Week 18

Week 18 continued with more in-depth learning of Unit 4 and studying properties of atoms, molecules, and elements. Starting off the week, we did an activity in the computer lab in which we went back to Dalton's experiments with phlogiston and oxygen, and discovering the fixed ratios of elements. We came to a few conclusions in class using what we did: 2 substances with the same properties have the same ratio, the mass of a solid lost is equal to the mass of a gas produced when heating, and there are fixed ratios within systems. We moved to more about diatomic elements and how we can tell they're diatomic. Like with hydrogen chloride. If 1 vol. of hydrogen is combined with 1 vol. of chloride, but 2 volumes are produced, then you know they're diatomic elements. Then we came to some conclusions. First, we know that substances and compounds are composed of individual particles. Substances are made out of elements or pure substances. Compounds, however, are made of multiple particles that are either the same or different. Lastly, we concluded that particles combine to form molecules. To end the week, we came to our final conclusion that diatomic elements stay diatomic until they have something to combine with. We had an assessment on Friday that I feel good about, and look forward to seeing my results.