Hello People! Last week was exam week and thus you might be able to imagine what a turmoil was present in an otherwise peaceful brain. In my previous exams, I had not scored well in Science and hence this time, my target was to get my concepts correct. However, the syllabus was all Chemistry.

When I first started learning Chemistry this year, the first thought that came to my head was “This is probably one of the most mysterious subjects that I will be encountering.” The subject seemed interesting, yet so confusing. A myriad of new concepts dive-bombed me the moment I opened my textbook. My eyes roved over the table of contents, resting on the novel and unfamiliar topics that I had never perceived before.

The first topic that we touched on was Atoms and Molecules. I had heard of these microscopic, teeny-tiny particles before, but had never bothered to search up the actual definitions. Now, as we were learning the actual ones, I discovered that practically everything on earth is made up of atoms and even an atom comprises of smaller particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. I learned that the electrons orbit around the nucleus, reminding me something like a miniature version of a solar system, only, the orbits were much more haphazard! Imagine something inside the tiniest cell, invisibly spinning to its own rhythm. A weird question popped into my mind. What if an atom went rogue? For example, the electron decided that it was too bored inside its shell and jumped out of the atom? I was confused by this strange question and started laughing. Scientists can hardly even see them under the microscope, how would they fix this unanticipated problem? The new facts made my jaw drop and I found it impossible that my mother found these topics as easy as pie☹(She loves Chemistry!). It took me quite a while to understand the theories thoroughly although many “unique” questions were still spinning around my brain like electrons.

The next topic was Elements, Compounds And Mixtures. I was baffled by the fact that there were 118 ELEMENTS discovered, and I, in my small shell, thought that only solid, liquid, and gaseous “substances” existed. Some of the elements had THE STRANGEST NAMES ever! There was one called Californium (Did it bear its origin in California?). Certain symbols of the elements did not even match their names! I had the hardest time trying to memorize the symbols of metals like Ferrum, Natrium, and Wolfram. Why didn’t the scientists change the symbols to match the present-day names? My brain literally short-circuited by the time I had finished studying the entire Periodic Table. Was Mr. Mendeleev not considering the unfortunate students while creating the table? Initially, it seemed like a giant Periodic Table but as I broke it down, it nestled perfectly into my brain urging me to explore more on the individual properties.

Lastly were the Separation Techniques. This was by far the most interesting topic that I had come across. I enjoyed learning about the different ways that you could separate mixtures physically. However, we could not do any experiments in the school lab☹. One technique was obtaining sugar crystals from a sugar solution with evaporation followed by crystallization. Who knew that TISSUE PAPER, could be utilized to SEPARATE DYES IN INK?! I was incredibly surprised! The real-life applications of separation techniques intrigued me the most. For example: Transforming wastewater into potable water, desalination of sea water, and the usage of chromatography in food industries to name a few.

Honestly, the various principles of this subject are now stamped into my brain, and I am finding it an incredibly interactive subject. But I also know that this…is just the beginning.

Signing off…