Reflections on Science experiences,laboratory sessions,field work and excursionsTerm One
Reflection 1 <First lab lesson> Mrs Chu,our science teacher brought us to the science laboratory. She told us where the apparatus can be found in the laboratory. She also teach us the hazard symbols. The symbols include explosive substances,flammable substances,poisonous substances,corrosive substances and radioactive substances.We also learnt that a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen is an explosive substance while petrol,kerosene,alcohol are flammable substances while mercury,chlorine gas are poisonous substances while concentrated acid is a corrosive substance and lastly radioactive carbon is a radioactive substance. We also learnt the uses of the apparatus. Mrs Chu told us that the science laboratory can be a dangerous place if we are not careful. There are some rules and regulations that we must abide by. Some of the Do's are follow your teacher's instruction,wear safety googles while mixing or heating substances and point test tubes away from your eyes and other students. While some of the don'ts are enter the laboratory without your teacher's permission,eat or drink in the lab and mix chemicals unless instructed to by your teacher. We must follow the rules and regulations to prevent unpleasant accidents to happen.Reflection 2 <second lab lesson>This is our second lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us how to draw the symbols of the apparatus from the science laboratory. A few of my classmates were asked to draw some of the apparatus on the whiteboard. Most of them made some mistakes. It is a good learning opportunity for the whole class as we could learn from their mistakes as well.We also learnt about the parts of a Bunsen burner such as the barrel,air hole,collar,gas tap,jet and the base.We also get to try lighting up a Bunsen burner. It is quite challenging for me to light it up.After much pratice,i could light up a Bunsen burner easily.There is a time when the flame of the Bunsen burner changes to a green colour and produces a loud sizzling sound.That is a strike back.It happens when the air hole is fully open.This is because there is too much air.Instead of burning at the mouth of the barrel,the gas burns at the jet.I turn off the gas tap immediately.Reflection 3 <Third lab lesson>This is our third lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. We also learn about the two flames. The two flames are luminous and non-luminous flame.Luminous flame is an orange or yellow coloured flame.It is unsteady and easily seen compared to the other flame--non-luminous flame.The non-luminous flame is blue and steady. Basically,non-luminous flame is used for heating substances. We also drew the flames and label them. Afterwards,we conducted an experiment. Mrs Chu reminded us to wear our safety googles before conducting the experiment. Mrs Chu told us not to use the word "chalky" when carbon dioxide is in contact with limewater but "milky" instead. I had a good time conducting the experiment with Darryl. It was a good experience.Reflection 4 <Fourth lab lesson>This is our fourth lab lesson.Mrs Chu taught us how to use a thermometer accurately.She told us about parallex error.It is a human error when reading the reading of the thermometer. We should read the reading at a certain angle. Laboratory thermometers contain mercury which is a poisonous substance. We must handle it carefully.We proceed to an experiment.We have to measure the temperature of the 100ml water in the beaker per minute when it is being heated by the Bunsen burner.Firstly we have to turn the air hole to about half-open in order to get a non luminous flame that is used for heating.Next i check the time on the stopwatch while Chuan Bin measured the temperature every minute. We managed to complete it quickly. After completing the experiment,we helped the other teams complete.Team work is very important here. Without team work we might take a long time to complete the experiment.Reflection 5 <fifth lab lesson>This is our fifth lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us how to use a vernier calipers and a micrometer screw gauge. Their smallest reading is 0.1cm. We have also learnt about the zero error of the micrometer screw gauge and the vernier calipers. We were asked to measure the average diameter of wire and ball bearing using both apparatus. It is an excellent experience to try out the apparatus. We have committed some errors. For example, we used to wrong apparatus to measure the diameter of the ball bearing. We are supposed to use the micrometer screw gauge but we used the vernier calipers instead.Reflection 6 <Sixth lab lesson>This is our sixth lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us what the term "period" means. It is an oscillation from A to C and back to A or from C to A and back to C. I worked with Chuan Bin. Firstly, we have to fix one end of the thread to the pendulum bob. Then, clamp the other end firmly between the split cork, making pendulum of length. Next, give the pendulum bob a small displacement around ten degrees and set it into oscillation. Then, we have to time the period for 10 oscillations using a stopwatch and record the time taken. Lastly, calculate the average timing. We cooperate with one another so we could complete the experiment in time. Our final conculsion is the shorter the length of the pendulum, the shorter the period. We were also asked to state two precautions that one would take in this experiment. I really enjoyed the experiment and looking forward for more.Reflection 7 <Seventh Lab Lesson>This is our seventh lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us how to determine the density of a regular and irregular solid. Firstly in order to find out the density of a matter, one must find the matter's volume and mass.
