Saturday, December 3, 2011
Compound Names and Formulas
Naming Compounds is fairly easy when Mr. Ludwig gives you a handy dandy chart to look off of. Basically, all you have to do is find the formula and match it with the name.
For example:
NaF
Na= Sodium
F=Flourine
So the compound name is Sodium Flouride. (ions end in -ide)
Things can soon get more complicated like with the compound
Mn(NO3)3
The outside 3, goes to the top of the Mn, so it's Mn3. Mn3 = Manganese(II)
The only formula left is NO3 which is Phophate.
This equation is Manganese(II) Phosphate.
Now, when turning names into formulas the same rule applies: LOOK AT THE CHART!
The name potassium flouride is easily turned into KF after looking at the chart, but the names can get more difficult. When looking at Ammonium Sulfate, we see that they charge of the ions don't equal. Ammonium is NH4+, while sulfate is SO4^2. The positive 2 charge is moved over to the ammonium in order for the equations to equal out. This turns the equation into (NH4)2SO4.
These basic principles continue to apply as we went through the 24 problems on the paper.
For example:
NaF
Na= Sodium
F=Flourine
So the compound name is Sodium Flouride. (ions end in -ide)
Things can soon get more complicated like with the compound
Mn(NO3)3
The outside 3, goes to the top of the Mn, so it's Mn3. Mn3 = Manganese(II)
The only formula left is NO3 which is Phophate.
This equation is Manganese(II) Phosphate.
Now, when turning names into formulas the same rule applies: LOOK AT THE CHART!
The name potassium flouride is easily turned into KF after looking at the chart, but the names can get more difficult. When looking at Ammonium Sulfate, we see that they charge of the ions don't equal. Ammonium is NH4+, while sulfate is SO4^2. The positive 2 charge is moved over to the ammonium in order for the equations to equal out. This turns the equation into (NH4)2SO4.
These basic principles continue to apply as we went through the 24 problems on the paper.
Why is Gold our Currency?
While listening to the podcast and looking at the periodic table I realized there are numerous reasons why Gold is our currency and why other elements on the table would not work.
 |
| Gold Coins |
Hydrogen, and Helium through Rn would leak away because they are a gas.
Lithium wouldn't work because it is very flammable, so flammable in fact that it has the possibility to burn through concrete.
A lot of other elements on the table are reactive, meaning they can combine with other elements or corrode.
The actinides wouldn't work because they are extremely radioactive.
Silicon(a key ingredient in sand) is too light and way too common, as well as copper.
Osmium on the other hand is found in meteorites, meaning they are way too rare.
Silver has a different issue. It tarnishes easily. Once the silver tarnishes you can wipe away the tarnish but that is also wiping away part of the silver at the same time, therefore losing some of it's value.
Paladium and Rodium didn't appear til after our currency was created, meaning they couldn't be suggested as our currency.
Platinum has an extremely high melting point, making it too difficult to mold into the shapes of coins or other shapes. Also, platinum looks like numerous other metals, meaning the currency could be easily replicated.
So, this means gold is our only choice. It never corrodes, it's solid, it wont kill you because it's not radioactive, it's rare but not too rare, it's easy to melt, it's obtainable, and most of all it's testable. There is a simple test involving a pumice, a black stone, and a little bit of acid. The smudge left determines the purity of the gold, but does not ruin the metal. This test dates back to Ancient Greece.
Overall I think Gold was the smart choice for our currency.
(Here is the podcast that I used as the basis of this blog, borrowed from Mr. Ludwig who got it from npr)
Silver has a different issue. It tarnishes easily. Once the silver tarnishes you can wipe away the tarnish but that is also wiping away part of the silver at the same time, therefore losing some of it's value.
Paladium and Rodium didn't appear til after our currency was created, meaning they couldn't be suggested as our currency.
Platinum has an extremely high melting point, making it too difficult to mold into the shapes of coins or other shapes. Also, platinum looks like numerous other metals, meaning the currency could be easily replicated.
So, this means gold is our only choice. It never corrodes, it's solid, it wont kill you because it's not radioactive, it's rare but not too rare, it's easy to melt, it's obtainable, and most of all it's testable. There is a simple test involving a pumice, a black stone, and a little bit of acid. The smudge left determines the purity of the gold, but does not ruin the metal. This test dates back to Ancient Greece.
Overall I think Gold was the smart choice for our currency.
