Templates T.T

I wanted to change the templates... but then I realised that it would look different to the screenshot I gave to Ms Zhang. D:
I'll have to wait until she's marked it then. I am itching to put it on. ;D

I should start conducting my experiment asap. I realised that we missed out 2nd SRP period in a row. ANDOMG, I still haven't buried my plastic bags squares for the experiment
I will do my experiment/s. Soon. I promise. I still need a Coles plastic square though.

Forgot a Variable~ ^^;;

I forgot to include the controlled variables.  They are:

• the temperature of the milk(when the vinegar is added)
• the temperature at which the casein is allowed to settle
• the amount of milk
• the amount of sun the casein recieves (they need to be put into the sun to dry)
• the amount of time the casein is allowed to settle

I can't think of anymore. T.T
Anyway, I hope that's enough. I don't even know when I'm supposed to hand my blog in tomorrow... Ms Zhang, why'd you have to be away? ;D

Variables...

It was so hard to think of the dependent variable... but I figured that it would be the amount of casein produced or the hardness of the casein. Because I haven't done my experiment yet I really wouldn't know how the casein changes when more vinegar is added. So hopefully I can change it when I actually do it? :D
The independent variable is going to be the amount of vinegar (for my first 'batch' of experiments).
Now I must study for my science atomic theory test. May the force be with me. (That would have been funnier if I had Force and Motion as my topic but anyway, I've found a new joke to use on Ivy and Davian. Hohoho.)

Previous Project Ideas

Well, here is my promised post from yesterday~
These are the stuff that I was contemplating on doing for my assignment:

The absorbency of nappies and whether different types of water such as vinegar water, salt water or sugar water would hold the same amount in the nappy. I wanted to do this originally because I have a younger brother and sister who wear nappies. So I could also test the different between boys and girls nappies even though we all know the difference and my brother wears my sister's nappies sometimes anyway . But then I realised that if I were to repeat my experiment a few times, I would have to use a lot of nappies. And trust me nappies cost a lot.

Then I thought of doing how yeast grows under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and how this affects them. I chose not to do this because... it was too hard and uninteresting (that's actually one of the criteria I think :D). I would have had to do so much more research and planning. Its kind of hard to understand the concepts of it and my poor little brain was experiencing technical difficulties just trying to understand the experiment.


Then I saw the "milk into plastic" experiment. It actually sounded interesting and not too hard. But then Ms Zhang told me all the ways I could do it... and it sounded hard. Haha. Anyway, it would have been a bit boring if it was too easy I suppose. ;]

"Project Designs"?!?!

Ok well, everyone told me that this project designs was about whether you thought about different ideas for your SRP. I thought it was about whether or not you had thought of different ways to do the experiment...
Anyway. I will update this blog with what my ideas were before milk & plastic later. I'm too tired to think scientifically right now. -points to time published- XD
But on another hand, I wonder if my blog is too formal and scientific. I looked at other people's and they seem more laid back than me. How sad. D:

Materials I need

I'll need to look back on this when I need to go shopping for my materials. For the first experiment that I'll do, I'll have the vinegar as the independent variable and dependent variable... I still have to decide how I'm going to measure the plastics (although I think I should measure its softness, pliability and maybe colour). So I think I'll need:

A whole packet/bottle of vinegar (is vinegar a solid like salt or a liquid?!?!)
1 x  bottle of Pura full cream milk (I already have this so I'm specifying the brand and everything)
1 x  strainer or cloth
1 x  saucepan (who doesn't have one though...)
1 x  spoon

Obviously all of them are household items. Which is good because that's what the experiment is supposed to be conducted with. YAY.
I'll cross the stuff out as I go. :D

More Research!

I looked arouns various sites, and of course they all have different procedures. For example the one on WikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-%22Plastic%22-out-of-Milk) says that I should microwave the milk. But most other methods like this one (http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Plastic/) say that I should boil the milk to a certain point. I'm pretty sure boiling the milk would be more accurate, as the microwave could have some small errors. Also, it doesn't really seem scientific to use a microwave...

Casein is actually used in cheeses to keep it together and in glue! It's also used for numerous other things, such as paints, soap making and cement, as shown by this website: http://chestofbooks.com/home-improvement/repairs/painting/Paint-Making-Color-Grinding/Part-V-Casein-And-Cold-Water-Paints-Chapter-XXXI-Origin-A.html.

Some properties of casein are that it is tough, flammable, resistant to water and has poor dimensional stability (I'm not exactly sure what this means, but I think it's the ability of something to stay in its original dimensions when it's being changed. I will ask Ms Zhang when I see her next!) with info taken from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=0g9QjxsbqmUC&pg=PA136&lpg=PA136&dq=casien+plastic+heat+chemical&source=web&ots=u7KLwl6eWg&sig=9V40234r-SgMztftGpwzPYDrQgI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#v=onepage&q=&f=false

One last thing. Ms Zhang mentioned that I have to put in water with the milk and everything for my experiment but it's not in any of the methods I've encountered! Maybe she accidentally said the wrong thing. :D

Planning for Planning the Experiment

Well, today I got confirmation from Ms Zhang for my experiment! She told me I could do it but to watch out for my variables. Also, I could make different sections of my method so that I can test different variables.There's so much to write about. D:

The first experiment I'd do would be on changing the amount of vinegar, and whether this would affect the casein in any way. (I still have to decide on how I'm going to measure the 'changes' in the casein though...) Apparently, I also have to change the amount of water corresponding to the amount of vinegar I have so that they equate to 100ml. For example, if I put in 20ml of vinegar, I need 80ml of water, 30ml of vinegar needs 70ml of water etc.

In the next experiment, I would keep the amount of vinegar constant, and change the type of milk, to see if that has any effects on the casein. There are so many different types of milk but I suppose I'll have to use at least 3 or 4 types for my experiment. All of the same brand I suppose (controlled variable!). I'm going to have to drink a lot of leftover milk -gulp- (no pun intended).

Researching the Experiment

I have to know what the method (equipment and procedure) of the experiment is, so I need a type of guide that tells me what the basic method for my experiment is. Of course, I'll be changing this when I actually do my own method in passive past tense and all that jazz.
Seeing as I don't know how to do references or proper bibliography yet I learnt it in year 8 though.. oops , I'll just make a link to the website. =D

http://www.csiro.au/resources/plastic-milk-activity.html

From another website, people actually explain why the milk turned into 'casein.' Apparently they use this stuff in cheese. Kind of gross but hey, it's awesome science. -cough cough-

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00367.htm

My Experiment Ideas

I had numerous ideas for my project and I finally decided on one today. I have to get it checked with Ms Zhang though! I'm hoping that I'll be able to be perform an experiment in which a type of plastic can be made from milk and some vinegar. How awesome is that? It'll be heaps of fun. :D