Today, we did the atom lab and created hydrogen. Before we did the actual lab, we learned about atoms and how they apply to the elements. An atom is the smallest unit of an element. They are made from subatomic particles called protons (positive), electrons (negative), and neutrons (neutral). The protons and neutrons are in the nucleus, while the electrons orbit them. We can tell what the atoms looks like for an element by looking at its atomic number and mass. The atomic number is the number of protons and electrons, whereas to get the neutrons, you look at the atomic mass subtracted by the number of protons. This experiment of creating hydrogen was to learn how to combine atoms and it surely ended with a boom!
When we did the experiment, we had a few strips of magnesium, a beaker with 150 mL, 20 grams of citric acid, and a balloon. First, we curled the strips or broke it into little pieces, so that we could put them into the flasks. Then, we poured the citric acid into the flask with a funnel and prepare to take pictures of videos. We poured the water in and quickly put the balloon over the flask, so the hydrogen wouldn't escape and we would have a bigger balloon. It took a while for the magnesium, water, and citric acid to react and we got really impatient. When the other tables started to tie their balloons, we had Andrew help us. We played with the balloons for a while, but we ended up making water by releasing energy with fire, creating a loud boom.
I noticed the balloon slowly float up, not as fast as a helium balloon would. It was fun to play with it not floating away every 2 seconds. I also noticed the flask get warm when we combined the water, citric acid, and magnesium. That was because energy being created and a liquid was turning into a gas (#throwback to phase changes). Looking back at the experiment, I wish I was a bit more hands on, but I had 6 other people at my table, so our time was limited. Not everyone got to contribute, so it was hard to help out. Overall, the lab was extremely enjoyable and amusing. I learned that hydrogen makes balloons slowly float, whereas a balloon filled with helium would go up vey quickly. Another takeaway would be that you have to be patient in chemistry sometimes. I found myself wanting to just tie the balloon already like the other groups, but our mixture at the bottom was still reacting and we just let it sit for a little longer. It took a while for the magnesium to dissolve and it was kind of irritating because some of the other groups were already done. I wish I had patience sometimes...
When we did the experiment, we had a few strips of magnesium, a beaker with 150 mL, 20 grams of citric acid, and a balloon. First, we curled the strips or broke it into little pieces, so that we could put them into the flasks. Then, we poured the citric acid into the flask with a funnel and prepare to take pictures of videos. We poured the water in and quickly put the balloon over the flask, so the hydrogen wouldn't escape and we would have a bigger balloon. It took a while for the magnesium, water, and citric acid to react and we got really impatient. When the other tables started to tie their balloons, we had Andrew help us. We played with the balloons for a while, but we ended up making water by releasing energy with fire, creating a loud boom.
I noticed the balloon slowly float up, not as fast as a helium balloon would. It was fun to play with it not floating away every 2 seconds. I also noticed the flask get warm when we combined the water, citric acid, and magnesium. That was because energy being created and a liquid was turning into a gas (#throwback to phase changes). Looking back at the experiment, I wish I was a bit more hands on, but I had 6 other people at my table, so our time was limited. Not everyone got to contribute, so it was hard to help out. Overall, the lab was extremely enjoyable and amusing. I learned that hydrogen makes balloons slowly float, whereas a balloon filled with helium would go up vey quickly. Another takeaway would be that you have to be patient in chemistry sometimes. I found myself wanting to just tie the balloon already like the other groups, but our mixture at the bottom was still reacting and we just let it sit for a little longer. It took a while for the magnesium to dissolve and it was kind of irritating because some of the other groups were already done. I wish I had patience sometimes...