Monday, November 15, 2010
Hot Issues in Chemistry
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Absolute Zero (notes on movie)
- absolute zero = -273 degrees Celsius. this is an important temperature because nothing can survive below that temperature.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Phases of Matter
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Flame Tests
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Red Dread
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Aluminium foil + Copper Sulfate Lab Pictures
Periodic Table of Videos - Sodium
Periodic Table of Videos - Neon
Periodic Table of Videos - Fluorine
Periodic Table of Videos - Oxygen
Periodic Table of Videos - Nitrogen
Periodic Table of Videos - Carbon
Periodic Table of Videos - Beryllium
Periodic Table of Videos - Lithium
Periodic Table of Videos - Helium
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Periodic Table of Videos - Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the lightest element on the periodic table. it has only one proton and only one electron with an atomic mass of 1. It is also a very abundant element meaning it is very common. It is found throughout the universe. Another thing I learned is that Hydrogen is lighter than air and there for it floats. IT is also highly flammable.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Chemistry Mind Map 1
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Nitrogen (reflection on reading)
There are three types of chemicals in a non-organic fertilizer. These three are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen being the most important one.
2. Most plants cannot use diatomic nitrogen to help them grow. Name three plants that can use N2 and explain why they are able to use N2.
Soybeans, peas, and clover are three of the plants that can use the nitrogen form the air (N2). The reason that N2 is not used for other plant is that it
Pure nitrogen, which is N2 makes up 78% and most of the air on Earth.
5. In what ways can nitrogen harm the environment?
If nitrogen enters the water it can help algae grow larger. then when the algae dies, and bacteria uses up oxygen to decompose it, because it is so large, and might use up all the oxygen in a big area. This then results in suffocation of fish, and other marine life with gills. also
Friday, September 10, 2010
Reactants, Products and Leftovers
Link to Original Site: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/reactants-products-and-leftovers
2. Now, using the "Real Reaction" tab, play with the various settings for the "Make Ammonia," "Make Water" and "Combust Methane" experiments listed at the top of the screen. What can you learn from this? What are the reactants, products and leftovers in each of the reactions?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Chemical Interactions (reflection on video)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Structure of Matter
The ocean ca be broken down into many parts. The basic parts are ones such as; water, oxygen, salt, fish, algae, and aquatic mammals. A way we could test this by taking a large piece of the ocean to study. There we could see all of the life that there is, form bacteria, to large mammals. then we could take portion of the water, and evaporate it. After there is no water left, we can study all that is left.
Sea water has many different components. It is made up of mostly the same component as the ocean. But, because we are only looking at the water, the components would be, water and salt. we could test this with desalinization.
3. Beach Sand
Sand is made of minerals and tiny pieces of rock because of erosion. The composition of sand varies, because not all of the places around the world have the same rocks from which sand can made of. The most common components of sand on beach sand, as well as other sand is silica (silicon dioxide). I think that the only way we can prove this is by talking one grain of sand, and put it under a microscope to see if we can match it with a type of rock.
Salt consists of the elements sodium chloride. Salt comes from two main sources. Seawater, salt from the sea, is salty because rain water dissolves minerals containing sodium and chlorine in rocks and soil. The other main source of salt occurs in hard massive layers beneath the ground. This is called rock salt which is formed by the evaporation of large parts of oceans millions of years ago. Underground salt deposits are found on every continent. In the U.S.A. these deposits occur in 32 states. The only way we can separate the salt, is by using Electrolysis, or the use of electricity.
http://www.petzfamilyschool.com/youngsalt.htm
5. SiliconBecause silicon is an atom it is only made up of protons, electrons, and neutrons. a way we could figure out how many of the protons, electrons, and neutrons, by using and electron microscope.
6. Chlorine
Because silicon is an atom it is only made up of protons, electrons, and neutrons. a way we could figure out how many of the protons, electrons, and neutrons, by using and electron microscope.
Extension:
7. Protons
A proton is made of Quarks. or an elemental particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. there are different combinations of quarks so they can make up neutrons and protons. the combination for protons is two up quarks and one down quark.
