Sunday, October 30, 2011

Friday, October 28, 2011

Special Chemistry Greetings

from Y. Dolorical's (3-Bellarmine) handy-dandy chemistry notebook

Hello everyone! We are half-way through our Chemical journey and in a few months we will bid farewell to our friend ~ CHEMISTRY. The road might not have been as smooth as you imagined... some even described it as one rocky, fun, mind-numbing, brain-busting, crazy nyanyanyan roller-coaster ride...
Well, life's like that and this is but a teeny-weeny glimpse of both the real and surreal world.

High school life is hard (and a rock is difficult! haha), but as one great philosopher said, "You can never understand why blue cheese smells like feet without knowing its chemistry."

NOTE: This philosopher drew his last breath seconds after he uttered these wise words.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

3rd Quarter: Science Investigatory Project Suggestions

Hello students!

Ms. Sayago's Chemistry Class

Happy Halloween!

Here's a scary treat for you... S.I.P. !!!

RESEARCH TOPIC	BACKGROUND	GROUP MEMBERS
1. COLD PACK CHEMISTRY	Instant cold packs are squeezed to produce cold and applied to bumps and bruises. The packs do not require freezing or placing in a cold location to work and instead use ammonium nitrate to cool the pack. This experiment uses the same amount of water mixed with various amounts of ammonium nitrate to determine the amount of ammonium nitrate needed to make the temperature of the water decrease. A thermometer is put in the water before and after the ammonium nitrate dissolves. Students should wear safety goggles and gloves when handling ammonium nitrate. Read more: High School Chemisty Science Project Ideas \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7996295_high-chemisty-science-project-ideas.html#ixzz1bNocRhG8
2. NATURAL INSECTICIDE CHEMISTRY	Insecticides are used to kill various insects or pests around homes, gardens and farms. For example, students might use a spider-killing pesticide to see how effective it is on spiders, cockroaches, crickets and aphids. They would then use a cockroach insecticide and test with the same insects. Students can try natural insecticides and test the effectiveness as well, such as the use of lemon juice to kill fleas. Students should wear goggles and gloves when handling insecticides. Read more: High School Chemisty Science Project Ideas \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7996295_high-chemisty-science-project-ideas.html#ixzz1bNpMJhk2
3. CRYSTAL GROWING CHEMISTRY	Grow your own crystals. Students can discover the optimum temperature for growing large, pure crystals by growing their own crystals at three different temperatures and comparing the results at each temperature. Requiring only water and borax cleaning solution, this experiment will help students learn about chemical reactions, the recrystallization process and solubility. Read more: Science Fair Chemistry Projects \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7977672_science-fair-chemistry-projects.html#ixzz1bNvCfypH
4. CHEMICAL ROCKET CHEMISTRY	Students will learn about combustion, thrust and gravity through testing which ratio of baking soda and vinegar will create the highest launch of a plastic canister rocket. By observing and recording the results of several launches, students will be able to explain the effects of different baking soda-to-vinegar ratios and also discover whether or not body style variations to the canister rocket could affect launch results. Read more: Science Fair Chemistry Projects \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7977672_science-fair-chemistry-projects.html#ixzz1bNvodX00
5. ELECTROCHEMISTRY	An electrochemistry project involves creating a battery to clean tarnished silverware. Students can line a pan with aluminum foil; fill it with silverware, water, salt and baking soda; and heat it on a stove. As the water boils, the tarnish on the silverware slowly breaks down. This experiment shows how a battery can clean tarnished silverware because the silverware serves as the makeshift battery's positive pole, while the aluminum foil functions as the negative pole. Ions are atoms---the smallest components of an element---that are electrically charged after gaining or losing an electron. The project teaches students how silver atoms and aluminum ions form through the transfer of electrons from the foil's aluminum atoms to the tarnish's silver ions. Read more: High School Chemistry Science Fair Project Ideas \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_5928643_high-science-fair-project-ideas.html#ixzz1bNwes9Yt
6. WATER AND THE MAGNETIC FIELD	According to the All Science Fair Projects website, you can test water's ability to "repel the magnetic field from a magnet." Hypothesize about the affect adding salt to water will have on the amount water repels from a magnet. To test this, put 200 ml of water in a glass tube, or burette, and time how long it takes to drain with and without magnets surrounding the burette. Add 50 g of salt to the water and repeat the procedures. Repeat each test five times to get an average time. Read more: Science Fair Project Ideas About Water for High School \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7912810_science-ideas-water-high-school.html#ixzz1bNyBRYKx
