overdoing number two

Why does chem lab have to be frustrating.

Because of the heavy rain last night, I was not able to prepare well for our qualitative analysis today. The procedure seemed so long that my aching brain could no longer comprehend the steps. So I did what seemed to be the best cure for head aches - sleep. But this curative snoozing off has dire side-effects.

The next morning, I tried to read the experiment again but it seemed that I could no longer understand it better than last evening. I shrugged my shoulders and asked myself what could possibly go wrong?

I asked the wrong question, didn't I?

During the experiment, the shifting of turns from the sole pH meter was frustrating. Like the reaction mechanism in chemical kinetics, that part of the experiment was our rate determining step. We couldn't get to the next step without testing and adjusting the pH of our solution. We can't proceed until we have adjusted our pH to 0.5. It sounds easy enough but the pH meter takes time to read the pH of a solution.

The most frustrating part, where I felt everything is becoming hopeless, is the spillage of our solution not once, but twice!

That said, we were only able to identify one out of the four unknowns.

Experiment resumes on monday. By that time, I hope to learn all the unknowns. I hope I do. :D

I'm overdoing it again. This is my blog entry two days in a row.