November 2019 – Julia’s Blog

Uses of Static Electricity

Taking too long?

Reload document

Open in new tab

Download

TOKTW2019

Name of host: Keith Shaw Relationship: Father

The Interview:

1. What is your job title?

His job title is associate technical fellow.

2. What is your job description?

An architect that assists in designing new products. Architect as in prototyping, defining requirements, and discussing products with customers.

3. What are the duties and/or tasks you perform at your Job?

At his job, my father helps create products to sell to other companies. These products are silicon chips that connect compute to storage and contain lots of embedded CPU’s.

4. What qualifications do you have for this job in the following areas

Training?

My father gained a lot of training for his job while actively doing the job. He gained a lot of knowledge about computers and programming which allowed him to adapt into the critical thinking work environment.

Education?

My father has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering Degree from the University of Victoria.

Experience?

My father had 6 co-op terms where he worked for 6 different companies, four months working at each individual job. He worked for 8 years at New-bridge Networks as a firmware engineer. He has worked for 15 years at his current job, at what started out as PMC-Sierra, which then transitioned to Microsemi, and then to Microchip, which it is currently. At PMC-Sierra, my father worked in firmware design and architecture positions, where at Microsemi and Microchip he was and is still an associate technical fellow.

Skills and attributes?

Skills and attributes that my father has is mathematical skills, programming competence, experience with computer architecture, communication adroitness, and observation skills. Other key skills he acquired were critical thinking and analyzing expertise, as well as being patient and being able to learn new skills quickly.

5. What are some of the things you like about this job?

My dad enjoys many aspects of working at Microchip, one of them being that he continuously learns new skills and information everyday, such as industry trends and new technologies. He appreciates the fact that he gets to be part of a team that works together and makes actual products that other companies purchase, and being in an environment where everyone has similar interests to him. In addition, my father enjoys working at a place that involves working hands-on with something that has interested him from a very young age, which is technology and electronics.

6. What are some of the things you dislike about this job?

There are only a few aspects of this job that my father dislikes, such as the presentation portion of his job. Along with being an associate technical fellow, a major part of his job is speaking with others, whether they are other employees or even clients. When public speaking is such an important part of the job it can be very stressful. In addition, his job involves quite a few meetings. Since all people have really diverse schedules, people scheduling the meetings often make them during lunchtime. He understands that it’s the only time available, however it is rather tiresome when you have to almost constantly go without lunch.

7. How do you anticipate this job changing in the next 5 years or so?

My father anticipates that in the next 5 years or so, the technology they are currently using will change and become more advanced. New products will be made and more companies will start to get interested in purchasing them. New companies will appear that require different sets of technology. Within his company, diverse teams create different products at the same time, so he himself will be broadening the scope and working across more teams and products.

8. Other questions:

When did you first know you liked programming and working with computers?

When he got his first computer in grade 8, and he enjoyed learning how use it and how it worked.

When you wanted a job in the field of electrical engineering, is this the job you were expecting/wanting?

He wasn’t expecting this certain job since there is a wide variety of jobs that are also based on electrical engineering. The experience he got from working at his first engineering based jobs guided him down a path that led him to the job he currently has.

Student Reflection

1. Give three reasons why you would like this job:

One reason why I would like this job is because I like working as a team, and contributing ideas while seeing how someone else can bounce off of my idea, or come up with new ideas that I had never thought about. My dad’s job includes people working together in teams to achieve different products, which seem like a really good chance to meet new people who have alike interests to me. This job is very social and I would get a chance to meet and work with numerous diverse people.

Another reason why I would like this job is because I really enjoy working with math and technology. Although I am not quite that good at coding yet, I find that I really like working with computers and trying to write proper code. Math is one of my favourite subjects since I really like working with numbers, and after my experience at my father’s work, I have found that I would get the chance to work with numbers often.

