SARS-CoV-2 Chemistry Project
Making Soap!
Reflection:
1. Pick one of the four Essential Questions below and answer it. At the end of your answer, describe what beliefs (if any) you held at the beginning of the semester in relation to that Essential Question and how your understanding related to the Essential Question grew as a result of the work you did in this course.
My question: How can the lens of chemistry be used to inform societal practice and policy designed to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2?
Chemistry can help us learn a lot about the spread of SARS-Co-V-2 and how the particles settle on surfaces and also can be in the air and that's why we wear masks. We can also use chemistry to understand how masks work and the safest ways to wear your masks. Having any kind of passage between your mask and your face there is still a chance of being exposed to any virus particles in the air. Masks like N95 masks have protective layers that will hold particles from getting in and out. We still know there is a chance of particles coming through the mask but it is a lot less likely to spread or get the virus if we all wear masks. I think my standpoint has always been the same about masks and the virus, I hate it but we just have to conform and work the ways we can.
2. How did your knowledge of science grow through your work on the project?
Well first off I learned how to make soap and the chemical properties of that and how to make it softer or creamer, I learned a lot in that process. I learned about how lye when it's put in water it has an exothermic reaction that makes it get really hot and it lets of fumes that aren’t good to breath in. I feel like a skill I gained was patients because after doing the project the first time and waiting a few days for it to fail I was already so unmotivated to keep trying, and at first we thought the second time failed too but after leaving it for 4-5 days it solidified and I could continue with my project.
3. Please evaluate this pedagogical decision and state whether you believe the benefits of this method outweigh the downsides or not.
I wouldn’t say it was balanced out at all. I think either way we are still taking in knowledge so for me I would rather be learning chemistry and more about that then to take a step back and just teach us things that are happening in our current life. I would like to learn chemistry that doesn’t have to do with COVID.
My question: How can the lens of chemistry be used to inform societal practice and policy designed to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2?
Chemistry can help us learn a lot about the spread of SARS-Co-V-2 and how the particles settle on surfaces and also can be in the air and that's why we wear masks. We can also use chemistry to understand how masks work and the safest ways to wear your masks. Having any kind of passage between your mask and your face there is still a chance of being exposed to any virus particles in the air. Masks like N95 masks have protective layers that will hold particles from getting in and out. We still know there is a chance of particles coming through the mask but it is a lot less likely to spread or get the virus if we all wear masks. I think my standpoint has always been the same about masks and the virus, I hate it but we just have to conform and work the ways we can.
2. How did your knowledge of science grow through your work on the project?
Well first off I learned how to make soap and the chemical properties of that and how to make it softer or creamer, I learned a lot in that process. I learned about how lye when it's put in water it has an exothermic reaction that makes it get really hot and it lets of fumes that aren’t good to breath in. I feel like a skill I gained was patients because after doing the project the first time and waiting a few days for it to fail I was already so unmotivated to keep trying, and at first we thought the second time failed too but after leaving it for 4-5 days it solidified and I could continue with my project.
3. Please evaluate this pedagogical decision and state whether you believe the benefits of this method outweigh the downsides or not.
I wouldn’t say it was balanced out at all. I think either way we are still taking in knowledge so for me I would rather be learning chemistry and more about that then to take a step back and just teach us things that are happening in our current life. I would like to learn chemistry that doesn’t have to do with COVID.