Herbst,+Lindsay

Mentos and Coke
This article interests me because a few years ago this was a huge phenomenon and i always found it interesting. Mentos and coke connects to chemistry because a chemical reaction occurs causing the explosion. This reaction takes place due to the fact that surface of a mento contains many pitts rich with nucleation sites. These holes contain gas so when dropped to the bottom of the soda, the gas expands causing the flume of soda to plumet into the air. One fact i found interesting was that i always though this explosion was related to an ingredient in the mentos but apparently this is not true.

Lindsay, That's a common thought - the ingredient idea - I too was surprised that that has little if anything to do with it. Good job. 5 stars! MW

Redifining the Kilograms
The first idea that i found interesting in this article was that the Kilogram is the last SI unit to still be defined as a physical object. I found this rather interesting becuase we are so advanced in technology and science that it's hard to believe they are just now changing this. Another fact i found interesting was how this will affect chemistry class. Although this decision wont be made until 2011, i wonder if they will actually spend all that money to buy new textbooks just so they can make a few revisions. I dont think its neccessary to buy new textbooks. The MVP of this article is just that fact that by giving the kilogram an exact value will make it easier for students and scientists to understand and use.

Lindsay,

I think your sense of things is very accurate. A lot of "stuff" would have to be redone if the redefine the kilogram to something it wasn't before. 5 stars. MW

= Crude Oil = I found this video interesting because I didn't know that we use fractional distillation on crude oil. What suprised me the most is that we get 5 different types types of hydrocarbon from the crude oil. I am curious what each of these types of hydrocarbons would be used for. I know we get fuel for our cars and kerosene but I am sure it has many oProxy-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 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 er uses. Also, in class we talked about how they make plastic out of crude oil and Im really curious how this is done.

Lindsay, I have another video clip that I may show that goes into more detail about the processes. 5 stars. MW

= Motion Detectors = I never realized how many motion detectors i use every day. They are on the hand dryers, toilets, sliding doors, and lights. The fact i found most interesting was how they can design motion detectors to detect certain amounts of light. This was the most interesting because i always wondered how some sensors could would only detect living things and not inanimate objects. Another fact i found interesting was how rattle snakes use motion detectors to detect their prey. Without these detectors, the snakes would starve. Motion detectors relate to chemistry because they detect photons. In chemistry we are learning about photons and wave lengths.

Lindsay, The prompt was to find 3 things you knew and 3 things you learned. You definitely found some interesting points. 4 stars. MW

= Where Do Chemical Elements Come From? = The first 26 elements are formed through exploding stars otherwise known as supernovas.Elements larger than iron form can through "successive fusion reactions," or nucleosythesis.

Lindsay, OK. Good 5 stars. MW

= Sugar an Unusual Explosive = This article is very interesting because of how ironic it is for a house hold item like sugar to cause such a catastrophic explosion. I also found the way it described surface area using apples very interesting and helpful. When an apple is cut into smaller pieces or the sugar is grinded into smaller pieces, it increases the surface area and increases the chance of a chemical reaction. This article relates to chemistry because we did this kind of experiment wih lykepodium dust. You blew the grinded dust into the air, creating an explosion. Also, the explosion was caused by a chemical reaction which we have been working with in chemistry. We learned about the different types of reactions and how to write chemical reaction formulas.

Lindsay, Spot on! 5 stars. MW

= Question From the Classroom = I found this article very informative becuause I didnt know much about buoyant forces, but it explained it in a simple and easy to understand way. The most important point i found in the article was that gas molecules exert pressure in all directions as a result of their continuous bom-bardment with surrounding surfaces. This point is very importation in understanding how a buoyant force works and it also is an important lesson we have learned in almost every science class. The next very important point was the definition of a buoyant force. It says a buoyant force is a small force that can lift 0.0028 pounds and acts on every object in a room. Even though it affects every object, it only has a noticeable affects on light objects such as helium balloons. The third very important point was the Archimedes principle. This principle states that the buoyant force acting upward on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid that is being displaced. In the case of a helium balloon, the balloon weighed the same as the force acting upward so it weighed zero pounds. This all relates to class because we are learning the different properties of gases and how pressure works.

Lindsay, Looks good! 5 stars. MW