Term 1 Learning Reflections

Term 1 was a wonderful journey learning about Chemistry. The periodic table was something newly exposed to me. I had used to wonder when I flipped through the Encyclopedia when I was young, thinking of what did the numbers on each "card" represented. The term has also led me to understand what are atoms, neutrons, electrons, protons etc. This used-to-be words that seemed so much of a stranger to me, became so much of a friend to me when I had discovered my interest in this topic, of Chemistry.

Acids and Bases was also much of an interesting topic. Having learnt the different kind of ions that made a particular solution acidic or alkaline was much of a important step for my projects competition as well. Acids and bases experiments in the labs were even more of a fun experience. Smelling the smells of gases like Ammonium, and testing out for gases like oxygen with a glowing splint. All of these are 1-of-a-kind experiences that I had never had before. Acids and bases has also led me to understand much more than I ever had, like why are soaps and shampoos alkaline, just like bleaches.

The term's results were quite surprising. I did not expect to get more then 30 when I sat for the paper. I had initially aimed for an A2, but ended up with a 32/40, which was greatly to my surprise. I remember studying for the test through the night, and still feeling quite in-confident in doing the test well. The part on memorizing the valency of the various elements was the most time consuming part, since memorizing things had always been a chore for me, especially school work :P