Turnow,+Cody

I read the lead poisoning article. It had interested me because I so often hear people saying, “Don’t get lead poisoning,” when you accidentally stab yourself with a pencil. The article talked about dangerous amounts of lead being present in candies exported from Mexico. Apparently, chilies are grinded together to make a certain powder, and certain metals along with lead find their way in. They peppers are held in burlap sacks, which do not keep the lead out, and when the candies are wrapped, the ink used on the wrappers is lead based, which possibly contaminates the candy further. Lead also reminds me of Beryllium, another poisonous metal that we learned about in class. It interested and astounded me that there would be poisonous metal present in products sold to children.

Cody, Yes. I think I would avoid those candies. BTW pencil lead is a form of carbon called graphite. It is not lead so no worries there. MW

Crude Oil

Fractional distillation is a large part of the oil industry. During fractional distillation, crude oil is heated to different temperatures, separating the different oils. I found it interesting that asphalt comes from crude oil. This video relates to class because we have been discussing distillation and how it can be used to separate different substances. The video gave me a good idea of how valuable crude oil is, because we use it for so many different things.

Cody, Looks good! 5 stars. MW

Redefining the Kilogram

This article talks about the SI measuring system and the universal kilogram. The kilogram is the last unit of measurement to be defined by an artifact.It is made of platinum iridium alloy. It is held near Paris along with 6 copies. Scientists are proposing to get rid of this artifact and scientifically define the kilogram rather than with an object. Scientists would like to use Avagodro's number, a basic element of chemistry, to help express this. This would be a more practical way to define this unit of measurement, but converting would only be beneficial to a small group of people.

Cody, Right but there may be ripple effects throughout the whole population. 5 stars. MW


 * Where do elements come from?**

This article was about the creation of elements from stars. Inside a star's nucleus, atoms are constantly fusing to create heavier atoms. This gives off a tremendous amount of energy and makes stars hot and bright. Nuclei are constantly forming but when the core of a star becomes the element iron, it implodes. This is what causes a supernova. The elements then proceed to scatter across the universe. I thought the article was interesting from an astronomical perspective, especially just trying to fathom the size and energy of a star. It definitely related to class since we are discussing the composition of the atom and different elements. This article answers my question as to what is happening within stars and how the elements are formed.

Cody, Looks good. Glad your questions were answered! 5 stars. MW

MOLE DAY

From exploring the mole day website i learned a bit about why the mole is abbreviated "mol". The answer seemed like speculation, but it talked about why the other possible abbreviations could not be used. Mo is the abbreviation for month, and m is used for mass. This made it seem a bit more reasonable to abbreviate mole by only taking one letter off. I also learned that mole day was started in May of 1991, by a high school chemistry teacher. I wish i had chem first semester so we could celebrate mole day.

Cody, WE could celebrate baby mol day - June 2! MW

DUST EXPLOSION

I found this article to be quite intriguing. An explosion occurs in a factory in Georgia becase sugar dust is ignited. Such an even seems as if it would have been of rare probability but the article talks about how only 1/8 of an inch of dust is needed and that a mere spark can ignite it. How can you prevent such a thing? And why doesn't this happen more often? The article made it seem like dust is gasoline. Is it that only dust of certain materials such as sugar are so combustible? I know that most household dust is made up of dead skin particles but could a dusty house explode in the same manner as this factory? How can any factory or large warehouse be kept clean enough to prevent this? This article relates to class because in Mr. Williams' demos we see a lot of things explode. Maybe he should try blowing up some dust next time ;)

Cody, I did "blow up" dust! Is household dust just skin particles? I think it would be flammable! 5 stars. MW

Things I Already Knew 1. Helium is used in balloons. 2. Sulfur hexaflouride is made up of one sulfur atom and 6 flourine atoms. 3.Sulfur hexaflouride is a gas at room temperature.

Things I Learned 1. The Sulfur hexaflouride molecule is symmetrical. 2.The gasping reflex is caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide rather than lack of oxygen. 3.A balloon filled with Sulfur hexaflouride will gradually increase in size rather than decrease.

Cody, Did you really know that SF6 is a gas at room temp! cool beans! MW

Motion Detectors

Things I knew:

1. Motion detectors are used in bathrooms in our school and on lights in my backyard. 2. Some motion detectors use heat sensors or just detect movement. 3. Vipers have their own motion detectors, pits on the sides of their heads.

Things I learned:

1. Many photo sensors used rely on light's ability to initiate an electric current. 2. Bats use sensors too but in the form of sound rather than light. 3. When light of sufficient energy is shined on a given surface, it can cause electrons to be ejected.

Cody, Looks good! 5 stars. MW