10.23.2015
Written By: Lafe Purvis
In the first real session of the school year, we experimented with concepts in thermodynamics, specifically exothermic and endothermic reactions. Before the students were let loose to experiment, they were given a brief history of my path to graduate school and the research I am currently doing to show them applications of chemistry they may not be familiar with. Then I described the concepts of endothermic and exothermic processes using the amount of energy contained in everyday compounds and foods as examples. Students were then set to the task of experimenting with magnesium sulfate, urea and water, which are exo and endothermic process, respectively. For the initial trials, the amounts of each compound were pre-weighed, however, after they finished with those experiments, they were asked to design their own experiments. After 30 minutes of experimenting with various parameters that could affect the degree to which the reactions were endo or exothermic, the class was brought back together. To close out the session I demonstrated two highly exothermic process, the reaction of sodium with water and aluminum and hydrochloric acid, which they seemed to enjoy and I think helped drive home the idea of energy flow and chemical processes.