Bury,+Taylor

8.27.09 I think that my favorite graphic organizer would be the first, because I am partly a visual learner. The visual aspect helped me better to understand the classification along with the words involved. The only problem is that it wasn't simple to understand, and I had to study it a little more than the others to see how it was organized. The second graphic organizer was extremely simple to understand, but only when I knew what exactly the terms meant. Also, it was not very appealing to me, and I don't think I could remember it as well as the first. Then finally, I really liked how the third graphic organizer gave examples to show us how the classification worked in real life. The only problem was it, while more visually appealing than the second, I still probably would not remember it as well as the first. So in conclusion, I thought the first graphic organizer was my favorite because the visual aspect helped me remember the information more.

8.28.09 I never knew how water was properly distilled. I knew it had something to do with evaporating a mixture that you're trying to distill, but it seems like such a long process. It also seems as though you wouldn't receive a lot of water from distilling, unless you had a large distiller and could wait a very long time. It would be interesting to compare distilled water to filtered water, and how much of a difference is between them. I know there would be some because a filter wouldn't be as accurate as distilling. But I believe filtered water wouldn't be bad to drink either.

Taylor, Distilled water is very pure. If you drink to much it can actually reduce your electrolytes. It is useful for steam irons and to mix with antifreeze in a car. Know why? MW

8.31.09 I think measurement is most important to me when I'm focusing on my weight and height. For figure skating, if I go over a certain weight, my jumps and spins will be affected. This could mean not jumping high enough to get the full rotation, or becoming off balance. Height is another issue when figure skating, but it's not something I can control. Since I'm done growing thouProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0, my height doesn't affect my skating as much. If these measurements were off, I could make mistakes with my eating habits and actually lose more weight than I need to. Losing too much weight, since I exercise everyday, wouldn't be good for my health.

9.7.09 I was interested to learn that the international prototype of the kilogram has lost weight despite being so safely guarded. I don't know how that happens exactly but it would be an interesting process to learn about. I do agree that they should make the kilogram an unvarying property of nature. It might not seem as though 50 micrograms is a lot of weight to lose, but because it's viewed as an international standard it could become a potential problem. What else I found interesting was Avogardro's way of measuring mass based on the number of atoms in a kilogram. Although a little confusing, it would be nice to get rid of the physical mass that the kilogram is now based on and instead use Avogardro's constant. Then, the kilogram could join it's other six SI measurements and become an unvarying property of nature.

9.14.09 I'm amazed that with all the airport technology, people still get away with smuggling bombs onto a plane. It seems almost impossible at this rate. The x-ray machines seem so high tech, not to mention the people behind them have to know what they're doing. One mistake, and a plane might become a danger zone. Ever since 9/11, I'm sure airport security has gotten even more secure. The picture also surprised me. I would never think to hide a bomb inside a baby doll. Thank goodness, though, the airport security was able to find the bomb hidden inside. The people who do end up smuggling bombs onto planes must be geniuses, because they have to navigate through every possibility of what could detect the bomb. Also, if they're caught, it would pretty much be the end of their life.

10.7.09 I thought the whole site was quite interesting, actually. To think that the mole is something that people would actually create a day for is really surprising. Truthfully, before I read this, I was wondering why in the world you would make a day for a mole. Now I realize the number is very important in the scientific community, especially chemistry. If you need to measure a chemical in a mole and you measure incorrectly, the reaction you're looking for may not be accurate. In the medical field, mistakes like that cannot be made because they might lead to the death of a person. I also liked reading the lyrics to the songs dedicated to the mole. They were very unique and easy to remember.

11.3.09 I learned that if a solid material is turned into a fine dust, then finer the dust means that it is a faster reaction and more explosive. Something even as little as static electricity can set off the start of the reaction. In relation to stoichometry and the rate of the reaction, this is a very dangerous combination. Since the powder is extremely explosive when reacting with oxygen (which is in excess), a lot of powder means a lot of reaction. The powder will keep reacting with the oxygen until the powder or oxygen runs out. Also, the powder is so fine that the rate of the reaction is increased. In essence, size does matter in this case.

Taylor, Awesome writing as usual! MW

12.4.09 I know we learned this before, but it still amazes me that the two extremely dangerous gases Fluorine and Sulfur can combine to form a relatively stable gas. After reading the article, I can understand how such a stable bond is formed. I also didn't realize that you suffocate yourself if you breathe in another gas besides oxygen. A couple weeks ago I had some balloons filled with helium, so I decided to see what it was like to breathe in. After a couple tries and much laughing I felt extremely lightheaded and had to sit down. Apparently I was suffocating myself. Finally, I thought it was interesting that Sulfur Hexafluoride actually expands a balloon, unlike other gases. The way the article explained it made sense; the air rushing in was faster than the Sulfur Hexafluoride was leaking out, causing the expansion. As for the article in a whole, Sulfur Hexafluoride seems like an interesting gas. I'd like to try breathing it in and see how it changes my voice, just not too much!

Taylor, Good thoughts. It's no doubt best to go easy on breathing gases that are not air. MW

12.15.09 Motion detectors use either infrared or pulses of waves to detect motion. The infrared either is obstructed by the person moving, thus turning the light on, or senses the infrared given off by a warm-blooded creature. The pulses of waves go out at a certain frequency and the pattern is recorded. When someone walks into the waves, the pattern changes. This relates to our class because we learned about the wavelength that infrared is on, and how it can be visible as a red light such as a scanner. We also learned about wavelengths and what frequency they're released from. The frequency can changes depending on the setting, and when the waves are settled at a frequency they have certain wavelengths which create a pattern. It's quite interesting to think about the way this technology works.

Taylor, I agree! It's great when theory and practice come together! MW