![On Oct. 30, 24 Eco Club members took a tour of the school’s solar panels on the roof. They were guided and taught by an employee from E Light Electric, the company that maintains the school’s solar panels, and learned about how the panels are maintained and cared for. “I was definitely very excited about being on the roof in general,” Eco Club member Olivia Fang ‘26 said. “[It was exciting to] learn more about solar panels and how they work and how they supply energy to our school.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/RCH_2632-1200x800.jpg)
![Math teacher Austin Bennett observes seventh period students step to the board to solve Equation of Circle problems May 2. Bennett has been teaching for a total of four years, with only two of those years spent as a Jag. He hopes after his time as a high school teacher to become a professor. "[College math] is more challenging, and it's good to challenge yourself," Bennett said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_0147-1200x900.jpg)
![Varsity girls soccer midfielder Leah Sheahan ‘24 hugs a friend during the Senior Night celebrations before the home game against Mountain Vista High School (MVHS) at Echo Park Stadium April 29. During Senior Night, seniors were given flowers and the opportunity to walk out and take pictures with their family as their future plans and favorite memories were announced over the speakers. The Jags tied 0-0, losing the Continental League Championship. “We were obviously the stronger team but just couldn’t find a way to score, but otherwise our connection and our intensity was really high so I’m proud of that. We just have to find the net,” defense midfielder Clara Geuzaine ‘24 said. “[Losing League] wasn’t the best. It’s better than last year and like, I know our team and we are doing really good. I don’t want to jinx it but like hopefully [we’ll do] good [in playoffs].”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Copy-of-DSC_4277-1-1200x868.jpg)
![In room 4101, Natalie Patterson ‘26, Ariana Magor ‘25 and Celina Salazar ‘25 create a poster in science teacher Kerry Reilly’s Chemistry Honors April 18. The three completed a worksheet and drawing to explain the implosion of a tank for their unit on gas laws. “At the start of class, we watched a video of the tank imploding,” Patterson said. “I think [making a drawing] is something new. I like more artsy activities.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_5019-1200x900.jpeg)
Pretty Pennies Penetrated
January 29, 2019
Tuesday, Jan. 15, honors chemistry students chemically burned out all the zinc content of four post-1982 pennies in Dave Ferguson’s chemistry lab, room 4102.
The goal of the lab was to figure out how much baking soda would neutralize hydrochloric acid. Baking soda is a base, and bases can cancel out acids and vice versa. If the right amount of base was added to the amount of acid in the beaker, it should have been neutral.
In order to do this, students reacted zinc pennies in a beaker of hydrochloric acid, figured out how much of the acid was left in the beaker. They then proceeded using balanced equations to equate the amount of baking soda needed to neutralize they hydrochloric acid left in the beaker. Once the calculated grams of baking soda were added to the hydrochloric acid, students held their beakers under a pH tester.
The term pH level refers to the acidity or baseness of a liquid or aqueous solution (a solution that dissolves in water). The neutral pH level is 7. Students’ goal was to add just the right amount of baking soda to the hydrochloric acid to neutralize it– get it to pH 7.
“The lab was fun and a good amount of confusing enough to make us want to see the outcome,” Romero said.
“…We got a 5.2 pH level, and we had to shake the beaker a whole lot in order to reach the number, and we got all excited and very happy once we reached the level,” Brooklyn Romero ’21 said.
None of the groups in Ferguson’s period 2 chemistry class reached pH 7, which Ferguson reported could have been due to a miscalculated measure of acid at the beginning of the experiment. Even if students had the correctly calculated amount of baking soda that would need to be added, if their initial amount of hydrochloric acid was off by even 1 milliliter, the reaction would not work properly, Ferguson said.
“The reaction overall was really cool, and it was an interesting way to put all that we learned into a lab,” Aspen McDonnel ’21 said.
“The lab was fun and a good amount of confusing enough to make us want to see the outcome. I loved the pennies and how flexible they were at the end. They were super fun to bend in half,” Romero ’21 said.
