Saturation of Borax Essay Example for Free

Saturation of Borax Essay Formulating this experiment taught us many things. In the past, we were asked to conduct previously planned labs, with a purpose assigned from the teacher. We did not know how much thought was put into these labs until we were asked to create one for ourselves. An experimental process requires preparation, flexibility, and organization. This project provided insight on developing a unique process to answer a specific question. The experimental process requires extensive preparation. With our pre-lab, everything included had to be well thought-out. Research was done beforehand. We read articles on how borax would behave and became familiar with its chemical properties. We also read about others in the past who have done a similar experiment to us. Most importantly, we had to prepare ourselves for what results we should expect. If we did not get similar results, we would know that our experiment has a problem. With this knowledge, we had to determine the optimal method to answer our question. Our procedure had to be efficient and be as problem-free as possible for the day we carried out our experiment. Materials listed had to be obtainable at the school. We learned preparation was instrumental to performing a successful lab. While preparation to the lab was extremely important, it is always difficult to foresee any potential problems until the lab is carried out. Being flexible was another important trait we learned in this project. Materials had to be realistically available, so we had to compromise practicality for availability. For example, beakers were constantly unavailable, so we had to use a larger sized beaker than we needed. We also had problems with the experiment itself. The dissolving of Borax took an enormous amount of time. Given the time available, it was not practical to continue the method we were using, so we modified our procedure to fit with the time constraints. We did not expect these kinds of stumbling blocks. We also learned that you can never predict what will happen, as some things are out of your control. We had an incident where a classmate cleaned out our beaker, which contained a solution. We lost those results, and we did not have a choice but to quickly repeat the experiment. Some things are out of our control. In the future, when we enter the workforce, problems like this will arise and one must learn to deal with them. The experimental process requires organization. Carrying out the experiment, we had to follow the procedure closely. Materials had to be requested in advance, and prepared the day before. In our pre-lab, it was extremely important that the prepared table had the required boxes to record our information in. Recording our information was a challenge to us. We would sometimes forget to record the mass of objects and had missing numbers in our table, in which we would have to repeat that process again to obtain the value. Missing values in our table proved to be detrimental to our overall efficiency. A messy table proved to be a stumbling block later, when we were writing the report too. It was difficult to decode what our thoughts were, and distinguish what each number was for (many numbers had no unit). Now we know that good organizational skills are extremely important. In conclusion, this project covered many skills that are required in the completion of an experimental design. In order to complete a successful experiment, one must be prepared, flexible and organized. These skills play a critical role in the outcome, as they will dictate how one will deal with the problems they face, and prevent future problems form occurring. Writing this report was slightly challenging due to the amount we learned, and the space available to write. After this report, we learned to draw conclusions and reflect on the experiences that we gained. It helped us look back on our results and look at them from another perspective and it gives ideas on how to improve our experimental design in the future.