On Friday we did the lab on ion exchange reactions, Saturday morning we had the midterm, and Saturday afternoon we did the lab on enthalpy of reactions. I did well in three semesters of high school chemistry, but that was more than two decades ago, and I didn’t feel like I remembered much of it. I spent a moderate amount of time on the homework and studying, but I still wasn’t sure that I’d do well on the midterm. The studying paid off, as I answered 94 out of 100 questions correctly, and got an A. I should have an A for the homework as well, but I’m less sure about the labs because our measurements of the ion exchange reaction resulted in a 2.4:1 ratio of chlorine to copper in the original solution, which should have been 2:1.
The second half of the course looks like it will be more difficult, so I’ll plan to spend more time studying.