better prepared for my next exam. And now I’m off to the realtor’s office again to get this posted. Until next time!

Updated from realtor’s parking lot: So I just saw my final grade and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. That makes me feel more energized about tackling this week’s work!