Hudson,+Abigail

Mentos and Coke

This article surprised me in a lot of ways. I was interested to see that the type of Mentos you use (fruit flavored, sugar-free, etc.) will have an effect on how big the "geyser" coming out of the Coke bottle is. It surprised me that the little things like that really do matter. The surface of a Mento looks smooth, but actually has many microscopic jagged edges, known as nucleation sites. Surfaces like these give the carbon dioxide bubbles a place to form bubbles. If there is any nucleation at all on the Mento, the "geyser" will erupt. Others think it has something to do with the chemical composition of the Mentos. I was very surprised that Mentos actually have microscopic jagged edges, and that's what creates the eruption. I think that the reason why this happens could be some of both theories. The chemical composition of Mentos could easily have a chemical reaction with the Coke to create the "geyser." The nucleation spots on Mentos can also help to start the "geyser." Maybe it's a little of both?

Abigail,

Yes. I think the chemistry is pretty complex so it is a multitude of factors. Good thoughts! 5 stars! MW

Redefining the Kilogram:

This article confused me a little bit, but after reading it over a few times, I've found several things that interest me, one of them being that the kilogram is the last of the SI base units to still be defined by a physical artifact. I don't know what about that piece of information fascinated me, but I was surprised to see that this was true. I never thought it worked that way. Also, I was fascinated by the artifact that is the kilogram. I did not know that a kilogram was represented by an actual object, I thought it was just a measurement some really smart guy wrote a formula for. Maybe I'm just not keeping up with the times. I do that a lot.

Abigail, OK. Did you find three points of interest? What was your MVP? BTW we all feel that way sometimes.:) 4 stars. MW

Crude Oil:

What is the difference between crude oil and any other kind of oil, or are they the same thing and I'm being oblivious. I thought oil would be made up of other hydrocarbons besides the ones shown after the distillation process. Is that big factory good for the environment? After all, they are vaporizing oil. If crude oil is found at the bottom of the earth, how do people get it without contaminating it? I think that the distillation process is very interesting. I thought itProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 as less complicated than that. I Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 roxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-agProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 3D0 nd it interesting that the different hydrocarbons in the oil need to be heated at different temperatures to get them to vaporize. I wonder what the purpose of distilling crude oil is. I've always wondered why they have those factories and industries. I know we use it for gasoline for our cars and heating oils, but I'm still thinking about it. I think the big point is that anything can be separated using distillation, and just the distillation process in general. What different substances are in that oil? There must be a lot.

Abby, Well there are vegetable oils that come from plants and then petroleum or crude oil. Not everything can be split up using distillation but it is the preferred method for mixtures of liquids like crude oil. 5 stars. MW

Motion Detectors:

Before learning about infrared radiation, and how all warm-blooded animals give it off, I always thought that there was some kind of complicated way that motion detectors like the ones on homes, sinks, or paper towel dispensers. I found out that there are several different ways that motion detectors work. One, and in my opinion, the simplest way, is that the detector picks up infrared radiation let off by warm-blooded animals. Sometimes, a beam of light is broken by a object, and the motion detector goes off. Others use radio waves to pick up motion, like automatic doors (oh, how we love them) and radar guns that police officers use. I never knew that some animals, like rattlesnakes, can sense infrared radiation, and that's how they can find their prey in pitch darkness. I also found it interesting that some forms of light can penetrate almost anything, and others cannot. For example, infrared radiation cannot be detected through a glass window, and humans cannot see it with the naked eye. These motion detectors are a lot less confusing to me now.

Abby, Be sure to catalog things that you already knew. Looks like you learned alot! 4 stars.

Where Do Chemical Elements Come From?

Chemical elements come from inside ancient stars. The elements form clouds called interstellar clouds. Scientists believe that all stars and planets were formed from them.

Abby, Looks good! 5 stars. MW

Sugar An Unusual Explosive:

First of all, I had no clue that sugar was capable of exploding. One thing I found interesting was how sugar is digested and how it is broken down and stored in the body so it doesn't react and explode. The reason why the sugar doesn't react and explode inside our bodies is that the energy from the sugar is stored. Something else that fascinated me was how the explosion of sugar was compared to a burning marshmallow. I knew that roasting a marshmallow was basically like burning sugar, but I guess large amounts of sugar itself could be much more destructive. I found it interesting that sugar was the main cause of the explosion at the Imperial Sugar Plant. Like I said, I had no idea that sugar could actually explode. To me, it's just a common household item.

Helium Balloons:

One of the VIPs I found in this article was that the force that lifts helium balloons up into the air is a buoyant force, and the force is small, but it is the reason why gravity does not pull the helium balloon down, plus, helium is less dense than air. I knew that helium was less dense than air, but I had no idea that there was that buoyant force present to help lift the balloon. Another point I found important is that the buoyant force comes from molecules hitting the balloon and the forces they put onto the balloon. One more VIP I saw that air pressure decreases as you go upward. I knew this, but I didn't know that there was a significant difference in air pressure between the top of a room and the bottom. The MVP is that the buoyant forces are existent. I had no clue that there was something that lifts a helium balloon up besides the fact that helium is denser than air, and I also didn't know that we actually weigh more than we think we do :P

Abby, Nicely written. All points well-developed! 5 stars. MW