Chemistry

Over the last couple of weeks I have attended two chemistry workshops. During the first workshop we made a thick sticky substance called casein. It smelt disgusting and it looked all lumpy and gross as well. See down below for the recipe for casein. Casein is an edible thickener but it tastes horrible! You can use casein to make plastic objects such as buttons. Some people made a long flat oval mold of casein on the lid of a yoghurt container. My groupmade a ball of casein. Our hypothesis was that the ball would be rubbery plastic so it would bounce. When we had shaped the ball we wrapped it in gladwrap and left it for a week. Next week we had a look at it. It was still soft and spongy, so we took it out of the gladwrap and left it for a week. Thenext week we found it was too hard. I was given the ball so I tore off the hard layer and found asoft layer underneath. I tried bouncing it but it didn't work.

The second week we tested household products that you would find in the kitchen to see if they were a base, a neutral or an acid. We each had a small cup of purple cabbage water. When we had chosen a product each we put some into our cabbage water. If it was a base the water would turn blue. If it was a neutral the water woud stay the same and if it was an acid the water would turn pink. I had a lemon. It was very acidy and the water turned a pink colour instantly. Quite a few products didn't make the water turn any colour like the coffee it made the water turn brown. After everyone had tested their product we were given a piece of litmus paper. Thepaper also turned red if acidic, blue if it was a base and green if it was a neutral. My lemon wasthree colours away from being one of the most acidic things in the world. This was the highest rank in colour that all the products got up to. Three other products were as acidic as a lemon- lime was amongst them.

Here is a picture of the purple cabbage water, acidic purple cabbage water, netural purple cabbage water, and base purple cabbage water, the litmus beginning to turn red in the presence of a lemon and the many colours that litmus paper can turn.

Gifted Awareness Week!!

This week it is Gifted Awareness Week. This a week to make people aware of gifted people. I think this is a really cool thing because I am gifted. I go to Enrich one day a week. Enrich is a school for gifted and talented children. The three things you need to be gifted are: Above Average Ability, Creativity, and Task Commitment. Here are some reasons why people go to Enrich: Because they learn quicker - I think most schools aim their teaching at the level you should be, but at Enrich they teach children who are above average and need challenging. We are not smarter then other children because everyone is smart in their own way, but we are different in some areas compared to other children. Gifted week is special to me because I am gifted and it is a week to show people and make them aware of us. One of my passions is the animal world - I just love animals. Another passion for me is writing, especially descriptive. I also love art, running and athletics. I love running and I am very commited to it if only I could beat my friend my running would be perfect! I love silent reading time and I whizz through books really quick. Being at Enrich is not only really cool but it always gives you a new opportunity to improve your learning. I think the learning zone at Enrich is perfect and it really gives you hands on experience which I love. I am really glad that I had the chance to go to Enrich. My message to all like-minds out there is: Take a chance in life, take a few risks and don't give up. Who knows one day you might be a part of Gifted Awareness Week too.