Week 6- Alchemy

I think of alchemy first as a branch of science, speaking of metals and stimulating a new form of medical chemistry. Not until these articles did I think of alchemy on more of a "spiritual" realm. I do like Cleary's translation when he states, "Now I will point out to you the true lead and the true mercury- they are body and mind. A wise teacher said, 'Body and mind are the medicine and fire." I think that is so beautiful! It is pretty amazing so many elements live inside of us. I also like alchemy compared to a yearning, and not forcing things to become what they ARE not.

Week 6- Halogen of the Week

BROMINE

Br

7 electrons in outer shell

Atomic number: 35

Protons: 35

Electrons: 35

Neutrons: 45

Atomic Mass: 80

description: heavy, red-brown, fuming liquid with a choking, irritating odor; causes

tears

CXLIII. INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE PRESENCE

AND THE R6LE OF BROMINE IN THE BODY.

BY H. UCKO.

From the Physiology Department, Guy's Hospital, London.

(Received April 28th, 1936.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/pmc/articles/PMC1263134/pdf/biochemj01060-0061.pdf

Week 5- The Color of MInerals

Minerals have different colors, some identical to others. This is caused by the absorption, or non-absorption of light by atomic bonds. Bonds of different metals produce different colors. Usually these metals are transition metals. So, here's some more I didn't know...minerals are made when a combination of atoms are forced to solidify, forming an organized crystalline structure. When this happens slowly, larger crystals are formed. A rock is different, as it is multiple crystals of one or more minerals.
The most common minerals are: quartz (hardness of 7), feldspar, mica, olivine, calcite, magnetite, and iron. Gemstones are mostly silicates, which are very stable, hard minerals. They are resistant to abrasion, fracturing, and chemical reactions.

Week 5- Neon..a cool inert gas

Neon, Ne, has 10 electrons, making it's outer shell full and naming it a stable, inert gas. This is one of two true elemental inert gases, along with Helium. This element was discovered in the late 1800's by Sir William Ramsey. By 1923, Georges Claude discovered and made the first neon signs by sending an electrical discharge through neon in a sealed tube. By bending the tube, he found many more colors and neon signs soon became very popular.

Week 5- Foods in MY kitchen!

I loved learning about different foods and different properties they had in relation to their color. Turns out I have a lot of yellows; bananas, lemons, yellow onions...plenty of Vit. A, B, and E, sodium, potassium, selenium, and chromium. (just trying to get this straight in my head!) I have oranges, carrots, sweet potatoes, and one pink grapefruit...strawberries, red grapes, red apples, chicken, a little red wine, red potatoes, tomatoes, and black beans to get a little of the Vit. C, beta-carotene, iron...I think I need to add some beets! I have some kale, spinach, and avocadoes...yes!! I did happen to go grocery shopping over the weekend, and feel so blessed to be able to have all these fresh fruits and veggies. There is a container of miso in the back of my fridge, and some parmesan cheese for special occasions! Living at home I never ate this well! We had a healthy diet, just not much variety. I probably mentioned it before, but we mainly had beans and rice, and on Sundays potatoes and salad were a big treat! We had plenty to eat, it would just get eaten up in a day, so my folks weren't big on keeping fruit around. So anyways, yes, I do love grocery shopping and preparing my meals for a couple of weeks. Then, if I think about having something sweet, I have plenty of fruit. Want a healthy snack? Eat a yogurt, missy. School is just so hectic that I like to make sure I am nourishing my body, staying organized, and not eating out(except for a treat!:).

Week 4- Many Catalysts..Zinc is One

A catalysts helps to speed up a reaction by providing a little energy "boost". The atom, zinc, is embedded in carbonic anhydrase to help catalyse the reaction and allow CO2 to go from the bloodstream into the lungs. Many other metals help to reconfigure reactants to make a favorable reaction.

Week 4- Atom Economy

Atom economy, from what I gather, is part of measuring the efficiency of a reaction, along with the yield. It measures what atoms are utilized or not utilized. Trying to utilize more atoms allows for less waste and unwanted products. At best, a yield of %100, which is impossible, results in only %50 of that mass as desired product. Atom Economy began to come about with more consideration for the environment, starting with the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry. These have been around since 1998, but people and companies are only beginning to catch on. Principles 3 and 4 talk about reducing toxicity when making a product. Principle #5 talks about limiting the use of auxiliary substances, like sulfuric acid. Number six talks about conserving energy required for a reaction, and #7 talks about using starting materials from natural resources. Making ibuprofen have a greater atom economy value helps me to understand a bit what all this means. The Boots company process in the beginning only had an atom economy of %40, making 35 million lbs of waste if they were to be the only makers of ibuprofen! With Hooechst Celanes Corp, they combined to form BHC and discovered a new synthesis process with only 3 steps instead of 6. The atom economy went from %77 to %99, with elements such as nickel being recycled and reused! Using this process and being more aware of the environment actually allows these companies to make more product in less amount of time, which making a smaller footprint on the earth. Why wouldn't more companies do this?

