Managing+Impulsivity

Managing Impulsivity

Sometimes we blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Sometimes we lack an organized strategy for approaching a problem; sometimes we make immediate value judgments about an idea before fully understanding it. // Delay gratification- it is the essence of emotional self regulation //



I remember clearly that this happened during our unit with Kinetics, and the assignment was to create our own experiment to find out what elements can contribute to the change of the rate of reaction in chemicals. My and my lab partners, Kevin Ho and Isabelle Lin decided to investigate temperature's correlation with chemical reaction. Although we all have some sense that molecules moves slower in cold temperature, but we have to formulate an experiment that proves and help us understand why it happens. Our experiment involves reacting magnesium with Hydrochloric acid in 4 different temperature environment. The coldest being designated at 13 degrees C

During the lowest temperature trial, we placed the magnesium and HCL solution in a 50ml beaker, and placed it in a larger 200 ml beaker with ice. Soon the temperature started to drop significantly, and at one point 2 of the 3 tested beakers has gotten below 13 degrees. All of a sudden, Kevin took out the beakers from the ice and placed it on the table; I did not understand whatsoever why he took out the beakers. I actually gotten pretty frustrated because I thought he just ruined the whole trial and we would have to do it again. I asked kevin why he has done so and was hoping to justify his wrongdoings but then he told me that since we designated the temperature to be at around 13 degrees, it is key that we do not let the temperature to constantly drop. So in order to have the temperature at around 13 degrees at all time, we should take the beakers out after every few seconds to make sure the temperature stays the same. MADE SO MUCH SENSE

I realize that I havent thought this through before i criticized his actions in my head. But now that we have reached an understanding(well, more like my understanding) I supported his idea and followed his instructions.