Chemistry Reflection

Throughout this chemistry course, I have been challenged with many new ideas. This

course allowed me the opportunity to expand my preconception of high-school chemistry and

elevate my prior knowledge to a more sophisticated level. My participation in this course not

only provided me formal information on chemistry, such as how to measure a mole and

Planck’s constant, but it also gave me a more informed view on basic processes in my daily life.

An example of this is the role that sugar plays in food. If it were not for my understanding of

how heat acts as a catalyst in the reaction of making rice crispy treats, I could make the foolish

mistake of putting the marshmallows under intense fire rather than allowing the bonds in the

sugar of the marshmallows to uniformly break.

As I was introduced to new concepts through our textbook and lectures, I found myself

faced with ideas which I had trouble understanding. This was due to the complex and unfamiliar

nature of these themes. But one tool which I could always use as I learned these new ideas was

my ability to think critically. Although these concepts were foreign to me, I knew that I could

use the concepts from past chapters and use that prior knowledge to relate to the new content.

This critical thinking is what helped me master the concepts of solutions and concentrates.

Without my critical thinking, I would not have been able to easily walk myself through different

concepts and make connections along the way. In turn, I think my learning would have been

heavily restricted to a rigid process of memorization rather than a true grasp of these ideas. I

know this because as I studied the content throughout the semester, I was able to recall ideas

through critical thinking rather than simple recall that required no understanding of previous

content.
 This course, as previously mentioned, has changed my view on daily tasks which I had

originally never paid much attention to. Often as I go through my day now, I connect concepts

which I learned throughout the semester to small phenomenon, especially during the winter

time. An example of the connections which I am able to make between the curriculum and life

is why my rings may not fit as they usually do during the summer. The reason why my ring may

fit smaller during the winter in contrast to the summer is because as the cold temperature

takes the heat energy from the things around it. Heat leaves my ring and the atoms within the

ring will move less due to the absence of extra energy within these atoms. This concept is also

applicable to the wheels on my car during the winter. Because my car has sat in the cold

garage, the air in my wheels is now taking up less volume. This in turn causes my wheels to be

less inflate. In order to combat this problem, I have to take my car out on the road in order to

undo this. As the friction between the wheels creates heat, it excited the atoms within the

wheel and they begin to take up more space. The the wheel soon gains its original shape.