Haiku on the Joy of Chemistry

Chemistry is great,
Its what makes the world function,
Without it, we fail.

Maria Agnesi

Maria Agnesi was born on May 16, 1718 in Milan. She was the oldest of twenty-one sibilings. She was extremely smart at a very early age. She could speak Italian and French at the age of five. She later learned Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, English, and Latin. She later fell in love with philosophy and various sciences due to reading many books. She became a well-known scientist and died at the age of 80.

Maria's acomplishments were sublime to many scientist in her time, especially for a woman. She is the first woman to write a science book, and it is still used to this day. She was also the first woman to be appointed as a professor at a university, The University of Bologna. According to Dirk Jan Struik, "She is the most important woman scientist since Hypatia."

I picked Maria Agnesi because she was a first. What I mean by this, is I feel that people that accomplish things first changed the world in some way. She was the first woman, which is important because women had (and still have) and unfair disadvantige under men, to write a science book and become a professor. Maria changed the path for women scientist and this is why I feel that she needs to be recognized.

Our video project is having tech. difficulties. Were trying to upload but we are having to delete and re-add some things to avoid copyright fragments. Also, we are having to re-edit the project to fit the 100 mb size limit of blogger.

Inspiring Scientist

When I think about science, the first thing that comes to mind is computers and technology. This is probably because of all the science-fiction films I watch which involve a lot of computers. So, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates inspires me. I have attempted to learn the "language" of computers but it is extremely complex. I admire these people because they make our lives easier and simpler. This is why I admire these people.

My goals this year in chemistry is to feel comfortable and knowledgeable with the subject. Last trimester, I struggled with the material, but my goal for the next two trimesters is to be able to walk into class and feel comfortable and take a test with out feeling bad afterwards.

Reflections - Element Superhero Project

1. Why is this exhibit a good choice for placement in your e-portfolio?

I enjoyed the project and feel that I benefitted from it more than any other project that we've done in chemistry this trimester. The project was unique. I was surprised to see a project that involved creativity, art, scientific facts, and a "fun" fashion in a project, especially in chemistry. I think this project was a good choice because it was very fun to make, and I personally learned a lot about Uranium.

2. What did you find most interesting about this exhibit activity and why?

The project interested me in learning about Uranium. I found that incorporating the imagination, art and decoration, and hard science facts were the most interesting points of this project. This is because I never thought of something like it. The atomic timeline was predictable and boring, which is fine, but this project was fun and I had a good time making it.

3. In what way(s) did you find this exhibit a challenge to complete?

It was a fairly large project. The paper took a while then making the poster took a while as well. For me, I thought I had materials at my home which I actually never had, so I had to improvise different materials. For example, I didn't have and poster board, so I stapled a few pieces of printing paper together. Also finding all the characteristics of Uranium was a challenge.

4. If you were to do this activity again what changes would you make and why?

Very few. I would have made it a group project. Even though a enjoyed this project in a poster form, it would be kind of fun to make a element superhero group video. I think that would really intrigue the class in the element that is being focused on.

5. What change(s) in attitude or behavior helped you to meet the challenge?

Because of a miscommunication between our substitute teacher and us, we started working on the project as a group project. We were annoyed when we had to start from scratch and make our own element superhero, so I had to change my attitude to a more determined state than the annoyed attitude I had before. This helped me meet this challenge.

6. What grade would you give yourself for these reflections, from “1” to “4”, where “4” is the best?

I would give myself a 3.5 because some of the things on this post are repetitive and are not very lengthy but I answered the answered the questions to the best of my ability. I also stuck to the instructions and the rubric.

If I was an element, I would be Hydrogen. I swim 5 days a week and I am in water every single day whether it be swim practice, a shower, etc. I also love to sail. I sail all summer long nearly every day and more times than not, end up in the water. Hydrogen is a gas which doesn't necessarily describe me.