In addition, I would like this job since I really like problem solving, analyzing information, and decoding a problem that no one else can seem to find. I enjoy the satisfaction of beating the difficult problem in the end after I put in a ton of effort and thinking to solve it. After careful observation, I found that part of my dad’s job was to analyze certain products that had particular problems or slight errors to it, and try to decipher what was causing the problem so they could actually use the product. This is something that I would enjoy since I always love a good challenge.

2. Give three reasons why you would not like this job:

One reason why I would not like this job is because it involves a lot of meetings. I attended four meetings in one day during take your kid to work day. Although time seemed to fly fast during each meeting, I still didn’t really like the amount of sitting and listening that was involved, and if I had to do that everyday I can sense that it would get very boring. In addition, sometimes there are meetings during lunch break, and that restricts the amount of time you have to eat, and may even leave you with no time at all. I like to take my time to eat, and I wouldn’t be able to focus properly if I didn’t get a good lunch.

Another reason why I would not want this job is because you have to work in cubicles for the majority of the time. I like to work by a window and be able to look outside whenever I am working on projects since it’s very calming and stress relieving. I don’t think I would be able to work surrounded by walls for the majority of the day since I wouldn’t be able to focus. You wouldn’t be able to get any fresh air, which would consistently give my headaches and I wouldn’t be able to get anything done.

Also, I have other job interests that are very diverse from this job, like writing and one day I would really like to write a book. I would want a job that I would make good money doing but I wouldn’t have to work all the time so I could spend time writing my novels. This job requires a lot of time and dedication, and I don’t think I would contribute enough to the team. In addition, I most likely wouldn’t have time to fulfill my dream of being a successful novelist.

3. Is this job for you?

I am not quite sure yet if this job is right for me. If I want to pursue a career in computer programming than this seems like the perfect job for me since I had a great deal of fun when coming to work with my father. However, if I find that I would rather go after a novelist profession, I might have to find another job. It all depends on what I am interested at the end and after high school.

4. Explain the value of the Take Our Kid To Work experience in relation to your ideas about your post secondary (after high school) plans (education?, training?, travel?, work?)

The value of the Take Our Kid To Work experience is tremendously important in relation to your ideas about your plans after high school. If thought you found your dream job, and then went there for TOKTW Day and you realized it wasn’t as glamorous as you thought it was, you still have time to rethink you plans for a future career. However, if you were still debating which career path you wanted to take, on TOKTW Day, you might realize that you really enjoyed going to work at a certain place, which can help you make up your mind for what profession you want to take. It can provide you with an opportunity to learn about the education and experience that you need for a certain job you would like, so you can get a head start and know what needs to be done in order for you to be on the right path.

Overall, I found Take Your Kid To Work Day a very beneficial experience that gave me an insight on what it was like to work at a real, professional workplace and live a day in the life of my father.

Victorian Era

Continuity:

‘While immigrants had more opportunities in British North America, life was still hard and disappointing’

I chose this idea, and categorized it under continuity, since when immigrants where coming to British North America in the Victorian Era, they were having trouble adapting to the new environment and were finding it hard to rebuild their life, even though they had way more opportunities than before. This is very similar how immigrants feel about coming to a different country modern day, such as Canada, since even though they have much more opportunities, there are still various struggles that they face when they come to another country. Problems such as language barriers, finding a decent job, and restarting their life are still common and difficult to achieve for immigrants, and it can be very disappointing when your expectations of starting a new life aren’t the same as the realities.

Change:

‘The invention of the steamboat aided more worldwide travel (decreased travel time from 5 weeks to 2 weeks)’

I chose this idea, and categorized it under change, since in the Victorian Era one of the best transportation options were steam boats since it only took around 2 weeks for worldwide travel. However, modern day transportation has become more advanced and instead of taking 2 weeks to travel to a place worldwide, it can take up to a day or two. Airplanes were invented after the Victorian Era, and we use them consistently when traveling to a location that is very far away, since they allow us to travel more efficiently, as well as ships that are built for sightseeing and travel. Transportation has developed greatly overtime and we have benefitted significantly from it since we can save an abundance of time.