8. Electrons
Electrons are not made of Quarks. they are are leptons, of which only six are known. many scientist think they know what electrons are made of but it is not really certain.
9. Neutrons
A neutron is made of Quarks. or an elemental particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. there are different combinations of quarks so they can make up neutrons and protons. the combination for neutrons is tone up quark and two down quarks.
10. Energy
Sunday, September 5, 2010
The Octet Rule, Bohr Diagram, and the Lewis Dot Diagram
The Octet rule is a rule that states that atoms with eight electrons on the outer shell, tend to bond more easily, and that when an atom has 8 electrons on its outer shell, it is at its maximum capacity and the next electron will be placed on a new shell. For example Neon has eight electrons on its outer shell. The next element on the periodic table is Sodium with 11 electrons, two on the first shell, 8 on the second shell, and the last electron, because according to the octet rule, the second shell is full, the last electron goes onto a new third shell. a definition of the octet rule is; The observation that atoms of nonmetals tend to form the most stable molecules when they are surrounded by eight electrons (to fill their valence orbitals).Also, the route of the octet rule is Oct meaning eight. Some examples of the octet rule are; (see pictures).
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Green Plastics (reflection on Video)
ChemMatters - Episode 2: Plastics Go Green from ACS Pressroom on Vimeo.
Did you know that about 90,718,474,000kg, or 200,000,000,000lbs of plastic is manufactured every year? And that 20 present of that could be Bio-degradable, and Eco-friendly Bioplastic? what is Bioplastic you ask? Well, in this video from Vimeo.com,it tells us everything you need to know about this newly discovered plastic. Green Plastic, or Bioplastic, is a plastic made of of Corn, Sugar Cane, and Sugar Beets, and is supposedly the best way to go. Or is it? In this video the narrator talks about the good, and bad characteristics of Bioplastic. He also talks about were plastic comes form, how its manufactured, and what it is manufactured out of.
Like I said before, Bioplastic is made up of the sugar form Corn, Sugar Cane, Sugar Beets, and many others. This plastic, because it is made up of biological material, is more environmentally friendly, than traditional plastic. But is it all good?
Organisations like "Nature Works LLC", who manufacture Bioplastic, say it is the best way to go. That it is extremely environmentally friendly. It does not require any fossil fuels, natural gas, or coal, it can be used to make compost, it uses organic substances such as corn, and it does not cause water, or air pollution. What could be better right? Wrong. Yes, the product itself does not pollute, but look around it. To grow corn and other crops used to make Bioplastic you need pesticides, urbacides, and fertilizers, contributing to water pollution. Also, motor vehicles used for planting, cultivating, harvesting, and shipping crops use crude oil and release carbon dioxide and are mayor affects in air pollution. Also, Bioplastic factories may not use oil to make the plastic, but they use electricity that is made usually by using fossil fuels. Also, the risk of using too much farmland for plastic instead of food, could result in a food crisis, or famine. Some organisations might cut down forests and jungles to make more farmland, but thats not a solution either. Another thing is that when degrading in a compost pile it gives of CO2 and methane gas that is harmful to the environment. Sometimes even, instead of being used as compost, it is thrown away like the rest of the trash, and then dangerous gases get released into the air causing more air pollution. So Bioplastic is not as great and perfect, as it sounds.
Like I mentioned earlier, the production of Bioplastic creates a lot of chemical reactions. here are a few; Molecules (a group of two or more elements or atoms binded together), Monomers (a pair of molecules), Polymers (long chains or collections of monomers, Polymerization (linking different monomers to create irregular polymers), Condensation Reaction (when polymerization gives off a small molecule, every time a bond is formed), Addition Reaction (when polymerization is occurring, and molecules have double bonds or triple bonds), when Bioplastic is degrading it can give off CO2 or methane gas. In the video we saw a number of elements, but only a few were different. These were; Oxygen, hydrogen, Carbon, and element “R”. This just proves that multiple molecules, are made up of similar elements and make totally different results.