7. ALCOHOL CHEMISTRY	Ethanol is an alternative fuel that is produced by starchy plants. This experiment illustrates which starchy plants produce the most ethanol. First, measure the mass of the starch plants and record the data. Place the plants in separate aluminum trays and mix with equal amounts of sprouting barley malt and natural yogurt, cover and place them in a greenhouse or incubator with temperature of 95 degrees F. Leave them there for a week and remove lids. Add baker's yeast to the trays and replace the lids and increase incubator temperature to 113 F. After a week, place the liquid in a distilling flask attached to a condensation tube and conical flask and heat to 172 F. Ethanol will vaporize and condense in the conical flask. Determine the mass of the ethanol collected in the flask and compare the amounts to the mass of plants that created them. Which starch plant produced the most ethanol? Read more: Interesting High School Science Projects \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8208244_interesting-high-school-science-projects.html#ixzz1bNzzoHtb
8. MELTING ICE CHEMISTRY	Magic Salt, salt with magnesium chloride and a byproduct of the distillation of vodka added, is a popular product used for melting snow. Does it work better than plain salt? Find out. Label three bowls, "Control - 1," "Salt - 2," and "Magic Salt - 3." Add equal amounts of snow or ice to each. Take the temperature of the bowls (they should be the same) and record it. Add 28 grams of salt to bowl 2 and 28 grams of Magic Salt to bowl 3. Add nothing to bowl 1. Note the starting time. Note when the melting begins for each bowl and record it. At three five-minute intervals, pour off the liquid water from each bowl, measure and record the amounts. Record the temperature of the bowls at the end of the 15-minute period. Which bowl had the least left in it? Which had the most? Which melted the quickest? How did bowls 2 and 3 compare to bowl 1 (the control bowl)? Create a graph that illustrates your data. Read more: Interesting High School Science Projects \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8208244_interesting-high-school-science-projects.html#ixzz1bO0FRmi3
9. GREEN CHEMISTRY	Because phosphates from household detergents seep into groundwater, a simulated effect can be investigated using a young pea plant and a solution of 90-percent water to 10-percent laundry detergent solution. Use two containers of pond water to simulate phosphate's catalytic effect on algae growth by adding detergent solution to one container intermittently and using an unaltered container as a control. Record all observations qualitatively and quantitatively. Read more: Examples of Investigatory Projects in Green Chemistry \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_6127001_examples-investigatory-projects-green-chemistry.html#ixzz1bO1ome2g
10. PLASTIC CHEMISTRY	Explore how the starches in potatoes can be made into plastic sheets. Research current applications of "bioplastics" made from potato or corn starch. Then if possible, make your own plastic as a demonstration. Recipes and methods for making potato plastic are readily available on the Internet or from your chemistry teacher. As you create your potato plastic, make notes of any problems that arose and why you think that all plastics today do not come from organic sources. Read more: Food Chemistry Science Fair Projects for High School \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7911751_food-fair-projects-high-school.html#ixzz1bO2i6PCr
11. VITAMIN CHEMISTRY	Having established your scale you can calculate how much vitamin C is contained in fruit juices or vegetables that have been blended and mixed with water. Test them with drops of iodine as you did with the vitamin C tablets. Compare how many drops were required to cause the color change with the scale you established previously to get an estimate of the vitamin C content. To extend this investigation you could investigate the effects of cooking on different fruits and vegetables, cooking them at different temperatures and for different lengths of time and testing them to see if the vitamin content is reduced. A further study could be done on the effect of aging and freshness on the vitamin content of fruit and vegetables, using freshly picked fruit that is allowed to age and measuring the rate at which aging reduces the vitamin content. Read more: Investigatory Science Projects in Chemistry \| eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8035377_investigatory-science-projects-chemistry.html#ixzz1bO4qDaY9
12. AQUARIUM: MATERIALS CHEMISTRY	In cleaning your fish tank, you notice excessive corrosion of the metal fittings in the aquarium. How can you determine which metal would be more suitable? Design an experiment to answer this question Read more: Chemistry Connections to Our Changing World page 221.
13. CARDBOARD CHEMISTRY	Nonbiodegradable waste is a major concern everywhere in the world. The bulk of the world’s waste consists of the hard-to-break-down products, such as styrofoam. Styrofoam is commonly used as food containers in fast food restaurants. Because it cannot be recycled, this particular waste contributes largely to the world’s increasing garbage problem. To lessen this environmental problem, one logical solution is to use biodegradable materials or recyclable ones. Paper is being reconsidered and encouraged for use. This material can be recycled over and over again. However, trees still need to be cut for paper production. This spells trouble for the already depleted forests. Because of this, the researchers thought of another alternative. This alternative uses cogon grass for making the pulp and the paper. Cogon grass is found abundantly in many places and is sometimes considered a nuisance.
14. SOLUBILITY CHEMISTRY	The process of dissolving is accompanied by changes in energy. Do changes in temperature cause changes in solubility? Read more: Chemistry Connections to Our Changing World page 591.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