Everything I know about exponents

Diagram of a power:

2. Describe how powers represent repeated multiplication

Powers represent repeated multiplication since repeated multiplication is the same as multiplying a number by itself a certain amount of times. Powers are a short way of writing out repeated multiplication for an individual number.

If you had $3^4$ , the exponent (4) is representing the number of times the base (3) is written out in a repeated multiplication expression.

When written out in the form of repeated multiplication, $3^4$ = 3 $\times$ 3 $\times$ 3 $\times$ 3 = 81.

For example, $2^5$ = 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 = 32.

4. Demonstrate the difference between two given powers in which the exponent and the base are interchanged by using repeated multiplication, such as $2^3$ and $3^2$ .

There is a difference between two given powers when the exponent and base of the powers are interchanged. Interchanging the base and exponent is not the same as switching the order of numbers in a multiplication question, and getting the same answer either way. The exponent is the amount of factors of the base you have.

For example $2^3$ represents 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 which equals 8, and $3^2$ represents 3 $\times$ 3 which equals 9.

6. Explain the role of parentheses in powers by evaluating a given set of powers such as $(-2)^4$ , $(-2^4)$ , and $-2^4$ .

Parentheses have a significant role in determining whether a power will have a positive or negative outcome.

For $(-2)^4$ , when the negative sign is within the brackets, and the exponent is outside the brackets, it implies that the base is negative. You would apply the exponent to the negative base.

However, whenever there is an exponent inside the brackets, such as $(-2^4)$ , or there isn’t any brackets at all, such as $-2^4$ , the negative sign stands for a coefficient (-1) and the base is positive, so you apply the exponent to the positive base, and than the negative coefficient afterwards, since Exponents is before Multiplication in BEDMAS.

For example, if you have $(-2)^4$ , it would be written out as:

(-2) $\times$ (-2) $\times$ (-2) $\times$ (-2), which would equal +16.

If you had $(-2^4)$ , it would be written out as:

(-1 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2), which would equal (-16).

If you had $-2^4$ , it would be written out as:

-1 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2, which would equal -16.

8. Explain the exponent laws for raising a product and quotient to an exponent.

When given the expression $(4\times 2)^2$ , people tend to use BEDMAS instead of using the raising a product to a power exponent law.

For example, they would multiply the numbers within the brackets first (4 x 2) = 8

Then they would apply the exponent, so they would have the expression $8^2$ which equals 64.

However, if you are multiplying two or more numbers inside of brackets, and on the outside of the brackets there is an exponent, you can apply that exponent to every individual number instead of applying that exponent to the product of the numbers inside the brackets. This is called raising a product to an exponent, which is an exponent law.

For example, if you have the expression $(4\times 2)^2$ you could write it as:

$4^2$ $\times$ $2^2$ which is equivalent to 16 $\times$ 4 = 64.

In certain expressions, such as $(4\times 2)^2$ , it would be easier to apply BEDMAS, however in other expressions using the raising a product to an exponent law is more efficient.

For example, if you have the expression $(3a\times 4)^3$ instead of using BEDMAS and evaluating the expression within the brackets first, $(3a\times 4)^3$ = $12a^3$ = $1728a^3$ , you could apply the raising a product to an exponent law,

$(3a\times 4)^3$ = $(3^3 a^3\times 4^3)$ = 27 $\times$ $a^3$ $\times$ 64 = $1728a^3$ .

27 $\times$ $a^3$ $\times$ 64 is easier to evaluate than $12^3$ .

When given the expression $(\frac{4}{2})^2$ , people also tend to apply BEDMAS instead of using the raising a quotient to a power exponent law.

For example, they would divide the numbers within the brackets first $(\frac{4}{2})$ = 2

Then they would apply the exponent, so they would have the expression $2^2$ which equals 4.

However, if you are dividing one number by another inside of brackets, and on the outside of the brackets there is an exponent, you can apply that exponent to each number individually rather than applying the exponent to the quotient of the two numbers inside the brackets. This is called raising a quotient to an exponent, which is also an exponent law.

