Day 2 Reflections

What did you do today?

I went to the SPCM with my group mates and we did the fastest ball challenge and extracted caffeine from tea bags.
For the fastest ball challenge, we had a ramp, photogates and a metal ball. We had to find the conditions that would make the ball roll the fastest by changing the angle of inclination. There was an additional challenge which we had to find the angle of inclination and position of the ball which made the time taken to roll through the two photogates 1 second.
For the extraction of caffeine from tea bags, we had to use various methods in the Chemistry Lab to extract the solid caffeine from the tea bags. Such methods include Büchner filtration, Solvent extraction and Distillation using a rotary evaporator.

What did you learn today?

I learnt that increasing the angle of inclination might not necessary increase the ball's speed as at a certain degree, the speed will start to decrease. I also learnt how to do büchner filtration, solvent extraction and distillation using a rotary evaporator.

How do you feel about today's activities?

I really enjoyed today's activities, especially the extraction of caffeine from the tea bags. All the PAs(Personal Assistants) and professors in charge of the two programs were very friendly and helpful.