Mini Project Hard Rock Candy

Photo Credit: Kevin Chan 5th
Today in chemistry we made rock candy!! Our teacher Mr.Olsen showed us a process that will lead us to the product of rock candy. Here are the tricks: First the materials you need are:

• Sugar
• Candy (lifesaver)
• Cotton string
• water
• glass

Here are the steps:

1. First fill you glass with a heated sugar solution about half way full.
2. Then dip you candy in sugar covering it completely.
3. Then cut a string and tie the candy and connect it to the Popsicle stick. When doing this make sure the candy is a few inches above the bottom of the glass.
4. You can now add food coloring to make it look nice.
5. Wait about 24 hours and if this doesn't work you should repeat these steps.

Science:This experiment has to do with solutions and dissolution. Water is a natural solvent, since many substances can dissolve in it. Sugar is a good example- sugar contains a lot of polar hydroxide groups that cause it to dissolve in water fairly easily.
However, all substances can only dissolve up to a certain point. At that point, the solution becomes saturated, and if you add any more sugar, it will remain solid because it has no room to dissolve.
When we heat water and sugar, we increase the saturation capacity, so more sugar can dissolve. This is because heat causes molecules to move apart and have more energy, so the sugar molecules can dissolve in hot water better than in cold water.

Mini Project Making play dough

Photo Credit: Kevin Chan 5th
In chemistry class with a mix of brilliant mixtures I made Play-Dough!!! Here the trick:

• First of all put a solution on the a hot plate.
• Put the flour down on it.
• Heat this flour and mix it by stirring this flour.
• Drop in some food coloring to add an effect for color.
• Keep Mixing until dough is ready and heated.
• Turn of the burners and let it set. Soon you will have Play-Dough!!!

Science: The chemicals mixed form a compound the compound is essentially a starch-based binder mixed with water, salt, lubricant and preservative. To be more specific, it contains:

• Water
• Starch-based binder
• Retrogradation inhibitor
• Salt
• Lubricant
• Surfactant
• Preservative
• Hardener
• Humectant
• Fragrance
• Color

Each of these ingredients has an effect on the compound's texture, fragrance and appearance. One of the major contributors to the softness and texture of Play-Doh compound is the interaction between its two primary ingredients - starch-based binder and water. To understand how the dough works, you have to know a little about starch and what happens when it comes into contact with water.Starches are polysaccharides, or strings of sugar molecules.

Mini-Project Air Pressure

Photo Credit: Kevin Chan 5th
Today I help a cup of water upside down while keeping the water in by placing a piece of paper under the opening of the cup. Isn't that great!! Here are the tricks:

• Fill the cup up with water half way.
• Get a thick piece on paper.
• In one quick movement flip the cup to the paper side so that the cup is covered by the paper.
• Then maintain holding the cup upside down with the paper under to keep the air pressure so there will be no leakage.

Science: Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the Earth's atmosphere. In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point. Low pressure areas have less atmospheric mass above their location, whereas high pressure areas have more atmospheric mass above their location. Similarly, as elevation increases there is less overlying atmospheric mass, so that pressure decreases with increasing elevation.

Chem Standard

I am a member of the transition metals. I will teach you standard 3C: Students know one mole equals 6.02x10²³particles (atoms or molecules). Simply put, the mole represents a number. Just as the term dozen refers to the number twelve, the mole represents the number 6.02 x 10²³.Now that's a big number!The mole is used when were talking about numbers and molecules. Atoms and molecules are very tiny things. A drop of water the size of the period at the end of this sentence would contain 10 trillion water molecules. Instead of talking about trillions and quadrillions of molecules (and more), it's much simpler to use the mole.The number of objects in one mole, that is, 6.02 x 10²³, is commonly referred to as Avogadro's number. Amadeo Avogadro a Italian scientist created the term and concept of the mole.

Defining moles?

• 1 mole of molecules has a mass equal to the molecular weight in grams.
• 1 mole of atoms has a mass equal to the atomic weight in grams.
  

Mills Creek Canyon

On Thursday 29 April 2010, I walked to Mills Canyon Creek with Mr.Olsen and all of his chemistry classes. We walked all the way to the Mills Canyon Creek, here we observed many chemical reactions and natural enviromental changes. This was a very fun and exciting field trip. I learned a lot as i got to observe the natural enviroment. This field trip was great.

View Mills Creek Canyon Park in a larger map

Mills Canyon is a great field trip and learning experience.

Mini-Project

Photo credit: Kevin Chan 5th Period
This week in chemistry my mini project was sticking a toothpick into a balloon with having the balloon pop.