For example, if you have the expression $(\frac{4}{2})^2$ you could write it as:

$(\frac{4^2}{2^2})$ which is equivalent to $(\frac{16}{4})$ = 4.

In certain expressions, such as $(\frac{4}{2})^2$ , it would be easier to apply BEDMAS, however in other expressions using the raising a quotient to an exponent law is more efficient.

For example, if you have the expression $(\frac{4}{3})^2$ , instead of using BEDMAS and evaluating the expression within the brackets first, $(\frac{4}{3})^2$ = $1.\overline{33}^2$ ≈ 1.78, you could apply the raising a quotient to an exponent law.

$(\frac{4}{3})^2$ = $4^2$ $\div$ $3^2$ = 16 $\div$ 9 = $1.\overline{7}$ ≈ 1.78.

64 $\div$ 9 is easier to evaluate than $1.\overline{33}^2$ .

10. Use patterns to show that a power with an exponent of zero is equal to one.

$2^4$ =16, $2^3$ = 8, $2^2$ = 4, $2^1$ = 2, so $2^0$ has to equal 1.

When you write out all the powers of a certain base, and find the answers for all of them, you will notice a pattern. As the exponent decreases by 1, the answer is divided once by the base. As shown above, as the exponent decreases by 1 from 5 to 4, the answer for $2^5$ which is 32 is divided by 2 which is 16 since $2^4$ = 16.

So if $2^1$ = 2, than if you decrease the exponent by 1, which would equal 0, you would have to divide the previous answer by 2. $2^1$ = 2, and $\frac{2}{2}$ = 1.

12. Use patterns to explain the negative exponent law.

$4^4$ = 256, $4^3$ = 64, $4^2$ = 26, $4^1$ = 4, $4^0$ =1, $4^{-1}$ = $\frac{1}{4}$ , $4^{-2}$ = $\frac{1}{16}$ .

As said above, when you write out all the powers of a certain base, as you subtract 1 from the exponent, the answer will be equivalent to dividing the previous answer by the base number.

If you take $4^0$ = 1, and you subtract 1 from the exponent, which would make it $4^{-1}$ , to find the answer you would divide the 1 (the previous answer) by 4 (the base number) where you would get 1 $\div$ 4, which is the same as $\frac{1}{4}$ .

As you keep dividing by the base (which is 4) and you have negative exponents, your answer is going to be the reciprocal of what the answer would have been if the exponent was positive.

For example, $4^2$ = 16 while $4^{-2}$ = $\frac{1}{16}$ . They are the reciprocal of each other.

14. I can identify the error in a simplification of an expression involving powers.

A common error in the simplification of an expression using powers is when people apply the product and quotient law when trying to find the sum and difference of powers. The quotient law applies to powers when you are dividing two powers with the same base. The product law applies to powers when you are multiplying two powers with the same base. You have to apply BEDMAS when adding and subtracting powers.

A typical mistake made with the quotient law is that it is applied to a subtraction question, such as

$2^6$ – $2^2$ = $2^4$ which would lead them to assume the answer is 16.

However, you cannot apply the quotient law to a subtraction question, so the solution should be written out as:

$2^6$ – $2^2$ = 64 – 4 which is 60.

The product law applies to powers when you are multiplying two numbers with the same base. People often apply the product law in an addition question, such as $2^2$ + $2^3$ = $2^5$ which would lead them to believe it equals 32.

Although, you can’t apply the product law to an addition question, so the solution should be written out as:

$2^2$ + $2^3$ = 4 + 8 which is 12.

In addition, there is sometimes confusion with the power law, since the power law is when you multiply the exponent within the brackets with the exponent on the outside of the brackets. This is used so you only have to multiply the base by one exponent.

A common error is that people confuse the power law with the product law, and add the two exponents together, such as:

$(2^6)^2$ = $2^8$ which would guide them to think the answer is 256. However, the solution should be written out as $(2^6)^2$ which is $2^{12}$ which is 4096.

