Vinegar+Baking Soda=BOOM

On TV I always see kids using volcanoes as their science projects. So I finally got to see the magic behind it!

Photo credit to Chantel Yip

Equipment:

• beaker



• some vinegar



• some baking soda



• food coloring (if you want to make it explode pretty colors)



• dishwashing soap (to slow down the reaction)

Procedure:

1. Pour the vinegar into a beaker



2. Put a drop or two of food coloring [if desired]



3. Slowly pour baking soda in



4. See the reaction occur right before your eyes!



5. Put in some dishwashing soap so it won't react TOO fast

Photo credit to Chantel Yip

Science:

"Baking soda, a pure chemical called sodium bicarbonate, has the chemical formula:

NaHCO₃

When dissolved in water baking soda separates into sodium (Na⁺) and bicarbonate ions (HCO₃^- ):

NaHCO₃ ---> Na⁺(aq) + HCO₃^-(aq)

Vinegar, a weak (5%) solution of acetic acid in water, partially dissociates into hydrogen ( H⁺) and acetate ions (CH₃COO^-):

CH₃COOH <--> H⁺(aq) + CH₃COO^-(aq)

The reaction between baking soda and vinegar is actually two reactions, an acid base reaction followed by a decomposition reaction.

When the two ingredients are mixed, hydrogen ions ( H⁺) from the vinegar react with the bicarbonate ions (HCO₃^- ) from the baking soda to form a new chemical called carbonic acid (H₂CO₃).

H⁺ + HCO₃^- ---> H₂CO₃

The carbonic acid thus formed then immediately decomposes into carbon dioxide gas (CO₂)and water (H₂O).

H₂CO₃ ---> H₂O + CO₂

It's this carbon dioxide gas that you see bubbling and foaming as soon as you mix baking soda and vinegar together."

Science credit to website linked to the word "magic" above.

Play Dough!

As a kid I always loved playing with Play-Doh, so making it was even cooler.

Photo credit to Chantel Yip

Ingredients:

• 1 cup salt


• 1 cup flour


• 1/2 cup water


• pot/pan


• food coloring (optional, but makes it more fun!)

Procedure:

1. Mix flour, salt, and water all in a pot/pan. [Add food coloring if desired.]


2. Put over low heat.


3. When mixture thickens, take it out of the pot/pan.


4. Have fun!

Science:

There are starches made up of polysaccharides. The way they bond together creates playdough. The flour, salt, and water, the dough, are a tiny bit liquidy, but with some heat, the molecules move around more. The flour keeps it from being too watery and be able shape and mold into different shapes.

Noble Gas Chemistry StanDard

Chemistry Standard 12c: Identify possible reasons for inconsistent results, such as sources of error or uncontrolled conditions.

When scientists perform an experiment, not everything can go right. There's always something that can go wrong. It could be the experimenter at fault, the equipment, or maybe just some other unevitable natural flaws.

Human Error:

• measuring the wrong amount of substance (beaker, scale)




• reading the wrong result (thermometer, scale)




• scale not zeroed




• incorrect temperature setting




• miscalculations




• wrong instrument use




• not cleaning up in between eqiupment use

Equipment Error:

• broken scale




• unequal spacing (beakers, thermometers)




• holes that let unwanted gases in

Other Errors:

• weather




• no constant

Mills Canyon Field Trip

April 29, 2010 was the fateful day of...the field trip. All of Mr. Olson's classes walked from school to Mills Canyon in Burlingame. The walk there seemed to take FOREVER. I thought I was pretty close to the front, but it turns out I was more near the back. I mainly walked with Laura Chen! It got really hot and we had to walk uphill at one point on the road. I've run to Mills Canyon before for cross country, so it wasn't really new or a "secret" to me. When we finally got to the park I was happy because we were finally there, but then we just kept walking...and walking...and walking. It got really hard to walk because I was trying to avoid the wet mud and the little stairs and uphills were killing me. This field trip wasn't the best field trip, it didn't really seem like one. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as i could have, to be honest. Well, at least I got to miss class!
View Mills Canyon Field Trip in a larger map

YumYum Rice Krispies

For my mini-project, I made HOMEMADE Rice Krispie treats with Alia, Jenny, and Laurie on Saturday April 24th. The pot got a litttttle burnt at the bottom from the fire being too high though. They still tasted delicious!

Photo credit to Alia Saba

Procedure:

1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pot.


2. When fully melted, pour in a 10 oz. bag of regular marshmallows or 4 cups of mini marshmallows.


3. Mix well. When the butter and marshmallows are blended together thoroughly, add in 6 cups of Rice Krispies.


4. Press the mixture onto a tray, cool, and cut into squares. (We just ate it all out of the pot since the bottom was burnt anyways. We put some in a cupcake tray for picture taking.)

Science:

• The heat makes the molecules of the butter and marshmallows move faster, turning them into a liquid form.


• The marshmallow/butter mixture is sticky and keeps the cereal together. When it hardens, it keeps a strong bond with the Rice Krispies like a web.