Week 4- Class Discussion

We adopt new technologies without social responsibility. I think in the past, people didn't have the foresight but these days, people are more informed and aware. Information is more available. These days there is a lot of money involved, so people ignore social responsibility. I liked what Lindsay said about corporations and everything being about maximizing profits. She said the Dutch automatically think about what will be best for the economy and environment. I feel with this economic crisis, people may be forced to learn and actually think about the benefits and negatives here in the US.

Week 3- Water Concepts

Somewhat informative about polar molecules, water being one. The picture was nice...Covalent bonds are polar when one atom attracts more electrons than the other. Oxygen attracts more than hydrogen, so there is an asymmetrical charge. The oxygen is more neg., while the hydrogen is more positive. This part is a little bit hard for me, but I think water dissolves other substances because of this, being the positive hydrogen attracting negative atoms in other water or substances.

Covanlent Bonds are Like eating at a Restaurant

Does this image help? Heck yes, it does! The pictures also helps, but after reading the restaurant analogy, it doesn't seem too hard anymore. In a regular covalent bond, the atoms share an electron and the electron is equally attracted to both nuclei. One atom is getting half a burger, and the other atom is getting half a chicken sandwich..not a bad deal. When your friend takes all your cheeseburger, that is a polar covalent bond. It is very one-sided (separation of charge), but both atoms get a little something. In a coordinate covalent bond, you give the person all of your dinner, or both of your electrons...just for the sake of being kind...by georgy, MAYBE i've got it?

Week 3-Iron..boring but necessary Trans. element

I know we are supposed to choose an obscure element, but I don't know a whole lot about this element, and I am interested in elements that are essential to the functioning of the human body. Iron necessary for many bacteria, plants, and animals. It is a part of many proteins and enzymes and is essential for red blood cells. With too little iron, women may become anemic. Too much iron may be toxic. Amazing how the body tries to control this balance.

Week 2-Readings/Atomic Properties Menu

This site was helpful. A lot of it was overlap from our notes, but it was great to read all this info again to understand orbitals. I did imagine since I first took chemistry in high school until now, that the electrons in these orbitals followed a certain pathway just like "orbits". I didn't realize with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principal, that we can't know where the electron will go next. I also like Hund's rule, which states that electrons will fill orbitals singly in the same energy level. This helps to make the atom more stable. How does it know to do that? So crazy...Knowing the number of protons is the same as the number of electrons was helpful in learning to write notation for the atoms' orbitals and electrons.

Week 2-Ozone

So hilarious talking to friends and family about ozone. My little sister didn't really know much. She just said she knew it was deteriorating. One of my best friends knew a little, said because it is deteriorating and allowing UV light, too much heat is creating a greenhouse effect and causing a lot of global warming. She didn't know there was a good and bad ozone, but it kind-of made sense to her. Another friend was amazing! He sounded like a scientist, and I didn't realize he had many friends who are scientists! He said that chlorophoric carbons help determine the ozone. He said that his understanding is a decreased ozone means increased cases of skin cancer, especially in Australia. He had also heard of the ozone being decreased around Argentina and commented on how he understood this meant that too much heat is being trapped, therefore causing too many ice caps to be melted. He didn't realize the burning of coal and gasoline was a form of "bad" ozone. Well, that was info for everyone;)

Week Two-ELEMENT OF THE WEEK! YOU DID IT!

Even though it is common, I chose Calcium, Ca, with 20 protons. I just wanted to learn a little more about it. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in our bodies. 99% of it is found in our bones and teeth, the rest in body tissues, nerve cells, blood, and other body fluids. At my age, I need 1000-1300mg per day. We may get calcium through our diet by eating yogurt and leafy greens including broccoli, collard, turnip greens, and kale. Also may be found in fortified soy milk, salmon, sardines, shellfish, and almonds. It helps to maintain cell membranes in muscle contraction. You go, calcium!

Rejected Elements

I guess some elements just couldn't make the cut!

Proton Don and Memory Pegs

Proton Don was a helpful quiz, as well as looking at the symbols to remember each element. The table seems so overwhelming at first, but both of these study aids help break it down.

Los Alamos Chemistry Division for Kids

The part of this site made for middle and high school students was very helpful in learning what every part of the period table means. I also didn't realize there was a fight over naming elements! If 104-109 didn't continue to exist, though, what is the point? And where are they listed? Pretty cool an element was named after Neils Bohr!