Chemistry

Again, I am back to RI. For another course. This time, the main focus is on chemistry.

Now, we were greeted by mrs Lim and mdm Yu, who were the 2 instructors for the course. Strangely, in this course, there were only boys! Except 1 girl.

My team first started of with endothermic and exothermic chemical reactions. Mdm Yu gave us some chemicals to mix with water to find out if they are endothermic or exothermic reactions. Next, we did a couple of experiments like making a stalagmite out of sodium acetate and making a board stick to a beaker with a mixture of barium hydroxide and ammonium thiocynide.

Next came the 2 main demonstrations. Mdm Yu filled a paper cone with iron (III) oxide and aluminium powder. She then added thermit powder and a strip of magnesium ribbon, lighted it and sparks flew everywhere, flashing in orange and green. All that was left was a lump of iron shaped like the paper cone. Next was adding water then sulfuric acid to sugar and voila! Pillars of spongy, burnt carbon rose out of the tube.

After lunch, we used lemon's citric acid to conduct electricity and light up a LED. It took 2 lemons to do so. Next, we did a few worksheets and learnt about fuel cells.

The next day, there was another demonstration. Mdm Yu added phosphorous solution to potassium chlorate wrappings and BANG BANG BANG!!!!!!! They blew up. Then there was a lab activity and we were supposed to mix 0.1 g luminol, 2 g anhydrous sodium carbonate, 12 g sodium hydrogen carbonate, 0.25 g ammonium carbonate, 0.2 g copper(II) sulphate and 12 ml of hydrogen peroxide altogether and the mixture glowed! Just like a glow stick.

Next, we had a competition to see who could launch the highest Alka-Seltzer rocket. We mixed 120-130 ml of water with 1.5 Alka-Seltzer tablets ,pluged it tight and shook the mixture 13 times. It flew all the way to the top of the building. And we won. We got a pedoric table as the prize. We then had a demonstration on what had happened inside the body of the rocket and what was the winning formula. Then was another end of another course.