(Here is the podcast that I used as the basis of this blog, borrowed from Mr. Ludwig who got it from npr)
Magnesium Lab
Procedure:
1. collect 25cm of clean magnesium strips, a ceramic crucible, a bunson burner, and a "tree"
2. Weigh the empty crucible, weigh the crucible and mg strip
3. subtract the two weights to find the measurement of the mg strip before heating.
4. place the crucible and strip on the tree, directly above the lit bunson burner
5. a white smoke/flame will soon appear. at this point turn off the burner and let the crucible cool for quite some time
6. after it has cooled completely you will notice the mg strip has turned into a white powdery substance. weigh the crucible and product at this point.
7. to find the weight of the magnesium products after heating, take the after heating measurement and subtract it from the weight of the empty crucible.
8. clean up and you'll be done!
Data:
Material Mass(g)
empty crucible 58.7
crucible&Mg ribbon 59.6
(before heating)
Magnesium ribbon .9
Crucible&Magnesium 60.1
(after heating)
Magnesium Products 1.4
Conductivity Level: LOW LIGHT
Analysis:
With this lab I learned that the magnesium products actually weigh more after the heating process than it did before the heating process. This was a .5 gram difference in my case. I also learned that magnesium is easily ignitable and lets off a different type of smoke than a regular fire would. With the help of Zach and Dakota, I also learned that ceramic crucibles are extremely breakable when heated intensely. (:
1. collect 25cm of clean magnesium strips, a ceramic crucible, a bunson burner, and a "tree"
2. Weigh the empty crucible, weigh the crucible and mg strip
3. subtract the two weights to find the measurement of the mg strip before heating.
4. place the crucible and strip on the tree, directly above the lit bunson burner
5. a white smoke/flame will soon appear. at this point turn off the burner and let the crucible cool for quite some time
6. after it has cooled completely you will notice the mg strip has turned into a white powdery substance. weigh the crucible and product at this point.
7. to find the weight of the magnesium products after heating, take the after heating measurement and subtract it from the weight of the empty crucible.
8. clean up and you'll be done!
Data:
Material Mass(g)
empty crucible 58.7
crucible&Mg ribbon 59.6
(before heating)
Magnesium ribbon .9
Crucible&Magnesium 60.1
(after heating)
Magnesium Products 1.4
Conductivity Level: LOW LIGHT
Analysis:
With this lab I learned that the magnesium products actually weigh more after the heating process than it did before the heating process. This was a .5 gram difference in my case. I also learned that magnesium is easily ignitable and lets off a different type of smoke than a regular fire would. With the help of Zach and Dakota, I also learned that ceramic crucibles are extremely breakable when heated intensely. (:
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Conductivity Lab
Today, we did a conductivity lab, involving many different solutions including the ones listed above. We learned that when there are more ions in a solution, the conductivity level increased. For example, the number of ions in lactase hydrate + distilled water were either very scarce or absolutely nonexistent. But, on the other hand, the number of ions in the calcium sulphate and potassium chloride were extremely high, causing the intensity of the conductivity to increase. On the other hand, solutions such as the corn starch and the calcium sulphate were medium intensity, meaning there was an average number of ions in those solutions.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Periodic Table Scavenger Hunt
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dhjzzczwpE_r4hUpc1I6tfbVvaSRS65nkE-dB1UJLh4/edit
This is my Scavenger Hunt from a few days ago. :D
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Neutrino Rocking Scientific World
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/science/23speed.html
Apparently, new advances in technology has allowed a particle called a neutrino to go faster than the speed of light.(Nuetrinos are "odd slivers of an atom that have confounded physicists for about 80 years." This little particle has no mass.) The cosmic speed limit was once considered to be 186,282 miles per second, but the neutrino has rocked that limit. Some physicists are skeptical, wanting to do their own testing for more verfiable conclusions. This new discover has not only shooken the physicist world, but also broken one of Einstein's theories of relativity. (E=mc^2) Many scientists are saying that this new discovery could cause a lot of problems in the scientific world, forcing them to reevaluate many of their previous findings.
There is so much skepticism with this new finding that people are demanding to have other physicists attempt to redo the experiment, wondering if they'll come up with the same results. The physicists in Geneva are welcoming the attention to their hard work.
Many people, including Drew Baden, chairmen of the U of Maryland physics department, claim the findings are a result of measurement errors, as tracking neutrinos is very difficult.
Proving their findings correct could possible change the idea of how the universe is put together, according to Greene, but he highly doubts their research will hold up to the extreme scrutiny.
This is an edited picture of a neutrino found on google.
