Managing+impulsivity

When beginning any type of science project, I find myself excited by the prospect of learning and discovering new information; this may seem like a positive trait, but it often leads to me not reading the instructions and jumping straight into the experiment. This sometimes leads to my lab partners correcting me and explaining how to actually do the experiment. I knew that this was not a great habit to keep and needed to change.

Thus, for the precipitation lab, I initially jumped into the experiment by randomly deciding to mix two elements together. However, no reaction even occurred. This confused me at first and made me wonder if I made a mistake. When I looked at the chemicals’ labels, I realized that the two chemicals mixed had the same element in both, meaning that no reaction occurs. After this realization, I knew I had to manage my impulsivity and read the labels and instructions more clearly. After the mini mishap, we began using different chemicals to ensure that an actual reaction does occur. Now we had reactions both with precipitate and without (though I admit we tended toward reactions we thought would create precipitate).

Video evidence: http://portal.saschina.org/video/media/33101/Precipitate_Lab/

Photo evidence:

This experiment taught me a valuable lesson in managing impulsivity. Although being enthusiastic about a lab is a good thing, you still have to make sure that you take a step back and read about exactly what will occur during the lab. Now, I will be sure to manage impulsivity before doing a lab. Often times, gut instinct cannot get you through in chemistry, which requires logic and evidence. I found that out the hard way by making an initial mistake on this experiment. From this, I realize the value of planning and reading instructions to a lab ahead of actually doing the lab.