This is the formula to calculate the density ( DENSITY = MASS/VOLUME ). I am not familar with the density though. I am quite confused about how to find the volume of a round object like a marble. YiShun helped me with that. I have understood density throughout the tedious process. In order to find out the volume of an irregular solid, we have to pour water into the measuring cylinder to about one-third of its depth. Note the reading. Next, tie the solid$ with a piece of string and lower it gently into the water. Note the reading. Hence, the volume of the solid is the second reading subtracting the the first one. I have also learnt that a matter with a smaller density will "float" on top of a matter with higher density. I enjoyed this lab lesson. Reflection 8 <Excursion-Metrology Centre>This is our first science excursion this year.I am very excited about it.Only 4 from our class is going for the excursion.It was an interesting excursion as we have learnt interesting facts from the trip.We learnt about the SI units of measurement. Metrology is the science of measurement.
Base quantity
Name
Symbol
Length
metre
m
Mass
kilogram
kg
Time
second
s
Electric current
ampere
A
Temperature
Kelvin
K
Amount of substance
mole
mol
Luminous intensity
candela
cd
Good measurement relies on the integrity of the measuring equipment used. It is often not easy to measure correctly. We rely on complicated instruments and if we do not understand their operational principles or know how to use them, we can easily get wrong results. The task of metrology, and indeed the job of a metrologist, is to achieve the dependable measurement results that are needed for ensuring quality and efficiency of production in industry, fairness in trade, consumer protection, health and safety of human and animal life and protection of the environment. To this end, metrologists are continuously involved in the development of new measurement techniques, instrumentation and procedures, to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for accuracy, reliability and speed of measurements.I really enjoy the whole trip.Hope that there are more excursions in fulture. *TERM TWO & THREE AT ANOTHER PAGE*CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO ACCESS THEM...Term TwoTerm Three
Reflections on Science experiences,laboratory sessions,field work and excursionsTerm One
Reflection 1 <First lab lesson> Mrs Chu,our science teacher brought us to the science laboratory. She told us where the apparatus can be found in the laboratory. She also teach us the hazard symbols. The symbols include explosive substances,flammable substances,poisonous substances,corrosive substances and radioactive substances.We also learnt that a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen is an explosive substance while petrol,kerosene,alcohol are flammable substances while mercury,chlorine gas are poisonous substances while concentrated acid is a corrosive substance and lastly radioactive carbon is a radioactive substance. We also learnt the uses of the apparatus. Mrs Chu told us that the science laboratory can be a dangerous place if we are not careful. There are some rules and regulations that we must abide by. Some of the Do's are follow your teacher's instruction,wear safety googles while mixing or heating substances and point test tubes away from your eyes and other students. While some of the don'ts are enter the laboratory without your teacher's permission,eat or drink in the lab and mix chemicals unless instructed to by your teacher. We must follow the rules and regulations to prevent unpleasant accidents to happen.Reflection 2 <second lab lesson>This is our second lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us how to draw the symbols of the apparatus from the science laboratory. A few of my classmates were asked to draw some of the apparatus on the whiteboard. Most of them made some mistakes. It is a good learning opportunity for the whole class as we could learn from their mistakes as well.We also learnt about the parts of a Bunsen burner such as the barrel,air hole,collar,gas tap,jet and the base.We also get to try lighting up a Bunsen burner. It is quite challenging for me to light it up.After much pratice,i could light up a Bunsen burner easily.There is a time when the flame of the Bunsen burner changes to a green colour and produces a loud sizzling sound.That is a strike back.It happens when the air hole is fully open.This is because there is too much air.Instead of burning at the mouth of the barrel,the gas burns at the jet.I turn off the gas tap immediately.Reflection 