3rd Quarter: Chemical Equations

A Voyage through Equations

After working on this worksheet, you should be able to do the following:

1) Given an equation, you should be able to tell what kind of reaction it is.

2) Predict the products of a reaction when given the reactants.

Section 1: Identify the type of reaction

For the following reactions, indicate whether the following are examples of synthesis, decomposition, combustion, single displacement, double displacement, or acid-base reactions:

1) Na₃PO₄ + 3 KOH ---> 3 NaOH + K₃PO₄ _________________________

2) MgCl₂ + Li₂CO₃ ---> MgCO₃ + 2 LiCl _________________________

3) C₆H₁₂ + 9 O₂ ---> 6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O _________________________

4) Pb + FeSO₄ ---> PbSO₄ + Fe _________________________

5) CaCO₃ ---> CaO + CO₂ _________________________

6) P₄ + 3 O₂ ---> 2 P₂O₃ _________________________

7) 2 RbNO₃ + BeF₂ ---> Be(NO₃)₂ + 2 RbF ________________________

8) 2 AgNO₃ + Cu ---> Cu(NO₃)₂ + 2 Ag ________________________

9) C₃H₆O + 4 O₂ ---> 3 CO₂ + 3 H₂O _________________________

10) 2 C₅H₅ + Fe ---> Fe(C₅H₅)₂ _________________________

11) SeCl₆ + O₂ ---> SeO₂ + 3Cl₂ _________________________

12) 2 MgI₂ + Mn(SO₃)₂ ---> 2 MgSO₃ + MnI₄ _________________________

13) O₃ ---> O^. + O₂ _________________________

14) 2 NO₂ ---> 2 O₂ + N₂_________________________

Section 2: Practicing equation balancing

Before you can write a balanced equation for a problem which asks you to predict the products of a reaction, you need to know how to balance an equation. Because some of you may not fully remember how to balance an equation, here are some practice problems:

1) __ C₆H₆ + __ O₂ ---> __ H₂O + __ CO₂

2) __ NaI + __ Pb(SO₄)₂ --->__ PbI₄ + __ Na₂SO₄

3) __ NH₃ + __ O₂ --->__ NO + __ H₂O

4) __ Fe(OH)₃ --->__ Fe₂O₃ + __ H₂O

5) __ HNO₃ + __ Mg(OH)₂ --->__H₂O + __ Mg(NO₃)₂

6) __ H₃PO₄ + __ NaBr ---> __ HBr + __ Na₃PO₄

7) __ C + __ H₂ ---> __ C₃H₈

8) __ CaO + __ MnI₄ ---> __ MnO₂ + __ CaI₂

9) __ Fe₂O₃ + __ H₂O ---> __ Fe(OH)₃

10) __ C₂H₂ + __ H₂ ---> __ C₂H₆

11) __ VF₅ + __ HI ---> __ V₂I₁₀ + __ HF

12) __ OsO₄ + __ PtCl₄ ---> __ PtO₂ + __ OsCl₈

13) __ CF₄ + __ Br₂ ---> __ CBr₄ + __ F₂

14) __ Hg₂I₂ + __ O₂ ---> __ Hg₂O + __ I₂

15) __ Y(NO₃)₂ + __ GaPO₄ ---> __ YPO₄ + __ Ga(NO₃)₂

Section 3: Predicting the products of chemical reactions

Predict the products of the following reactions:

1) __ Ag + __CuSO₄ --->