Crayon Lab Report

1. I learned a couple of key things about lab safety and procedure during this experiment. While working with the hot plates, I learned to pay a lot of attention to whether or not the hot plate was plugged in or turned on, as well as whether or not the wax was getting too hot. Measuring each substance into the cup was an important experience because it taught me to be deliberate and careful when measuring so as to not waste materials, making sure we did not have to start over. While this lab is a good starting point for reflecting the scientific process, I think we should have focused more on how each material influences the crayon. It seemed like we ended up making somewhat random mixtures and picking which crayon we thought was best without
During the crayon making process, I learned not to make assumptions or inferences until we finished collecting all of the data and observations. While the wax and dye was entirely melted, we observed that the liquid had turned a grey and transparent color. While this had led us to believe the crayon would not have a bright or solid color, the hardened crayon was a bright and consistent blue. We learned that through observation, we were able to make inferences about the consistency and strength of the color after the crayon hardened. We observed that our second crayon was more transparent in liquid form, and that it was less consistent when hard. In contrast, our first crayon was more opaque when in liquid form, hardening to become a consistent and solid color. This allowed us to make inferences about how the transparency of the crayon in liquid form allowed us to project the strength of the color once the hardening process was completed. This is important for a couple of reasons. First, it is important to recognize trends when doing experiments, this allowed us to refine our formulas when preparing for day 2. Second, it allowed us to learn how to apply our observations, something that will certainly be important moving forward as a learner and