Hipkins,+Garrett

Element Names US Towns pg 2:
The article on Element names and US towns particularly interested me because I think it is cool that someone would name a town based on an element. I learned that Calcium, New York was originally named Sanford’s Corner. Mail was mistakenly sent to Stanfordville, New York instead of Sanford’s Corner. To solve the problem, Madison Cooper successfully petitioned to change the town’s name in the early 1900’s. Since she worked in a cold storage/refrigeration and using calcium chloride daily, she chose to rename the town Calcium. I thought this was very interesting how the name came about and what people did to change it. This relates to chemistry because Calcium is an element and this town is named after this element.

Garrett,

Interesting and well written. 5 stars. MW

**Distillation of Crude Oil:** This video is relevant to class because we have been discussing the process of distillation and this video gives us more detail on how it works with an example of crude oil. This is very relevant to class because it shows how distillation works. I also did not know that the gasses/vapors could leave the tube at different levels. I found it interesting that you can use hot water instead of a flame to heat flammable material. I also found it interesting that some materials can be heated by water and some with a Bunsen burner. I learned that the larger the molecule, the more amount of heat is needed to condense it into a vapor.

Garrett, Good points. For hydrocarbons the larger a molecule the more heat it takes to vaporize it. MW

Redefining the Kilogram:
This article was very interesting to me because of the fact that it is one of the most commonly used weights in the world. In fact, it is the standard for kilogram measurements. This is very relevant to class due to the fact that we are measuring items in kilograms and doing conversions. If the constant of the kilogram changes, it could change the way scientists use it. I did not understand why scientists did not come up with a universal number in the first place. I learned that if it changes by a slight microgram, it could change the whole outcome of an experiment because a lot of data and work would be based off of the standard measurement of a kilogram.

Garrett, Good post. I'm sure quantitative chemists are watching this carefully. MW

Where do elements come from?:
I found this article very interesting because of the fact that the different gasses inside of a star and they are always being compressed into other elements. I also found it interesting that the processes such as the s process and the r process and how the elements try to become stable to form other elements. I also found it interesting that the space clouds are made up of all different kinds of elements such as helium and other gasses. This applies to class because we are learning about the elements and the periodic table. I was fascinated by how the gravitational pull of the star contributes to the different formations of elements.

Garrett, Good comments! 5 stars. MW

Mole Day:
Avogadro was born on June 9, 1776 in Turin, Italy. Avogadro was a physics professor who experimented with both physics and chemistry. He is most famous for his hypothesis on gases with a fixed temperature and pressure. He did not receive recognition for the hypothesis until two years after his death when a colleague proved that Avogadro’s number could solve many chemistry problems. Avogadro died on July 9, 1856. Avogadro was very influential to all scientists and classrooms around the world.

Garrett, OK. 5... Hipkins err stars - MW

**Dust Explosion: I thought that this article was very intriguing. I would have never have thought that simple factory dust was so explosive to the point where a factory was blown up. It sounds like this dust is almost like gasoline at gas stations where a spark is all that is needed to blow it up. I also found it interesting that the smaller the particles of a solid matter, the more explosive they are. This has relations to chemistry because in order to speed up a reaction, which occurred here in this situation, there would have to be the right amount of materials present to create a large explosion that would balance the reaction. The demo in class with the oxygen and the hydrogen demonstrated this in a smaller form than that from the factory explosion.

Garrett, Good comparison. In gas fumes the particles are down to the size of molecules so they are at their utmost flammability when mixed with air. **

Helium Balloons Sulfur Hexafluoride:
This article was very interesting in the regards to pressure, volume, temperature, and moles. The Sulfur Hexafluoride article was very interesting in how the gas makes your voice deeper. I knew that there was a gas that could do this, but I did not know that it was called Sulfur Hexafluoride. I learned that sulfur hexafluoride was responsible for this deepness of voice. I also learned that if you breath in helium or sulfur hexafluoride, you are actually suffocating yourself due to the lack of oxygen intake. Another fact that I learned was that sulfur hexafluoride as a molecule is completely symmetrical. Some facts that I knew was that helium can eventually leak out of a balloon. I also knew that breathing in helium or sulfur hexafluoride is dangerous to your health. I also knew that when someone would breath in helium, it would make their voice high pitched. I thought this article was very interesting on how a balloon works and how the gasses that raise or deepen your voice work.

Garrett, OK. MW

Motion Detectors:
I thought this article was very interesting. I was unaware of the fact that motion sensors use infrared radiation to detect humans. It makes a lot of sense though so that it does not go off for a tree or a car. I thought that was a very intriguing concept. I also did not know the fact about the photoelectric effect which is when a light of a sufficient energy is shined on a given surface, it can cause electrons to be ejected. I thought that was a little strange about electrons being "ejected." I am not really sure what "ejected" is referring to. I also did not know that a rattlesnake can see your infrared heat from your body. I thought that was very interesting and also very useful. I did know about the motion detector that uses a light source aimed at a photo sensor and all that is required to trip the sensor is to break the connection. These kind are the most common and are even used in households. I also knew about elevators using the light sensor being broken to detect a person calling. I also knew about the automatic door and radar gun both using radio waves to pick objects up. This all pertains to chemistry class because we are currently learning about electrons and wavelengths and their importance to everyday society. Motion detectors are very useful and are a great invention to utilize.

Garrett, Well done! Good points all the way around! 5 stars. MW