3 <Third lab lesson>This is our third lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. We also learn about the two flames. The two flames are luminous and non-luminous flame.Luminous flame is an orange or yellow coloured flame.It is unsteady and easily seen compared to the other flame--non-luminous flame.The non-luminous flame is blue and steady. Basically,non-luminous flame is used for heating substances. We also drew the flames and label them. Afterwards,we conducted an experiment. Mrs Chu reminded us to wear our safety googles before conducting the experiment. Mrs Chu told us not to use the word "chalky" when carbon dioxide is in contact with limewater but "milky" instead. I had a good time conducting the experiment with Darryl. It was a good experience.Reflection 4 <Fourth lab lesson>This is our fourth lab lesson.Mrs Chu taught us how to use a thermometer accurately.She told us about parallex error.It is a human error when reading the reading of the thermometer. We should read the reading at a certain angle. Laboratory thermometers contain mercury which is a poisonous substance. We must handle it carefully.We proceed to an experiment.We have to measure the temperature of the 100ml water in the beaker per minute when it is being heated by the Bunsen burner.Firstly we have to turn the air hole to about half-open in order to get a non luminous flame that is used for heating.Next i check the time on the stopwatch while Chuan Bin measured the temperature every minute. We managed to complete it quickly. After completing the experiment,we helped the other teams complete.Team work is very important here. Without team work we might take a long time to complete the experiment.Reflection 5 <fifth lab lesson>This is our fifth lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us how to use a vernier calipers and a micrometer screw gauge. Their smallest reading is 0.1cm. We have also learnt about the zero error of the micrometer screw gauge and the vernier calipers. We were asked to measure the average diameter of wire and ball bearing using both apparatus. It is an excellent experience to try out the apparatus. We have committed some errors. For example, we used to wrong apparatus to measure the diameter of the ball bearing. We are supposed to use the micrometer screw gauge but we used the vernier calipers instead.Reflection 6 <Sixth lab lesson>This is our sixth lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us what the term "period" means. It is an oscillation from A to C and back to A or from C to A and back to C. I worked with Chuan Bin. Firstly, we have to fix one end of the thread to the pendulum bob. Then, clamp the other end firmly between the split cork, making pendulum of length. Next, give the pendulum bob a small displacement around ten degrees and set it into oscillation. Then, we have to time the period for 10 oscillations using a stopwatch and record the time taken. Lastly, calculate the average timing. We cooperate with one another so we could complete the experiment in time. Our final conculsion is the shorter the length of the pendulum, the shorter the period. We were also asked to state two precautions that one would take in this experiment. I really enjoyed the experiment and looking forward for more.Reflection 7 <Seventh Lab Lesson>This is our seventh lab lesson. Mrs Chu taught us how to determine the density of a regular and irregular solid. Firstly in order to find out the density of a matter, one must find the matter's volume and mass.This is the formula to calculate the density ( DENSITY = MASS/VOLUME ). I am not familar with the density though. I am quite confused about how to find the volume of a round object like a marble. YiShun helped me with that. I have understood density throughout the tedious process. In order to find out the volume of an irregular solid, we have to pour water into the measuring cylinder to about one-third of its depth. Note the reading. Next, tie the solid$ with a piece of string and lower it gently into the water. Note the reading. Hence, the volume of the solid is the second reading subtracting the the first one. I have also learnt that a matter with a smaller density will "float" on top of a matter with higher density. I enjoyed this lab lesson. Reflection 8 <Excursion-Metrology Centre>This is our first science excursion this year.I am very excited about it.Only 4 from our class is going for the excursion.It was an interesting excursion as we have learnt interesting facts from the trip.We learnt about the SI units of measurement. Metrology is the science of measurement.