In this lab, my partner Garrett and I made a small rocket engine using table sugar and potassium nitrate. We covered a lot during the lab regarding chemical reactions and I felt like making the small engine helped me visualize what I was learning on the board. The goal of the lab was to take a little amount of solid, and turn it into a lot of gas. We did this by taking the glucose, fructose (table sugar) and the potassium nitrate and adding energy to it. By doing this, we created an exothermic reaction, which gave off a lot of heat and energy pushing out motor into the sky. The solids turned into gasses, which takes up more space (as seen in the hydrogen lab) and we were left with, Potassium carbonate, Co2, and chemical nitrate pushing themselves straight out of the bottom giving us lift. We measured out our substances using stoichiometry which was basically transferring moles to grams. For the potassium nitrate, the amount to use we were given was, 48kno3 and we needed to transfer that into grams. What we then did was take the atomic weight of each element on there, 31K, 14N, 16O3 so 48O = 93. Then we multiplied that by 48 to get 4,464g. If we repeat the process with the table sugar, we end up with 1710g. Instead of having to use so many grams to make a small rocket, we added the two numbers together and found the percentage of each substance. 1710+4464= 6174 / 1710= 36% sugar and 6174/4464= 74% potassium nitrate. Reflection This experiment was a great success for my partner Garrett and I. Our rocket was one of the highest ones to go off. It even almost set the school on fire! But we can save that for another day. To get better results, I think we could have packed more fuel into the rocket. The rocket had great initial lift but burned out pretty quick after it left the ground. I am definitely thinking about how I can use this information I learned for my next rocket build. I will need to make my own motor from scratch and this has given me some good ideas about what methods I can pursue.
For this lab, we experimented with sand and a hydrophobic spray. We started out with a tray filled with sand and our goal was to coat the sand in the hydrophobic substance therefore leaving it unable to bond with the water. On a molecular level, when atoms (the smallest particle in a substance that retains the substance's properties) like sodium and chlorine bond, they transfer their valence electrons. Sodium has one valence electron and chlorine has 7. To complete the octet law, the atoms want have a full outer shell of 8 electrons, therefore salt and chlorine bond in a 1 to 1 ratio. This is a covalent compound. The other type of compound is an ionic compound. This is a chemical compound in which the ions are held together. During this experiment, we also looked at the difference between hydophillic and hydrophobic. Hydrophobic means that the molecules will not mix with the water and hydrophillic means that the molecules have a tendency to dissolve and mix with water.
To preform the experiment, we used a silicate spray and coated the sand several times in it. We had to mix it around a lot, to make sure that all of the sand had been sprayed. Then we were given the freedom to play around with water and see how the sand reacted. When we dropped the sand into the water it looked almost encased in bubbles. We pulled the sand back out of the water and it was completely dry! I really didn't expect it to work so well. Reflection Looking back this experiment ran smoothly and gave us good results. Our group functioned smoothly. The silicate spray kept the sand and water from forming a bond. Our experiment gave us desirable results and the cleanup wasn't too difficult. I helped mix the sand in when applying the spray to ensure that all of the sand was coated. My group members functioned smoothly allowing us to get our work done quickly. I think that our experiment gave us all the results we needed and it would be difficult to take it farther. If I were to take it farther I would use the same group as a had the first time. The main takeaway for this lab for me was learning about how atoms bond and the different ratios they bond in.
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AuthorWeWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2015
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