16. Determine the sum and difference of two powers.

You can easily and quickly determine the sum and difference of two powers by evalutating the answer for each individual power, and either use addition or subtraction to answer the problem. Do not apply the product or quotient exponent law since you are adding and subtracting, and these laws only apply when you’re multiplying or dividing two powers with the same base.

For example, $3^3$ + $5^3$ you would evaluate $3^3$ , which is 27, and then $5^3$ which is 125, and then you would add the two numbers together. 27 + 125 is 152.

18. Use powers to solve problems (measurement problems)

You can use powers to solve a variety of measurement problems, one of them being to find the surface area and volume of a cube. To find the surface area of a cube you need to find the area of one side of the cube, and multiply that number by 6 (since there is 6 sides on a cube). You can find the surface area of a 5cm x 5cm x 5cm cube by using the expression

$6(5^2)$ since $5^2$ is equal to 5cm x 5cm = the area of one side of the cube. $6(5^2)$ = $150cm^2$ . To find the volume of the cube, you would need to multiply the length, width, and the height of the cube together. You can find the volume of the cube using the expression $(5^3)$ since the length, width, and height of a 5cm x 5cm x 5cm cube is the same. $(5^3)$ = $125cm^3$ .

You can also use powers to solve Pythagorean theorem questions, when trying to find the length of one side of a right triangle.
For example the formula for finding the hypotenuse of a right triangle is $(a^2)$ + $(b^2)$ = $(c^2)$ .

Step 1. If we were finding the hypotenuse of a right triangle where side a = 3mm and side b = 4mm we would start out by replacing the variables in the formula with the numbers assigned to them.The equation would look like:

$(3^2)$ + $(4^2)$ = $(c^2)$

Step 2. Then you would evaluate each individual power. $(3mm)^2$ = $9mm^2$ , $(4mm)^2$ = $16mm^2$ , so the equation would look like:

9 + 16 = $(c^2)$ .

Step 3. Next we would add the two side lengths together which would equal:

25 = $(c^2)$ .

Step 4. The next step would be to find the square root of each number to isolate the c.

5mm x 5mm = 25mm so 5 is the square root of 25.

5mm= c so the missing side length (the hypotenuse) equals 5mm.

The answer is: 5mm

Another way you could use powers to solve problems is by using them to find the total volume of two shapes. As said above, you find the volume of a cube by multiplying the length, width, and height the cube together. You can find the volume a 3mm x 3mm x 3mm cube by using the power $(3mm)^3$ . Then you would find the volume of the other cube, which is 2mm x 2mm x 2mm, by using the power $(2mm)^3$ . Then you would add the two volumes to evaluate the volume of the whole shape altogether. $3^3$ = 27mm and $2^3$ =8mm. $27mm^3$ + $8mm^3$ = $35mm^3$

20. Applying the order of operations on expressions with powers involving negative exponents and variable bases.

When simplifying a question that includes negative exponents and variable bases, you have to take it step by step.

I’ll be applying the steps to the expression $\frac{(a^2b^3) (b^7a^3)}{a^6b^8}$ . Always follow BEDMAS, and make sure you evaluate powers before multiplying, dividing, adding, or subtracting, unless you are using the product or quotient law. If using the product law, it allows you to add the exponents when multiplying powers with the same base. If using the quotient law, it allows you too subtract exponents when dividing powers with the same base.

Step 1. Apply the product law. You add the exponent of the same base together when multiplying.

$\frac{a^5 b^{10}}{a^6b^8}$

Step 2. Apply the quotient law. You subtract the exponent of the same base when dividing.

$a^{-1} b^2$

Step 3. Get rid of any negative exponents. If there is a negative exponent, you put the reciprocal of the power to make the exponent

$\frac{b^2}{a}$

The answer is: $\frac{b^2}{a}$

In addition, I’ll be applying the steps to the expression $(2\times a^2\times b^3)^{-2}$ $(4\times a^{-3})^{-3}$ . Always follow BEDMAS, and make sure you evaluate powers before multiplying, dividing, adding, or subtracting, unless you are using the product or quotient law. If using the product law, it allows you to add the exponents when multiplying powers with the same base. If using the quotient law, it allows you too subtract exponents when dividing powers with the same base.

