01/09 M&Ms

Surprise

           On Friday, we did an experiment asking if when two m&ms are put together will the colors blend. My hypothesis was that they will blend together and form a new color because when you put together watercolor paint together the color does blend and also because they are made from the same ingredients and food coloring. I was very surprised when we conducted the experiment because instead of blending together like I thought it would the colors just stopped moving and started moving in a different direction. Everytime the colors touched it just made a barrier between the colors. The colors are like oil and water, they never can blend and always stay separate.

Summary

          This week in class we started out chemistry unit. We worked on doing M&M experiments. Each day we had to perform a experiment and write down data. All the experiments were about the dissolvement of the colors on the M&Ms. I reviewed the scientific method and learned about how to conduct a successful experiment and write a good hypothesis.

Backward-Looking

How much did you know about the topic before we started? What do you now know about the topic that you did not know before?

          Before we started the chemistry unit I didn't know much about performing experiments except for my knowledge on the scientific method. We learned about the scientific method in the beginning of the year but after that some of the information was forgotten. Thats why we had to review the scientific method. Now I know that in a science experiment you can only have ONE variable. A variable is  a thing that you change in an experiment. With more than one variable your experiment will be unfair. I also learned that when you place to different colored M&Ms in water the colors will not blend together.

Inward-Looking

What did/do you find frustrating about the work done this week?

This week I found only one thing frustrating. When we performed the M&M experiments it was hard to drop the M&M where you want it to go. On the experiments that used only one M&M it was hard to get to the exact middle. When we used two or more M%M we tried to make the experiment fair by making them the same distance from the second line in the racing M&Ms. Everytime we drop them into the water they slide in a different direction. That's why in racing M&Ms the green won because it was closer to the second line than all the others.

Outward-Looking

Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? How was it similar or different from others?

             Yes in most experiments. For most of the experiments all the tables followed the same instructions and did the experiment the same way. The only thing we did different was that we used different colored M&Ms. In one of the experiments though we all wrote our own instructions. All the groups probably had the same idea but did the experiment a little differently.

Forward-Looking

What's one goal you would like to set for yourself for next week?

        Next week my goal is to do my blog on Wednesday, turn in all my data, and make sure to bring my science notebook everyday. Instead of doing my blogs on Friday I will do them on Wednesday. Also, I will continue to turn in my data every day. I will ring my science notebook to take notes or refer back to my notes for help.