I watched a Physics video that was posted by MinutePhysics, the video was about how you can get the least amount of rain on you as possible. The best way to get the least amount of rain on you is to stand still, and that's because rain is not hitting the front of your body only the top of you, when you walk/run you're physically walking/running into the rain drops. The faster you move the wetter you become, but if you're trying to get from on place to another standing still won't get you there. The amount of rain that hits you from the side doesn't matter when you're trying to get from one point to another, the example given was a snow plow, and how it'll plow the same amount of snow no matter what the speed is. Every second the same amount of rain will hit you from the top, every meter you'll hit the same amount of water from the side no matter how fast you're walking/running. The equation is Total Wetness= Wetness per second x Time spent in rain + Wetness per meter x Meters traveled. If you want to stay as dry as possible going from point a to point b you want to minimize the amount of water that's hitting you from above, and to do that you need to get out of the rain as fast as possible, so run. Mythbusters also tested this theory and got the same answer. You can watch the video here: Looking Back: What Happened? This has definitely been my favorite lab so far, I worked with Savreen on this one as well and we made muffins. I love to bake which is why I was really excited for this lab because I was able to learn while doing something I enjoy, and the muffins turned out great. I was surprised with the outcome of the muffins because we were making them in the toaster oven so I was sure how they would come out. One thing that we weren't so successful in was the look of the muffins, we had liners but no muffin tin that would be able to fit in the oven, so the muffins were put in without a tin. This caused them to be a weird shape but it didn't alter the taste at all. Another thing we could have improved on was not trying to experiment more without really looking into it, Savreen and I wanted to put one muffin in the microwave and see if it would bake. It didn't, but it did start to smoke so we quickly opened the microwave and started fanning it to get rid of the smoke. It wasn't the smartest idea which I now realize, but I think this proves how we both work in dangerous situations, we quickly got everything under control and since we were very alert we were able to detect the burning early on. Looking Beyond: What's the science? There's a lot more science in baking than you think, every ingredient added has a purpose and it was very interesting to learn about that. I love to bake, but I never thought about why or how what I'm baking turns out the way it does, so it was very cool learning all of that new information. Here is everything that was used in making muffins and what it does. Flour: An ingredient that is used to not only bind all of the ingredients together, but it also makes gluten. This happens because when you add water to the flour all of the proteins bond together forming gluten. Eggs: Also helps bind the ingredients together, the egg whites are leavening agents, egg yolks bring richness and moisture to the pastries, eggs also give your pastry structure. cause the goodies you bake to brown, and adds the harder shell on the outside. Sugar: Helps keep what you’re making moist, if you have a lot of sugar not much gluten forms, causes the muffins to brown and adds a harder shell on the outside. Milk: Adds to making the baked goods moist because, in milk there’s sugar lactose which ends up bonding with the proteins in the flour changing the gluten content. Milk also causes the muffins to brown and adds a harder shell on the outside. Salt: In a large majority of pastry recipes you’ll need a pinch of salt, and that’s because salt makes dough more elastic the amino acids in the flour mingle with ions in the salt and that gives your baked good better texture. Salt also helps balance sweetness. Looking Inward: Did you get desirable results? I do think we got desirable results because not only did we learn about the science in baking and how every ingredient plays a very key role in the making of muffins, they also tasted really good. We made quite a few so we got to share them with our friends, and teacher. I think the reason we got desirable results is because Savreen and I both did research before we started the lab, and before we even started the proposal. We also contributed evenly with who was bringing what, and we knew we had to make the batter right away so the muffins would have to bake, and we would have enough time to clean up. I think I performed well in this experiment, other then being the one who suggested we put a muffin in the microwave, I didn't do anything stupid after that. I measured the ingredients and added them while Savreen did most of the mixing, then I spooned the mixture into the liners and took them out when they were done. Looking Outward: Collaboration and Impact I worked with Savreen for this lab, and I think we worked really well together. I think we worked really well together which is why I always work with her. We both like doing the same projects, and my other friends like doing experiments that I'm not really interested in. I think I contributed a lot, I brought in half of the materials that were needed, and I also helped make the actual muffin, and I learned a lot about the science in baking which helped us both out a lot. Looking Forward: What's Next? If I were to do this lab again, I would double the recipe to make more muffins because a lot of people enjoyed them and were asking for more. I would also try to find a muffin tray that can fit in that microwave oven so the muffins keep their shape. So far I've only worked with Savreen on my labs, and that's because we get along really well, and we have very common interests so we want to do all of the same things. Starting next section, I think I'm going to try to work with Savreen and someone else as well, just to have more of a variety. I don't think