If Chem 121 was baking from a recipe…

Chem 123 is like Iron Chef: where, you have to decide what you have to do for your experiment, follow your own steps and then… race against time!

Chem 123 is certainly a change.

But for the Vitamin C lab (Experiment 9) I have a few tips and tricks:

• If you heat juice (like I did) use a clear juice. I recommend white cranberry. Or white grape. This makes the endpoint in the titration 502749238423x easier to see.
• Some people did do actual fruit but in reality it will take time to heat your fruit then strain the juice out of it. It’ll be better if you just handle a liquid.
• Work in a group. It’s always nice to have support and help with the lab report outside of the lab. No joke! The lab report is super complicated at this point. 
• Plan your experiment well. Think about what takes time and what doesn’t. Think about what you can do while you’re waiting for something to heat up. 
• Ask your TA for help! (True story, my TA is kinda … well let’s just say I don’t really enjoy asking ANY TA for help in my lab… if you have a situation like this, it’d be a good idea to turn to people who know what they’re doing.)

It’s certainly a different experience from Chem 121. In fact I find it’s a really big jump and that there
should have been an intermediate step at least. 

Keep in mind that in Chem 121 they practically gave you all the steps for your Experimental Design Form. In Chem 123, they don’t. Remember the small things like rinsing your pipets and burets, because those make the difference!

Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

(Anyone else noticing it’s getting brighter earlier and staying that way longer? Because it’s making me happy!)

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