Making salt crystals - Science

 Aim: To produce copper sulfate salt by reacting copper oxide with an acid.

Equipment: 

• Copper oxide powder
• Dilute (0.5 mol L-1) sulfuric acid
• 50ml measuring cylinder
• two 100ml beakers
• Bunsen burner
• Tripod
• Gauze mat
• Funnel
• Filter paper
• Thermometer
• Spatula
• Evaporating basin
• Stirring rod

Method:

1. Add 20ml of sulfuric acid to a 100ml beaker. Heat the acid until it reaches 70℃. Turn off your bunsen burner.
2. Once heated, use a spatula to add pea-sized portions of copper oxide to the beaker. Stir the mixture for 30 seconds
3. Repeat step 2 until no more will dissolve. Allow the beaker to cool.
4. Fold the filter paper and place it in the funnel. Place the filter funnel into the second beaker.
5. Make sure the beaker is cool enough to hold at the top. The contents should still be hot. You may need your teacher to complete this step.
6. Gently swirl the contents of the beaker to mix, and then pour into the filter paper in the funnel. Allow filtering through.
7. Rinse the beaker you used to heat the mixture previously, and place it back on top of the tripod filled with 50-60ml of water.
8. Place the evaporating basin on top of the beaker and carefully pour some of the solutions from the beaker into the evaporating basin.
9. Gently heat the beaker until the solution in the evaporating basin has reduced by half.
10. Leave the evaporating basin to cool. Once cool, move the evaporating basin to a warm place where it will not be disturbed (i.e. a window-still) and observe over the next few days. Blue copper sulfate crystals should form.

Results:

The end results turned out great and actually turned into crystals.

Discussion:

A Copper (oxide) + sulfuric (acid) >Water + copper sulfate.

Copper oxide and sulfuric added together makes water then the water turns into copper sulfate (crystal)

Conclusion:

That the acid actually made into crystals, and the chemicals reacted together.

Rule of thirds - Art

  In art, we are looking at rule of thirds. It's about how an image is divided into a three by three grid. with the focal point of the photo being where the lines meet.

This is one of the sketches that I did, this image is using the rule of thirds. Each focal point of the image is where the lines of the grid cross over each other.

These drawing are ideas of rule of thirds, I drew these so I can practice how to do rule of thirds.

This is one of the sketches I did, this drawing is using the rule of thirds. Each focal point of the image is where the lines of the grid cross over each other.

Particle theory and diffusion experiment - Chemicals and chaos

 This week in chemicals we are learning about particle theory and diffusion, we are working on what is and how it works. There are 6 rules on particle theory and diffusion:

1.  All matter is made up of particles
2. All particles in a pure substance are the same
3. There is space between all particles
4. Particles are always moving
5. There are attractive forces between particles
6. Temperature affects the speed at which particles move

For this experiment, we are going to put Potassium permanganate into cold and hot water to see which one diffuses faster.  

Aim: To investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of diffusion.

Hypothesis: I think that warm water will diffuse faster than cold water, because of the speed of the heat makes the potassium will move faster.

Conclusion: My conclusion was right because when we put the potassium in both the waters at the same time and the potassium spread straight away when it went into the warm water.

Plastic bags - Textiles

 What is plastic bags?

Traditional plastic bag are usually made from polythylene, its a type of thin flexible plastic film. Plastic bags are for carrying goods like food, powders, magazines, clothes and waste. It's a more common type of package. 

Why is there no more single use of plastic bags?

Sing-use plastic shopping bags are banned in New Zealand from 1 July 2019. Business cannot provide you with single-use bags. The ban will help reduce the amount of plastic in our environment.

How does plastic bags effect climate change?

Sunlight and heat melt the plastic to release strong greenhouse gasses, making the environment worst and toxic. As our Climate changes. the planet gets hotter, the plastic breaks down into more methane and ethylene, increasing the rate of climate change, and so perpetuating the cycle, plastic takes forever to breakdown which makes animals to eat it and die.

How are plastic bags made?

Manufactured and composition traditional plastic bags are made from polythene , which consists of long chains ethylene monomers. Ethylene is derived from natural gas and petroleum. Plastic shopping bags are commonly manufactured by blown film extrusion.

Alternatives to plastic bags:

• Wool bags (homemade or shops)
• Kete (flax bags)
• Baskets
• Bio degradable bags
• School bags

Home economics - Chocolate chip cookies

Hello,

Today in home economics we had been baking chocolate chip cookies. This was super easy and quick. Here is the recipe for the cookies:

Ingredients:

100g butter

1/2 cup Chelsea white sugar

1/2 cup Chelsea soft brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cup flour

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup chocolate chip

Method:

1. Softened butter, and add both sugars and cream these together. Beat in the eggs and vanilla then mix in the dry ingredients
2. Roll the dough into medium-sized balls, making sure the mixture is not too wet. Put on a well-greased baking tray.
3. They shouldn't spread too much so flatten slightly. Bake at 180℃ for 8-10 mins

Tip: You can easily half this recipe. Or roll half into a log, wrap in cling wrap and freeze. Cut into 15 pieces while still frozen and bake.

Sensory evaluation: The taste of the cookies were really good, they tasted a bit bland but they were very soft and warm. When I let them cool a bit they were a bit hard but had tasted a bit better and I could taste the vanilla.

Conclusion: I had come early to class so I could be back with my original group, we had already had our ingredient ready and started straight away. This was an easy recipe, especially with 4 people. We each got into roles without even talking and had already got the dough ready. Then we chose who was checking on the cookies so they wouldn't get burnt. So, in conclusion, my group had worked really well and the cookies had turned out awesome.

Here are some photos through our making of the cookies:

                                                  Here are all the ingredients 

 

                                       Here are all the ingredients mixed together 

                                         

                                                        This is the dough on the baking paper

The dough in the oven getting cooked

Here are the finished cookies!

Arbor Day

What is Arbor Day? Arbor Day is a holiday that is celebrated on the 5 of June, certain people and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday, usually in the spring.

Why is this important for Nz's environments?  

To celebrate our natural beauty by educating our communities, planting a passion for future protection and preservation of our wondrous heritage trees.

What are some ways we see HHS helping with the environment?

• Planting trees (all around the school)
• Picking up rubbish (inside & out of school)
• Making compost
• Making garden beds
• Having a big tree garden at the back of the field

Yesterday Tr & Ts went to the back of the field and planted or cleaned the trees. Lily and I had planted a flax tree, we called her Ataahua because she is going to grow into a beautiful flax tree. I can't wait till I can see her grow and use her to flax bags or little plants.

Here a photo from yesterday of me and 7 other people with trees to plant:

Tāne Māhuta

Today for Tāne Māhuta we planned for our garden and then we had to use egg holders for our vege garden. We put soil in our egg holders and we sorted where to put our veges. After that we put our little vege garden outside. Now its time for photos.