Conduction

Aim: To oberseve conduction along a metal rod.

Equipment: 
A metal rod,
retord stand and clamp,
Bunsen burner,
petroleum jelly,
5-10 drawing pins,
and a stopwatch.

Method:
1. Set up and light a bunsen burner.
2. Smear a small amount of petroleum jelly onto the head of each drawing pin.
3. Attatch the drawing pins at even intervals along the length of the metal rod.
4. Clamp one end of the metal rod to a retort stand.
5. Position the retort stand so the unclamped end of the metal rod is in the Bunsen flame and start the stopwatch.
6. Record the time it takes for each pin to drop in the tabe below.

Results:

Pin Number	Time to Drop
1	8.63 seconds
2	43.68 seconds
3	60.89 seconds
4	130.03 seconds

Discussion:

The metal rod, being a solid, it's particles are always vibrating ever-so-slightly, not having enough energy to push off of eachother to turn into a liquid. The particles in the metal rod vibrate very slightly at first, put as the metal rod is heated by the Bunsen burner, the particles in the metal rod vibrate more, as they gain heat energy. The longer the metal is heated, the more the metal rod vibrates. As the metal rod vibrates more, the pins start to fall off. 

Diffusion

Aim:
To observe diffusion in a liquid.

Equipment:
Petri dish,
water,
tweezers,
a crystal of potassium permanganate.

Method:
1. Half fill your petri dish with cold tap water.
2. Place the petri dish on your work bench and allow the water to become settled.
3. Using the tweezers, place a single crystal of potassium permanganate in the centre of the petri dish.
4. Observe for five minutes.
5. Repeat the experiment using hot water.

Results:
The liquid turned purple, matching the potassium permanganate.

Discussion:
Diffusion happens when the particles in one object (potassium permanganate) shift into the particles of a liquid (water). Simmilar to dissolving, though the particles of potassium permanganate spread around.

It was faster to use hot water, this is because when particles are heated up, they gain heat energy, and move around a lot more, making the shifting of particles faster.

Investigating State Changes

Aim:
To observe water as it changes state from solid to liquid and then to a gas.

Equipment:
A 250 mL
beaker,
thermometer,
Bunsen burner,
heatproof mat,
tripod and gauze mat,
stopwatch,
retort stand and clamp,
ice cubes.


Method:
1. Collect enough ice so that your beaker is half full and replace the thermometer into it while you set up the rest of the equipment.
2. Set up the retort stand and clamp alongside the tripod and gauze mat.
3. Place the beaker of ice on the gauze mat and gently clamp the thermometer so that it is held upright and the scale is easy to see. The bottom of your themometer should be low enough to still be observed by water when the ice melts, but not touching the bottom of the beaker.
4. Record the initial temperature of the ice in a data table.
5. Light the Bunsen burner and start timing the stopwatch.
6. Measure and record the temperature every minute.
                                7. Continue measuring and recording the temperature until the water has been                                          boiling for 2-3 minutes.


Results:

Temp ( OC)	Time (Minutes)
5	1
6	2
12	3
17	4
26	5
40	6
60	7
78	8
92	9
106	10

Graph showing temperature change.

Discussion:
Upon setting the bunsen burner alight, the ice began to melt in the beaker. Water began to appear around the exterior of the ice, dripping down into a puddle at the bottom of the beaker.
This is because the particles in a solid (ice) are held together tightly, slightly vibrating. When these particles are heated up, the strength of their vibrations begin to increase, as they get heat energy. Eventually, their vibrations get so strong, that they push off eachother, and the ice begins to melt.

This took us around four minutes to achieve.