The Breath of Life
It's only 45 minutes in and I am already collecting large amounts of the dark green liquid that my experiment is meant to produce. I take a quick glance around; sweeping the room for my next chemical. Across the bench I spot the brown bottle of methyl benzene that has been tightly capped and neatly labeled. Nobody else has reached this point in the lab exercise yet, and I am elated to once again be excelling in the art of chemistry. My pressed, embroidered lab coat is still a pristine shade of white. I have yet to spill one drop of acid on its crisp cuffs. And my new airtight goggles with built in ventilation have yet to be cracked or scratched by metal micro tools. As I take in the sweet smell of another A+ (or is that just the benzene?), I realize that not only are the rest of the people in my lab lagging behind me; they aren’t even coming close to producing the desired product. For instance, the blonde girl at Table 3 has purple solution – a clear indication that she has added way too much ammonium tetrachloride during the 30 minute reflux period. And her pretty pink sweater is sporting three large acid burns. The skateboarder at Table 6 has practically evaporated his solution and is pretty much burning glass at this point. Inside I am laughing quite hysterically; some people just aren’t cut out for this intensity level, nor can they begin to understand just how essential this lab work is to the study of chemistry. My thoughts of the dwindling intelligence level of society are suddenly interrupted by the slight change in chemical nature as my solution shifts to a lime green shade. It’s time for the methyl benzene. I measure out the precise amount of chemical (0.143 grams) and add it to my flask of bright liquid. Upon the addition, the solution immediately forms a clear, jelly-like substance. My delight has reached its peak as I collect, cap, and label yet another bottle of perfect product to turn in to the TA.