Matter Lab Day 1: Solids and Liquids

Today in class, we had our very first lab of the semester. This lab was about solids and liquids. The first part of the lab was talking about what's the difference between a solid and a liquid and what they do.

Liquid          Solid
-Flows        - Hard
-Wet           - Stable
-Clear         - Can't go through it

We started experimenting with our groups. Four people at each table. We had a penny and two small jars. One was filled with water, the other one was empty. When on of my partners dropped the penny in Jar 1, that is filled with water, it sank fast to the bottom. There was a bubble that went to the surface, and there was a click sound.

After that, we poured the water into Jar 2. But the penny wouldn't flow with the water and it stayed at the bottom.  Even when we moved Jar 1 upside down it didn't fall, which was very fun to play with.

Then came the second part of the lab. Our instructions were to make Ooblick. We had to mix cornstarch and water in an approximate ratio of 1:1.75. What we used to mix these two ingredients was a plastic bowl and spoon. One of my partners mixes them together and it just seems like a normal liquid, although it's color was white and it had a weird smell, like a powder. But then we added more cornstarch and water and it seemed like my partner was having a hard time mixing them together. Then that's when we start noticing its a bit hard, then when the instructor told us to put our hands in the bowl, it felt slippery and warm. Then when we took it out of the bowl, it was like silly puddy. You can mush it and hold it. It felt like wet clay. But then when i stopped mushing it, the ooblick started to melt in my hand and drip slowly! My partner said it was because it was contacted with energy, another said it was contacted with movement. I think it's both, it was when you were moving your hand, and it was creating heat and energy. The reason why I say this is because when you are really cold and you don't have enough heat in your body, you jump around and run. Moving warms you up and I think its the same when you run your hands on the Ooblick.

Is Ooblick a solid or a liquid? Why?

I can't really say. Because if you hold it tight its a solid, but when you leave it alone it melts and turns into liquid. But it's not really water type liquid. If you mess around with it long enough it turns dry and all the water evaporates. Then its just solid and can be turned into powder if you smash it. It's like mud. Mud is slippery when it has water, but its solid when it's dry. Yes it doesn't melt in your hands, but it can drip. So over all I think it's a solid.

Lab Safety Poster

Today in class we finished our Lab Safety Poster. Which my partner and I picked Proper Behavior: Absolutely no running, horse play, or mischief is allowed. This is very important because a lab can be dangerous in so many ways. A chemical can be knocked off, something can be broken, or you could be running around while something is spilled on the floor and you can fall. Anything can happen. That's why we need to know our safety first. Better to be safe, then sorry!

Video Response to Stephan Colbert Interviews Niel Degrasse Tyson

In class, we have watched an interview with Niel Degrasse. He talked about science, how people see scientist and his thoughts and opinions on how he sees the world.

There was one quote that stood out to me, "Why is there something instead of nothing?"

The reason why I chosen this quote is because if there was nothing then there wouldn't be something. If there was nothing in life, then nothing would exist at all. In every situation there will always be something behind that door. Maybe there is nothing behind it, but there is something behind nothing. 

This quote to me, makes it difficult to understand. But I like a challenging thought experiment. It gets the person thinking and learning about a topic and themselves. 

When I read this quote I have a few thoughts about it. I think what if nothing is actually something it self. What would happen if there wouldn't be nothing? Will it be pitch dark, or snow white? Because those colors are something. What does nothing look like? Can you just see through it, like air? Because air is something too. Does nothing even exist?