Summer Assignment

Classification of Chemicals Essay - Glow

This essay is a research essay that covers the topic of how chemicals are classified. Before writing the essay, I did a reading that explains chemicals when it comes to how toxic they are. This reading has given me an understanding that all chemicals are toxic but depends on how and how much they are used. This concept has given me a broader understanding of how it can impact the way chemicals are classified. I introduced my essay by explaining what chemicals are then transitioned to explain the difference in how they are classified by chemists and the public. My essay includes evidence and reasoning to back up my claim which demonstrates my overall skill in research and writing. One thing that I could improve on is the way I ended my essay which ended with an explanation of how safety data sheets can be inaccurate and it should have ended with a proper conclusion. Overall, this assignment has taught me topics about chemicals that I did not know of and has improved my knowledge of chemistry.

Himalayan Salt Crystals Lab Poster - Grow

To cover the topic of nucleation, I made a lab poster to explain the growth of my crystal experiment. Beforehand, an immense amount of research on crystals was done so that I could get an understanding of the process of crystal growth. So far, my research has introduced the topics of supersaturated solutions, the crystallization process, and nucleation. For this experiment, I chose to grow salt crystals using Himalayan salt to create a supersaturated solution by mixing heated water and salt and letting it cool down so that the crystals would grow. The main flaw, however, was that my crystals did not grow in time for the results to be posted but I explained my expectations. I also made a few errors when conducting the experiment which likely interfered with the crystallization process, so I started another experiment. Overall, my understanding of the crystallization process is demonstrated, however, one thing I need to improve on is my experimental skills.