Gathering+Data+Through+All+Senses

**Gathering Data Through All Senses**

It's common knowledge that the five senses are taste, touch, smell, sound, and sight. I was also previously aware that these five senses could be applied to observing a chemical reaction. However, in my past experiences I was often told what to look out for beforehand. In a chemical reaction, if you also know the basics of the elements about to react, you can often predict the outcome.

The first activity I did in class this year was to simply observe asprin tablets and record my observations. Simple as it was, I couldn't comprehend the task at hand. My initial reaction was to question what I was observing of the tablets. I assumed they would be reacting with something else, but then I realized I was simply asked to observe just the asprin. I've gathered data through various senses, but never have I done it through my own intuition. This activity made me realize two things: not to take chemistry for granted, and that these five senses can be applied to any observation, reaction or not.

I experimented with the texture of the asprin, the smell, the sound of it reacting with water, the sight of it in different states, but unfortunately I did not taste the asprin. The hardest part in all of this was thinking of different ways to observe the asprin.

Without being told what to expect and what to observe and having to only rely on my mind and ideas of observation, I now understand that this habit of mind is very important in learning new, unexpected things.

"Use all senses, stay alive, participate fully, get your hands dirty, experience it all. Don't hold back."