The students started the day researching animals of the Cumberland Water Basin and thought about how our chemical spill would affect them.  And we revealed our chemical…..hydrochloric acid! (But explained we had used apple cider vinegar as a safe alternative).

Then we toured one of Vanderbilt’s analytical chemistry teaching facilities with Aaron W. Daniel, Ph.D. Mr. Aaron explained a little about hydrochloric acid, and that the lab answers 2 big questions about chemical samples: “What is there?” and “How much is there?”.  The students learned how a sample of gold nanoparticles may be analyzed and had a visual demonstration of “one-in-a-million”. This showed them how something so little could affect the broader ecosystem.

For our experiments today we diluted an acid with water.  It took more water than we hypothesized to dilute!  We stacked liquids in a jar and saw the “cabbage water pH trick” in real life.

At the end of the day, the class briefly recapped various topics we learned this week to resolve the chemical spill. The students worked on posters showing their interpretations and ideas for the resolution of the spill.

Ms. Elizabeth & Mr. Sam