there's any way to continue this experiment, I could make a muffin in a mug and see if that effects its tastes? Other than that no, I don't think there's any way to continue the lab. I would like to do this lab again just because it was so much fun. Take Away: Summary Making muffins is actually really easy, all you need to do is add all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, and all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. One of the wet ingredients is melted butter, so we popped some butter in the microwave to melt it then put it in the bowl. Once we tried to mix the wet ingredients we realized the butter wasn't melted enough, so we put that bowl in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until the butter was soft enough to mix. After we mixed the butter we started adding the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients slowly, until we ran out of wet ingredients. Then came the chocolate chips which were generously added into the mix. We did all of this is the Chemistry room, so we went to the staff kitchen put the mix into liners, put those into the oven and let them bake. Once they were done baking we let them cool for a little, then enjoyed! Looking Back: What Happened? This lab is probably the best lab Savreen and I have done so far, the bath bomb we made turned out great. When it was put into a bowl of water it started fizzing instantly causing the ingredients in the bath bomb to distribute nicely. We used blue and pink as our main colors, so it ended up changing the water to a nice purple color, the peppermint extract also made everything smell really nice afterwards. Looking Beyond: What's the Science? Bath bombs are mainly showing how bases react to acids, when making bath bombs the baking soda is the base, and the citric acid is the acid. These reactions can be altered by other materials that are in the bath bomb, like cornstarch and Epsom salt are the liquid absorbers. They make sure that the citric acid and baking soda don’t react when the liquids needed to make the bath bombs are added. So when you add large amounts of water to the bath bombs they fizz because it makes carbon dioxide bubbles, ACID + ALKALI = WATER = CARBON DIOXIDE (FIZZ) Alkali definition: a soluble salt obtained from the ashes of plants and consisting largely of potassium or sodium carbonate; broadly : a substance (as a hydroxide or carbonate of an alkali metal) having marked basic properties http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alkali Looking Inward: Did you get desirable results? This has probably been Savreen and I's most successful lab we've done so far, we didn't struggle very much. Before we started the lab we made sure we did a lot of research on the chemical reactions, so we knew what was happening. Actually making the bath bomb was very fun, easy, and it went almost exactly how we wanted it. The one thing that didn't work out was when we left the bath bomb out to dry it expanded into one big bath bomb. I think I performed well in this lab, all but one of the ingredients that were needed I had from when I made bath bombs last year, so it was nice to not have to worry about getting materials. Last year when I made bath bombs I knew I added too much oil, and food coloring so I made sure not to do that this time. Looking Outward: Collaboration and Impact I worked with Savreen on this lab, and I think we worked really well together. We distributed the work evenly so we both knew exactly what we had to do and when we had to have it done. I specifically contributed by doing the proposal along with Savreen, I also looked into a lot of the science behind what we were doing so I knew what was happening specifically. I also brought a lot of the materials I had left over from last year, which was everything but citric acid. Looking Forward: What's Next? If I could do this project again I would try to make more than one bath bomb, and make sure it dries in a circular shape, by keeping it in a smaller container. I've worked with Savreen on every lab so far, and we've always done whatever we could to make sure we were really successful. I don't think there's anyway we can continue this lab, we could continue on with the beauty-ish type of projects, but I don't think we can continue on with specifically bath bombs. Take Away: Summary We started off this project by mixing all four of the dry ingredients in a bowl first, then in a separate container we mixed all of the wet ingredients. Then with a dropper tool we put around three drops of the wet ingredients into the bowl with dry ingredients, we had to do this in small amounts because if we added to much liquid it would make everything fizz up. We alternated dropping, and mixing multiple times until the mixture was able to hold a shape, then we separated it into two bowls. We colored on bowl with the bath bomb mixture blue, and the other pink, we then put the mixture in our mold which was two Starbucks lids. After it was molded, we tried to put some sprinkles in at the top which didn't really work. Once the bath bomb had sat overnight drying we put it in a bowl of water, it fizzed and spread very well. Looking Back: What Happened? Since we have already done this once, we knew what we had to do in order to get more desirable results. The hot plate was once again in use so there were none available to Savreen and I, so we went back to the microwaves and hoped for the best. Our results were definitely a lot better this time then last, this time the beeswax actually somewhat melted so our lip balm doesn't have big chunks in it like last time. Looking Inward: Did you get desirable results? Yes and no, I think our lip balm works a lot better than the first one we made, but I would never use it. The beeswax we had, had a very high melting point meaning the water used in the double boiler had to be extremely hot. What contributed to our results still not being the best was the fact that we still didn't get to use the hot plate. All of the hot plates were being used and there was a spill in the lab, so we knew we wouldn't get the chance. Looking Outward: