I was the group that was supposed to find the nitrate level of the lake. However, due to the improper preparation, we did not have the chemicals needed to test our hypothesis. However, based on what we saw around the lake, my group could make an estimate that the nitrate levels were healthy, proving our hypothesis. Preserving our water is very important to the health of the planet. If all of the water gets polluted, we will have nothing left to drink and no healthy water to give to the farmland. I thought that it was very interesting how nitrates have side effects that affect the water in an ecosystem. If a river or lake is healthy, it has healthy plant life thanks to nitrates. However, the nitrates do pollute the water even though the plant life might be stable.

 On the science quiz we did on Friday, I got a meets because I got 5 out of 6 questions correct. The test was on the basics of atoms and chemistry, where we learned about what makes up an atom, how to tell how many electrons, protons, and neutrons are in an atom, and what covalent and ionic bonds are. To get a better score on the test next time, I can study my homework and see what I need to understand further and what I already know. 

I was a little disappointed when I saw my grade. Even though I got a meets, I still got 2 questions wrong. This quiz was about physical and chemical changes, and what they are. A chemical change, or chemical reaction, is when two solutions come together to make new molecules. This change is often not reversible. An example is baking soda and vinegar. In a physical change, the molecules don't change, and it is often reversible. An example of this is ice melting into water. The water can then be frozen back into ice, reversing the change. The first question I got wrong was about what covalent bonds are, which are when two atoms share electrons, but I chose the answer that said that the two atoms share PROTONS, not electrons. The second one I got wrong was about a glass bottle breaking, is it a physical or chemical change? I thought it was neither, but the answer was that it is a physical change because no new molecules are made. I feel that I could have done better, but I still got a meets, which is good. 

The test was on chemistry, and everything we have learned so far in the year about it. We were tested on electrons, protons, neutrons, and types of reactions in the first part. In the second part, we had to draw an atom with the proper electrons, neutrons, and protons in their places, and explain why valence electrons have the most electric charge, and that is because they are located in the outermost part of the atom. on the third unit, we used the law of conservation of mass (which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed) to find out how many atoms of one type are in the reactants and products sides of the equation, and that number doesn't change thanks to law of conservation of mass. in the final part, we labeled types of reactions based on the chemical equations given. On the test, I got a Meets+ because I got 34/37 right. A goal I have for the next test is to get an exceeds, and I can do that by studying my notes and anchor charts.