Step 1. Apply the exponent. For this expression, we can apply the raising a product to a power law, which as said above means to apply the exponent individually to each number and variable.

$(2\times a^2\times b^3)^{-2}$ = $2^{-2}$ $a^{-4}$ $b^{-6}$

$(4\times a^{-3})^{-3}$ = $4^{-3}$ $a^9$

Step 2. Evaluate the coefficients. If there is a negative, write the reciprocal of what the answer would be if the exponent was positive.

$2^{-2}$ = $\frac{1}{4}$

$4^{-3}$ = $\frac{1}{64}$

Step 3. Multiply the coefficients together.

$\frac{1}{4}$ $\times$ $\frac{1}{64}$ = $\frac{1}{256}$

Step 4. Apply the product law. You add the exponent of the same base when multiplying.

$\frac{1a^5b^{-6}}{256}$

(you can get rid of the 1, since any number multiplied by 1 remains the same).

= $\frac{a^5b^{-6}}{256}$

Step 5. Change negative exponents into positive exponents. Find the reciprocal of the number or variable if their exponent is negative.

$\frac{a^5}{256b^6}$

The answer is: $\frac{a^5}{256b^6}$

My partners Edublogs:

Kenya A: http://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/kenyaa2019/

Nicole H: http://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/nicoleh2019/

Taking too long?

Reload document

Open in new tab

Download

A Fresh Look at the Periodic Table

Define and Discover:

The Science community has challenged us to establish a new way to organize and layout the periodic table, so that it is less time consuming and easier to navigate individual elements that seem to be difficult to quickly find. We must come up with an original design that is both creative and practical, and use our knowledge on Solution Fluency and Collaboration Fluency to aid us in the process.

How many elements are on the periodic table?
What are the different families on the periodic table?
How can we utilize colour coding on our periodic table?
Does anyone in my group have any ideas on how to make our project original?
How do we want to present our project?
How much in class time will we have to work on this project?
How can we demonstrate our understanding of patterns and properties of elements?

Dream:

The original periodic table organizes the elements in a way that includes a lot of patterns. The atomic number increases by one as you go from left to right, and to the left there are metals, while to the right there is non-metals, and the metalloids separate them. We could make the periodic table easier to navigate by using different shapes and pictures. Drawings of each individual element could help those who have trouble reading the names, since they could just look at the pictures instead. We could also have brail on the periodic table that spells each of the elements name, symbol, and atomic number, so those who are visually impaired can also easily read the periodic table without having to get someone to read it to them. Colour coding could also be used to our advantage, since every individual element could also be assigned their own colour to be able to easily find the element you are looking for. Every family/group could be allocated their own base colour, such as blue, purple, or red, and within that group, each element could have a different shade of the groups colour. For example, is the halogens were given purple, Chlorine could be a light purple, while Fluorine is a dark purple. The shade of the colour could get darker as the atomic number increases. For groups such as transition metals, we could assign each row a different colour within it, since there wouldn’t be enough shades of any colour to be able to colour each element. We could also create a song, or even a video game version of our periodic table, so that if younger students are learning about chemistry, these creative ideas might entice them or interest them in learning more about the periodic table.

Design:

The periodic table will be divided into its families (hydrogen, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, metalloids, non-metals, halogens, noble gases, lanthanide series, and actinide series) and each family is assigned their own colour. Along with providing the information of the name, symbol, atomic number, and atomic mass of each element, we are also including the Lewis Symbol for each element as well. We are also adding what state of matter each element is in at room temperature, although we aren’t writing it down. Instead we are surrounding the element in a specific shape that corresponds to the element’s state of matter, which can either be a solid, liquid, or gas. If the element is a solid, we are drawing a square around it. If the element is a liquid, we are drawing a raindrop around it. If the element is a gas, we are drawing a gas bubble around it. We thought this would add a creative touch to our project, as well as show our understanding of each elements properties. The format of our periodic table will be very similar to the original, however instead of the families being connected with one another, we have separated them, and for families such as metalloids, we have placed the elements in a vertical line instead of having them scattered.

