Reflection: Soap is not an element found in nature but is made when two natural chemicals (an acid and a base) are brought together. It is basically a salt that forms when a weak fatty acid (oil) is blended with a strong base such as lye. When combined, a salt is formed in a process called saponification. In this method the oils and lye (a strong alkali) form fatty acids and glycerin. The chemical reaction of mixing oils with lye that has been dissolved in water results in a completely new substance which is soap.
Looking Back:
I thought that this lab worked really well but not the best results as we could have gotten. We we're sure when our soap would be ready so we left it alone for about a two weeks. When we came back from break, we tried out our soap and put it in water and turns out it actually worked! It was oddly shaped because of the shape of the container it was in. We tried to add in a little bit of the lavender scent in it but I don't think we put enough based on the smell we had. I mainly smelled like oil, which we were pretty upset about, but the on the bright side the soap made our hands super soft! It was pretty awesome because my hands have never felt so soft in my entire life so I was pretty amazed. I am happy with the results though because I just made myself amazing soap that makes my hands incredibly soft.
Looking Beyond:
During this lab, I learned that soap isn't an element, it's more of two natural chemicals that are brought together. When the chemicals are brought together a salt is formed in a process called saponification. Coconut oil can be used as a skin moisturizer, helping with dry skin and reduces protein loss when used in hair.
Looking Inward:
I don't think we got the best results, but we got pretty good results. This lab was kind of hard because there wasn't many steps, but it's very easy to mess up so you have to be really carefully and cautions of what your doing. Personally I thought it was challenging but really fun to do because I learned how to make my own soap. I wish we had at least one more person in the group because I felt like only Ivy and I were doing most of the work only because Daisy wasn't able to do much because she was in her wheelchair at the time and couldn't move around much in such a small area to work. I felt like our other group member wasn't really there and helping us that much because I don't really recall him doing much besides taking pictures.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Ivy, Daisy, and Zion on this lab. I thought our group worked well with each other. Were all pretty good friends outside of class, so there wasn’t any disagreements on what was happening. I’m pretty sure the only disagreement was what container to put it in. I'm pretty cool with everyone that was in my group, we knew each others strengths and how to help each other with this lab.
Looking Forward:
For better results, I think we should have added a lot more essential oil to have a better scent to cover the many oils we put in the soap mix. If I were to do this project over again, I would add more essential oils to make it smell a lot better, and to add more coconut oil to make my hands even softer and my skin would be my hydrated. I would also consider the size of the container we put the soap in because it was kind of big and somewhat oval shape looking and that's the shape our soap turned out to be.
Takeaway:
A takeaway I had was that it’s really hard to make soap. It took pretty much the whole period to make it. We weren't really done when the period was over so we kind of had to rush the end to clean up after ourselves.
Looking Back:
I thought that this lab worked really well but not the best results as we could have gotten. We we're sure when our soap would be ready so we left it alone for about a two weeks. When we came back from break, we tried out our soap and put it in water and turns out it actually worked! It was oddly shaped because of the shape of the container it was in. We tried to add in a little bit of the lavender scent in it but I don't think we put enough based on the smell we had. I mainly smelled like oil, which we were pretty upset about, but the on the bright side the soap made our hands super soft! It was pretty awesome because my hands have never felt so soft in my entire life so I was pretty amazed. I am happy with the results though because I just made myself amazing soap that makes my hands incredibly soft.
Looking Beyond:
During this lab, I learned that soap isn't an element, it's more of two natural chemicals that are brought together. When the chemicals are brought together a salt is formed in a process called saponification. Coconut oil can be used as a skin moisturizer, helping with dry skin and reduces protein loss when used in hair.
Looking Inward:
I don't think we got the best results, but we got pretty good results. This lab was kind of hard because there wasn't many steps, but it's very easy to mess up so you have to be really carefully and cautions of what your doing. Personally I thought it was challenging but really fun to do because I learned how to make my own soap. I wish we had at least one more person in the group because I felt like only Ivy and I were doing most of the work only because Daisy wasn't able to do much because she was in her wheelchair at the time and couldn't move around much in such a small area to work. I felt like our other group member wasn't really there and helping us that much because I don't really recall him doing much besides taking pictures.
Looking Outward:
I worked with Ivy, Daisy, and Zion on this lab. I thought our group worked well with each other. Were all pretty good friends outside of class, so there wasn’t any disagreements on what was happening. I’m pretty sure the only disagreement was what container to put it in. I'm pretty cool with everyone that was in my group, we knew each others strengths and how to help each other with this lab.
Looking Forward:
For better results, I think we should have added a lot more essential oil to have a better scent to cover the many oils we put in the soap mix. If I were to do this project over again, I would add more essential oils to make it smell a lot better, and to add more coconut oil to make my hands even softer and my skin would be my hydrated. I would also consider the size of the container we put the soap in because it was kind of big and somewhat oval shape looking and that's the shape our soap turned out to be.
Takeaway:
A takeaway I had was that it’s really hard to make soap. It took pretty much the whole period to make it. We weren't really done when the period was over so we kind of had to rush the end to clean up after ourselves.