Three Questions

This week, I have completed my glog, as well as making lots of mole posters, finishing up mole worksheets and labs, and sewing my mole! I have learned the basics of stoichiometry, and reinforced the use and importance of the mole. I need more practice with stoichiometry, but the basic concepts are solid.  Next I pan to get caught up with flipped questions, finish labs, prep for a lab on Monday, and update my planner with upcoming due dates!

Book Update

The knife man has been an interesting read so far, although the shock value and novelty of 18th century England wore itself out soon in the book. The most remarkable thing about this book is simply John Hunter's daring. From a farm to the height of the surgical frontier, this man has the audacity to defy the conventional remedies and advice of the time and use the scientific method to think up and test ideas, both novel, borrowed, and tweaked. By doing so Hunter made huge strides in the field of surgery, even going so far as to possibly experiment on himself in the name of his experimentation. This surgeon was also something else... an anatomist. By studying cadavers and experimenting on animals of all kinds, Hunter developed a comprehensive knowledge of the body that he used to his advantage. It was due to this knowledge that Hunter was able to develop hypothesis that produced such revolutionary results. During this time in England, surgery was a deadly option because of the misguided techniques of the time. Hunters methods, and his use of the scientific method characterized a surgical revolution, and the beginning of surgery as we know it today.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277001/John-Hunter

The mole... in all it's glory

The mole was surprisingly simple. As a quantity, and as a concept, it being the number of atoms in of an element when its atomic mass is in grams. Although I am still figuring out it's application, the concept itself seems solid and was thoroughly reinforced by our current lab. Percent composition is a concept thoroughly well reviewed from basic math. I liked how the empirical formula and the molecular formula are so related. One gives the other, its really cool.

Science by the Numbers

To be precise means to have all measurements close to each other, regardless of whether or not those measurements are correct. Accuracy means that a measurement is correct. To have both accuracy and precision is imperative in science because precision and accuracy together maintain the validity of the results found. This is exemplified by a recent experiment in neutrino physics. When scientists first measured the possibility that neutrinos could travel at a speed faster than that of light they did tests and found it to be a question of mere nanoseconds. In this case especially, sig digs are imperative to precisely calculate the difference in speed and the associated error to achieve the correct results.