Deliver:

Our periodic table is very similar to the original periodic table in the terms of the layout, and we can explain why we chose to keep most of the format the same. Scientists, as well as scholars and students, have been studying off of the original periodic table since Dmitri Mendeleev first organized the periodic table in 1869. If we were to change the order and shape of the periodic table’s layout, everyone who menorized where the elements were or even were familiar with where a few elements were located, would find it way harder to locate the element they need to find. None of the elements wouldn’t be where they had remembered it to be. If we changed it, it wouldn’t make it easier to navigate certain elements, it would just make it harder. Although, we did separate the different families located within the original periodic table so they were easier to distinguish. The different families are hydrogen alone (since it doesn’t belong to any other family), alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, metalloids, non-metals, halogens, noble gases, lanthanide series, and the actinide series. Each family was also given their own colour so you can visually see where the different families are located. For example, let’s say you are trying to find calcium on the periodic table, and you know it is an alkaline earth metal. Instead of glancing over 117 elements before finding the one you need, you can just go to the alkaline earth metals section and locate it out of the 6 elements in that family. By colour coding the different families, you can easily tell what element is part of what family. In the original periodic table, the metalloids were scattered and it was hard to tell where they were. On our periodic table, you can just go to the metalloids family and it will have all the metalloids in order of atomic number. We also included the amount of valence electrons of each element along with what state it is in at room temperature. Instead of including these details in writing, which would crowd the other important information, we added a Lewis Symbol of each element’s atom and we used shapes to show what state the element is at room temperature. If the element is a gas at room temperature, we surrounded the information of the element in a gas cloud shape, if a liquid we used the shape of a raindrop, and if a solid we used a square. If you were looking for Bromine, and you knew it was a liquid at room temperature, there are only two elements that have this property, so it would be very easy to find it. Within each family, we placed the elements in order of atomic number going from lowest to highest to make it quicker to glance over the elements and find the one you need. In addition, we also added a legend at the top that described what colour represented what family, what the shapes depict, and explained the Lewis Symbols so people can fully understand our changes.

Debrief:

I am proud of the outcome of my group’s periodic table, which was successful since we managed to complete it on time and hand it in on the due date. We had tried very hard to construct our periodic table while considering the fact that we had to make it easier to read. Lots of times we wanted to add more details and information, however we had to stop ourselves, since too much detail could make our project too confusing to read. I really like the way we laid out our project, and how we incorporated colour and shapes, although, there is definitely some aspects that we could have improved or added to our project to make it stand out better and be more creative. First of all, I think it would have been very creative to mold our periodic table into a scientific shape to make it more visually appealing. We kept the format of our periodic table basically the same as the original, since we are trying to make it easier for people to read. If we have it in a different order than the original, it will confuse people who used the original beforehand, since they memorized elements in certain areas, so if we change it, they wont know where to look. Putting our periodic table into the shape of a tree or another form of nature would have made our project more imaginative since all elements are found in nature, and the tree would represent that concept. Also, there is a group known as the post-transition metals on the periodic table, which include Aluminium (Al), Gallium (Ga), Indium (In), Tin (Sn), Thallium (Ti), Lead (Pb), Bismuth (Bi), and Flerovium (Fl). However, we hadn’t learned about them yet, so we placed them in the transition metals family. If we were to complete this project again, I would like to create a space for the post-transition metals, since they technically aren’t transition metals. In addition, I would also like to leave more space between the families. The size of our poster board limited the amount of space we had to draw our periodic table. It’s a little hard to tell, but if you were to observe our periodic table, we left space in between the families to make it easier for someone to find a certain family, since it’s hard to find what your looking for when it’s all clustered together. We also assigned each family a colour so you no one gets confused. If we were to establish another periodic table, I would prefer to spread out the families so that they are farther apart, since that will make the layout of our periodic table clearer.