This article was particularly interesting to me because, while growing up, I was always told that E=mc^2 was the theory of relativity and nothing can surpass it. This new discovery is very monumental if found to be true. It seems that if it is found to be true, this theory along with a lot of other scientific ideas coudl be greatly altered and have both negative and positive effects on science. I thought the neutrino was interesting because it's stumping scientists. In school, we are commonly told "This is that way because..." but the neutrino acts a certain way and no one knows why. The fact that they can change "flavors" is really interesting and I hope to find out more about it in the future. Also, knowing that so many scientists are doubting this new discovery is sort of interesting because, they have believed one thing for so many years, and now this new discovery could ruin all of that. Although many people doubt this information to be true, it would be interesting to see how certain scientists react if it's found true. Like the article said, it could shake the scientific world.
Through further research I have found....
Neutrinos do not carry any positive or negative charges. They are completely neutral. Wikipedia says: "Neutrinos are affected only by the weak sub-atomic force, of much shorter range than electromagnetism, and are therefore able to travel great distances through matter without being affected by it." They have a weak reaction to almost everything but are affected by gravity. Neutrinos are a result of radioactive decay and nuclear reactions. Many of these reactions are common in the Sun. The three flavors of neutrinos, mentioned above, are:electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and tau neutrinos.
Apparently, new advances in technology has allowed a particle called a neutrino to go faster than the speed of light.(Nuetrinos are "odd slivers of an atom that have confounded physicists for about 80 years." This little particle has no mass.) The cosmic speed limit was once considered to be 186,282 miles per second, but the neutrino has rocked that limit. Some physicists are skeptical, wanting to do their own testing for more verfiable conclusions. This new discover has not only shooken the physicist world, but also broken one of Einstein's theories of relativity. (E=mc^2) Many scientists are saying that this new discovery could cause a lot of problems in the scientific world, forcing them to reevaluate many of their previous findings.
There is so much skepticism with this new finding that people are demanding to have other physicists attempt to redo the experiment, wondering if they'll come up with the same results. The physicists in Geneva are welcoming the attention to their hard work.
Many people, including Drew Baden, chairmen of the U of Maryland physics department, claim the findings are a result of measurement errors, as tracking neutrinos is very difficult.
Proving their findings correct could possible change the idea of how the universe is put together, according to Greene, but he highly doubts their research will hold up to the extreme scrutiny.
This is an edited picture of a neutrino found on google.
This article was particularly interesting to me because, while growing up, I was always told that E=mc^2 was the theory of relativity and nothing can surpass it. This new discovery is very monumental if found to be true. It seems that if it is found to be true, this theory along with a lot of other scientific ideas coudl be greatly altered and have both negative and positive effects on science. I thought the neutrino was interesting because it's stumping scientists. In school, we are commonly told "This is that way because..." but the neutrino acts a certain way and no one knows why. The fact that they can change "flavors" is really interesting and I hope to find out more about it in the future. Also, knowing that so many scientists are doubting this new discovery is sort of interesting because, they have believed one thing for so many years, and now this new discovery could ruin all of that. Although many people doubt this information to be true, it would be interesting to see how certain scientists react if it's found true. Like the article said, it could shake the scientific world.
Through further research I have found....
Neutrinos do not carry any positive or negative charges. They are completely neutral. Wikipedia says: "Neutrinos are affected only by the weak sub-atomic force, of much shorter range than electromagnetism, and are therefore able to travel great distances through matter without being affected by it." They have a weak reaction to almost everything but are affected by gravity. Neutrinos are a result of radioactive decay and nuclear reactions. Many of these reactions are common in the Sun. The three flavors of neutrinos, mentioned above, are:electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and tau neutrinos.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Quantum Mechanics and Split Peas (Electrons and Energy)
While keeping Bohr's ideas in mind, we did a lab to bring more details to Bohr's theories. We took a cup full of split peas and put them in a funnel hovering over a target. We were then to release the peas onto the target and count how many landed in each area that was numbered by the lab sheet. Serena, Kandace, and I did two different runs.
For the first run we put the funnel as high up as we could, therefore increasing the energy. Because the energy was increased so much most of the peas landed in outer areas rather than the inner areas. Our data was:
As you can see not very many peas landed towards the center of the target. Because of the higher level of energy from raising the funnel, most of the peas were forced to outer areas. This is true about electrons too. The higher the level of energy, the more spread out the electron is forced to become.
