Diet Coke and Mentos

This the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment.
Mr Olson made this happen yesterday:


This experiment includes:

• Diet Coke
• Mentos (about 4-5): Mint, not fruity because fruity ones have a fruity flavoring coating that slows the reaction

The mentos causes the carbonated diet coke to explode

Then i got to drink the rest of the coke :D

Chem Standards Blog Post

My Standard is to for students to know:

1. where to locate alkali metals
2. where to locate alkali earth metals
3. where to locate transitional metals
4. trends in ionization energy
5. trends in electronegativity
6. the relative sizes of atoms

The periodic table is split into columns (family) and rows (groups).
Almost each column has a specific name albeit the transitional metals.

• Group 1: Alkali Metals
• Group 2: Alkali Earth Metals
• Group 3-12: Transitional Metals
• Group 13-16: No Specific Name
• Group 17: Halogens
• Group 18: Noble Gases

Ionization Energy is the energy required to remove the outermost electron
Electronegativity is electron-greediness

Both increase as as atoms become smaller (going up and towards the right)

Atoms increase in size as the periodic table moves right.
As it reaches the end of a row, it moves onto the next row, and the mass of each atom increases.

Here are two Videos:

1. How to identify Groups of the Periodic Table
2. What is Ionization Energy, Electronegativity and Atomic Radius

Thanks for your attention! =]

Mini Project 3 - Milk and Food Coloring

Today we had a fun artistic project.
We got to observe the motions of food coloring dispersing over a pan of milk.

Materials:

• Milk
• Different Colored Food Coloring
• A container to hold milk in

PHOTOCREDITS: MICHAEL ZEICHICK

Like the motion of gas molecules, the food coloring slowly moves away from the area it first came in contact with the milk.

Mini Blog Post 2 - Making PlayDo

We had fun making PlayDoh in class!
We used these materials:

• water
• flour
• vegetable oil
• salt
• food coloring

PHOTOCREDIT: MICHAEL ZEICHICK
dont worry i didnt throw it 8D

After mixing our batter of ingredients, we heated it.
the heat helps a chemical reaction to form, turning our materials into home-made playdoh.

Rock Candy

We learned about rock candy and how to make it!
Apparently, its just crystals!

All you have to do is used super-saturated sugar water.
That will form edible crystals that make up rock candy!

Mills Canyon Field Trip

On April 29, 2010, Thursday, Mr. Olson's chemistry classes took a field trip to Mills Canyon. It was very fun! We got time out of school to hang out with friends as well as interact with nature and to learn things. We should really do more of these activities! We could do without assignments pertaining to the trip tho. ;)

This is a map:



View Mills Canyon Field Trip in a larger map




It is really worth going on your free time!

PHOTOCREDITS: Mr. Olson, Kevin Mo :D

Mini Project 1 - Sticking Toothpicks in Balloons

Today, i did something cool.
I stuck a toothpick into a balloon...without it breaking!!!
It was great how i got it on the first try :D
I drew a face on it!
Doesn't it look like hassam? :3

PHOTOCREDITS: Michael Zeichick

It's really easy to do!
Here's what i did:

1. Put petroleum gel on the thickest part of the balloon (the tip)
2. Lubricate the toothpick with gel too
3. Slowly twist and turn the toothpick until it goes through into the balloon

SCIENCE:
The gel keeps the rubber from expanding and unwrapping. As the toothpick is inserted, it causes the gel on the sides of the toothpick to rub off onto the rubber that was just penetrated, allowing the gel to cover all of the hole, keeping it together.

Field Trip

This week, we took a field trip to Mills Creek Canyon.
It was on April 29, 2010.
That was a Thursday.

We walked there from school and spent a few hours there.
It was very fun!
We saw many plants, had fun by the creek, and got time to hang out with friends.

Free Time

this week we had a lot of fun in class.
we got lots of free time to do whatever type of labs we wanted.
it was really fun because we got to know our classroom and the cool stuff inside such as bowler hats

IProposeWe Freeze Carbon Dioxide

Link(s):
How to Freeze Carbon Dioxide aka Make Dry Ice!