Collaboration and Impact Once again I worked with Savreen on this, I think we worked really well together. Since we knew what we did wrong last time which is adding too much beeswax we made sure we found the perfect ratio of beeswax and cocoa butter. We both brought in the materials we needed and we brainstormed how we could improve which worked. One of the materials I was in charge of bringing was coconut oil which I didn't bring, so that is something that could have been improved on my part. Other than that I think I helped out a lot, and I did everything I had to do on the day we did the lab. Looking Forward: What Next If Savreen and I could do this for a third time, I think I would bring coconut oil and get access to a hot plate. I think Savreen and I work really well together, we're always on top of things and wanting to get work done. I would definitely work with her on future projects because so far there's been no reason for me to think otherwise. I don't think there's any way to continue this lab, unless we want to do it for a third time which I don't want to do. I think doing it a third time would just be a waste of time, because there are other labs I could be doing, and new things I could be learning. Looking Beyond: What's the Science? The reason we use lip balm is because it creates a layer over our lips that protect them from getting chapped, and UV rays, all of the ingredients used come together to make your lips moist and soft. Beeswax: An emulsifier that makes all of the other ingredients bond together, and it also thickens the lip balm. It also forms the protective barrier that keeps moisture in and soothes irritated skin. Coconut Oil: An emollient, which is something that moisturizes and softens your skin. Strawberry Flavoring: Not only does this smell good, but it makes the lip balm a nice flavor. Menthol: Adds a cooling sensation. Cocoa Butter: This is what we used instead of coconut oil on the second day, adds flavor, and a nice smell, also an emollient. Take Away: Summary We started off with melting the beeswax and we did that by putting the wax in a mason jar and putting that in a bowl. Before we put water in the bowl we got a cup and put some water in a mug, and microwaved that until it was boiling, then we poured the boiling water into the bowl. We got another cup also filled with water and put that in a microwave, so by the time that cup was boiling the water in the bowl was cold, so we got the empty cup and put the cold water in that one and the boiling water in the now empty bowl. That was our attempt at a double boiler, which even though it took a long time and a lot of moving around it did the job. It was difficult at times because the wax would start to harden but the water in the microwave still wasn't hot, but we worked through that. Once the wax was melted we added the cocoa butter which melted almost instantly, then we added the menthol, and food coloring. After everything was all melted we poured the mixture into containers and we were done! Looking Back: What Happened? Savreen and I struggled a little bit with the process of making the lip balm, we didn't have a hot plate available to us, so we tried putting the bees wax in the microwave but that burned the wax. Then we boiled water in the microwave and put it in a bowl as a make shift double boiler, that also didn't work out too well. The container our substance was in had a small opening at the top, which made it difficult to really mix everything well. Looking Inward: Humans Doing Science I don't think we achieved desirable results because it was almost impossible to use the lip balm, it was very hard and wouldn't leave the container it was in. I think the reason why our lip balm was unusable is because we were having to change our plan last minute, and get creative, what we thought was going to work, didn't. I think I performed well during this lab, I did everything I could to make the lip balm turn out well. Looking Outward: Collaboration and Impact I worked with Savreen, and I think we work really well together, we worked pretty efficiently and we both knew what we had to do in order to finish the lab. Neither one of us slacked off, we both brought in our materials on time, and we knew our plan. I brought in some materials, and I along with Savreen wrote the proposal and when Andrew gave us corrections I helped fix it. Looking Forward: What Next If I could do this again I would definitely use a hot plate, I would also use a different container to mix in. I think Savreen and I work really well together, so I would like to do another lab with her in the future. I don't think there is any way to continue this experiment, but we want to try this again and get the results that we expected. We plan on trying again very soon. Stephen Colbert interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson: "Just because you do not understand it does not mean its bad for you, do some research". I chose this quote because I felt like I could really relate to it, I'm someone who is very curious and whenever I have a question about something I like to look up the answer and gain more knowledge on the subject. I also chose this quote because I think it's something that isn't said enough, there's so many people out there who are okay with not knowing and what good is that? This quote means a lot to me because there are so many lazy people in my generation which worries me, because soon we're going to be the adults. We're going to be the ones who make all of the decisions, but there's so many people who don't strive for more knowledge and success which is very worrying. With all of the technology advancements we could be living in a world we don't want to live in very soon. So many people are concerned about social media and how they look instead of how the world around them is changing and how it's changing. This is why I think this quote is so relevant, and I wish more people would have this outlook on life. Here is the video I got the quote from: |
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December 2015
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