The second run we did, we lowered the funnel, decreasing the energy and allowing the peas to land more near the center. This data was:
As you can see, when we lowered the funnel, lowering the energy level, the peas were more centered and gathered around the main portion of the target. Electrons that have a lower energy are less spread out than electrons with higher energy.
I learned a lot through this lab. First of all those little plastic split peas really make your hands stink. Secondly, the higher the energy level, the more spread out the electrons, as described by the quantum mechanical model of the atom. The lower the energy level, the closer together and more centered the electrons are.
For the first run we put the funnel as high up as we could, therefore increasing the energy. Because the energy was increased so much most of the peas landed in outer areas rather than the inner areas. Our data was:
As you can see not very many peas landed towards the center of the target. Because of the higher level of energy from raising the funnel, most of the peas were forced to outer areas. This is true about electrons too. The higher the level of energy, the more spread out the electron is forced to become.
The second run we did, we lowered the funnel, decreasing the energy and allowing the peas to land more near the center. This data was:
As you can see, when we lowered the funnel, lowering the energy level, the peas were more centered and gathered around the main portion of the target. Electrons that have a lower energy are less spread out than electrons with higher energy.
I learned a lot through this lab. First of all those little plastic split peas really make your hands stink. Secondly, the higher the energy level, the more spread out the electrons, as described by the quantum mechanical model of the atom. The lower the energy level, the closer together and more centered the electrons are.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Light Spectrum Lab
Over the past two days we have used Spectroscopes in order to look at different lights and gases. We've looked at everything from a regular lightbulb to helium gases. We weren't just looking at the lights but particularly the spectrum that the lights gave off through the spectroscopes.
We began this process by looking at a regular lightbulb, in an attempt to see RoyGBiv! (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).
Looking at a regular light, the spectrum consists of all of the colors and it's continuous(there are no gaps in between the colors.)
Then we look at the bulb with a blue liquid in front of it, which showed this type of spectrum. Although it's difficult to see, some colors are missing from this spectrum because of the blue liquid.
After we looked through the blue liquid we looked at the bulb through a red liquid. The red liquid also caused some of the colors to become missing, breaking the continuousness of the spectrum.
Then we looked at both put together! This caused the spectrum to look much different than the regular lightbulb because of the different changes in colors.
We continued looking through the spectroscopes at neon, helium hydrogen, iodine, and a couple of other elements, though I didn't get all of the pictures from them.
The neon looked like this. As you can tell the spectrum is not continuous.
The helium looked like this. This spectrum is not continuous as well. But you can see red, a tiny mix of either yellow or orange, green, and blue.
The iodine looked like this. This spectrum is definitely not continuous. The colors that are missing are parts of yellow, indigo, and violet. But you can see red, orange, parts of yellow, green, and blue very clearly.
The hydrogen looked like this. This spectrum is not continuous. But you can see blue, been, a little spec of yellow, and red.
When looking at RoyGBiv, we look at the energy levels of each color. The highest energy/frequency level is the Violet, while the least is the Red. You only see these colors when they are going from the "excited" state to the "ground" state. This lab taught me a lot about how the different elements give off the different lights. It also taught me how the colored liquid sitting in front of the light can cause the light spectrum to change drastically due to the colors that are absorbed. Light is a lot more than the sun tanning your skin during the summer, it has a lot more minute details and information that it's trying to show.
We began this process by looking at a regular lightbulb, in an attempt to see RoyGBiv! (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).
Looking at a regular light, the spectrum consists of all of the colors and it's continuous(there are no gaps in between the colors.)
Then we look at the bulb with a blue liquid in front of it, which showed this type of spectrum. Although it's difficult to see, some colors are missing from this spectrum because of the blue liquid.
After we looked through the blue liquid we looked at the bulb through a red liquid. The red liquid also caused some of the colors to become missing, breaking the continuousness of the spectrum.
Then we looked at both put together! This caused the spectrum to look much different than the regular lightbulb because of the different changes in colors.
We continued looking through the spectroscopes at neon, helium hydrogen, iodine, and a couple of other elements, though I didn't get all of the pictures from them.
The neon looked like this. As you can tell the spectrum is not continuous.
The helium looked like this. This spectrum is not continuous as well. But you can see red, a tiny mix of either yellow or orange, green, and blue.
The iodine looked like this. This spectrum is definitely not continuous. The colors that are missing are parts of yellow, indigo, and violet. But you can see red, orange, parts of yellow, green, and blue very clearly.
The hydrogen looked like this. This spectrum is not continuous. But you can see blue, been, a little spec of yellow, and red.
When looking at RoyGBiv, we look at the energy levels of each color. The highest energy/frequency level is the Violet, while the least is the Red. You only see these colors when they are going from the "excited" state to the "ground" state. This lab taught me a lot about how the different elements give off the different lights. It also taught me how the colored liquid sitting in front of the light can cause the light spectrum to change drastically due to the colors that are absorbed. Light is a lot more than the sun tanning your skin during the summer, it has a lot more minute details and information that it's trying to show.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Separation Lab w/ Colors!!
So we did another separation lab and this one was way cooler!!! We decorated amazing water filter paper. Then we poked a hole in the middle and stuck a paper towel through the hole. The paper towel acted as a post to keep the whole piece of filter paper from falling in the water. Then we put the paper towel in the water and let science do the work!
Without even realizing it we used chromatography to separate the colors. Other examples of separation are filtration: when you use a filter to separate the mixture.
This works great with different sizes of hard particles.
Distillation is used for separating mixtures based on differences in the conditions required to change the phase of the components of the mixture. To separate a liquid mixture, the liquid could be heated to force the components with different boiling points, into the gas phase. The gas can then be condensed back into its liquid form and collected.
Double Distillation is when you repeat the process on the collected liquid to improve the purity of that particular product. You can do the reverse process to liquefy components changing a liquid's temperature and/or pressure.
Centrifugation is when they take the tubes and put them in the centrifuge, which viciously spins them, causing the components to separate due to the force of the spinning motion.
We waited...
And Waited...
And waited some more...
and finally!!!
The chromatograph was pretty much all the way done.
Without even realizing it we used chromatography to separate the colors. Other examples of separation are filtration: when you use a filter to separate the mixture.
This works great with different sizes of hard particles.
Distillation is used for separating mixtures based on differences in the conditions required to change the phase of the components of the mixture. To separate a liquid mixture, the liquid could be heated to force the components with different boiling points, into the gas phase. The gas can then be condensed back into its liquid form and collected.
Double Distillation is when you repeat the process on the collected liquid to improve the purity of that particular product. You can do the reverse process to liquefy components changing a liquid's temperature and/or pressure.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Separation Lab (:
First post of the year. Another year, another grade, another science class!
To kick off this year we did a separation lab today.
Here's how we did it:
We took a small beaker and added 8.85 MG of Pure Sugar, 6.01 MG of our Iron Metal Chips, as well as 6.56 MG of Small Boiling Stones. After thoroughly mixing the elements together, and we mean thoroughly!
We TRADED!
We got Steven and Victor's mixture and had to figure out some way to separate it. After many failed ideas, we decided on the easiest solution. To get the iron filings out we took a magnet to the mixture which pulled all of the filings out. We weighed those and ended up with 3.05 MG of filings. This measurement is not far from the actual 4. 23 MG. After attempting to manually separate the calcium chloride and boiling stones and failing! We were stumped on how to separate the remaining elements, but then Mr. Ludwig gave us an amazing idea: Calcium Chloride is dissolvable in water. The boiling stones are not! We measured the combined mixture and got 20.14mg. By using a water filter paper, a funnel, and a beaker we combined the mixture with water, poured it into the funnel and let it rest overnight. When we came back to class the next day the components were separated and we found out that there was 10.06 mg of the boiling stones and 10.08 mg of sand!
^^ Our Work!!! And Koda's awesome boobies bracelet! ^^
To kick off this year we did a separation lab today.
Here's how we did it:
We took a small beaker and added 8.85 MG of Pure Sugar, 6.01 MG of our Iron Metal Chips, as well as 6.56 MG of Small Boiling Stones. After thoroughly mixing the elements together, and we mean thoroughly!
We TRADED!
We got Steven and Victor's mixture and had to figure out some way to separate it. After many failed ideas, we decided on the easiest solution. To get the iron filings out we took a magnet to the mixture which pulled all of the filings out. We weighed those and ended up with 3.05 MG of filings. This measurement is not far from the actual 4. 23 MG. After attempting to manually separate the calcium chloride and boiling stones and failing! We were stumped on how to separate the remaining elements, but then Mr. Ludwig gave us an amazing idea: Calcium Chloride is dissolvable in water. The boiling stones are not! We measured the combined mixture and got 20.14mg. By using a water filter paper, a funnel, and a beaker we combined the mixture with water, poured it into the funnel and let it rest overnight. When we came back to class the next day the components were separated and we found out that there was 10.06 mg of the boiling stones and 10.08 mg of sand!
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