Materials:

• CO2 tank (one with a value!) - click for prices!!
  
• gloves
• goggles
• ice bag
• thick jar (no lid)

Procedures:

1. Before you start making dry ice, wear safety goggles and gloves. You can also wear a jacket if you are a bit clumsy. Remember, touching dry ice may cause severe skin damage, so you have to be fully protected when creating such a substance.
2. Cover the nozzle of the tank with the ice bag. Hold the bag tightly. Make sure that it sticks to the nozzle even if the tank produces a significant amount of pressure.
3. Once the bag is held in place, turn the valve of the tank to release CO2. Keep the valve open for about five to 20 seconds, depending on the amount of dry ice that you’re planning to create.
4. Turn off the valve.
5. Remove the bag from the nozzle and transfer the dry ice to a thick jar. Do not close the jar, since the air pressure coming from the solid carbon can shatter the container.
6. Repeat the entire process if you want more dry ice.

Safety Procedures:

• Never let dry ice touch your bare skin—always handle it with gloves.
• Dry ice displaces oxygen in the air, so always use it in a well-ventilated area.
• When transporting dry ice in a vehicle, roll down the window to ensure adequate ventilation, especially if you feel short of breath.
• If you're using dry ice in a confined space, open the door and air out the area before entering.
• Never place dry ice in a tightly sealed container or vessel, because it converts back to gas and creates its own pressure.
• When shipping frozen products with dry ice, notify the carrier prior to shipment.

Scientific Principles:
Freezing Carbon Dioxide makes Dry Ice

More explanations here.

Gas Stoichimetry

This week we had a lot of work.
We finally finished learning about pressure and the many interesting laws relating them to temperature and volume
Now, we combined our new topic with our favorite subject from before: stoichiometry
GAS STOICHIOMETRY!!!
another interesting thing we learned was STP :D
it stands for Standard Temperature and Pressure
previously, we learned how to measure pressure!

David Webb and Vacuums

This week, we had a fun guest speaker, Mr David Webb!

He was very delightful and insightful and knew a lot!

He also had this really cool contraption that sucked air, causing a vacuum within its tank.

okay...so it didnt look like THIS thing, but it was still pretty cool looking :3

i learned something! :D

Gay-Lussac's Law

This week was great...
WE HAVE A MINIMUM DAY TODAY :D

we learned about the Gay-Lussac's Law
its about the properties of pressure (and gases, to a certain extent)
interesting stuff :3

equilibrium

this week we learned about equilibrium and it is rather interesting.
it acts like us kids - we oppose everything u do! xD

equilibrium change depending on the temperature, pressure and concentration
it is not very hard to learn but it does take some time to understand

elephant toothpaste

this week, we got another packet D:
we learned a lot about phase changes and changes in energy
the best part, thought, was when we did the elephant toothpaste experiment!

Reactions

This week, we learned about reactions.
The two types were learned were mainly exothermic and endothermic.

WE also did experiments to figure out joules and calories from mass, specific heat capacity and changes in temperature!
A really handy equation for this is Q=MCdT!!!

We burned things in the lab we did this week.
It was not too fun because i burnt my thumb :'(

Our lab was related to combustion because we used fire.
Although it was not a pure combustion reaction.

Stoichiometry

this week, we learned bout stoichiometry

Balancing Equations

We balanced many equations

Balancing Equations are important

balancing equations

this week we learned to balance chemical equations

we made pretty colors...

...which varied with the pH level of the acid(s)/base(s)

this week, we got to play with solubility labs!


we found out the CO2 in soda is most soluble when soda is cold and/or in high pressure

Like Dissolves Like

we learned how to dissolve things!
dissolving is to break down one substance and assimilate it into another substance



its not easy to dissolve things, only like dissolves like
Like Dissolves Like is the rule for dissolving; only polar liquids can dissolve polar and nonpolar to nonpolar





the one with more substance is the solvent while the other is the solute