The trick was to:

• Use the very pointy side of a very pointy toothpick.
• Then spread a lot of lubricant on the balloon's center and the toothpick.
• The lubricant is spread on the balloon's center top because it is the thickness.
• Then proceed to then sick the toothpick in the subjected area.

This experiment was great and very fun to do. A mini project I wont forget.

Science: I was able to stick a toothpick in a balloon without having the balloon pop because of air pressure. Air density builds to whatever level balances the force of gravity, because at this point gravity isn't strong enough to pull down a greater number of particles.

IProposeWe Make Radium Photographs

• How to make radium photographs
• What is radium?
  

Materials: with any one of a number of radioactive substances such as black uranium oxide, pitchblende, thorium nitrate and uranium nitrate and at a very small outlay.

Procedure:

1. Lay down a penny or a small object on top of a dry plate sealed in a black paper envelope, which is away from any light.
2. Lay the radioactive substance on top of the coin.
3. Do not disturb for a few days.

Safety precautions:

• wash hands
• keep hands away from face/body
• careful with chemicals

Scientific Principles:

1. Radioactivity changes color
   
2. Radioactivity rays changes the color of where it was put.
   
3. Radium takes time to react.
4. Light and placement effect the reaction of the radium.
   

Science Star testing

This week I took the star test for Chemistry. My chemistry teacher Mr.Olsen prepared us very well. The day before class we reviewed all materials from Lewis dot structures to kinetic energy. The test went well and am proud of all the hard work I did.

Presentor

This week in class a presenter came to talk to us. His name was David Webb he has worked with vacuums almost all his life. He did a variety of different experiments all were very entertaining and fun. During his demonstrations he taught us about atmospheric pressure and vacuums. One of the demonstrations was a bell that kept ringing while still in the vacuum that silenced the bell for awhile.

Equilibrium

In a chemistry class, chemical equilibrium is the state in which the chemical activities or compounds of the reactants and products have no net change over time. Usually, this would be the state that results when the forward chemical process proceeds at the same rate as their reverse reactions. The reaction rates of the forward and reverse reactions are generally not zero but, being equal, there are no net changes in any of the reactant or product concentrations.

Phase Changes for water

Transitions between solids, liquids and gases all are apart of the phase change. Heat is added to the constant rate at each phase change.

Specific Heat Capacity

The value of the specific heat is different for various types of matter. Water has the highest specific heat of any substance. Heat temperature of those things with a high specific heat much less than those things with a high specific heat much less than those with the low specific heat.

Convection

In chemistry class we are learning Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids etc. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows or significant diffusion can take place in solids.Convection is one of the major modes of heat transfer and mass transfer.

Combustion

Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame.

Chemical Reactions

Five reaction types:

• Synthesis- two elements combining into a compound
  
• Decomposition- a compound being separated into elements
• Single Replacement- metal/hydrogen/halogen switches with metal/hydrogen/halogen
  
• Double Replacement- the cations swap anions
  
• Combustion - heat is produced

Polyatomic ions

As we move further in Chemistry class we know polyatomic ions are very important.A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a charged opns composed of two or more atoms covalently bonded or of a metal complex that can be considered as acting as a single unit in the context of acid and base chemistry or in the formation of salts. The prefix poly- means many in Greek, but even ions of two atoms are commonly referred to as polyatomic. In older literature, a polyatomic ion is also referred to as a radical, and less commonly, as a radical group.

Stoichiometry

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In Mr.Olsen's chemistry class we are learning about stoichiometry. Stoichiometry is the calculation of quantitive (measurable) relationships of the reactants and products in a balanced chemical reaction. It can be used to calculate quantities such as the amount of products that can be produced with given reactants and percent yield (the percentage of the given reactant that is made into the product).

Acids and Bases

Acids and Bases

Properties of Acids: Taste sour, React with active metals to produce H2, React with carbonates to produce CO2, Neutralize bases, forming salts, found in many fruits and foods.

Properties of Bases: Taste bitter, Are slimy to the touch, Neutralize acids, forming salts, Found in many cleaning solutions.

Like Dissolves Like

In class we are learning about solutes and solvents. Solutes can be dissolve in solvents is one thing we have learned. Dissolving is to cause a solute to pass into solution.

Like dissolves Like, This means that substances are more likely to dissolve in other substances with similar chemical properties. It is most often used when discussing polar and nonpolar solvents. For example, oil will not dissolve in water because oil is nonpolar and water is polar. Basically, a polar solvent will generally dissolve polar solutes and sometimes ionic solutes, and a nonpolar solvent will generally dissolve nonpolar solutes.