In our chemistry lesson today, we used spectroscopy to analyze some aspirin we made yesterday. The specialized machinery was used to produce graphs showing different aspects of the aspirin, which were then compared to other graphs and information. It was fascinating to understand more about what we made, and we were once again struck by the depth and power of Chemistry. Our mentors and teacher then led us to explore more about these chemical substances.
In the afternoon, the topic was “Complex Chemistry”. This was a very interesting lesson which involved several experiments. We found the percentage of copper in a coin through a series of complicated procedures. This showed us how Chemistry can be applied in real-life situations.
Throughout the day and at night, we made final preparations for our talent show performance on Thursday. We rehearsed our poem and tried our best to keep up with the fast pace of the Element Song.. It was great fun and we hoped that the performance will go well tomorrow.
Buxani Bhavna (4T)
Today was our 3rd day doing the Chemistry course. In the morning, we finished up the synthesis of our aspirin and weighed it to do some calculating concerning the number of moles of the materials, such as the Oil of Wintergreen, the Salicylic Acid and the product, the aspirin. Next, we took samples of our aspirin and made our way to the Chemistry laboratory to look at our synthesized aspirin in greater detail using spectroscopy with Dr Melanie Bottrill. It was very interesting comparing the aspirin we made to the industrial aspirin.
After lunch, we did a bit of complex chemistry and continued to use spectroscopy techniques. We learnt about the complex compounds formed by transition metals and their structures and therefore why they are called complexes.
For Wednesday off campus dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant called “Garfunkel’s”, we had all sorts of pasta, burgers and pizzas. The Italian food we received here was much more flavoursome than what we get in Hong Kong and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Kathy Yu (4P)
We are having Mathematics lessons this week. The areas that we have learnt are quite difficult for us. We learnt about code breaking and we think that it is very challenging. We tried to break codes to figure out the clues, and used the decoded clues to tour around the campus to find out the answers to the questions. We also learnt about zero to infinity. We drew graphs to help further understanding and learnt many new formulae. We found the Mathematical Rainbow very interesting. Although it was difficult to understand everything taught during our lessons, we tried to be persisting and finished all the questions that we knew. We learnt about the Taylor series and we really do appreciate the beauty of numbers. We asked lots of questions during class to ensure that we understand the topic. The teachers and mentors were willing to teach us and they handled our questions with lots of patience. This enhanced the friendship between us and our new mentors. We surely gained a lot from the lessons and we want to say thank you to our mentors.
Ivy Young (4T)
Today is the third day of our mathematics course. We have been taught about the Game theory in Mathematics. In the previous days we learnt about topics that we have never came across, such as code breaking and the Mathematical Rainbow. They were difficult for us but we still managed to sole the Mathematical problems. However, the Game theory was very easy to understand. We took part in several exciting and fast paced team challenges which involved negotiations and strategic decision making. We think that the Game theory is probably the most interesting topic for us as we understand it the most. We also learnt about the theory of Loops and Lynxes in the afternoon session. Although this topic is difficult, we were still able to overcome it through questioning and peer teaching. We now have more ideas about many new areas in Mathematics and we enjoyed the lessons a lot.
In the evening, we had our meal off campus. The food there was special and delicious. We discussed about the topics we have learnt during lessons and shared our ideas among ourselves. We enjoy the day very much and we are certainly ready for the challenges ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment