Friday 10 April
Your term papers are due next Friday (17 April). All the rules/requirements are found in the Introductory Packet - pages 7 - 9. Page 9 has the grading guidelines I use to evaluate your work. You can use it as a "checklist" to insure you have met each of the goals/requirements.
On Friday I will ask for volunteers who wish to get their presentations done on Wednesday 22 April during you scheduled lab period.)
We have begun the second unit, all about energy and what I consider to be the really interesting applications.
Before we began work on energy, we wrapped up the pH scale.
It may benefit each of you to actually look through the PowerPoint on the formation of hydronium ion (Click Here). I have attached it again to this blog. So few of you went through it originally - and I believe you will need to understand certain issues surrounding the topic.
The pH scale is a touch weird - we accept it - but we don't quite grasp why an aqueous solution with a pH of 2 is MORE acidic than an aqueous solution with a pH of 5.
That understanding rests in your grasp that 0.01 is a larger value than 0.00001. Do you understand that the first value is significantly larger (like a 1,000 times larger) than the second value? This is key.
You see, pH = -[-log H3O^+1] or in words, pH is equal to the negative log of the hydronium ion concentration. Those brackets (not parentheses), are symbolic for the word, concentration (specifically, molar concentration ....but let's not get worried about that.)
When we take the negative log of a value such as 1 x 10^-7 we get the positive whole number value of the exponent. In this case, 7.
The negative log of 1 x 10^-6 gives us a value of 6.
And that means that a solution with a pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic (has 10 times more H3O^+1 ions) than a solution with a pH of 7.
Hence, a solution with a pH of 5 is 10 times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 6 AND 100 TIMES MORE ACIDIC THAN a solution with a pH of 7. (Not 20 times ... as we saw in class).
Rain / Snow prior to the industrial revolution had a pH not of 7 but of around 5.5. This means that rain, as a rule is slightly acidic.
Naturally occurring gases such as CO2 and NO2 or SO2 released from plants, volcanoes, and earthquakes
dissolved a bit into the water vapor / water in the atmosphere, producing acidic solutions, and thus lowered the pH to 5.5.
Nature evolved with this pH.
As we burn more fossil fuels, we release far more (an excessively large value) of these same gases into the atmosphere and the pH of rain and snow has dropped towards a value of 4, thus indicating that the amount of acid in the rainwater has increased dramatically.
This has all sorts of problems associated with this. The oceans which could absorb a great deal of the carbon dioxide released dissolve most of it, and this acidified the ocean water.
Over the last 150 years, the pH of the ocean waters has been indicating more and more acid and this has begun to interfere with the reproductive cycles of coral, turtles, shellfish etc...
We see this same sort of disastrous interference on land, with the cycles of plants, frogs (amphibians in general), some insects, birds ...etc.
The acidification has cultural and economic impacts as cities like Rome rely upon travelers coming to see sculptures in museums- but also outside (like the Trevi Fountain). The acid in the rain is increasing the the reaction between the marble (the metamorphic form of the weak base, limestone, or CaCO3) and the acid, thus corroding these great works of art.
Okay, then we began our work on energy - the ability to create a change and/or to do work.
Is light a form of energy? Yes, we can't fill a balloon with it. But now, we can be more sophisticated in our understanding.
Can light create a change? Sure it can. Light can cause us to tan ... to create new molecules of melanin to help screen out UV energy.
Light can turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose, in the chloroplasts of a plant.
Light is a form of energy.
We also spent a fair amount of time discussing why perspiring is considered to be a cooling process and/or why we felt chilled getting out of a hot shower.
The key to understand that as a rule, under most circumstances we are the hottest thing around! Our internal body temperature of 97.4 F or so makes us warmer than most other items.
Energy moves from high to low.
Water on our skin is heated by our body (we are a stove....), and as that water absorbs our bodily energy and turns the water into water vapor, we lose energy .... We feel colder!
Okay, write with issues and/or questions. I hope to see you all on Tuesday.
Tuesday 7 April
Well todays' class was a bit off the rails - but I think we managed to get some chemistry in.
I began today with a look at the calendar. I am pushing the next test back and limiting the number of tests to two.
"C" asked about the due date for the paper and I really cannot change it - as I need to have papers read by the time we begin presentations.
I explained the presentation questions and tried to represent what a presentation could look like in 5 minutes.
Everything is in the Introductory Packet so be sure to look at the necessary pages ... shout out to "J" for reinforcing that today.
We began on page 21 re: acids and I re-introduced carboxylic acids (a form of organic acids) with that very recognizable - COOH functional group. In the case of carboxylic acids, that H of the functional group -COOH is the acidic hydrogen and this is the one time the H is last, as opposed to first.
I began to discuss the ubiquitous use of citric acid. It is excellent for cleaning windows and shower stalls. Don't use it on your marble countertop , as marble is a slightly alkaline (basic) material. A citric acid solution will damage the marble.
I segued to hair conditioner as containing citric acid. And I began to discuss why hair conditioner was often acidic in pH.
Then - well - we sort of went into a deep dive re: hair, moisturizer, skin care (don't use DAWN) and sunscreen.
Now, before we go any further - if you have medical questions about anything from today - get to your doctor - as I said in class. I am here for educational purposes and sharing some generally agreed upon ideas. For medical issues - get to a doctor!
Shampoo is a rather alkaline (basic) mixture. Its function is to remove the dirt trapped in the oils of our hair, without over stripping the hair.
Hair is a protein polymer made from amino acids. (These amino acids are linked to each other in a very similar condensation polymerization reaction used in your lab to make esters!)
Generally, shampoo is alkaline (basic with a pH above 7), due to the detergents (petroleum - based cleaners). When using shampoo, the hair cuticle (outer layer) can be opened up due to the amino acid called cysteine (sis-teen) of the protein polymer, LOSING an H+1 (an acidic hydrogen).
A conditioner at the very least is designed to be acidic to close the cuticle, by returning H+1 to the cysteine molecules.
You can wash your hair with egg! This was popular in Victorian England - and it does work. Using the idea of LIKE DISSOLVES LIKE, the yolk which is mostly fat, is what helps to remove the oils and dirt. The albumin can mix with water and help with rinsing the material out of your hair. Eggs are rich in vitamins and anecdotal evidence suggests it adds shine.
This lead to a terrific conversation about skin care.
Some of the take-aways are:
1) There is a difference between pimples and acne. Acne is a disease. Get to a dermatologist to get help! Do not scrub your face. Your hands are great for cleaning you face - or be very gentle with a wash cloth. Don't reuse that cloth -get a fresh one for the next cleansing cycle. Bacteria will grow on wet washcloths
2) Do not over-dry your skin. Harsh cleansers like DAWN (!!!!!), deodorant soaps (Zest, Irish Spring, Dial) should NOT be used on your face. They are extremely drying and some folks have reactions to some of the additives.
3) There are a ton of gentle cleansers on the market made by CeraVe (ceramide vehichle is where it gets its name), LaRoche-Posay, Vanicream, Cetaphil, Lubriderm, etc.... are a few examples of gentle cleansers. Unscented can be best.
4) Most of your "dirt" is trapped in oils. The goal of cleansing is to gently remove the dirt and oils, without removing ALL of the oils (stripping your skin / over-drying your skin). It has been reported that many of the gentle cleansers like CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser can even be great at removing makeup!!!
5) When we strip the oils of our skin, we can inadvertently get bacteria to infect and then our bodies respond the the over-dry skin by making even more oil - providing a perfect growth medium for bacteria.
Our skin was designed to be well hydrated (drink your water) and have a touch of natural oils.
6) Consider a moisturizer. They can help - but as always, speak with a doctor.
7) Sunscreen goes over your moisturizer (or last layer of makeup if you don't moisturize). One of the reasons we need to wait 15 minutes or so before going out into the sun, with sunscreen is to allow the sunscreen to dry and form a flexible film over the skin. White cast is an issue, so tinted sunscreen may be for you and there are some that have very little cast.
Sunscreen will either BLOCK harmful ultraviolet rays or convert the ultraviolet rays to infrared rays and release the energy as heat.
Once we see a tan form, that s our body telling us, we have begun to do damage. Wear a hat and sunglasses. We will discuss the use of sunglasses next week - you are not too young to begin wearing them rather regularly.
For those of us who break out at the drop of a hat, I would like to suggest few other things we can do to help deal with breakouts.
1) Change your pillow cases every other night. (Learn to do your own laundry). Pillow cases absorb oils from the skin and hair and our nice clean faces get put onto them. Keep a clean case handy.
2) Change your towel regularly. Now, how often you do that is up to you - but do not re-use a towel more than two or three times. The bacterial growth is amazing on wet, cotton embedded with skin particles!
3) Keep your phone screen clean. It is lousy with oils and dirt and when you put it up to your face, you are doing yourself, no good.
Okay, I think that's it... Did I forget anything? LMK. Write with your questions . See you Friday.
Tuesday 31 March
Hey! I think we have crossed boarders and boundaries of all types - as I felt we were knee-deep into some serious questions and solid college chemistry. You folks were fabulous.
We tackled (re-tackled?) chemical reactions vs. physical changes. Hopefully with this week's lab you have seen some chemical reactions, as precipitates (new solids) were made. Remember, we need NEW BONDS made in a chemical reaction.
I am embedding the worksheet we used in class to help use with Chemical Reactions vs Physical Changes (Click Here)
Some of our classmates were out and the work is complex enough for me to think mere words of a blog won't capture everything.
So I took a couple of hours out to write up a PowerPoint regarding the self-ionization of water and making the hydronium ion (Click Here).
Essentially that is your reading. So open it up and run through it. There is NOTHING special here. I only had an hour or so, and you need to click through. I didn't narrate, record or create an automatic timing sequence. This is a simple PowerPoint ...just trying to get out the facts as we move more deeply into acids and bases.
I have spent so much time on this topic because understanding the formation of the hydronium ion (H3O^+1) is absolutely important when discussing acid/base theory. Okay? Check it out. Let me know if you see something weird, can't run it ...etc.... I will do my best to respond and to help.
We are up to page 22 of the notes. I think we will finish up the note packet on Friday. I have a new packet (to substitute for the one I already gave out - because I am moving things around.) I will explain on Friday.
Okay! Write with your questions or concerns. I am available to get in to help you and of course, I am there before and after class. See you Tuesday!
Friday 27 March
Hey Folks, we had about 1/3 of the class out yesterday due to the inauguration so I moved a few things around. On Tuesday, we need to hit acid/base theory and move quickly. However, a good bit of new work was completed - so here's the review.
We began with questions regarding the exam. If you still have questions ask me before or after class on Tuesday.
I explained issues surrounding question 20, the question testing the ability to identify a chemical reaction when written/symbolized in a digitalized article or on paper.
Essentially, there are two different circumstances under which I hope you can identify a chemical reaction vs. a physical change.
Yes - both chemical reactions and physical changes deal with chemicals, however, chemists have tended to take pains to identify one from the other.
A chemical change involves the breaking of old bonds and the MAKING of new bonds.
In "real life" we can suss out a chemical reaction if two of the following three sensations are detected or occur:
1) if there is a bold color change as products are made
2) if a new solid (precipitate), liquid or gas (bubbles form) is/are formed. Note, fizzing from soda pop is not what I mean when we talk about bubbles forming. Rather, I am addressing the combination of two reactants and a smelly gas or bubbling begins, without the benefit of heating.
3) if there is an energy exchange - either energy is released from the chemicals to the environment or if energy is absorbed by the reacting chemicals from the environment.
You are going to see this in your next lab, the Analysis of Water. The production of precipitates of varying colors will indicate chemical reactions occurring.
What is really happening is that new bonds are being made. The bonds of the reactants are broken and new alliances are made, resulting in new compounds.
This can be seen on paper, when we compare the reactants to the products. When new bonds are made, it is most likely a chemical reaction. When old bonds are simply broken (as in dissolving), then we classify that as a physical change. Melting , boiling, evaporation etc... are examples of physical changes as well.
Filtration, distillation, and chromatography are essentially physical means to achieve a physical change in a mixture (as in separation of the mixture's components).
I shall get small worksheet together to practice this - as we will see it on the next exam. (See the introductory packet for a calendar).
We then moved onto using the SARS Cov 2 vaccine as an example of a mixture. I spent a fair amount of time trying to teach to 2 facts:
1) The mRNA vaccine CANNOT give you the disease. There is absolutely no way it can do that. As with any approved medical treatment there are some side-effects in a small portion of the population.
Additionally It can make you feel a bit unwell for a day or two after getting it - and that is really due to the body shifting resources to dealing with the new demands on the body.
2) The mRNA vaccine CANNOT cause changes (read, mutations) in our DNA. It simply cannot do that. In fact, the mRNA vaccine and the nucleus of our cells (where DNA is stored) never meet up.
Essentially the vaccine is a mixture of mRNA wrapped in fats, a buffer (weak acid and the conjugate base [salt] of the acid), and sugar.
The mRNA is the molecule which brings instructions to the ribosomes found in a cell's the cytoplasm and endoplasmic reticulum, so that proteins can be made.
The mRNA of the vaccine is the instruction for the spike protein surrounding the virus.
The spike protein is NOT infectious, but it is foreign to our bodies (and that is an important fact).
The spike protein is NOT in the vaccine. Rather, the instructions to make spike protein is in the virus.
With the injection of the vaccine, our ribosomes begin to make the non-infectious (but foreign) protein.
In time (a few days), our body's immune cells recognize that some sort of foreign protein is being made.
Our body defends against this protein by creating an immune response.
Within 2 weeks, the vaccine, the mRNA of the spike protein, any spike protein made and everything else is expelled from our bodies.
What remains are T-Cells and B-Cells of our own immune system which now house the means of recognizing and destroying any entity with that spike protein.
Hence the vaccine has taught our bodies how to fight - saving time and preventing disaster.
We then looked at the work of Alice Ball, who devised a treatment (not a vaccine), for easing the disaster of leprosy. Leprosy is a bacterial infection of mycobacterium leprae, a cousin of mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It can take 7 years for the disease to manifest its destruction of nerve tissue from the point of infection.
In the early 1900s, before the onset of the modern antibacterial age (around the 1930s) , Ball separated plant-based mixtures which seemed to have antibacterial effects for M. leprae.
She used techniques you have used in lab; saponification and esterification, to create an effective injectable and ultimately, absorbable treatment to fight the bacteria.
Her work is simply .... WOW! There is a link to a short video about her work in your notes.
Then I brought out three dozen or so cologne samples for us to mess around with along the lines of separation of a mixture.
That's what colognes really do. Most (not all) colognes/perfumes have a structure of top notes, mid notes and base notes.
Based upon the process of evaporation (a physical change) and using the science of intermolecular forces of attractions (the forces due to partial positive and negative charges (they are "not bonds") that attract one molecule to another, perfumes change.
Top notes last a few minutes. Often, these are volatile citrus molecules. They are poorly attracted to each other and a little energy (body temp) can cause them to evaporate away.
Mid notes can be many things. They tend to be larger molecules (more difficult to evaporate) of floral products, or other plant molecules.
Colognes/Perfumes (there really is no difference), can have various fragrance profiles based upon our skin pH!!!!
Citrus fragrances are brighter / fresher on slightly acidic pH skin-types. Washing with a buffered body wash (often slightly acidic), may help with that acidic pH maintanence.
Deeper ambers, oakmoss or leather accords (mixtures of chemicals to mimic leather scents) do well on slightly more alkaline (basic) skin types.
Fragrance is complicated ... There sure as heck is a learning curve.
One thing is clear however. Moisturizing your skin will help with the longevity of your fragrance - not necessarily the projection - but it will indeed help it to linger.
You see, UNSCENTED moisturizers (e.g CeraVe, VaniCream, Lubridurm, LaRoche Posay) are fat-based.
Fragrances are mixtures of oils and alcohols that dissolve in fats. (Like dissolves Like... fats dissolve in oils and lipophilic materials tend to dissolve in water).
This should connect with your saponification lab. Anyway, this is just my way to say that a fragrance will often stay around longer as the evaporation of its oils and alcohols will be slowed by a minor solubility in a moisturizer applied to the skin.
It's all just a little bit of EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY!!!!!
Okay, write with questions and get me your paper topics!
Tuesday 24 March
We began lecture with a look at (and a plug for) Dr. Stephen Mould's work re: why all of the coal in the world was produced in the same geological time period of about 60 million years.
Aligning with the rest of our work on petroleum as a mixture, we see that coal predates the dinosaurs and has a fascinating (imo) origin story.
First let's establish that there are two large categories of plants: the soft (herbaceous) plants and woody plants. Vegetable plants like tomato plants or any garden flower are herbaceous. The stems are soft and can only support so much mass. Trees and bushes are excellent examples of woody (lignin-containing) plants.
The story surrounded the development of lignin - a natural aromatic polymer (polymers are covered in this week's lab!!) constituting 20–33% of wood, acting as a structural "glue" that binds cellulose fibers to provide rigidity, compressive strength, and hydrophobic properties. It makes wood solid and, when heated, allows it to become flexible.
Lignin is the most important chemical constituent of wood. After all, while plants, and even some bacteria, can produce cellulose and hemicelluloses, only lignified plants can be described as "woody". (Materials Research Society symposium; 11 1990 April 18-20;San Francisco, CA. Pittsburgh, PA: Materials Research Society; 1990: 11-20. Vol. 197. LIGNINS: STRUCTURE AND DlSTRlBUTlON IN WOOD AND PULP John R. Obst USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory,1 Madison, WI 53705-2398 )
Through the forces of evolution, lignin-containing plants thrived PRIOR to the enzymes required for bacteria and fungi to decompose lignin appeared.
Thus, for about 60 million years, trees flourished and when they died, bacteria and fungi were unable to decompose the trees. This dead vegetation built up and eventually became what we know as coal!
Via evolution, bacteria and fungi formed which had the capability to decompose lignin - opening up a whole new energy supply to these organisms. Hence, the production of what we call "coal" ceased, as the build-up of dead tree matter ceased due to successful bacterial and fungal decomposition processes.
We then moved through pages 18 to 21 covering the basics of mixtures.
We covered a series of physical separation techniques. We discussed filtration, chromatography (from lab) and distillation. I took some time to explain what is meant by phrases like triple-distilled vodka
So we began this topic with petroleum specifically petroleum oil - sort of the king of economic mixtures. Today saw a much softer sort of "everyday" application - petrichor (pet-rih-kor) - the smell of rain.
The mixture called petrichor has a familiar musty scent due in large extent to a compound called geosmin.
When shown a diagram of geosmin's structural formula, we became stuck when I asked whether geosmin was an organic or inorganic compound.
Let me outline this clearly. We could describe geosmin with some of the following terms:
molecular or molecule (because it is made of nonmetals)
compound (two or more different elements (specifically different nonmetal atoms) bonded together)
covalent compound or covalent bonding (due to shared electrons [represented by those straight lines in the picture] per your work re: covid)
covalent bonding also applies as those bonds are between nonmetal atoms
organic because there is carbon covalently bonded to hydrogen (C - H bonds per our work on skeletal structures).
A term which DOES NOT apply is hydrocarbon, as the molecular structure showed an OH functional group on a carbon.
BUT! The term ALCOHOL (or monohydroxy alcohol) could be used to describe geosmin due to that single O-H group bonded to a carbon atom.
While petrichor is a mixture, we now know that part of that mixture is due to geosmin - a molecular, organic compound, specifically a type of alcohol, held together via covalent bonds!
(You will earn bonus points, if you write down that last sentence in boldface about petrichor & geosmin, and bring it in on a piece of paper on Friday.)
When we get to class on Friday, I want to get to a video re: the Covid vaccine as a mixture, the work of Alice Ball, maybe some cologne and then Arrhenius Acid/Base Theory.
"L" asked about Arrhenius and that sent me off on a story about Arrhenius's best buddy, Fritz Haber - one of humanity's very, very, complicated heroes and absolute villains.
I gave out the exam results. Take a look at I will take questions on Friday.
Write with paper topics and questions. See you soon!
Friday 13 March
Well by the time you read this, you will be either far flung to the reaches of wherever on vacation, or back to campus trying to figure out just what the heck happened.
This lecture was an important one - so listen (read) up!
Because gasoline prices have been in the news I jumped towards the end of the packet to work through petroleum (specifically, oil) as a mixture.
Petroleum is actually an umbrella term which refers to multiple fossil fuels; oil, coal and natural gas.
Each of these main categories of fossil fuel (petroleum) is a mixture of some type.
Yes, even natural gas (methane or CH4 ) is probably a mixture as it enters our homes. Methane gas probably has a small amount of ethane mixed in, albeit methane is in the greater quantity.
Oil is definitely a mixture. Petroleum oil contains thousands of different compounds, a few elements and even a few metal cations like nickel and vanadium.
However, it is pretty safe to write that most of the compounds are some form of hydrocarbon organic molecular compound. (How about that for squeezing in as much vocabulary as possible?????).
Petroleum oil predates the dinosaurs by about 100 million years. So, oil is NOT made from dead dinosaurs.
It is made from the remains of ancient diatoms - small , unicellular forms of plankton. Diatoms, while unicellular could, depending upon species, form colonies.
Over millennia, diatoms died, and sank to the bottom of an anoxic (lacking dissolved oxygen (O2(g)) zone of an ocean.
Since so little oxygen gas was dissolved (present) in the water, bacteria capable of decomposing diatoms were probably also lacking.
Hence, all of the hydrocarbons, as well as the fats, nucleic acids, proteins and carbohydrates of this early life piled up, compacted, reacted, changed and formed what we now call Black Gold, Texas Tea (aka oil)
Thus, oil is the fossil, of what we mean by fossil fuel.
It is made from the stuff of life of the dead diatoms.
Gasoline (a mixture in its own right), is made from the refinement (read, distillation) of the oil super- mixture.
One barrel of petroleum oil is 42 gallons. The USA consumes approximately 22 million barrels of oil per day.
Approximately, nineteen gallons of every barrel of oil is used to make gasoline.
Approximately 6 to 6.5 gallons of oil are used to make compounds required to make; aspirin, antibiotics, yarn, paint, rubber, plastics, paint, clothing (nylon, polyester, acrylic, etc...), fertilizer, condoms, makeup, shampoo, detergents, just to name a few broad categories of items. We a bathed in oil from cradle to grave.
Gasoline prices are going up right now, because pricing is based upon what it will take to refill the underground tanks at gas stations.
Since the flow of oil has been disrupted, the price of future oil prices is rising, hence the gasoline refined from that more expensive oil will be, itself, more expensive.
Hence when a service station authorizes a contract to refill the gasoline tanks, it will cost significantly more for that "future" gasoline. In short, we are being charged more, in advance of that greater cost, so the service station has the money to pay off that contract, and this is one reason why, we pay for what it costs to refill the tanks! Get it?
Upon your return we will pick up this thread to learn why all of the coal in the world was made at the same time (!!!). Then we will back track in the notes, to cover Arrhenius acids and bases as mixtures with water.
Think about getting me topics for your papers! Write with issues!!!!
Tuesday 10 March
Oh Boy! I am slowing down ... another late post and you again have my apologies. Things simply became very, very busy at this end.
Okay, by now, I should have everyone's exams. LMK if there are problems.
Midterm grades are due by 24 March. I should have mine in as soon as I finish up grading the exam and Dr. DeVito gets me your lab grades. Then the magic will happen.
We are on page 16, heading to page 17 in the notes.
In lecture we picked up a conversation about organic compounds. I tried to stress that the terms such as:
molecule
molecular
covalent compound could apply when discussing organic compounds.
Yes, some of those terms could also apply to inorganic compounds (although, not all inorganic compounds).
My advice is to first distinguish whether you are trying to describe an element or compound.
If you were trying to describe a species such as O2 or O3 you can use terms such as;
element (only 1 type of atom or "capital letter)
molecule or molecular element (the chemicals are made of ONLY nonmetal atoms)
covalent bonds (the chemical union is between nonmetal atoms which is a sign of covalent bonding ... and yes, you would be correct to see a connection between the use of the term molecule and covalent)
Covalent describes the TYPE OF BOND between (nonmetal) atoms
Molecule describes the chemical species made of nonmetal atoms joined by covalent bonds.
If you were trying to describe a species such as CH4 or CH3CH2OH you can use terms such as;
compound
molecule or molecular
molecular compound or a covalent compound
organic compound
organic molecular compound
CH4 could be described as a hydrocarbon, while CH3CH2OH could be described as having a functional group (specifically, alcohol).
I mentioned the saponification lab. With that I mentioned that soap is a great example of a chemical that does what it does due to its SHAPE as well as its atom composition.
Soap cleans in part, due to a rather uneven shape, in which one end of the molecule can dissolve into water, while a very even end dissolves into oils.
Here, we can see MOLECULAR SHAPE impacting chemical activity. (We will learn more about this when we do "Like Dissolves Like")
I emphasized that another factor that can affect chemistry is WHAT ATOMS make up a molecule... not just how they are put together.
Hence, both shape and composition of an organic molecule can affect its chemical behavior.
Both shape and composition help us to predict/explain chemical behavior as that chemical behavior is generally a mixture of the two phenomena.
However, I am sort of artificially separating the two issues of composition and shape - in order to teach the phenomena.
Hence, that was a darn good time to mention functional groups.
A functional group is an atom or set of atoms which go beyond the hydrocarbon, and grants specific chemical ability to the molecule.
We spent some time comparing the alcohol, propanol to the organic (carboxylic) acid, propanoic acid
"L" asked why are the two molecules different and that led to a quick and dirty look at the concept of
electronegativity and the work of Linus Pauling (as predicated upon the theories of Amedeo Avogadro).
Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to draw the electrons of a bond to itself. (Essentially, it is the ability of one atom to gain the electrons disproportionately in a bond, due to a stronger nuclear attraction for the electrons)
Pauling developed what we now call the Pauling Scale of Electronegativity (part of the work for which he won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 .... I think I said 1953 ... I am getting old.)
The Pauling Scale (there are now 4 other variations), runs from 0.7 to 3.98 (which I will round to 4.0)
The greater the electronegativity, the greater the tendency of an atom to gain an electron from another atom possessing a lesser electronegativity.
Atoms of fluorine sit on top at 4.0.
Atoms of oxygen are the next powerful at 3.5
Atoms of francium and rubidium are at the bottom at 0.7.
This means that fluorine will get those electrons while the metals will lose the electrons.
Now, in the case of an organic molecular compound such as propanoic acid, the oxygen atoms (one bonded with two covalent bonds or a double bond and a second one with a single covalent bond) pull electrons away from the carbon.
This sets up partial positive and partial negative charges which affect the chemistry of the molecule.
If you require a reminder of the structure of propanoic acid click here.
The alcohol propanol (click here for a picture) lacks the second oxygen atom of propanoic acid. Thus, the distribution of partial positive and negative charge is far less, and that affects the chemistry of the alcohol.
We spent the remaining time discussing polyphenol oxidase (an organometallic compound - I am simply referring it to as an organic compound) and polyphenols.
I tried my hand at a little nutrition.
Compounds rich in polyphenols have those polyphenols stored in vacuoles. Polyphenol oxidase (the ase ending suggests it is an enzyme) is stored in plastids associated with chloroplasts.
Damage to the cells reacts the enzyme and polyphenol substrate to create that browning look which is actually quite toxic. Thus it is a defense mechanism.
Hence fruits which turn brown easily, such as bananas, avocados, apples and pears are high in BOTH polyphenols and polyphenol oxidase.
Fruits high in polyphenols (and to a lesser degree, polyphenol oxidase) do NOT turn brown. This includes citrus fruits like lemons and oranges and berries.
The acidity of lemon juice (citric acid) is said to reduce the browning effect (making it too acidic for the chemical activity of PPO) while the Vitamin C acts to inhibit the activity of oxygen. Hence adding some lemon juice to some foodstuffs keep them looking good!
Some research (per your notes) suggests that bananas eaten simultaneously with foodstuffs high in anti-inflammatory polyphenols but low in PPO (e.g. berries and dates) may interfere with the absorption of those polyphenols by 84 %!!!!!!
We also discussed inflammation a bit an "C" asked a really good question regarding depression and inflammation.
For a technical piece regarding depression and low-grade inflammation take a look at this article from the National Institute of Health (click here).
For a less technical piece try this article (click here)
For an article in the middle, try this one (it's really good [click here]) from Science Direct. Try section 2, especially 2.1 for a fast and good explanation.
We also took a step back so I could fulfill a promise that I would help with writing the term paper. I gave my best advice to decipher technical terms, using the short paragraph regarding PPO. I urged students to define and explain terms to prove their grasp of the work. THAT INTERPRETATION AND THE CONSISTENCY OF PROVING WHAT YOU KNOW, ARE THE THINGS I AM REALLY GRADING!
Some folks have written me with paper ideas - and I am not ignoring you ... just busy. I will get back to you.
Okay! I will catch you all on Friday! Write with issue and questions.
Friday 6 March
Hey Gang - sorry for this late post - it's almost 9 pm. I had a small emergency that took me off to help out a friend. I am back and here is the update.
I handed out a page of past paper topics and a method that may help write the type of paper I want from you. I have printed copies for anyone not in class. These pages are also found at the bottom of the NOTES tab of this website.
I am looking to get topics for your final paper. We can hold off on that for a little while - but I need for you to begin thinking about ideas.
The paper is to be an example of or an artifact that proves what you are taking away from class.
I am not looking for you to write what your sources say. I am looking for your INTERPRETATION of what your sources say. I want to know your understanding of the words, ideas, applications.
The goal of the paper is to prove to me that you have improved your grasp of chemistry because of this course and its work. I am not interested in what some source says - but rather, I am interested in how you bring meaning / interpret the work found at the source.
This is your final exam! You get to write and then answer the questions - but you must prove to me that you know something. Again, don't just repeat what some source says.
Interpret it. Define all terms. Explain your grasp of the work.
It does NOT need to be fancy-schmancy. It needs to be real, genuine, demonstrative of how you are growing.
We attacked work on page 13 and it is all about compounds; inorganic compounds (that exist as ionic solids and molecules) and organic compounds (which exist as molecules).
Recall our definition of molecule is a generalized recognition of an uncharged (electrically neutral) chemical species made up of at least 2 nonmetal atoms held together via covalent bonding.
We then dealt with the reading re: skeletal structures. For anyone with questions, I urge you to contact me or get to the YouTube link found in the Tuesday 3 March blog post.
There are 2 things to remember when dealing with skeletal structures of organic compounds.
1) We may assume a C atom at the end of a line and at any vertex.
2) Think of those lines as covalent bonds. Those covalent bonds link carbon atoms together in an organic molecular compound.
3) Every carbon atom will have 4 covalent bonds. Unless otherwise indicated, we may assume the remaining (and correct number of) bonds are to H atoms.
Trends emerged. Carbon atoms at the end of molecules (the terminal carbon atoms) were often written at CH3
Carbon atoms in the middle may be written as CH2 or CH or C depending upon the pre-existing bonds to the rest of the molecular chain.
Then something rather "organic" in terms of our class conversation occurred. "C" asked a question regarding bonds and I happened to say something to the effect that : "shorter bonds were more stable, often stronger and less likely to break and/or allow another reaction".
That statement occupied the rest of the class, as it pushed me (unintentionally .... yet "naturally" as it were) into Big Idea #3: POtential energy is the energy of POsition (or distance).
(Do you see how I bopped between organic as a chemical and organic as something natural????? Huh?)
Okay, anyway, the questions were great. "L" asked a great question as they tried to discern what I had on the board.
I was not going to head into Big Idea #3 until we were properly into energy - yet it felt that the questions evolving from the discussion required that I do at least a little something, something.
So here's a quick look at Big Idea #3 Potential Energy is the energy of Position (or distance)
Covalent bonds are chemical (potential) energy
Covalent bonds have a length and hence represents a distance of sorts between the atoms.
This hints that the POsition between the species carries with it an energy.
I tried to develop this thought by hitting "S" in the head from two different positions and discussing the age old "rock at the top of the hill has more potential energy" example.
I did not understand why the rock at the top of the hill had a greater potential energy than one at the bottom of the hill when I was in 7th grade.
Well, I didn't understand it until the idea was fleshed out.
A rock at the top of a hill has more energy at the bottom of the hill, assuming that the ground was the standard by which we were measuring.
Assuming the ground as "ground 0", of course a rock at the top of the hill as a greater POSITION (hence a potential) relative to a rock at ground 0.
Potential energy is akin to us dropping our tennis racket down and behind us to bring it up to strike a tennis ball.
It is why the player up at bat brings the bat back and turns the hip just so they can swing out to strike that ball.
The greater distance means greater energy.
Recall BIG IDEA #1: LCME. In part, the Law of the Conservation of Matter and Energy (& charge) states:
Energy cannot be created nor destroyed by ordinary chemical means but it can be transferred and/or converted to another form.
Hence since the greater potential energy of a bat held back with a turned hip CANNOT be lost BUT IT CAN BE CONVERTED , as the potential (positional) energy of bat to ball decreases, the potential energy is CONVERTED into kinetic energy (motion) and thus may strike the baseball with more energy (essentially a greater force).
Chemical bonds represent potential energy.
A short bond is more difficult to break and thus IT IS MORE STABLE (less likely to break and undergo reaction) RELATIVE to a longer bond.
"C" had a great metaphor when they said it was like breaking a stick. It was easier to break a long stick than a very short stick.
Yep! That's essentially the gist of it.
Short bonds are more difficult to break (relative to longer bonds) because the electron of one atom are powerfully attracted to the nucleus of the OTHER atom as the electron of the second atom is powerfully attracted to the nucleus of the first atom.
If you recall, this is how I actually began our discussion.
Okay, I think I am going to leave it here.
Write me with questions and/or concerns. I hope to see you all in class on Tuesday.
Tuesday 3 March
Holy Heck! We have been cancelled again!
Okay- I am making a decision.
Have your TEST due for Friday , 6 March. LMK if it is a difficult due date for you - but let me know well in advance per the Introductory Packet.
I have another assignment for you: Take a look at the pdf: Reading Skeletal Formulae (Click Here)
Prepare it for Friday. This means you need to read it and at the top of page 5 is a short activity where you are to apply what you think you learned. I have given you the answers right below.
I just answered a question for a classmate and I directed them to watch the first 3 minutes or so of the following YouTube video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCNX9McVUwE
You may find this helpful as a guide for skeletal structures.
Okay - so the test and the reading are due on Friday. The reading is not graded but I will be using your prep to move quickly through the notes.
Stay safe ... it may get icy out there. Write me with questions.
Friday 27 February
Assignment: Here's your test: Take Home 1: Matter (Click Here)
If you didn't get a printed copy I will have one for you at our next class, on Tuesday.
We did NOT pick a due date. I am thinking a week (making the due date Friday 6 March). However, that is not carved in stone.
On Tuesday we will pick a date (as some of you felt 1.5 weeks might be appropriate).
At the very least I can tell you that this is NOT DUE on our next class (Tuesday) ... you have until (at least), Friday. I do urge you however, to work away at it, by doing a few (5 or 6) questions per day.
I don't believe there are typos - but let me know. Remember, I can be, at times, the poster boy for things gone wrong.
Follow the directions - and write if you need clarification!
Also - prepare your pre-lab for Acids/Bases/Buffers. Keep your pre-lab for Analysis of Water as you may be doing it in about 1 month from now.
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Well lecture was darn right lousy (in a good way) with chemistry. I know it meandered a bit, taking J's question re: fossils/the process of fossilization , but I worked to bring it back to an every day application for you to pocket.
Did it work? You need to tell me.
We went over the graded assignment. This went quite well. I liked that you asked questions - kept me honest - and pushed for answers. Great Work!
Have you noticed how Big Idea #1 and Big Idea #2 keep coming up in various ways? Notice how I keep using them as underpinnings to everything else we discuss. That's why I call them Big Ideas. They can help govern our thinking or rather, our refined everyday thinking (per Einstein).
This conversation regarding Big Idea #2 (which in part states that atoms and their ions have different chemistries), led me to mention Cu^0 and Cu^+2.
I mentioned that Cu^+2 was rather toxic, and you should allow your COLD water to run for 30 seconds or so, when turning in on first thing in the morning, to flush out the junk that may have accumulated during the night.
Nutritionists know that we need trace amounts of Cu^+2 as we shall see on Tuesday - but we get that from our foods. Too much of a good thing ain't so great....Get it?
It's like this - if you have a vacation home of some type, have you ever noticed your folks running the water a bit once you open up that home? They are flushing out the pipes.
I am suggesting that this is a good idea after just one night!
You see, copper metal can slowly turn into compounds containing copper (+2) ion and these compounds can dissolve into water.
These compounds may be electrolyte compounds and as they dissolve, they may allow the copper ion to float around as a free ion - looking for trouble (aka: it is looking to make a bond).
Yes - the water in your pipes may have a very, very small amount of copper compound and/or copper (+2) ion, in addition to other chemicals which may have built up during the night.
Just because we are asleep, doesn't mean the natural processes of the Universe have gone to sleep.
Use cold water to flush the taps.
Secondly, thermal energy (you might call it heat) speeds up the rate of just about every "everyday" chemical reaction. Increased energy speeds up the dissolution of compounds into water, for instance.
So, please (!) stop using water from the HOT WATER TAP to cook in, make coffee with or any such activity other than washing yourself, your clothes, your dishes etc...
Heat up some cold water until it's hot for cooking! Please! The grime and junk in the pipes carrying hot water to us is quite crappy! You do not need to ingest that stuff. Okay?
I also mentioned that silver ion (Ag^+1) is also toxic. Silvadene is a hard-to-get-cream that saved me from bacterial infection.
These ions from what we call, heavy metals, have the ability to latch onto enzymes in bacteria and precipitate out those enzymes.
Notice that word, precipitate. I used it when discussing the Analysis of Water lab and I made a white precipitate using silver nitrate aqueous solution and sodium chloride aqueous solution.
Well the silver ion can bond to various enzymes and make them heavier, and less soluble in cytoplasm (which is mostly water), and precipitate out the enzyme as a solid (crystal) - thus disabling the enzyme. If you remove an important chemical from a chemical reaction, that reaction stops!
Heavy metal cations like Ag^+1, Cu+2 and Pb+2 (lead ion) however are pretty darn dangerous and need to be treated with care.
Have you noticed all the vocabulary I have been using; compound, electrolyte, aqueous solution, ion, soluble, precipitate, solid?
Have you noticed a certain level of comfort when you come across these terms?
We touched on the process of fossilization. Fossils rocks - they are not bones per se. The organism and hence its bones were probably covered in mud. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the ions of the mud permeated the decaying bone and replaced the bone as structure - only mineralized as rock.
I wonder if we know that bone decays? Well it does ... In fact here is a little tidbit most of us never think about.
If you write down this little tidbit on a piece of paper, and give it to me on Tuesday, you will earn bonus points! It doesn't need to be exact ... just the gist of the meaning of what is to come....
Here it is: Have you ever seen images of the Titanic under the sea? Did you notice there are no skeletons on or in the Titanic?
Hundreds of people were trapped on the Titanic, locked inside at some points - and yet, there are no skeletons.
That's because the Titanic settled in a zone of the water which is extremely low in Ca^+2. This is important to know because compounds containing the Ca^+2 ion helps to make bone hard.
Things (ions, atoms, energy) tend to move from high concentrations to lower concentrations.
So the higher concentration of Ca^+2 ion leached out of the remains of the people's skeletons and dissolved into the water (the area of lower concentration), thus breaking down the skeletons and dissolving them away. That's why there are no skeletal remains on the Titanic!
We are on page 13 of the notes.
A great deal was covered and it may not have made much of an impression but here is what I need for you to know:
1) I am dividing compounds into 2 huge categories: Inorganic Compounds and Organic Compounds.
2) There are other categories like Organometallic compounds - and I wanted to deliberately bring that up.
Organometallics are super important because so many biochemical compounds (hemoglobin, enzymes etc) are organometallics.
The important points are that organometallics are ORGANIC COMPOUNDS that have at least 1 carbon atom bonded to a metal. We shall see this when we deep dive into Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO).
Take Home Message: All organometallic compounds are organic compounds, but not all organic compounds are organometallic.
3) Our working definition of Inorganic Compound will be any compound LACKING C-H bonded to each other.
Inorganic compounds may be ionic compounds or molecular compounds.
Ionic compounds have an ionic bond which is an electrostatic attraction between OPPOSITELY charged ions. VERY OFTEN an ionic compound will be made from a metal cation and a nonmetal anion.
The ending of the name of the nonmetal anion changed to IDE. Hence the atoms of the metal sodium reacting with the atoms of nonmetal chlorine produce an ionic compound called sodium chloride.
Inorganic compounds may ALSO EXIST as molecular compounds (aka molecules). These molecule are made of NONMETAL ATOMS (not ions) which are bonded to each other with a prevalence of COVALENT BONDS
Hence, H2O can be described as a molecular inorganic compound made with covalent bonds.
molecular: hydrogen and oxygen are both nonmetal atoms.
inorganic: there is no C-H bonding...there is no C for goodness sakes!
covalent: the bond between most nonmetals is made by sharing (cooperating) electrons (especially the valence electrons ... thus producing a covalent bond.
We will learn why nonmetal atoms end up sharing electrons later.
4) Our working definition of Organic Compound will be a compound with C-H bonded to each other, via a covalent bond. It is not a perfect way to define the terms - but it works 99% of the time.
Carbon is the backbone of every organic compound.
Essentially, every organic compound may also be described as a molecule!!!
Every carbon atom of an organic compound will have 4 bonds! (This is insanely important).
We then began to look at skeletal structures and interpreting them. We will get back to that later. I am just spiraling ideas.
Okay! That's a great deal of chemistry and thus a long blog. Let me know how you're doing and if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday. Stay safe and email!!!!!!!
Friday 20 February
Assignment: Complete the Practice: Matter/Atoms/Ions/Lab worksheet (click here).
This is due on Tuesday 24 February for credit.
There are a few things about this assignment which follow :
1) I corrected the numbers for question 10 and reloaded a digital copy. For those in class, you have new numbers. For those of you downloading the digital you won't notice much difference ... I simply made the numbers work better. E caught the error - so thank you!
2) L noticed that I left out a space for question #9 on the answer sheet. Thank you! I have added that to the new digital copy.
3) Most of these changes don't mean too much in that I am going to give credit for the completion of the piece. That means I am not going to formally grade it - and that we shall go over it on Tuesday, in class.
4) Because this is not "graded" per se, you do NOT need to type out your responses to Part 2. Try these questions as you will see questions like this on your take home test. That test should be coming out on Friday 2/27.
5) You need to use a copy of the Periodic Table - especially for questions like those in 1-8 regarding the concept of charge.
6) This worksheet plus the last graded piece which I returned in class, should give you a great sense of the content on the take home test.
7) A few folks have asked questions regarding the take home test. It is just like any worksheet in essence, but it carries a greater number of points for credit.
On Friday, I will give you a printed copy of the test. A digital form of it will also be on this website. We will decide on Friday when that test is due. I assume you will have it for at least 1 week. So timing is up to each of you. You even have time to get in to see me if there are problems.
See, I am not trying to get you to memorize everything. I am trying to get you to understand that much of your University education is to help you understand how to look things up and where to look things up. I am trying to mimic and to prepare you for what you will need as an adult - once you are out of school.
I have no illusions you will remember everything we do in class. I don't recall everything I did in class. However, I believe learning is a covert activity which goes on in the mind of the learner, but results in a public behavior or display. The public (or viewable or behavior which can be witnessed) behavior is that ability to search out and interpret information and to construct knowledge.
So, I am cool with a week-long take home test - because I am trying to create the skills needed to look up and interpret information so that knowledge (predictability and explanation) can be created.
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I handed out the next note packet.
Okay ... We are on page 12 of the notes.
C asked a really good question regarding the concept of charge and we dug down into that for a good chunk of the period.
Remember that for reactions chemistry it is all about the electrons.
1) The atomic number (# of protons) tells us with what element we are dealing.
2) The atomic number of an atom of an element and of its ion(s) is the same number! The number of protons in reaction chemistry DOES NOT CHANGE. Thus, as long as the letter symbol is the same, we may assume the number of protons is the same.
3) This means that all charge interpretations must be made with a CHANGING NUMBER OF ELECTRONS in mind.
4) The charge of an ion always tells you which subatomic particle in in EXCESS of the other. The charge does not tell you what happened. It just tells you what there is more of, because somehow the number of electrons changed.
4) A positive ion (a cation) has lost electrons .... so the number of protons is > number of electrons and the species is positive due to the greater effect of the protons. The (+) of a charge is a synonym for proton, not the word "plus".
5) A negative ion (an anion) has GAINED negative charge (gained electrons), thus the (-) of a charge is a synonym for electron, not "minus".
Hence: When comparing S^0 (sulfur atom) to S-2 (sulfide anion) we know:
a) They both have 16 protons because the letter symbol is the same
b) S^2 has two more electrons than protons because 2 electrons were gained. Thus it has 18 electrons vs. 16 protons.
When comparing Al^0 to Al^+3 we know:
a) They both have 13 protons because the letter symbol has not changed.
b) Al^+3 has three more protons than electrons, because 3 ELECTRONS were lost
Thanks to E for being our chemical species and applying all of those sticky notes.
We then took a quick look at how we can know if a chemical reaction (as opposed to a physical change) has occurred in real life.
We need to look for 2 of 3 big changes - and this has implications for your lab next week.
1) a bold color change
2) a new solid (precipitate), a new liquid or new gas (seen as bubbling out of solution)
3) an energy exchange.... the vessel becomes hotter or it becomes colder relative to the environment.
However, on paper, we can assign the term, "chemical reaction" to an equation in which we see new bonds being made.
We must compare and contrast the reactant side of a written equation to the product side of a written equation.
If new bonds are made that means a chemical reaction occurred.
Note, simply breaking bonds does not mean chemistry has necessarily occurred. Often, DISSOLVING compounds in water results in just breaking bonds ... There is no new bond making going on.
Very often, the term DISSOLVING refers to a simple physical change.
Melting is a simple physical change, as is boiling.
Okay! Write with issues /questions / whatevers! Take care if the weather gets rough. I hope to see you all on Tuesday!
Tuesday 17 February
I handed back your work re: Hand Sanitizers. I have your Concept Map for Matter work ready to come back to you as well.
After a long weekend I tried to review our work on Big Idea #2: The Concept of Charge.
We continued to work at the interpretation of a charge.
Remember that the charge of an ion indicates which subatomic particle (proton or electron) is in excess.
The charge doesn't tell you what happened - you must infer that.
If an ion is positive, then that means that electrons (negative charge) was lost.
If an ion is negative, then that means that electrons (negative charge) was gained.
Only electrons change in number. Only electrons are lost or gained.
As long as the letter symbol is the same between an atom and an ion, then the number of protons is the same.
Thus, Ca^0 vs. Ca^+2 have the same number of protons (atomic number) . The letters of the symbols are the same ones, indicating that both chemical species have something to do with the element calcium (Ca). One is an atom of calcium and the other is an ion of calcium.
According to Big Idea #2 the chemistry of Ca^0 is DIFFERENT from the chemistry of Ca^+2.
They have a different number of electrons - hence it is reasonable to assume that while they are related, they undergo different chemical reactions, due to that difference in the number of electrons.
We saw a few videos regarding the reaction between calcium and water.
I made the distinction that milk has calcium ION, not "calcium" . Calcium metal is a silver-like soft metal.
It reacts with water.
Calcium ION is the form of calcium found in compounds like CaCO3
I ran through a few demonstrations.
1) I extracted some of the solid iron (Fe^0) from the mixture of TOTAL cereal. Recall that compounds, which contain ions, such as Fe^3 tasted funny to us. So manufacturers put actual ground iron metal into the cereal mixture. This metallic iron then reacts with stomach acid and is converted into the ions of iron we require for blood cells (for instance).
2) I showed you how a solution containing electrolytes (free moving cations and anions) can conduct an electrical current. That conductivity was dependent in part upon the concentration of the electrolytes in solution. Solid sodium chloride (table salt) did not conduct a current, but an aqueous solution (a homogeneous mixture) of sodium chloride and water did conduct an electrical current.
3) I also reintroduced the idea of making a precipitate. A clear fluid looked like water, but I could separate out some of the electrolytes in the water, by trapping the ions in an insoluble compound (a precipitate).
We are doing quite a bit of chemistry people!
We wrapped up the recognition of compounds and we are heading into organic compounds vs . inorganic compounds.
Write with questions! See you on Friday!
Tuesday 10 February
Assignment: Complete Practice 1: Concept of Matter for class on Tuesday 17 February (our next class).
You're going to hand it in -so put your name on it. You do NOT need to turn in the actual concept map - I am interested in the questions only.
We are just at page 10 of the notes.
I wonder if you're noting all of the chemistry we have been doing. I am laying down a good deal of chemistry - part of my spiral approach - so that we can come back to topics a second or even third time.
Tuesday's lecture held a great deal of chemical theory.
We began with a look at the chemistry of metals on the Periodic Table. As a general rule, metals, when reacting with nonmetals, tend to LOSE ELECTRONS.
To put it technically, metal atoms become OXIDIZED (the metal atom loses one or more electron(s)).
You want to know the term, oxidized or oxidation.
This allowed us to move onto BIG IDEA #2: The Concept of Charge.
When I discuss an ATOM, I am referring to a chemical species in which #protons = # electrons. Thus, the overall charge of an ATOM is zero (as the sum of the charge of the plus charged species = the sum of the charge of the negatively charged species). The number of protons = the number of electrons.
The term, ION will refer to a chemical species in which the number of protons DOES NOT EQUAL the number of electrons.
In some fashion, the number of electrons will have changed, when compared to the atom of the same chemical species.
We will work at this idea for a bit - but it is a very important bit of chemistry to master.
I introduced a metaphor for an atom .... a castle surrounded by a town.
The castle is the nucleus. It is made of positive protons and neutral (in charge) neutrons. In our work, regarding reaction chemistry, like the walls of a stone castle, THE NUCLEUS DOES NOT CHANGE DURING A CHEMICAL REACTION.
(It changes during a nuclear reaction ... but that is a story for another day.)
Hence, the big conclusion is that the atomic number (the number of protons of a nucleus) IS A CONSTANT. IT DOES NOT CHANGE.
The town is the electron cloud. Electrons may be gained or lost - hence, it is the electron cloud that changes during a chemical reaction. The number of electrons CAN CHANGE.
What can be understood from all of the above?
Well, firstly when given an ion of S^-2, compared to and atom of S^0 we know:
1) the number of electrons when comparing the two species MUST be different (chem deals w/ electrons)
2) the number of protons when comparing the two species MUST be the same (the atomic number is a constant ....Hey , look at it this way, the letter of the element didn't change, thus both chemical species are some form of sulfur (S), and must have the same # of protons. The letter of the symbol is different ONLY IF THE NUMBER OF PROTONS IS DIFFERENT.
3) the charge of an ion tells us which subatomic particle is IN EXCESS.
If electrons were lost, the resulting ion is more positive, due to the loss of that negative charge.
If electrons were gained, the resulting ion is more negative, due to the gain of even more negative charge.
Do you see that the charge is a disruption of the equality between # of protons and # of electrons due to ONLY the loss or gain of electrons?
This led us to continuing with the idea of the chemistry of nonmetals.
When metals react with nonmetals, metals lose electrons and the nonmetals gain the electrons. This is an expression of BIG IDEA #1 ... in which charge (the number of electrons, essentially) , is conserved.
Nonmetals when they react with other nonmetals may lose or gain electrons depending upon how strongly the electrons are attracted to another nucleus - but more on that later (I'm spiraling!)
Okay! Have a grand weekend. Write with questions and/or concerns. Prep your next pre-lab and write up your lab report on chromatography. I will see you all on Tuesday.
Friday 6 February
Assignment: Use the online version of: Practice 1: Concept of Matter (Click Here or under Notes)
and highlight the * you find on the concept map. Write down the information / complete the map.
Then use your thinking ability, the map and your notes to work on a few of the problems. You don't need to do them all. You need to have the map filled out and you need to have tried a few problems.
I will check in on your work during class on Tuesday , and the rest of the questions can be finished later. Completion (date to be determined) will carry points. For Tuesday - complete the map and try some of the problems.
The assignment is both a chemistry task and a thinking task. There is some worth here.
In lecture, I began with a few demonstrations to help highlight the separation of a mixture and density.
If you recall I made a homogeneous mixture of table salt (sodium chloride) and water. I then boiled off the water, and allowed the salt to recrystallize.
Notice that I am introducing the idea that homogeneity applies to both substances (all substances are homogeneous) and to some mixtures.
The density demo suspended a golf ball in a concentrated salt aqueous solution and a sample of distilled water.
I did this to encourage you to envision the saltwater mixture as being more COMPACTED - there was more mass (salt + water) in a particular volume of solution relative to the same volume of distilled water.
The salt water mixture was so much more compacted than the materials making up the golf ball, that the golf ball floated (was unable to naturally pass through) in the salt water.
Even when the same volume of distilled water was poured on top, the two solutions did not mix well (hence we can have stratified layers of ocean water or atmosphere) and we could determine that the golf ball was more dense than the distilled water, but less dense than the salt water.
I then used my handy -dandy portable water distiller to demonstrate the destruction of the COVALENT bonds between hydrogen and oxygen of a water molecule to produce (di)hydrogen gas and (di)oxygen gas.
We could also see that since thew bubbles of gas floated to the top, the gases were less dense than the water itself.
That is because chemical changes, change the properties (often BOTH the physical and chemical) of the materials involved.
Dihydrogen gas and dioxygen gas have very, very different physical and chemical properties of the compound, water!
We then continued our work on the vocabulary swirling around matter. We are up to page 8 of the notes.
I introduced one way to categorize the 118 elements known to us at this time.
Most of the elements are metals (They lose electrons to nonmetals). Metals tend not to react with each other to make compounds, as both metals will lose electrons. And according to BIG IDEA #1, an electron cannot be lost, unless it is also gained by something else (Charge is conserved).
Hence metals tend to react with nonmetals.
The nonmetals are the next largest group (but there are really only 11 or so members)
In the simplest of reactions, nonmetals tend to gain electrons from metals.
However, nonmetals can react with OTHER nonmetals. They are not all equal in their ability to gain electrons. Thus, under many circumstances one nonmetal will incompletely lose (not totally lose) and electron while another nonmetal will incompletely gain that electron.
This is the creation of the covalent bond ....a bond type in which electrons are SHARED, often with one nonmetal atom losing full control of its electron and a second nonmetal atom gaining a greater possession of the electron.
Read those last few lines again. Things just became a bit more complicated.
Metals lose electrons to nonmetals (nonmetals gain electrons from metals).
But nonmetals when they react with each other, duke it out and end up SHARING electrons, creating those covalent bonds discussed in the homework assignment re: hand sanitizers.
See? It all comes together in the end.
Write with questions. I will see you on Tuesday!
Tuesday 4 February
Assignment: Don't forget your assignment from 30 January is due next class (Friday). If there are issues with getting me a printed copy or finishing the assignment be sure to write me soon.
This will be short - as we moved around a bit but over some familiar territory nonetheless.
We are at the bottom of page 7.
Class continued with themes surrounding matter and the vocabulary base I am hoping to develop.
We began with the TRY THIS problems at the top of page 7 - and frankly - you did really well. You were able to use Big Idea 1, the Law of the Conservation of Matter and Energy, and Charge. really well.
We discussed that problems and the need for follow up explanations such as these would be found on your first take home.
I went off on a tangent for a few minutes as I I tried to introduce a theory of learning as proposed by Robert Marzano. I like it. I am not a big fan of learning styles - as I believe we learn in multiple ways.(multiple modalities) at any given moment. Marzano defines some of these modalities as linguistic, visual, emotional and kinesthetic. For teachers it is important to try to use multiple modalities to grab at the chance to maximize the chance for student learning - but it is absolutely essential that the student take the offerings and manipulate them to maximize the learning.
Remember - I teach - but you learn and they are two different concepts. Hence, I offer multiple modalities and you are asked to use videos, notes, lecture, cooperative learning, lab, dialogue, concept mapping etc.
That led me to develop a concept map of matter as we understand it thus far.
Terms such as homogeneous, heterogenous, substance, element and compound were introduced. "S" asked a question about distinguishing between compounds and mixtures and so I added in the term aqueous solution. (More will come on that a bit later).
We learned how to recognize an element. We took a gander at the periodic table - looking at some of the symbols.
Recall that the elements are our "alphabet", metaphorically speaking.
We use the elements to build more complex structures like compounds (which metaphorically are "words").
Mixtures then become sentences, as I extend the metaphor.
We will do much more on this later on.
Essentially there are substances and mixtures.
Substances are homogeneous.
Substances, in general, have a constant melting point (a constant temperature at which it turns from solid to liquid), a specific normal boiling point, and a specific density, under specified conditions of temperature and pressure.
These properties can be used to help us identify, or put a name to substances.
There are two types of substances, elements and compounds.
There are 118 known elements to humankind. There are millions and millions of compounds.
We can recognize elements when written as there will be only 1 type of capital letter.
Much of the class of left to questions - refining our understanding - working out the kinks in our understanding.
Write me with your questions - I will tryp to help. I will see you Friday! Remember you want a printed copy of your responses to A Capsule of Covid Chemistry. Don't forget to include citations to sites you used when researching those Purgatorio questions. Stay safe!
Friday 30 January:
Assignment: A Capsule of Covid Chemistry (Click here or on the Notes Page)
This assignment is due in class on Friday , 6 February.
Your responses must be typed and appropriately cited, when applicable.
Type out each question, and then, type out your response to that question.
Paradiso level questions have answers from the reading. There is no need to cite those responses.
Purgatorio level questions require some form of research and thus, the answers to these questions require citations.
Note how I cited work throughout the written piece. I am trying to model one way you can embed citations in your own work, for this course.
I am happy to work with you / guide you as you work to complete the piece. Drop me an email or see me on days we have class.
I have assigned all the bonus points to folks who turned in a slip of paper. Good for you gang!
The lecture meandered a bit from topic to topic. I hope it wasn't too much. As I said in class I am rather pleased to follow any of the lines of questions and/or thoughts you may express. I want the chemistry to be practical, engaging, and focused on your needs.
To those ends, we picked up the conversation of Big Idea #1 The Law of the Conservation of Matter, Energy and Charge (I will abbreviate it as: LCMEC).
We sort of fell into a conversation regarding balancing chemical reactions using coefficients (the bigger number in front of chemical formulas and subscripts (lower/below writing) found within the formulas.
We may assume that when there is no coefficient or subscript, we may assume a value of 1.
So, given the formula: 3 CO2 we can assume that there are 3 whole CO2 made of 3 carbon and 6 oxygen .
A single CO2 has only 1 carbon and 2 oxygen.
"T" asked how that 3 works. I responded using an analogy in math. If we had a formula that looked like,
3( X + 2Y) = Z, the distributive property of math helps to hook our grasp of what a coefficient does.
That 3 distributes across the elements of a compound, like the 3 distributes along any value in the parentheses.
That led me to what we will formally cover on next Tuesday ... How can we recognize an element vs. a compound?
This was actually based on a question from "L". (Again, your questions are not an interruption - but a starting point for conversation/dialogue!!)
Now, this is not a definition, just a recognition skill when we are reading: The symbol of an element will have only 0NE TYPE of capital letter.
Thus, Na is an element (note one type of capital letter, followed by a small-case letter).
B (for the element boron) is an element (note that there is only a capital letter - some elements are symbolized with only one letter.)
O2 is an element. Yes, there are two oxygen, but they are atoms of the same element, so it is recognized as a form of that element
One form of elemental sulfur exists as S8. There are 8 atoms of the same element bonded together - and thus it is still classified as an element.
I mentioned my fascination with two forms of the element oxygen, O2 (dioxygen) and O3 (ozone)
Generally speaking (with a small exception), a compound's chemical formula will be symbolized as having TWO or MORE DIFFERENT capital letters.
Thus: The formula of NaCl helps us recognize it as a compound. There are two different elements (2 different types of capital letters) one is Na and the other is Cl.
The written formula of NaCN helps us know this is a compound , because it looks like it's made of 3 different elements (3 different types of capital letters help to offset or identify the symbols of the elements).
KClO is made of 3 different elements
C6H12O6 that popular compound of biology called, glucose, is a compound.
We then moved on to the Lavoisier family - and their work with closed chemical experimentation.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier is considered to be the Grandfather of Chemistry due to his work in terms of introducing controlled, closed, repeated experimentation.
If he is the grandfather - then Marie- Anne must be the younger grandmother as she was the one who ran his lab, kept the notes, and did the translations of articles from and into multiple languages.
Recall that the Lavoisiers established the law of the conservation of matter, as it applied to reaction chemistry. It was was later expanded into the full blown version of the LCMEC as it applies to reaction chemistry - (but not nuclear chemistry).
This means that in a normal closed-system reaction on Earth, the mass of the reactants will equal the mass of the products. Put more in a more chemical sense, the moles of atoms of each element on the reactant side will equal the moles of that element on the product side. (But we do not need to go into moles ... I am just writing this to make "Q" take notice 😒).
We then took a fast look at combustion.
When we study the combustion of many chemicals we see that the reaction follows a pattern.
Fuel + O2 --> CO2 + H2O
We established that combustion often requires a fuel, and oxygen.
Somewhere in here, "C" made me keep my promise and tell the story of how I set myself on fire as Professor Al Chemy. Yeah, good times.
I then asked if our local star, the Sun, was combusting out there in space?
I urge you to consider Einstein's quip: " The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."
We can begin to grasp that the Sun is NOT burning or combusting due to a severe lack of oxygen in space.
But the Sun is still hot and warming the Earth, some 93 million miles away. This led us to touch upon the difference between a nuclear change and reaction chemistry.
The Sun is undergoing a nuclear change called Nuclear Fusion. This allowed us to briefly touch upon something called the mass defect, in which some matter is converted to energy as the nuclei of atoms are NOT bonded but fused into each other to create a wholly new element.
In a simple form, we can say that hydrogen species are merged into nuclei of helium (a different element). Some nuclear material is converted to energy.
Hence, in a nuclear change, the LCMEC does not work - things get a touch more expansive!
So we moved around a bit.
Is this blog capturing what we did?
Are you doing okay? Are your questions being answered, interests being piqued? LMK. Write with question and/or issues. I hope to see you all next Tuesday! Start your assignment and pre-lab!!!!
Tuesday 27 January :
Okay! We are underway with lecture. We are up to page 6 of the note packet.
Class began with the goals:
1) To learn what chemistry is, and the difference between reaction chemistry and nuclear chemistry
2) To learn how to authoritatively (with absolute confidence) identify samples of matter.
3) To learn how to identify examples of energy (You know what something is by what it isn't)
Chemistry studies matter, its composition / properties /structure, the reactions of matter and the energy associated with those reactions.
For the first few weeks of class we will focus upon matter's composition / properties and structure - but energy will always be in the wings making entrances and exits.
The broad category of chemistry we shall study is called REACTION CHEMISTRY.
Now, I know many in the class know a little chemistry - and a few have no background at all. However, I suspect most of you have heard of protons, neutron and electrons.
And, I suspect many of you know that there is a nucleus to an atom and beyond that nucleus is some form of a collection of electron(s), like an electron cloud.
We essentially study reaction chemistry which is really all about the activity of electrons and how those activities affect matter and energy.
A second broad category of chemistry, nuclear chemistry, is all about the nucleus. It focuses upon changes in neutrons and protons. We are not getting into that for now. If there is time - we can definitely learn how various forms nuclear power plants work, and I can teach you a fair amount of the atomic bombs (the A Bomb used in WWII) and a bit less about thermonuclear bombs (like the H Bomb). Did you even know there was a difference?
It is important to know that in REACTION CHEMISTRY, matter and energy are conserved. Matter and energy can't just disappear or be made.
As we moved to trying to identify samples of matter with authority - you as a class, blew me away. What a strong, informed and almost confident piece of work (both group and individual). You were engaged in the diagnostic and really - throughout the class!
I introduced the idea that anything that can fill a balloon for a time could be considered matter. (Recall all metaphors have limitations - but this balloon idea is a good hook to begin your thinking processes.)
Matter is anything which has mass and occupies volume. That is the technical definition - but many of us are left a little high and dry by that definition.
Mass is a bit tough to explain - but we will! Volume is easier.
But here is a nice take home message: If you have a balloon filled with something - then you know it is matter. And, if you have matter, then there is a mass and volume.
By understanding or by using the metaphor I am betting you can more confidently identify examples of matter and energy. In fact, you proved that on Tuesday!
We then segued to the idea of energy (That's seg-way-ed ... we transitioned to something else).
Energy as the ability to create a change or to do work .
I completely blanked on my physics (Am I getting too old for this?) But, Work = Force x Distance.
Force = Mass x Acceleration, where acceleration is a change in direction or speed.
Hence, Work = (mass)(acceleration)(distance)
Thus work was done when I tossed the pen (a mass was moved for a distance) ... energy was used!
I then tried to apply meaning to this by speaking to muscle fibers sliding over each other. (More on Tuesday). I also hinted at the role of calcium ions (Ca^+2).
Calcium ions (Ca^+2) from multiple compounds can bind to a protein called troponin which then helps to hold actin and myosin fibers in form (flexing a muscle).
(Bonus Points: Stop and write down that last sentence I put in boldface and underlined. Just put it on a piece of paper with your name and give it to me on Friday to prove you read the blog!!!!!)
Potassium ions (K^+1) (like those found in bananas) are used to help release that binding, or rather, to relax a flexed /contracted muscle.
So here is what I am trying to build up to: I am using terms like ion, atom, charge. What the heck is an ION? What is calcium ion or potassium ion? What is the difference between a +2 and +1? What are some nutritional issues you can learn from knowing this sort of idea?
This is what I want to help build in you - and understanding about Everyday Chemistry.
Stay Chill - You are marvelous! Frankly - you are the stuff of stars and you are proving that to me at each session.
Write with any questions.
Friday 23 January 2026:
You were asked to pick up a copy of everything from the front desk. So at this point you have a copy of;
1) the Unit 1 Part 1 Note Packet
2) a periodic table of the elements
3) the Introductory Packet with the dates / procedures and expectations of the course
4) the survey questions regarding the Introductory Packet (You turned this in during class.)
If you failed to get these artifacts or were you to lose something, you can find digital copies of the first 3 on this website, under the first tab, Everyday Notes.
You answered the survey questions. Do you get the idea that I take that seriously? I hope so.
In class we went through the introductory packet. A number of points were highlighted. This number includes, but is not limited to:
1) this website and its use/organization
2) this course being a writing intensive course
3) the importance to be in attendance
4) the importance of the laboratory program
5) how to deal with the challenge of delayed or late assignments when the days go wrong
6) the importance of embedded citation of source materials
7) grading
8) important dates / Lab schedule
9) the need to expand on your writing by defining key terms and ideas.
10) how to use the asterisk (* )and font color for the notes system, when online.
I collected the contracts.
We then had a chance to start the notes. We got up to the definition of science. The word means, knowledge.
Knowledge is NOT the same thing as information. Knowledge is the weaving and connecting of information (facts) so as to create a prediction and/or explanation.
To put it crudely, science is like driving. When you drive, there are tons of facts. You have visuals via mirrors, there is a speed, the tire pressure, the amount of gasoline - but none of these facts equal the activity of "driving".
Driving is a set of complex integrated behaviors, based upon training, experience, and observation that allows you to move 3,000 pounds of metal at 60 miles per hour, amidst dozens of other vehicles.
Science is like that - it isn't just the facts. It is an integration and the testing of that integration that allows us to best approximate a prediction or explanation that, like driving, gets us from point A to point B.
We then moved to the definition of chemistry.
Chemistry studies:
1) matter
2) the reactions matter undergoes
3) the energy associated with those reactions.
This course is not about memorizing everything - don't become a dictionary like me. Rather, this course is about learning how to find information, evaluate the value/worthiness/accuracy of that information and how to weave that information into knowledge, so that you may make predictions or provide explanations to physical and/or biological phenomena!
(Phew ... Dudes / Dudines, that was a mouthful - but real.)
You matter. Your education matters. Your personal goals matter. Yes, as I said - I am a tyrant of sorts - but I am your tyrant - in your corner - hoping that you act on this chance to explore the horizons of chemistry.
Okay - not much more to add. Timeliness to class matters - so get to class as safely and as soon as is possible.
My thoughts on this is that you would not be late for a lawyer or doctor's appointment if at all possible - so don't be late for your own education - treat yourself that well.
You can find me in our classroom most days before class - take the opportunity to drop in. Treat this like unofficial office hours. Come in, chat about class or tennis or art or cars or whatever might be on your mind.
My official office hours are right after class. If office hours do not work for you we can meet by appointment. Just keep the lines of communication open.
Have I missed anything? LMK.
Don't hesitate to drop me an email with any questions. I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday in class.
Your term papers are due next Friday (17 April). All the rules/requirements are found in the Introductory Packet - pages 7 - 9. Page 9 has the grading guidelines I use to evaluate your work. You can use it as a "checklist" to insure you have met each of the goals/requirements.
On Friday I will ask for volunteers who wish to get their presentations done on Wednesday 22 April during you scheduled lab period.)
We have begun the second unit, all about energy and what I consider to be the really interesting applications.
Before we began work on energy, we wrapped up the pH scale.
It may benefit each of you to actually look through the PowerPoint on the formation of hydronium ion (Click Here). I have attached it again to this blog. So few of you went through it originally - and I believe you will need to understand certain issues surrounding the topic.
The pH scale is a touch weird - we accept it - but we don't quite grasp why an aqueous solution with a pH of 2 is MORE acidic than an aqueous solution with a pH of 5.
That understanding rests in your grasp that 0.01 is a larger value than 0.00001. Do you understand that the first value is significantly larger (like a 1,000 times larger) than the second value? This is key.
You see, pH = -[-log H3O^+1] or in words, pH is equal to the negative log of the hydronium ion concentration. Those brackets (not parentheses), are symbolic for the word, concentration (specifically, molar concentration ....but let's not get worried about that.)
When we take the negative log of a value such as 1 x 10^-7 we get the positive whole number value of the exponent. In this case, 7.
The negative log of 1 x 10^-6 gives us a value of 6.
And that means that a solution with a pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic (has 10 times more H3O^+1 ions) than a solution with a pH of 7.
Hence, a solution with a pH of 5 is 10 times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 6 AND 100 TIMES MORE ACIDIC THAN a solution with a pH of 7. (Not 20 times ... as we saw in class).
Rain / Snow prior to the industrial revolution had a pH not of 7 but of around 5.5. This means that rain, as a rule is slightly acidic.
Naturally occurring gases such as CO2 and NO2 or SO2 released from plants, volcanoes, and earthquakes
dissolved a bit into the water vapor / water in the atmosphere, producing acidic solutions, and thus lowered the pH to 5.5.
Nature evolved with this pH.
As we burn more fossil fuels, we release far more (an excessively large value) of these same gases into the atmosphere and the pH of rain and snow has dropped towards a value of 4, thus indicating that the amount of acid in the rainwater has increased dramatically.
This has all sorts of problems associated with this. The oceans which could absorb a great deal of the carbon dioxide released dissolve most of it, and this acidified the ocean water.
Over the last 150 years, the pH of the ocean waters has been indicating more and more acid and this has begun to interfere with the reproductive cycles of coral, turtles, shellfish etc...
We see this same sort of disastrous interference on land, with the cycles of plants, frogs (amphibians in general), some insects, birds ...etc.
The acidification has cultural and economic impacts as cities like Rome rely upon travelers coming to see sculptures in museums- but also outside (like the Trevi Fountain). The acid in the rain is increasing the the reaction between the marble (the metamorphic form of the weak base, limestone, or CaCO3) and the acid, thus corroding these great works of art.
Okay, then we began our work on energy - the ability to create a change and/or to do work.
Is light a form of energy? Yes, we can't fill a balloon with it. But now, we can be more sophisticated in our understanding.
Can light create a change? Sure it can. Light can cause us to tan ... to create new molecules of melanin to help screen out UV energy.
Light can turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose, in the chloroplasts of a plant.
Light is a form of energy.
We also spent a fair amount of time discussing why perspiring is considered to be a cooling process and/or why we felt chilled getting out of a hot shower.
The key to understand that as a rule, under most circumstances we are the hottest thing around! Our internal body temperature of 97.4 F or so makes us warmer than most other items.
Energy moves from high to low.
Water on our skin is heated by our body (we are a stove....), and as that water absorbs our bodily energy and turns the water into water vapor, we lose energy .... We feel colder!
Okay, write with issues and/or questions. I hope to see you all on Tuesday.
Tuesday 7 April
Well todays' class was a bit off the rails - but I think we managed to get some chemistry in.
I began today with a look at the calendar. I am pushing the next test back and limiting the number of tests to two.
"C" asked about the due date for the paper and I really cannot change it - as I need to have papers read by the time we begin presentations.
I explained the presentation questions and tried to represent what a presentation could look like in 5 minutes.
Everything is in the Introductory Packet so be sure to look at the necessary pages ... shout out to "J" for reinforcing that today.
We began on page 21 re: acids and I re-introduced carboxylic acids (a form of organic acids) with that very recognizable - COOH functional group. In the case of carboxylic acids, that H of the functional group -COOH is the acidic hydrogen and this is the one time the H is last, as opposed to first.
I began to discuss the ubiquitous use of citric acid. It is excellent for cleaning windows and shower stalls. Don't use it on your marble countertop , as marble is a slightly alkaline (basic) material. A citric acid solution will damage the marble.
I segued to hair conditioner as containing citric acid. And I began to discuss why hair conditioner was often acidic in pH.
Then - well - we sort of went into a deep dive re: hair, moisturizer, skin care (don't use DAWN) and sunscreen.
Now, before we go any further - if you have medical questions about anything from today - get to your doctor - as I said in class. I am here for educational purposes and sharing some generally agreed upon ideas. For medical issues - get to a doctor!
Shampoo is a rather alkaline (basic) mixture. Its function is to remove the dirt trapped in the oils of our hair, without over stripping the hair.
Hair is a protein polymer made from amino acids. (These amino acids are linked to each other in a very similar condensation polymerization reaction used in your lab to make esters!)
Generally, shampoo is alkaline (basic with a pH above 7), due to the detergents (petroleum - based cleaners). When using shampoo, the hair cuticle (outer layer) can be opened up due to the amino acid called cysteine (sis-teen) of the protein polymer, LOSING an H+1 (an acidic hydrogen).
A conditioner at the very least is designed to be acidic to close the cuticle, by returning H+1 to the cysteine molecules.
You can wash your hair with egg! This was popular in Victorian England - and it does work. Using the idea of LIKE DISSOLVES LIKE, the yolk which is mostly fat, is what helps to remove the oils and dirt. The albumin can mix with water and help with rinsing the material out of your hair. Eggs are rich in vitamins and anecdotal evidence suggests it adds shine.
This lead to a terrific conversation about skin care.
Some of the take-aways are:
1) There is a difference between pimples and acne. Acne is a disease. Get to a dermatologist to get help! Do not scrub your face. Your hands are great for cleaning you face - or be very gentle with a wash cloth. Don't reuse that cloth -get a fresh one for the next cleansing cycle. Bacteria will grow on wet washcloths
2) Do not over-dry your skin. Harsh cleansers like DAWN (!!!!!), deodorant soaps (Zest, Irish Spring, Dial) should NOT be used on your face. They are extremely drying and some folks have reactions to some of the additives.
3) There are a ton of gentle cleansers on the market made by CeraVe (ceramide vehichle is where it gets its name), LaRoche-Posay, Vanicream, Cetaphil, Lubriderm, etc.... are a few examples of gentle cleansers. Unscented can be best.
4) Most of your "dirt" is trapped in oils. The goal of cleansing is to gently remove the dirt and oils, without removing ALL of the oils (stripping your skin / over-drying your skin). It has been reported that many of the gentle cleansers like CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser can even be great at removing makeup!!!
5) When we strip the oils of our skin, we can inadvertently get bacteria to infect and then our bodies respond the the over-dry skin by making even more oil - providing a perfect growth medium for bacteria.
Our skin was designed to be well hydrated (drink your water) and have a touch of natural oils.
6) Consider a moisturizer. They can help - but as always, speak with a doctor.
7) Sunscreen goes over your moisturizer (or last layer of makeup if you don't moisturize). One of the reasons we need to wait 15 minutes or so before going out into the sun, with sunscreen is to allow the sunscreen to dry and form a flexible film over the skin. White cast is an issue, so tinted sunscreen may be for you and there are some that have very little cast.
Sunscreen will either BLOCK harmful ultraviolet rays or convert the ultraviolet rays to infrared rays and release the energy as heat.
Once we see a tan form, that s our body telling us, we have begun to do damage. Wear a hat and sunglasses. We will discuss the use of sunglasses next week - you are not too young to begin wearing them rather regularly.
For those of us who break out at the drop of a hat, I would like to suggest few other things we can do to help deal with breakouts.
1) Change your pillow cases every other night. (Learn to do your own laundry). Pillow cases absorb oils from the skin and hair and our nice clean faces get put onto them. Keep a clean case handy.
2) Change your towel regularly. Now, how often you do that is up to you - but do not re-use a towel more than two or three times. The bacterial growth is amazing on wet, cotton embedded with skin particles!
3) Keep your phone screen clean. It is lousy with oils and dirt and when you put it up to your face, you are doing yourself, no good.
Okay, I think that's it... Did I forget anything? LMK. Write with your questions . See you Friday.
Tuesday 31 March
Hey! I think we have crossed boarders and boundaries of all types - as I felt we were knee-deep into some serious questions and solid college chemistry. You folks were fabulous.
We tackled (re-tackled?) chemical reactions vs. physical changes. Hopefully with this week's lab you have seen some chemical reactions, as precipitates (new solids) were made. Remember, we need NEW BONDS made in a chemical reaction.
I am embedding the worksheet we used in class to help use with Chemical Reactions vs Physical Changes (Click Here)
Some of our classmates were out and the work is complex enough for me to think mere words of a blog won't capture everything.
So I took a couple of hours out to write up a PowerPoint regarding the self-ionization of water and making the hydronium ion (Click Here).
Essentially that is your reading. So open it up and run through it. There is NOTHING special here. I only had an hour or so, and you need to click through. I didn't narrate, record or create an automatic timing sequence. This is a simple PowerPoint ...just trying to get out the facts as we move more deeply into acids and bases.
I have spent so much time on this topic because understanding the formation of the hydronium ion (H3O^+1) is absolutely important when discussing acid/base theory. Okay? Check it out. Let me know if you see something weird, can't run it ...etc.... I will do my best to respond and to help.
We are up to page 22 of the notes. I think we will finish up the note packet on Friday. I have a new packet (to substitute for the one I already gave out - because I am moving things around.) I will explain on Friday.
Okay! Write with your questions or concerns. I am available to get in to help you and of course, I am there before and after class. See you Tuesday!
Friday 27 March
Hey Folks, we had about 1/3 of the class out yesterday due to the inauguration so I moved a few things around. On Tuesday, we need to hit acid/base theory and move quickly. However, a good bit of new work was completed - so here's the review.
We began with questions regarding the exam. If you still have questions ask me before or after class on Tuesday.
I explained issues surrounding question 20, the question testing the ability to identify a chemical reaction when written/symbolized in a digitalized article or on paper.
Essentially, there are two different circumstances under which I hope you can identify a chemical reaction vs. a physical change.
Yes - both chemical reactions and physical changes deal with chemicals, however, chemists have tended to take pains to identify one from the other.
A chemical change involves the breaking of old bonds and the MAKING of new bonds.
In "real life" we can suss out a chemical reaction if two of the following three sensations are detected or occur:
1) if there is a bold color change as products are made
2) if a new solid (precipitate), liquid or gas (bubbles form) is/are formed. Note, fizzing from soda pop is not what I mean when we talk about bubbles forming. Rather, I am addressing the combination of two reactants and a smelly gas or bubbling begins, without the benefit of heating.
3) if there is an energy exchange - either energy is released from the chemicals to the environment or if energy is absorbed by the reacting chemicals from the environment.
You are going to see this in your next lab, the Analysis of Water. The production of precipitates of varying colors will indicate chemical reactions occurring.
What is really happening is that new bonds are being made. The bonds of the reactants are broken and new alliances are made, resulting in new compounds.
This can be seen on paper, when we compare the reactants to the products. When new bonds are made, it is most likely a chemical reaction. When old bonds are simply broken (as in dissolving), then we classify that as a physical change. Melting , boiling, evaporation etc... are examples of physical changes as well.
Filtration, distillation, and chromatography are essentially physical means to achieve a physical change in a mixture (as in separation of the mixture's components).
I shall get small worksheet together to practice this - as we will see it on the next exam. (See the introductory packet for a calendar).
We then moved onto using the SARS Cov 2 vaccine as an example of a mixture. I spent a fair amount of time trying to teach to 2 facts:
1) The mRNA vaccine CANNOT give you the disease. There is absolutely no way it can do that. As with any approved medical treatment there are some side-effects in a small portion of the population.
Additionally It can make you feel a bit unwell for a day or two after getting it - and that is really due to the body shifting resources to dealing with the new demands on the body.
2) The mRNA vaccine CANNOT cause changes (read, mutations) in our DNA. It simply cannot do that. In fact, the mRNA vaccine and the nucleus of our cells (where DNA is stored) never meet up.
Essentially the vaccine is a mixture of mRNA wrapped in fats, a buffer (weak acid and the conjugate base [salt] of the acid), and sugar.
The mRNA is the molecule which brings instructions to the ribosomes found in a cell's the cytoplasm and endoplasmic reticulum, so that proteins can be made.
The mRNA of the vaccine is the instruction for the spike protein surrounding the virus.
The spike protein is NOT infectious, but it is foreign to our bodies (and that is an important fact).
The spike protein is NOT in the vaccine. Rather, the instructions to make spike protein is in the virus.
With the injection of the vaccine, our ribosomes begin to make the non-infectious (but foreign) protein.
In time (a few days), our body's immune cells recognize that some sort of foreign protein is being made.
Our body defends against this protein by creating an immune response.
Within 2 weeks, the vaccine, the mRNA of the spike protein, any spike protein made and everything else is expelled from our bodies.
What remains are T-Cells and B-Cells of our own immune system which now house the means of recognizing and destroying any entity with that spike protein.
Hence the vaccine has taught our bodies how to fight - saving time and preventing disaster.
We then looked at the work of Alice Ball, who devised a treatment (not a vaccine), for easing the disaster of leprosy. Leprosy is a bacterial infection of mycobacterium leprae, a cousin of mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It can take 7 years for the disease to manifest its destruction of nerve tissue from the point of infection.
In the early 1900s, before the onset of the modern antibacterial age (around the 1930s) , Ball separated plant-based mixtures which seemed to have antibacterial effects for M. leprae.
She used techniques you have used in lab; saponification and esterification, to create an effective injectable and ultimately, absorbable treatment to fight the bacteria.
Her work is simply .... WOW! There is a link to a short video about her work in your notes.
Then I brought out three dozen or so cologne samples for us to mess around with along the lines of separation of a mixture.
That's what colognes really do. Most (not all) colognes/perfumes have a structure of top notes, mid notes and base notes.
Based upon the process of evaporation (a physical change) and using the science of intermolecular forces of attractions (the forces due to partial positive and negative charges (they are "not bonds") that attract one molecule to another, perfumes change.
Top notes last a few minutes. Often, these are volatile citrus molecules. They are poorly attracted to each other and a little energy (body temp) can cause them to evaporate away.
Mid notes can be many things. They tend to be larger molecules (more difficult to evaporate) of floral products, or other plant molecules.
Colognes/Perfumes (there really is no difference), can have various fragrance profiles based upon our skin pH!!!!
Citrus fragrances are brighter / fresher on slightly acidic pH skin-types. Washing with a buffered body wash (often slightly acidic), may help with that acidic pH maintanence.
Deeper ambers, oakmoss or leather accords (mixtures of chemicals to mimic leather scents) do well on slightly more alkaline (basic) skin types.
Fragrance is complicated ... There sure as heck is a learning curve.
One thing is clear however. Moisturizing your skin will help with the longevity of your fragrance - not necessarily the projection - but it will indeed help it to linger.
You see, UNSCENTED moisturizers (e.g CeraVe, VaniCream, Lubridurm, LaRoche Posay) are fat-based.
Fragrances are mixtures of oils and alcohols that dissolve in fats. (Like dissolves Like... fats dissolve in oils and lipophilic materials tend to dissolve in water).
This should connect with your saponification lab. Anyway, this is just my way to say that a fragrance will often stay around longer as the evaporation of its oils and alcohols will be slowed by a minor solubility in a moisturizer applied to the skin.
It's all just a little bit of EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY!!!!!
Okay, write with questions and get me your paper topics!
Tuesday 24 March
We began lecture with a look at (and a plug for) Dr. Stephen Mould's work re: why all of the coal in the world was produced in the same geological time period of about 60 million years.
Aligning with the rest of our work on petroleum as a mixture, we see that coal predates the dinosaurs and has a fascinating (imo) origin story.
First let's establish that there are two large categories of plants: the soft (herbaceous) plants and woody plants. Vegetable plants like tomato plants or any garden flower are herbaceous. The stems are soft and can only support so much mass. Trees and bushes are excellent examples of woody (lignin-containing) plants.
The story surrounded the development of lignin - a natural aromatic polymer (polymers are covered in this week's lab!!) constituting 20–33% of wood, acting as a structural "glue" that binds cellulose fibers to provide rigidity, compressive strength, and hydrophobic properties. It makes wood solid and, when heated, allows it to become flexible.
Lignin is the most important chemical constituent of wood. After all, while plants, and even some bacteria, can produce cellulose and hemicelluloses, only lignified plants can be described as "woody". (Materials Research Society symposium; 11 1990 April 18-20;San Francisco, CA. Pittsburgh, PA: Materials Research Society; 1990: 11-20. Vol. 197. LIGNINS: STRUCTURE AND DlSTRlBUTlON IN WOOD AND PULP John R. Obst USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory,1 Madison, WI 53705-2398 )
Through the forces of evolution, lignin-containing plants thrived PRIOR to the enzymes required for bacteria and fungi to decompose lignin appeared.
Thus, for about 60 million years, trees flourished and when they died, bacteria and fungi were unable to decompose the trees. This dead vegetation built up and eventually became what we know as coal!
Via evolution, bacteria and fungi formed which had the capability to decompose lignin - opening up a whole new energy supply to these organisms. Hence, the production of what we call "coal" ceased, as the build-up of dead tree matter ceased due to successful bacterial and fungal decomposition processes.
We then moved through pages 18 to 21 covering the basics of mixtures.
We covered a series of physical separation techniques. We discussed filtration, chromatography (from lab) and distillation. I took some time to explain what is meant by phrases like triple-distilled vodka
So we began this topic with petroleum specifically petroleum oil - sort of the king of economic mixtures. Today saw a much softer sort of "everyday" application - petrichor (pet-rih-kor) - the smell of rain.
The mixture called petrichor has a familiar musty scent due in large extent to a compound called geosmin.
When shown a diagram of geosmin's structural formula, we became stuck when I asked whether geosmin was an organic or inorganic compound.
Let me outline this clearly. We could describe geosmin with some of the following terms:
molecular or molecule (because it is made of nonmetals)
compound (two or more different elements (specifically different nonmetal atoms) bonded together)
covalent compound or covalent bonding (due to shared electrons [represented by those straight lines in the picture] per your work re: covid)
covalent bonding also applies as those bonds are between nonmetal atoms
organic because there is carbon covalently bonded to hydrogen (C - H bonds per our work on skeletal structures).
A term which DOES NOT apply is hydrocarbon, as the molecular structure showed an OH functional group on a carbon.
BUT! The term ALCOHOL (or monohydroxy alcohol) could be used to describe geosmin due to that single O-H group bonded to a carbon atom.
While petrichor is a mixture, we now know that part of that mixture is due to geosmin - a molecular, organic compound, specifically a type of alcohol, held together via covalent bonds!
(You will earn bonus points, if you write down that last sentence in boldface about petrichor & geosmin, and bring it in on a piece of paper on Friday.)
When we get to class on Friday, I want to get to a video re: the Covid vaccine as a mixture, the work of Alice Ball, maybe some cologne and then Arrhenius Acid/Base Theory.
"L" asked about Arrhenius and that sent me off on a story about Arrhenius's best buddy, Fritz Haber - one of humanity's very, very, complicated heroes and absolute villains.
I gave out the exam results. Take a look at I will take questions on Friday.
Write with paper topics and questions. See you soon!
Friday 13 March
Well by the time you read this, you will be either far flung to the reaches of wherever on vacation, or back to campus trying to figure out just what the heck happened.
This lecture was an important one - so listen (read) up!
Because gasoline prices have been in the news I jumped towards the end of the packet to work through petroleum (specifically, oil) as a mixture.
Petroleum is actually an umbrella term which refers to multiple fossil fuels; oil, coal and natural gas.
Each of these main categories of fossil fuel (petroleum) is a mixture of some type.
Yes, even natural gas (methane or CH4 ) is probably a mixture as it enters our homes. Methane gas probably has a small amount of ethane mixed in, albeit methane is in the greater quantity.
Oil is definitely a mixture. Petroleum oil contains thousands of different compounds, a few elements and even a few metal cations like nickel and vanadium.
However, it is pretty safe to write that most of the compounds are some form of hydrocarbon organic molecular compound. (How about that for squeezing in as much vocabulary as possible?????).
Petroleum oil predates the dinosaurs by about 100 million years. So, oil is NOT made from dead dinosaurs.
It is made from the remains of ancient diatoms - small , unicellular forms of plankton. Diatoms, while unicellular could, depending upon species, form colonies.
Over millennia, diatoms died, and sank to the bottom of an anoxic (lacking dissolved oxygen (O2(g)) zone of an ocean.
Since so little oxygen gas was dissolved (present) in the water, bacteria capable of decomposing diatoms were probably also lacking.
Hence, all of the hydrocarbons, as well as the fats, nucleic acids, proteins and carbohydrates of this early life piled up, compacted, reacted, changed and formed what we now call Black Gold, Texas Tea (aka oil)
Thus, oil is the fossil, of what we mean by fossil fuel.
It is made from the stuff of life of the dead diatoms.
Gasoline (a mixture in its own right), is made from the refinement (read, distillation) of the oil super- mixture.
One barrel of petroleum oil is 42 gallons. The USA consumes approximately 22 million barrels of oil per day.
Approximately, nineteen gallons of every barrel of oil is used to make gasoline.
Approximately 6 to 6.5 gallons of oil are used to make compounds required to make; aspirin, antibiotics, yarn, paint, rubber, plastics, paint, clothing (nylon, polyester, acrylic, etc...), fertilizer, condoms, makeup, shampoo, detergents, just to name a few broad categories of items. We a bathed in oil from cradle to grave.
Gasoline prices are going up right now, because pricing is based upon what it will take to refill the underground tanks at gas stations.
Since the flow of oil has been disrupted, the price of future oil prices is rising, hence the gasoline refined from that more expensive oil will be, itself, more expensive.
Hence when a service station authorizes a contract to refill the gasoline tanks, it will cost significantly more for that "future" gasoline. In short, we are being charged more, in advance of that greater cost, so the service station has the money to pay off that contract, and this is one reason why, we pay for what it costs to refill the tanks! Get it?
Upon your return we will pick up this thread to learn why all of the coal in the world was made at the same time (!!!). Then we will back track in the notes, to cover Arrhenius acids and bases as mixtures with water.
Think about getting me topics for your papers! Write with issues!!!!
Tuesday 10 March
Oh Boy! I am slowing down ... another late post and you again have my apologies. Things simply became very, very busy at this end.
Okay, by now, I should have everyone's exams. LMK if there are problems.
Midterm grades are due by 24 March. I should have mine in as soon as I finish up grading the exam and Dr. DeVito gets me your lab grades. Then the magic will happen.
We are on page 16, heading to page 17 in the notes.
In lecture we picked up a conversation about organic compounds. I tried to stress that the terms such as:
molecule
molecular
covalent compound could apply when discussing organic compounds.
Yes, some of those terms could also apply to inorganic compounds (although, not all inorganic compounds).
My advice is to first distinguish whether you are trying to describe an element or compound.
If you were trying to describe a species such as O2 or O3 you can use terms such as;
element (only 1 type of atom or "capital letter)
molecule or molecular element (the chemicals are made of ONLY nonmetal atoms)
covalent bonds (the chemical union is between nonmetal atoms which is a sign of covalent bonding ... and yes, you would be correct to see a connection between the use of the term molecule and covalent)
Covalent describes the TYPE OF BOND between (nonmetal) atoms
Molecule describes the chemical species made of nonmetal atoms joined by covalent bonds.
If you were trying to describe a species such as CH4 or CH3CH2OH you can use terms such as;
compound
molecule or molecular
molecular compound or a covalent compound
organic compound
organic molecular compound
CH4 could be described as a hydrocarbon, while CH3CH2OH could be described as having a functional group (specifically, alcohol).
I mentioned the saponification lab. With that I mentioned that soap is a great example of a chemical that does what it does due to its SHAPE as well as its atom composition.
Soap cleans in part, due to a rather uneven shape, in which one end of the molecule can dissolve into water, while a very even end dissolves into oils.
Here, we can see MOLECULAR SHAPE impacting chemical activity. (We will learn more about this when we do "Like Dissolves Like")
I emphasized that another factor that can affect chemistry is WHAT ATOMS make up a molecule... not just how they are put together.
Hence, both shape and composition of an organic molecule can affect its chemical behavior.
Both shape and composition help us to predict/explain chemical behavior as that chemical behavior is generally a mixture of the two phenomena.
However, I am sort of artificially separating the two issues of composition and shape - in order to teach the phenomena.
Hence, that was a darn good time to mention functional groups.
A functional group is an atom or set of atoms which go beyond the hydrocarbon, and grants specific chemical ability to the molecule.
We spent some time comparing the alcohol, propanol to the organic (carboxylic) acid, propanoic acid
"L" asked why are the two molecules different and that led to a quick and dirty look at the concept of
electronegativity and the work of Linus Pauling (as predicated upon the theories of Amedeo Avogadro).
Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to draw the electrons of a bond to itself. (Essentially, it is the ability of one atom to gain the electrons disproportionately in a bond, due to a stronger nuclear attraction for the electrons)
Pauling developed what we now call the Pauling Scale of Electronegativity (part of the work for which he won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 .... I think I said 1953 ... I am getting old.)
The Pauling Scale (there are now 4 other variations), runs from 0.7 to 3.98 (which I will round to 4.0)
The greater the electronegativity, the greater the tendency of an atom to gain an electron from another atom possessing a lesser electronegativity.
Atoms of fluorine sit on top at 4.0.
Atoms of oxygen are the next powerful at 3.5
Atoms of francium and rubidium are at the bottom at 0.7.
This means that fluorine will get those electrons while the metals will lose the electrons.
Now, in the case of an organic molecular compound such as propanoic acid, the oxygen atoms (one bonded with two covalent bonds or a double bond and a second one with a single covalent bond) pull electrons away from the carbon.
This sets up partial positive and partial negative charges which affect the chemistry of the molecule.
If you require a reminder of the structure of propanoic acid click here.
The alcohol propanol (click here for a picture) lacks the second oxygen atom of propanoic acid. Thus, the distribution of partial positive and negative charge is far less, and that affects the chemistry of the alcohol.
We spent the remaining time discussing polyphenol oxidase (an organometallic compound - I am simply referring it to as an organic compound) and polyphenols.
I tried my hand at a little nutrition.
Compounds rich in polyphenols have those polyphenols stored in vacuoles. Polyphenol oxidase (the ase ending suggests it is an enzyme) is stored in plastids associated with chloroplasts.
Damage to the cells reacts the enzyme and polyphenol substrate to create that browning look which is actually quite toxic. Thus it is a defense mechanism.
Hence fruits which turn brown easily, such as bananas, avocados, apples and pears are high in BOTH polyphenols and polyphenol oxidase.
Fruits high in polyphenols (and to a lesser degree, polyphenol oxidase) do NOT turn brown. This includes citrus fruits like lemons and oranges and berries.
The acidity of lemon juice (citric acid) is said to reduce the browning effect (making it too acidic for the chemical activity of PPO) while the Vitamin C acts to inhibit the activity of oxygen. Hence adding some lemon juice to some foodstuffs keep them looking good!
Some research (per your notes) suggests that bananas eaten simultaneously with foodstuffs high in anti-inflammatory polyphenols but low in PPO (e.g. berries and dates) may interfere with the absorption of those polyphenols by 84 %!!!!!!
We also discussed inflammation a bit an "C" asked a really good question regarding depression and inflammation.
For a technical piece regarding depression and low-grade inflammation take a look at this article from the National Institute of Health (click here).
For a less technical piece try this article (click here)
For an article in the middle, try this one (it's really good [click here]) from Science Direct. Try section 2, especially 2.1 for a fast and good explanation.
We also took a step back so I could fulfill a promise that I would help with writing the term paper. I gave my best advice to decipher technical terms, using the short paragraph regarding PPO. I urged students to define and explain terms to prove their grasp of the work. THAT INTERPRETATION AND THE CONSISTENCY OF PROVING WHAT YOU KNOW, ARE THE THINGS I AM REALLY GRADING!
Some folks have written me with paper ideas - and I am not ignoring you ... just busy. I will get back to you.
Okay! I will catch you all on Friday! Write with issue and questions.
Friday 6 March
Hey Gang - sorry for this late post - it's almost 9 pm. I had a small emergency that took me off to help out a friend. I am back and here is the update.
I handed out a page of past paper topics and a method that may help write the type of paper I want from you. I have printed copies for anyone not in class. These pages are also found at the bottom of the NOTES tab of this website.
I am looking to get topics for your final paper. We can hold off on that for a little while - but I need for you to begin thinking about ideas.
The paper is to be an example of or an artifact that proves what you are taking away from class.
I am not looking for you to write what your sources say. I am looking for your INTERPRETATION of what your sources say. I want to know your understanding of the words, ideas, applications.
The goal of the paper is to prove to me that you have improved your grasp of chemistry because of this course and its work. I am not interested in what some source says - but rather, I am interested in how you bring meaning / interpret the work found at the source.
This is your final exam! You get to write and then answer the questions - but you must prove to me that you know something. Again, don't just repeat what some source says.
Interpret it. Define all terms. Explain your grasp of the work.
It does NOT need to be fancy-schmancy. It needs to be real, genuine, demonstrative of how you are growing.
We attacked work on page 13 and it is all about compounds; inorganic compounds (that exist as ionic solids and molecules) and organic compounds (which exist as molecules).
Recall our definition of molecule is a generalized recognition of an uncharged (electrically neutral) chemical species made up of at least 2 nonmetal atoms held together via covalent bonding.
We then dealt with the reading re: skeletal structures. For anyone with questions, I urge you to contact me or get to the YouTube link found in the Tuesday 3 March blog post.
There are 2 things to remember when dealing with skeletal structures of organic compounds.
1) We may assume a C atom at the end of a line and at any vertex.
2) Think of those lines as covalent bonds. Those covalent bonds link carbon atoms together in an organic molecular compound.
3) Every carbon atom will have 4 covalent bonds. Unless otherwise indicated, we may assume the remaining (and correct number of) bonds are to H atoms.
Trends emerged. Carbon atoms at the end of molecules (the terminal carbon atoms) were often written at CH3
Carbon atoms in the middle may be written as CH2 or CH or C depending upon the pre-existing bonds to the rest of the molecular chain.
Then something rather "organic" in terms of our class conversation occurred. "C" asked a question regarding bonds and I happened to say something to the effect that : "shorter bonds were more stable, often stronger and less likely to break and/or allow another reaction".
That statement occupied the rest of the class, as it pushed me (unintentionally .... yet "naturally" as it were) into Big Idea #3: POtential energy is the energy of POsition (or distance).
(Do you see how I bopped between organic as a chemical and organic as something natural????? Huh?)
Okay, anyway, the questions were great. "L" asked a great question as they tried to discern what I had on the board.
I was not going to head into Big Idea #3 until we were properly into energy - yet it felt that the questions evolving from the discussion required that I do at least a little something, something.
So here's a quick look at Big Idea #3 Potential Energy is the energy of Position (or distance)
Covalent bonds are chemical (potential) energy
Covalent bonds have a length and hence represents a distance of sorts between the atoms.
This hints that the POsition between the species carries with it an energy.
I tried to develop this thought by hitting "S" in the head from two different positions and discussing the age old "rock at the top of the hill has more potential energy" example.
I did not understand why the rock at the top of the hill had a greater potential energy than one at the bottom of the hill when I was in 7th grade.
Well, I didn't understand it until the idea was fleshed out.
A rock at the top of a hill has more energy at the bottom of the hill, assuming that the ground was the standard by which we were measuring.
Assuming the ground as "ground 0", of course a rock at the top of the hill as a greater POSITION (hence a potential) relative to a rock at ground 0.
Potential energy is akin to us dropping our tennis racket down and behind us to bring it up to strike a tennis ball.
It is why the player up at bat brings the bat back and turns the hip just so they can swing out to strike that ball.
The greater distance means greater energy.
Recall BIG IDEA #1: LCME. In part, the Law of the Conservation of Matter and Energy (& charge) states:
Energy cannot be created nor destroyed by ordinary chemical means but it can be transferred and/or converted to another form.
Hence since the greater potential energy of a bat held back with a turned hip CANNOT be lost BUT IT CAN BE CONVERTED , as the potential (positional) energy of bat to ball decreases, the potential energy is CONVERTED into kinetic energy (motion) and thus may strike the baseball with more energy (essentially a greater force).
Chemical bonds represent potential energy.
A short bond is more difficult to break and thus IT IS MORE STABLE (less likely to break and undergo reaction) RELATIVE to a longer bond.
"C" had a great metaphor when they said it was like breaking a stick. It was easier to break a long stick than a very short stick.
Yep! That's essentially the gist of it.
Short bonds are more difficult to break (relative to longer bonds) because the electron of one atom are powerfully attracted to the nucleus of the OTHER atom as the electron of the second atom is powerfully attracted to the nucleus of the first atom.
If you recall, this is how I actually began our discussion.
Okay, I think I am going to leave it here.
Write me with questions and/or concerns. I hope to see you all in class on Tuesday.
Tuesday 3 March
Holy Heck! We have been cancelled again!
Okay- I am making a decision.
Have your TEST due for Friday , 6 March. LMK if it is a difficult due date for you - but let me know well in advance per the Introductory Packet.
I have another assignment for you: Take a look at the pdf: Reading Skeletal Formulae (Click Here)
Prepare it for Friday. This means you need to read it and at the top of page 5 is a short activity where you are to apply what you think you learned. I have given you the answers right below.
I just answered a question for a classmate and I directed them to watch the first 3 minutes or so of the following YouTube video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCNX9McVUwE
You may find this helpful as a guide for skeletal structures.
Okay - so the test and the reading are due on Friday. The reading is not graded but I will be using your prep to move quickly through the notes.
Stay safe ... it may get icy out there. Write me with questions.
Friday 27 February
Assignment: Here's your test: Take Home 1: Matter (Click Here)
If you didn't get a printed copy I will have one for you at our next class, on Tuesday.
We did NOT pick a due date. I am thinking a week (making the due date Friday 6 March). However, that is not carved in stone.
On Tuesday we will pick a date (as some of you felt 1.5 weeks might be appropriate).
At the very least I can tell you that this is NOT DUE on our next class (Tuesday) ... you have until (at least), Friday. I do urge you however, to work away at it, by doing a few (5 or 6) questions per day.
I don't believe there are typos - but let me know. Remember, I can be, at times, the poster boy for things gone wrong.
Follow the directions - and write if you need clarification!
Also - prepare your pre-lab for Acids/Bases/Buffers. Keep your pre-lab for Analysis of Water as you may be doing it in about 1 month from now.
************************************************
Well lecture was darn right lousy (in a good way) with chemistry. I know it meandered a bit, taking J's question re: fossils/the process of fossilization , but I worked to bring it back to an every day application for you to pocket.
Did it work? You need to tell me.
We went over the graded assignment. This went quite well. I liked that you asked questions - kept me honest - and pushed for answers. Great Work!
Have you noticed how Big Idea #1 and Big Idea #2 keep coming up in various ways? Notice how I keep using them as underpinnings to everything else we discuss. That's why I call them Big Ideas. They can help govern our thinking or rather, our refined everyday thinking (per Einstein).
This conversation regarding Big Idea #2 (which in part states that atoms and their ions have different chemistries), led me to mention Cu^0 and Cu^+2.
I mentioned that Cu^+2 was rather toxic, and you should allow your COLD water to run for 30 seconds or so, when turning in on first thing in the morning, to flush out the junk that may have accumulated during the night.
Nutritionists know that we need trace amounts of Cu^+2 as we shall see on Tuesday - but we get that from our foods. Too much of a good thing ain't so great....Get it?
It's like this - if you have a vacation home of some type, have you ever noticed your folks running the water a bit once you open up that home? They are flushing out the pipes.
I am suggesting that this is a good idea after just one night!
You see, copper metal can slowly turn into compounds containing copper (+2) ion and these compounds can dissolve into water.
These compounds may be electrolyte compounds and as they dissolve, they may allow the copper ion to float around as a free ion - looking for trouble (aka: it is looking to make a bond).
Yes - the water in your pipes may have a very, very small amount of copper compound and/or copper (+2) ion, in addition to other chemicals which may have built up during the night.
Just because we are asleep, doesn't mean the natural processes of the Universe have gone to sleep.
Use cold water to flush the taps.
Secondly, thermal energy (you might call it heat) speeds up the rate of just about every "everyday" chemical reaction. Increased energy speeds up the dissolution of compounds into water, for instance.
So, please (!) stop using water from the HOT WATER TAP to cook in, make coffee with or any such activity other than washing yourself, your clothes, your dishes etc...
Heat up some cold water until it's hot for cooking! Please! The grime and junk in the pipes carrying hot water to us is quite crappy! You do not need to ingest that stuff. Okay?
I also mentioned that silver ion (Ag^+1) is also toxic. Silvadene is a hard-to-get-cream that saved me from bacterial infection.
These ions from what we call, heavy metals, have the ability to latch onto enzymes in bacteria and precipitate out those enzymes.
Notice that word, precipitate. I used it when discussing the Analysis of Water lab and I made a white precipitate using silver nitrate aqueous solution and sodium chloride aqueous solution.
Well the silver ion can bond to various enzymes and make them heavier, and less soluble in cytoplasm (which is mostly water), and precipitate out the enzyme as a solid (crystal) - thus disabling the enzyme. If you remove an important chemical from a chemical reaction, that reaction stops!
Heavy metal cations like Ag^+1, Cu+2 and Pb+2 (lead ion) however are pretty darn dangerous and need to be treated with care.
Have you noticed all the vocabulary I have been using; compound, electrolyte, aqueous solution, ion, soluble, precipitate, solid?
Have you noticed a certain level of comfort when you come across these terms?
We touched on the process of fossilization. Fossils rocks - they are not bones per se. The organism and hence its bones were probably covered in mud. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the ions of the mud permeated the decaying bone and replaced the bone as structure - only mineralized as rock.
I wonder if we know that bone decays? Well it does ... In fact here is a little tidbit most of us never think about.
If you write down this little tidbit on a piece of paper, and give it to me on Tuesday, you will earn bonus points! It doesn't need to be exact ... just the gist of the meaning of what is to come....
Here it is: Have you ever seen images of the Titanic under the sea? Did you notice there are no skeletons on or in the Titanic?
Hundreds of people were trapped on the Titanic, locked inside at some points - and yet, there are no skeletons.
That's because the Titanic settled in a zone of the water which is extremely low in Ca^+2. This is important to know because compounds containing the Ca^+2 ion helps to make bone hard.
Things (ions, atoms, energy) tend to move from high concentrations to lower concentrations.
So the higher concentration of Ca^+2 ion leached out of the remains of the people's skeletons and dissolved into the water (the area of lower concentration), thus breaking down the skeletons and dissolving them away. That's why there are no skeletal remains on the Titanic!
We are on page 13 of the notes.
A great deal was covered and it may not have made much of an impression but here is what I need for you to know:
1) I am dividing compounds into 2 huge categories: Inorganic Compounds and Organic Compounds.
2) There are other categories like Organometallic compounds - and I wanted to deliberately bring that up.
Organometallics are super important because so many biochemical compounds (hemoglobin, enzymes etc) are organometallics.
The important points are that organometallics are ORGANIC COMPOUNDS that have at least 1 carbon atom bonded to a metal. We shall see this when we deep dive into Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO).
Take Home Message: All organometallic compounds are organic compounds, but not all organic compounds are organometallic.
3) Our working definition of Inorganic Compound will be any compound LACKING C-H bonded to each other.
Inorganic compounds may be ionic compounds or molecular compounds.
Ionic compounds have an ionic bond which is an electrostatic attraction between OPPOSITELY charged ions. VERY OFTEN an ionic compound will be made from a metal cation and a nonmetal anion.
The ending of the name of the nonmetal anion changed to IDE. Hence the atoms of the metal sodium reacting with the atoms of nonmetal chlorine produce an ionic compound called sodium chloride.
Inorganic compounds may ALSO EXIST as molecular compounds (aka molecules). These molecule are made of NONMETAL ATOMS (not ions) which are bonded to each other with a prevalence of COVALENT BONDS
Hence, H2O can be described as a molecular inorganic compound made with covalent bonds.
molecular: hydrogen and oxygen are both nonmetal atoms.
inorganic: there is no C-H bonding...there is no C for goodness sakes!
covalent: the bond between most nonmetals is made by sharing (cooperating) electrons (especially the valence electrons ... thus producing a covalent bond.
We will learn why nonmetal atoms end up sharing electrons later.
4) Our working definition of Organic Compound will be a compound with C-H bonded to each other, via a covalent bond. It is not a perfect way to define the terms - but it works 99% of the time.
Carbon is the backbone of every organic compound.
Essentially, every organic compound may also be described as a molecule!!!
Every carbon atom of an organic compound will have 4 bonds! (This is insanely important).
We then began to look at skeletal structures and interpreting them. We will get back to that later. I am just spiraling ideas.
Okay! That's a great deal of chemistry and thus a long blog. Let me know how you're doing and if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday. Stay safe and email!!!!!!!
Friday 20 February
Assignment: Complete the Practice: Matter/Atoms/Ions/Lab worksheet (click here).
This is due on Tuesday 24 February for credit.
There are a few things about this assignment which follow :
1) I corrected the numbers for question 10 and reloaded a digital copy. For those in class, you have new numbers. For those of you downloading the digital you won't notice much difference ... I simply made the numbers work better. E caught the error - so thank you!
2) L noticed that I left out a space for question #9 on the answer sheet. Thank you! I have added that to the new digital copy.
3) Most of these changes don't mean too much in that I am going to give credit for the completion of the piece. That means I am not going to formally grade it - and that we shall go over it on Tuesday, in class.
4) Because this is not "graded" per se, you do NOT need to type out your responses to Part 2. Try these questions as you will see questions like this on your take home test. That test should be coming out on Friday 2/27.
5) You need to use a copy of the Periodic Table - especially for questions like those in 1-8 regarding the concept of charge.
6) This worksheet plus the last graded piece which I returned in class, should give you a great sense of the content on the take home test.
7) A few folks have asked questions regarding the take home test. It is just like any worksheet in essence, but it carries a greater number of points for credit.
On Friday, I will give you a printed copy of the test. A digital form of it will also be on this website. We will decide on Friday when that test is due. I assume you will have it for at least 1 week. So timing is up to each of you. You even have time to get in to see me if there are problems.
See, I am not trying to get you to memorize everything. I am trying to get you to understand that much of your University education is to help you understand how to look things up and where to look things up. I am trying to mimic and to prepare you for what you will need as an adult - once you are out of school.
I have no illusions you will remember everything we do in class. I don't recall everything I did in class. However, I believe learning is a covert activity which goes on in the mind of the learner, but results in a public behavior or display. The public (or viewable or behavior which can be witnessed) behavior is that ability to search out and interpret information and to construct knowledge.
So, I am cool with a week-long take home test - because I am trying to create the skills needed to look up and interpret information so that knowledge (predictability and explanation) can be created.
******************************************************
I handed out the next note packet.
Okay ... We are on page 12 of the notes.
C asked a really good question regarding the concept of charge and we dug down into that for a good chunk of the period.
Remember that for reactions chemistry it is all about the electrons.
1) The atomic number (# of protons) tells us with what element we are dealing.
2) The atomic number of an atom of an element and of its ion(s) is the same number! The number of protons in reaction chemistry DOES NOT CHANGE. Thus, as long as the letter symbol is the same, we may assume the number of protons is the same.
3) This means that all charge interpretations must be made with a CHANGING NUMBER OF ELECTRONS in mind.
4) The charge of an ion always tells you which subatomic particle in in EXCESS of the other. The charge does not tell you what happened. It just tells you what there is more of, because somehow the number of electrons changed.
4) A positive ion (a cation) has lost electrons .... so the number of protons is > number of electrons and the species is positive due to the greater effect of the protons. The (+) of a charge is a synonym for proton, not the word "plus".
5) A negative ion (an anion) has GAINED negative charge (gained electrons), thus the (-) of a charge is a synonym for electron, not "minus".
Hence: When comparing S^0 (sulfur atom) to S-2 (sulfide anion) we know:
a) They both have 16 protons because the letter symbol is the same
b) S^2 has two more electrons than protons because 2 electrons were gained. Thus it has 18 electrons vs. 16 protons.
When comparing Al^0 to Al^+3 we know:
a) They both have 13 protons because the letter symbol has not changed.
b) Al^+3 has three more protons than electrons, because 3 ELECTRONS were lost
Thanks to E for being our chemical species and applying all of those sticky notes.
We then took a quick look at how we can know if a chemical reaction (as opposed to a physical change) has occurred in real life.
We need to look for 2 of 3 big changes - and this has implications for your lab next week.
1) a bold color change
2) a new solid (precipitate), a new liquid or new gas (seen as bubbling out of solution)
3) an energy exchange.... the vessel becomes hotter or it becomes colder relative to the environment.
However, on paper, we can assign the term, "chemical reaction" to an equation in which we see new bonds being made.
We must compare and contrast the reactant side of a written equation to the product side of a written equation.
If new bonds are made that means a chemical reaction occurred.
Note, simply breaking bonds does not mean chemistry has necessarily occurred. Often, DISSOLVING compounds in water results in just breaking bonds ... There is no new bond making going on.
Very often, the term DISSOLVING refers to a simple physical change.
Melting is a simple physical change, as is boiling.
Okay! Write with issues /questions / whatevers! Take care if the weather gets rough. I hope to see you all on Tuesday!
Tuesday 17 February
I handed back your work re: Hand Sanitizers. I have your Concept Map for Matter work ready to come back to you as well.
After a long weekend I tried to review our work on Big Idea #2: The Concept of Charge.
We continued to work at the interpretation of a charge.
Remember that the charge of an ion indicates which subatomic particle (proton or electron) is in excess.
The charge doesn't tell you what happened - you must infer that.
If an ion is positive, then that means that electrons (negative charge) was lost.
If an ion is negative, then that means that electrons (negative charge) was gained.
Only electrons change in number. Only electrons are lost or gained.
As long as the letter symbol is the same between an atom and an ion, then the number of protons is the same.
Thus, Ca^0 vs. Ca^+2 have the same number of protons (atomic number) . The letters of the symbols are the same ones, indicating that both chemical species have something to do with the element calcium (Ca). One is an atom of calcium and the other is an ion of calcium.
According to Big Idea #2 the chemistry of Ca^0 is DIFFERENT from the chemistry of Ca^+2.
They have a different number of electrons - hence it is reasonable to assume that while they are related, they undergo different chemical reactions, due to that difference in the number of electrons.
We saw a few videos regarding the reaction between calcium and water.
I made the distinction that milk has calcium ION, not "calcium" . Calcium metal is a silver-like soft metal.
It reacts with water.
Calcium ION is the form of calcium found in compounds like CaCO3
I ran through a few demonstrations.
1) I extracted some of the solid iron (Fe^0) from the mixture of TOTAL cereal. Recall that compounds, which contain ions, such as Fe^3 tasted funny to us. So manufacturers put actual ground iron metal into the cereal mixture. This metallic iron then reacts with stomach acid and is converted into the ions of iron we require for blood cells (for instance).
2) I showed you how a solution containing electrolytes (free moving cations and anions) can conduct an electrical current. That conductivity was dependent in part upon the concentration of the electrolytes in solution. Solid sodium chloride (table salt) did not conduct a current, but an aqueous solution (a homogeneous mixture) of sodium chloride and water did conduct an electrical current.
3) I also reintroduced the idea of making a precipitate. A clear fluid looked like water, but I could separate out some of the electrolytes in the water, by trapping the ions in an insoluble compound (a precipitate).
We are doing quite a bit of chemistry people!
We wrapped up the recognition of compounds and we are heading into organic compounds vs . inorganic compounds.
Write with questions! See you on Friday!
Tuesday 10 February
Assignment: Complete Practice 1: Concept of Matter for class on Tuesday 17 February (our next class).
You're going to hand it in -so put your name on it. You do NOT need to turn in the actual concept map - I am interested in the questions only.
We are just at page 10 of the notes.
I wonder if you're noting all of the chemistry we have been doing. I am laying down a good deal of chemistry - part of my spiral approach - so that we can come back to topics a second or even third time.
Tuesday's lecture held a great deal of chemical theory.
We began with a look at the chemistry of metals on the Periodic Table. As a general rule, metals, when reacting with nonmetals, tend to LOSE ELECTRONS.
To put it technically, metal atoms become OXIDIZED (the metal atom loses one or more electron(s)).
You want to know the term, oxidized or oxidation.
This allowed us to move onto BIG IDEA #2: The Concept of Charge.
When I discuss an ATOM, I am referring to a chemical species in which #protons = # electrons. Thus, the overall charge of an ATOM is zero (as the sum of the charge of the plus charged species = the sum of the charge of the negatively charged species). The number of protons = the number of electrons.
The term, ION will refer to a chemical species in which the number of protons DOES NOT EQUAL the number of electrons.
In some fashion, the number of electrons will have changed, when compared to the atom of the same chemical species.
We will work at this idea for a bit - but it is a very important bit of chemistry to master.
I introduced a metaphor for an atom .... a castle surrounded by a town.
The castle is the nucleus. It is made of positive protons and neutral (in charge) neutrons. In our work, regarding reaction chemistry, like the walls of a stone castle, THE NUCLEUS DOES NOT CHANGE DURING A CHEMICAL REACTION.
(It changes during a nuclear reaction ... but that is a story for another day.)
Hence, the big conclusion is that the atomic number (the number of protons of a nucleus) IS A CONSTANT. IT DOES NOT CHANGE.
The town is the electron cloud. Electrons may be gained or lost - hence, it is the electron cloud that changes during a chemical reaction. The number of electrons CAN CHANGE.
What can be understood from all of the above?
Well, firstly when given an ion of S^-2, compared to and atom of S^0 we know:
1) the number of electrons when comparing the two species MUST be different (chem deals w/ electrons)
2) the number of protons when comparing the two species MUST be the same (the atomic number is a constant ....Hey , look at it this way, the letter of the element didn't change, thus both chemical species are some form of sulfur (S), and must have the same # of protons. The letter of the symbol is different ONLY IF THE NUMBER OF PROTONS IS DIFFERENT.
3) the charge of an ion tells us which subatomic particle is IN EXCESS.
If electrons were lost, the resulting ion is more positive, due to the loss of that negative charge.
If electrons were gained, the resulting ion is more negative, due to the gain of even more negative charge.
Do you see that the charge is a disruption of the equality between # of protons and # of electrons due to ONLY the loss or gain of electrons?
This led us to continuing with the idea of the chemistry of nonmetals.
When metals react with nonmetals, metals lose electrons and the nonmetals gain the electrons. This is an expression of BIG IDEA #1 ... in which charge (the number of electrons, essentially) , is conserved.
Nonmetals when they react with other nonmetals may lose or gain electrons depending upon how strongly the electrons are attracted to another nucleus - but more on that later (I'm spiraling!)
Okay! Have a grand weekend. Write with questions and/or concerns. Prep your next pre-lab and write up your lab report on chromatography. I will see you all on Tuesday.
Friday 6 February
Assignment: Use the online version of: Practice 1: Concept of Matter (Click Here or under Notes)
and highlight the * you find on the concept map. Write down the information / complete the map.
Then use your thinking ability, the map and your notes to work on a few of the problems. You don't need to do them all. You need to have the map filled out and you need to have tried a few problems.
I will check in on your work during class on Tuesday , and the rest of the questions can be finished later. Completion (date to be determined) will carry points. For Tuesday - complete the map and try some of the problems.
The assignment is both a chemistry task and a thinking task. There is some worth here.
In lecture, I began with a few demonstrations to help highlight the separation of a mixture and density.
If you recall I made a homogeneous mixture of table salt (sodium chloride) and water. I then boiled off the water, and allowed the salt to recrystallize.
Notice that I am introducing the idea that homogeneity applies to both substances (all substances are homogeneous) and to some mixtures.
The density demo suspended a golf ball in a concentrated salt aqueous solution and a sample of distilled water.
I did this to encourage you to envision the saltwater mixture as being more COMPACTED - there was more mass (salt + water) in a particular volume of solution relative to the same volume of distilled water.
The salt water mixture was so much more compacted than the materials making up the golf ball, that the golf ball floated (was unable to naturally pass through) in the salt water.
Even when the same volume of distilled water was poured on top, the two solutions did not mix well (hence we can have stratified layers of ocean water or atmosphere) and we could determine that the golf ball was more dense than the distilled water, but less dense than the salt water.
I then used my handy -dandy portable water distiller to demonstrate the destruction of the COVALENT bonds between hydrogen and oxygen of a water molecule to produce (di)hydrogen gas and (di)oxygen gas.
We could also see that since thew bubbles of gas floated to the top, the gases were less dense than the water itself.
That is because chemical changes, change the properties (often BOTH the physical and chemical) of the materials involved.
Dihydrogen gas and dioxygen gas have very, very different physical and chemical properties of the compound, water!
We then continued our work on the vocabulary swirling around matter. We are up to page 8 of the notes.
I introduced one way to categorize the 118 elements known to us at this time.
Most of the elements are metals (They lose electrons to nonmetals). Metals tend not to react with each other to make compounds, as both metals will lose electrons. And according to BIG IDEA #1, an electron cannot be lost, unless it is also gained by something else (Charge is conserved).
Hence metals tend to react with nonmetals.
The nonmetals are the next largest group (but there are really only 11 or so members)
In the simplest of reactions, nonmetals tend to gain electrons from metals.
However, nonmetals can react with OTHER nonmetals. They are not all equal in their ability to gain electrons. Thus, under many circumstances one nonmetal will incompletely lose (not totally lose) and electron while another nonmetal will incompletely gain that electron.
This is the creation of the covalent bond ....a bond type in which electrons are SHARED, often with one nonmetal atom losing full control of its electron and a second nonmetal atom gaining a greater possession of the electron.
Read those last few lines again. Things just became a bit more complicated.
Metals lose electrons to nonmetals (nonmetals gain electrons from metals).
But nonmetals when they react with each other, duke it out and end up SHARING electrons, creating those covalent bonds discussed in the homework assignment re: hand sanitizers.
See? It all comes together in the end.
Write with questions. I will see you on Tuesday!
Tuesday 4 February
Assignment: Don't forget your assignment from 30 January is due next class (Friday). If there are issues with getting me a printed copy or finishing the assignment be sure to write me soon.
This will be short - as we moved around a bit but over some familiar territory nonetheless.
We are at the bottom of page 7.
Class continued with themes surrounding matter and the vocabulary base I am hoping to develop.
We began with the TRY THIS problems at the top of page 7 - and frankly - you did really well. You were able to use Big Idea 1, the Law of the Conservation of Matter and Energy, and Charge. really well.
We discussed that problems and the need for follow up explanations such as these would be found on your first take home.
I went off on a tangent for a few minutes as I I tried to introduce a theory of learning as proposed by Robert Marzano. I like it. I am not a big fan of learning styles - as I believe we learn in multiple ways.(multiple modalities) at any given moment. Marzano defines some of these modalities as linguistic, visual, emotional and kinesthetic. For teachers it is important to try to use multiple modalities to grab at the chance to maximize the chance for student learning - but it is absolutely essential that the student take the offerings and manipulate them to maximize the learning.
Remember - I teach - but you learn and they are two different concepts. Hence, I offer multiple modalities and you are asked to use videos, notes, lecture, cooperative learning, lab, dialogue, concept mapping etc.
That led me to develop a concept map of matter as we understand it thus far.
Terms such as homogeneous, heterogenous, substance, element and compound were introduced. "S" asked a question about distinguishing between compounds and mixtures and so I added in the term aqueous solution. (More will come on that a bit later).
We learned how to recognize an element. We took a gander at the periodic table - looking at some of the symbols.
Recall that the elements are our "alphabet", metaphorically speaking.
We use the elements to build more complex structures like compounds (which metaphorically are "words").
Mixtures then become sentences, as I extend the metaphor.
We will do much more on this later on.
Essentially there are substances and mixtures.
Substances are homogeneous.
Substances, in general, have a constant melting point (a constant temperature at which it turns from solid to liquid), a specific normal boiling point, and a specific density, under specified conditions of temperature and pressure.
These properties can be used to help us identify, or put a name to substances.
There are two types of substances, elements and compounds.
There are 118 known elements to humankind. There are millions and millions of compounds.
We can recognize elements when written as there will be only 1 type of capital letter.
Much of the class of left to questions - refining our understanding - working out the kinks in our understanding.
Write me with your questions - I will tryp to help. I will see you Friday! Remember you want a printed copy of your responses to A Capsule of Covid Chemistry. Don't forget to include citations to sites you used when researching those Purgatorio questions. Stay safe!
Friday 30 January:
Assignment: A Capsule of Covid Chemistry (Click here or on the Notes Page)
This assignment is due in class on Friday , 6 February.
Your responses must be typed and appropriately cited, when applicable.
Type out each question, and then, type out your response to that question.
Paradiso level questions have answers from the reading. There is no need to cite those responses.
Purgatorio level questions require some form of research and thus, the answers to these questions require citations.
Note how I cited work throughout the written piece. I am trying to model one way you can embed citations in your own work, for this course.
I am happy to work with you / guide you as you work to complete the piece. Drop me an email or see me on days we have class.
I have assigned all the bonus points to folks who turned in a slip of paper. Good for you gang!
The lecture meandered a bit from topic to topic. I hope it wasn't too much. As I said in class I am rather pleased to follow any of the lines of questions and/or thoughts you may express. I want the chemistry to be practical, engaging, and focused on your needs.
To those ends, we picked up the conversation of Big Idea #1 The Law of the Conservation of Matter, Energy and Charge (I will abbreviate it as: LCMEC).
We sort of fell into a conversation regarding balancing chemical reactions using coefficients (the bigger number in front of chemical formulas and subscripts (lower/below writing) found within the formulas.
We may assume that when there is no coefficient or subscript, we may assume a value of 1.
So, given the formula: 3 CO2 we can assume that there are 3 whole CO2 made of 3 carbon and 6 oxygen .
A single CO2 has only 1 carbon and 2 oxygen.
"T" asked how that 3 works. I responded using an analogy in math. If we had a formula that looked like,
3( X + 2Y) = Z, the distributive property of math helps to hook our grasp of what a coefficient does.
That 3 distributes across the elements of a compound, like the 3 distributes along any value in the parentheses.
That led me to what we will formally cover on next Tuesday ... How can we recognize an element vs. a compound?
This was actually based on a question from "L". (Again, your questions are not an interruption - but a starting point for conversation/dialogue!!)
Now, this is not a definition, just a recognition skill when we are reading: The symbol of an element will have only 0NE TYPE of capital letter.
Thus, Na is an element (note one type of capital letter, followed by a small-case letter).
B (for the element boron) is an element (note that there is only a capital letter - some elements are symbolized with only one letter.)
O2 is an element. Yes, there are two oxygen, but they are atoms of the same element, so it is recognized as a form of that element
One form of elemental sulfur exists as S8. There are 8 atoms of the same element bonded together - and thus it is still classified as an element.
I mentioned my fascination with two forms of the element oxygen, O2 (dioxygen) and O3 (ozone)
Generally speaking (with a small exception), a compound's chemical formula will be symbolized as having TWO or MORE DIFFERENT capital letters.
Thus: The formula of NaCl helps us recognize it as a compound. There are two different elements (2 different types of capital letters) one is Na and the other is Cl.
The written formula of NaCN helps us know this is a compound , because it looks like it's made of 3 different elements (3 different types of capital letters help to offset or identify the symbols of the elements).
KClO is made of 3 different elements
C6H12O6 that popular compound of biology called, glucose, is a compound.
We then moved on to the Lavoisier family - and their work with closed chemical experimentation.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier is considered to be the Grandfather of Chemistry due to his work in terms of introducing controlled, closed, repeated experimentation.
If he is the grandfather - then Marie- Anne must be the younger grandmother as she was the one who ran his lab, kept the notes, and did the translations of articles from and into multiple languages.
Recall that the Lavoisiers established the law of the conservation of matter, as it applied to reaction chemistry. It was was later expanded into the full blown version of the LCMEC as it applies to reaction chemistry - (but not nuclear chemistry).
This means that in a normal closed-system reaction on Earth, the mass of the reactants will equal the mass of the products. Put more in a more chemical sense, the moles of atoms of each element on the reactant side will equal the moles of that element on the product side. (But we do not need to go into moles ... I am just writing this to make "Q" take notice 😒).
We then took a fast look at combustion.
When we study the combustion of many chemicals we see that the reaction follows a pattern.
Fuel + O2 --> CO2 + H2O
We established that combustion often requires a fuel, and oxygen.
Somewhere in here, "C" made me keep my promise and tell the story of how I set myself on fire as Professor Al Chemy. Yeah, good times.
I then asked if our local star, the Sun, was combusting out there in space?
I urge you to consider Einstein's quip: " The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."
We can begin to grasp that the Sun is NOT burning or combusting due to a severe lack of oxygen in space.
But the Sun is still hot and warming the Earth, some 93 million miles away. This led us to touch upon the difference between a nuclear change and reaction chemistry.
The Sun is undergoing a nuclear change called Nuclear Fusion. This allowed us to briefly touch upon something called the mass defect, in which some matter is converted to energy as the nuclei of atoms are NOT bonded but fused into each other to create a wholly new element.
In a simple form, we can say that hydrogen species are merged into nuclei of helium (a different element). Some nuclear material is converted to energy.
Hence, in a nuclear change, the LCMEC does not work - things get a touch more expansive!
So we moved around a bit.
Is this blog capturing what we did?
Are you doing okay? Are your questions being answered, interests being piqued? LMK. Write with question and/or issues. I hope to see you all next Tuesday! Start your assignment and pre-lab!!!!
Tuesday 27 January :
Okay! We are underway with lecture. We are up to page 6 of the note packet.
Class began with the goals:
1) To learn what chemistry is, and the difference between reaction chemistry and nuclear chemistry
2) To learn how to authoritatively (with absolute confidence) identify samples of matter.
3) To learn how to identify examples of energy (You know what something is by what it isn't)
Chemistry studies matter, its composition / properties /structure, the reactions of matter and the energy associated with those reactions.
For the first few weeks of class we will focus upon matter's composition / properties and structure - but energy will always be in the wings making entrances and exits.
The broad category of chemistry we shall study is called REACTION CHEMISTRY.
Now, I know many in the class know a little chemistry - and a few have no background at all. However, I suspect most of you have heard of protons, neutron and electrons.
And, I suspect many of you know that there is a nucleus to an atom and beyond that nucleus is some form of a collection of electron(s), like an electron cloud.
We essentially study reaction chemistry which is really all about the activity of electrons and how those activities affect matter and energy.
A second broad category of chemistry, nuclear chemistry, is all about the nucleus. It focuses upon changes in neutrons and protons. We are not getting into that for now. If there is time - we can definitely learn how various forms nuclear power plants work, and I can teach you a fair amount of the atomic bombs (the A Bomb used in WWII) and a bit less about thermonuclear bombs (like the H Bomb). Did you even know there was a difference?
It is important to know that in REACTION CHEMISTRY, matter and energy are conserved. Matter and energy can't just disappear or be made.
As we moved to trying to identify samples of matter with authority - you as a class, blew me away. What a strong, informed and almost confident piece of work (both group and individual). You were engaged in the diagnostic and really - throughout the class!
I introduced the idea that anything that can fill a balloon for a time could be considered matter. (Recall all metaphors have limitations - but this balloon idea is a good hook to begin your thinking processes.)
Matter is anything which has mass and occupies volume. That is the technical definition - but many of us are left a little high and dry by that definition.
Mass is a bit tough to explain - but we will! Volume is easier.
But here is a nice take home message: If you have a balloon filled with something - then you know it is matter. And, if you have matter, then there is a mass and volume.
By understanding or by using the metaphor I am betting you can more confidently identify examples of matter and energy. In fact, you proved that on Tuesday!
We then segued to the idea of energy (That's seg-way-ed ... we transitioned to something else).
Energy as the ability to create a change or to do work .
I completely blanked on my physics (Am I getting too old for this?) But, Work = Force x Distance.
Force = Mass x Acceleration, where acceleration is a change in direction or speed.
Hence, Work = (mass)(acceleration)(distance)
Thus work was done when I tossed the pen (a mass was moved for a distance) ... energy was used!
I then tried to apply meaning to this by speaking to muscle fibers sliding over each other. (More on Tuesday). I also hinted at the role of calcium ions (Ca^+2).
Calcium ions (Ca^+2) from multiple compounds can bind to a protein called troponin which then helps to hold actin and myosin fibers in form (flexing a muscle).
(Bonus Points: Stop and write down that last sentence I put in boldface and underlined. Just put it on a piece of paper with your name and give it to me on Friday to prove you read the blog!!!!!)
Potassium ions (K^+1) (like those found in bananas) are used to help release that binding, or rather, to relax a flexed /contracted muscle.
So here is what I am trying to build up to: I am using terms like ion, atom, charge. What the heck is an ION? What is calcium ion or potassium ion? What is the difference between a +2 and +1? What are some nutritional issues you can learn from knowing this sort of idea?
This is what I want to help build in you - and understanding about Everyday Chemistry.
Stay Chill - You are marvelous! Frankly - you are the stuff of stars and you are proving that to me at each session.
Write with any questions.
Friday 23 January 2026:
You were asked to pick up a copy of everything from the front desk. So at this point you have a copy of;
1) the Unit 1 Part 1 Note Packet
2) a periodic table of the elements
3) the Introductory Packet with the dates / procedures and expectations of the course
4) the survey questions regarding the Introductory Packet (You turned this in during class.)
If you failed to get these artifacts or were you to lose something, you can find digital copies of the first 3 on this website, under the first tab, Everyday Notes.
You answered the survey questions. Do you get the idea that I take that seriously? I hope so.
In class we went through the introductory packet. A number of points were highlighted. This number includes, but is not limited to:
1) this website and its use/organization
2) this course being a writing intensive course
3) the importance to be in attendance
4) the importance of the laboratory program
5) how to deal with the challenge of delayed or late assignments when the days go wrong
6) the importance of embedded citation of source materials
7) grading
8) important dates / Lab schedule
9) the need to expand on your writing by defining key terms and ideas.
10) how to use the asterisk (* )and font color for the notes system, when online.
I collected the contracts.
We then had a chance to start the notes. We got up to the definition of science. The word means, knowledge.
Knowledge is NOT the same thing as information. Knowledge is the weaving and connecting of information (facts) so as to create a prediction and/or explanation.
To put it crudely, science is like driving. When you drive, there are tons of facts. You have visuals via mirrors, there is a speed, the tire pressure, the amount of gasoline - but none of these facts equal the activity of "driving".
Driving is a set of complex integrated behaviors, based upon training, experience, and observation that allows you to move 3,000 pounds of metal at 60 miles per hour, amidst dozens of other vehicles.
Science is like that - it isn't just the facts. It is an integration and the testing of that integration that allows us to best approximate a prediction or explanation that, like driving, gets us from point A to point B.
We then moved to the definition of chemistry.
Chemistry studies:
1) matter
2) the reactions matter undergoes
3) the energy associated with those reactions.
This course is not about memorizing everything - don't become a dictionary like me. Rather, this course is about learning how to find information, evaluate the value/worthiness/accuracy of that information and how to weave that information into knowledge, so that you may make predictions or provide explanations to physical and/or biological phenomena!
(Phew ... Dudes / Dudines, that was a mouthful - but real.)
You matter. Your education matters. Your personal goals matter. Yes, as I said - I am a tyrant of sorts - but I am your tyrant - in your corner - hoping that you act on this chance to explore the horizons of chemistry.
Okay - not much more to add. Timeliness to class matters - so get to class as safely and as soon as is possible.
My thoughts on this is that you would not be late for a lawyer or doctor's appointment if at all possible - so don't be late for your own education - treat yourself that well.
You can find me in our classroom most days before class - take the opportunity to drop in. Treat this like unofficial office hours. Come in, chat about class or tennis or art or cars or whatever might be on your mind.
My official office hours are right after class. If office hours do not work for you we can meet by appointment. Just keep the lines of communication open.
Have I missed anything? LMK.
Don't hesitate to drop me an email with any questions. I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday in class.