What is the size of an oil molecule?

[Katie Weber]

Scientifically Oriented Question- What is the size of an oil molecule?

 

Evidence- We first had to measure the molecule and we found that the radius was .25mm. We then calculated the volume which is .06 mm^3. The area is 20mm^2. We calculated that the thickness was 0.0033mm. So the size of an oil molecule is 3.3x10^-3mm.

 

Explanation- We calculated the volume with the formula V=(4/3)πr^3, so you put use (4/3)π(.25)^3 which equals approximately .06mm^3. Then we calculated the area of the spread oil drop using A=πr^2H.  We then solve the eqaution  0.065=π(2.5)^2h, and get the answer h=0.0033mm, which is the thickness of the oil molecule.

 

Connection- This lab shows how important calculations and measurements are. This is because if I messed up a number in my calculations, the whole answer would be wrong. This would be very important when you're dealing with someone's health, or when you're building something. If you gave someone the wrong amount of medicine, it could be life-threatening for them. Or if you were building a large building the whole structure would be unstable if you didn't measure correctly.

 

Communication- The best way to communicate this information would be to make a table to compare the different dimensions of the evidence that we found in this lab, and to explain how you calculated all of your answers.

 

Reflection-  I noticed some students calculated a different diameter because they put a different amount of baby powder on the surface of the water. Most of us had similar sized molcules and most students understood what we were supposed to do.