The Subjects of CIS - Chemistry

(Posted on 22/03/18)

This week at CIS, we learnt about acids and how they react with different substances. We did a practical about making copper chloride crystals. We did this by putting copper oxide (which is a black powder) into hydrochloric acid (liquid) and to filter and boil the mixture appropriately. Me and my lab partner, Olly, made some crystals that formed very quickly because we got the substance just right. Afterwards we learnt how to describe these reactions in a word formula and how to recognise what substance will be formed. For example, with our experiment we did earlier, the word equation would be:

 

Copper oxide + Hydrochloric acid à Copper chloride + Water

 

We also learnt about how not everything to do with science on the internet is believable. For example, there is an article online about how dihydrogen monoxide is a dangerous chemical that kills thousands of people per year and should be banned. They technically didn’t lie, because dihydrogen monoxide is water. H2O. People die from drowning often, which is why it kills thousands every year.

 

Link to the dihydrogen monoxide website: http://www.dhmo.org/truth/Dihydrogen-Monoxide.html

 

Ethan W