Morgan and I did the bismuth lab. The bismuth lab was a somewhat easy, yet hard lab. We melted the bismuth down to separate the pure bismuth from their impurities. To make the crystals into a pretty color. This lab showed me and Morgan the different phase changes due to temperature.
Looking Back:
The bismuth crystals did NOT turn out good at all. It had little pieces of slab covering the pretty crystals and made it look ugly. We remelted out bismuth again and tried it another time, but we didn't get any impurities and we didn't even get crystals! It was beyond frustrating and I was so confused on how to do it. I asked Daisy, someone who has done the lab prior to Morgan and I, and she said to just wait and the crystals will form. We took her advice and applied it. we made crystals, but those crystals stuck to the side of the metal dish. It was frustrating and kind of sad that we couldn't make something this simple. We tried it the next day and we kept getting the same result: no crystals.
Looking Beyond:
The bismuth lab showed Morgan and I phase changes from a solid to a liquid and then back into a solid. The metal was just a slab of used bismuth from past experiments and it took a while to heat up and melt. Bismuth's melting point is 520 degrees Fahrenheit which is pretty low for a metal. By heating the bismuth to its melting point, it changes from a solid to a liquid. Once we thought we got crystals, we took it off the hot plate and let it cool, so it could be changed into a solid. Even though the solid didn't look like the original, it was still bismuth.
Looking Back:
I thought the crystals sucked a lot. We got two good ones and those weren't even great. The crystals were extremely pretty colors and it was cool to see how you can make it change colors by covering it from the light. I was so impatient and immediately wanted to do something, even though all we did was wait and scrap some stuff off the top of the liquid. It wasn't amazing and action packed like the rockets, but I guess that's what I get for making stuff that will be fun (or at least I thought it was going to be fun) in the long run.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Morgan on the bismuth and our partnership wasn't the greatest. We weren't communicating as well this lab because we were always leaving for sports because it was the start of the season. We ended up not making any good crystals and we were both to blame because it was so rushed. We made two good ones, but that was it. Our partnership is always strong, but this lab it seemed to falter.
Looking Forward:
If I could do this experiment again, it would be way more patient. We didn't really know when to take it off the hot plate and took it off too early, making the crystals not form. Another factor I think influenced the crystals was because we kept bumping into the table. Andrew told us not to move the table or else the crystals would not form. Next time, I would just stay away from the table and would just keep people away from it.
For better results, I would ask someone who did the experiment before to help us. We didn't know when to take the impurities off or when to pour the liquid bismuth into the other dish.
Takeaways:
One takeaway I had was that bismuth crystals are not easy at all and that you need a lot of patience to make them. I personally do not have patience and this took forever, even though it took 30 minutes to make (AND IT DIDN'T EVEN TURN OUT GOOD).
Looking Back:
The bismuth crystals did NOT turn out good at all. It had little pieces of slab covering the pretty crystals and made it look ugly. We remelted out bismuth again and tried it another time, but we didn't get any impurities and we didn't even get crystals! It was beyond frustrating and I was so confused on how to do it. I asked Daisy, someone who has done the lab prior to Morgan and I, and she said to just wait and the crystals will form. We took her advice and applied it. we made crystals, but those crystals stuck to the side of the metal dish. It was frustrating and kind of sad that we couldn't make something this simple. We tried it the next day and we kept getting the same result: no crystals.
Looking Beyond:
The bismuth lab showed Morgan and I phase changes from a solid to a liquid and then back into a solid. The metal was just a slab of used bismuth from past experiments and it took a while to heat up and melt. Bismuth's melting point is 520 degrees Fahrenheit which is pretty low for a metal. By heating the bismuth to its melting point, it changes from a solid to a liquid. Once we thought we got crystals, we took it off the hot plate and let it cool, so it could be changed into a solid. Even though the solid didn't look like the original, it was still bismuth.
Looking Back:
I thought the crystals sucked a lot. We got two good ones and those weren't even great. The crystals were extremely pretty colors and it was cool to see how you can make it change colors by covering it from the light. I was so impatient and immediately wanted to do something, even though all we did was wait and scrap some stuff off the top of the liquid. It wasn't amazing and action packed like the rockets, but I guess that's what I get for making stuff that will be fun (or at least I thought it was going to be fun) in the long run.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Morgan on the bismuth and our partnership wasn't the greatest. We weren't communicating as well this lab because we were always leaving for sports because it was the start of the season. We ended up not making any good crystals and we were both to blame because it was so rushed. We made two good ones, but that was it. Our partnership is always strong, but this lab it seemed to falter.
Looking Forward:
If I could do this experiment again, it would be way more patient. We didn't really know when to take it off the hot plate and took it off too early, making the crystals not form. Another factor I think influenced the crystals was because we kept bumping into the table. Andrew told us not to move the table or else the crystals would not form. Next time, I would just stay away from the table and would just keep people away from it.
For better results, I would ask someone who did the experiment before to help us. We didn't know when to take the impurities off or when to pour the liquid bismuth into the other dish.
Takeaways:
One takeaway I had was that bismuth crystals are not easy at all and that you need a lot of patience to make them. I personally do not have patience and this took forever, even though it took 30 minutes to make (AND IT DIDN'T EVEN TURN OUT GOOD).