W33k 3 :3

W33k 3 R3flection

I just took the first assessment in  chem class. I was really nervous, i mean that's my nature, to worry i worry over EVERYTHING mind you, so this isn't really a big deal but im kinda still on this endorphin high i get when i turn something in because i feel accomplished ( unless i know i totally failed) .

I really liked coming to Ch3m this week, honestly. The lab, well our main lab this week was on how to relate mass to volume ( If mass goes up so does volume) and how to use  this relation to figure out density, which is ( in my own terms) How many particles are in a single given space.

I think finally after going through  basic procedures and such, that the fourth w33k will finally start diving into chemistry, for which i am most excited for. Ch3mistry is so facinating to  me, how there are all these substances that can be mixed with one another and so on, its very versatile and varied unlike other sciences, which are rigid and precise. I don't like plans and precision all that much, I'm more of a make-it-up-as-you-go kinda person so the freedom that is avaiable in chemistry is a blessing and a curse, more things can go wrong and according to murphy's first law ( "if something can go wrong it willl") something will but we make mistakes and  grow from them, this is why we learn.

This was week one reflection

Sophomore year, Honors Chemistry, 5th hour. This class has not been what i expected, then again i had little expectations from the start, for all i knew on the 6th, Chemistry was all beakers and Bunsen burners, chemicals and equations. The approach Mr. Abud has to chemistry, is one that i have not seen before, that the answer isn't as import as the process it takes to get there. All the technologly we have seen him use in class and we have used ourselves, it to perfect and better our understanding of chemistry, which is the whole point of chemistry. On the first day we sorted ourselves into groups, and even though there was some speculation over the groupings, the answer was not the most important part, it was the process we used to group ourselves. In all other classes i have, its all about the final product, the answer on the test, the final performance, like the process to get there was tossed aside for the answer, but in Chemistry, this specific chem class, we learn to do the opposite and retrace and refine the procedure to obtaining the answer. And i just asked Mr.Abud for how many words this has to be, apparently i'm still focusing on an answer.

The next activity we did was the magic cube, the visible sides were numbered one through 5, and it was our job to figure out the missing number. Turns out the box had no bottom, go figure, but the thought process we all had was the most important part, which is what i found was the main idea of last week was not the answer but the path to it.

Week 2 r3flection

Week 2 Relection

I'm still getting used to school in general. Chemistry especially. Al lthe  technology were using is a bit overwhelming. I'm not into scoial media ( I know, shocker, right?) I don't know how to use Pintrest or i barely know how to facebook andi have no idea what tumblr is either. I may be social network enept but i'm ok with with all the other techology we use in class ( except i keep forgeting we can use our cell phones as a learning tool in class, oh well). The grading system seems reasonable but   i wish it was with all my other grades so my dad could see an actual letter grade, he likes letter grades. The idea of re assessing seems ideal for me because i am not oone who does everythign perfectly the first time, i make many silly errors that used to hurt the overall grade.

We left off trying to see if we can compare mass and volume, and explain it in our own terms. IT's hard to think  back to the very basics and not apply workds we think we know the meaning of and how to use as we havel earned ot do in  previous science classes.

Another thing i think that has been vital has been teamwork. My group consists of girls who have differnt approaches to science than i do and it's fustrating for me because i'm not as good with science as  they all are but we find middle ground here and there. I strive to use teamwork and apositive attitude to keep this productive nature up

Week three here i come.