• The burning at the bottom of the pot was caused by overheating. Combustion, an exothermic chemical reaction, occurred. The fire heating up the pot reacted with the food inside it.

IProposeWe Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Links:

• Easy chocolate chip cookie recipe




• Chocolate chip cookie recipe with a video

Materials: flour, salt, baking soda, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, eggs, chocolate chips, measuring utensils

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit




2. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.




3. In another bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla.




4. Add the mixtures from the 2 bowls together.




5. Add the chocolate chips.




6. Scoop golf ball sized pieces of the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet.




7. Put the cookies in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.




8. Use a spatula to put the cookies onto wax paper or tin foil.




9. EAT!

Safety Precautions:

• Use oven gloves when putting the cookies into the oven and taking them out.




• Keep an eye on the oven at all times.




• Do NOT touch hot objects with your bare hand.




• Make sure there is no one in the way when you are carrying the hot tray of cookies.

Scientific Principles:

1. When baking, a chemical reaction occurs.




2. Baking soda makes carbon dioxide.




3. Heat makes the dough cooked and eatable.

Track Meet

Yesterday, I had my first OFFICIAL track meet. It was against Carlmont. At first, I was REALLY scared because Carlmont is known for being really fast. During cross country they were always pretty much the top five, but since a lot of their athletes quit, it was mainly a race against ourselves (at least for the distance runners). My legs have been so sore lately so I was afraid I would do bad, but I PRed in ALL my events! Individually, I ran the 800 and the 1600. For the 1600 I got a 6:32, and I was the happiest camper in the world; it was a 15 seconds faster than the last time. Now, I need to break 6:30 and I will be the happiest camper in the whole entire universe. For the 800 I got 3:04! That was a few seconds off my time so that was good. I also was in the 4x4. I was the first runner in my team and it was really nervewrecking, but I was glad I was first so I got it over with. The 4x4 was the very last event in the whole meet so afterwards, I hung around a bit and then left and went home. IT WAS SUCH A GOOD MEEEEEEET!!! =D

David and Joan Webb

The presentation by David Webb was really entertaining and informing. David and Joan Webb are both really charming people. The way he presented was really interesting. He focused mainly on vacuums. There was the bar that had one atmosphere in it. I never knew atmosphere was a unit of measure; I thought it was just the air around us. I helped out with the balloon experiment. In the vacuum machine, a little tiny balloon became a bigger balloon. It was really unbelievable. I was really jealous of the person who got to eat the marshmallow. When I saw them I got really excited and they were PINK. That's my favorite color, so I was even more excited! They were the same ones I made smores with at my friend's house! That was a pretty good way to spend my chemistry block day.

Calorimetry

M C delta T, that's calorimetry yo. q is energy, c is specific heat, and delta t is the change in temperature. That song was a bit disturbing, but catchy at the same time. It really helped me learn that formula though since it was so memorable. Calorimetry is a measure of heat flow. The measurements are made in an insulated apparatus called a calorimeter.

ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE!

Elephant toothpaste...some pretty interesting stuff. I've been waiting for it and forgot about it. It was hydrogen peroxide and dishwashing soap combined together. Then, when Mr.Olson poured in the potassium iodide, the solution turned yellow and started poofing up and spilling out like crazy. Before in the video I was seriously grossed out and seeing it in person was really weird. It looks pretty cool though, I have to say.

Thermochemistry

Thermochemistry was a new unit we started! I learned about endothermic and exothermic reactions. Catalysts speed up a reaction, but don't get consumed in it. Activiation energy is reduced because of those also.

The graph for exothermic and endothermic reactions are opposite. Energy can't be lost or gained so it is EVERYWHERE! The packet took a long time to do, but I still got full points on it, so I'm proud of myself. I think I did pretty good on the test too! There were a lot of equations like the changing phases one which included a combination of many of them. It was a very confusing unit, but still oh so interesting.

The Creation of Magnesium Oxide

On block day we started a lab. First we had to find the balanced equation for magnesium and oxygen reacting to form magnesium oxide. Using the stoichiometry format, we had to calculate the mass of magnesium needed to form 0.60 grams of magnesium oxide. It turned out to be 0.36 grams of magnesium. After cutting the needed amount, it was put into a crucible and put on a fire to burn. It took a long time and I was getting impatient.

This was the end result and my group got an percent error of 33% a little much...but it's ok! I'm just looking forward to the three day weekend! =)

Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry! What a difficult and confusing subject. Changing grams to moles to grams to moles gets too complex. I didn't get it at all at first, but after a few more practice problems and I think I have the hang of it now. I hope I don't forget how to do those problems, or else that won't be very good since the test is soon. It's even going to be an extra credit problem!

There is a total of seven steps to these types of problems. Starting with the given, changing g x to mol x, then mol x to mol y to g y, cancel, and box your answer with the units! Just typing that gets me confused, but when I go to write it down, hopefully I will understand it more.

BOOM BOOM REACTIONS!

I have learned how to balance...CHEMICAL EQUATIONS! There are so many types of reactions, but we only have learned about single replacement, double replacement, combustion, and synthesis. To increase a reactions rate you have to increase the temperature, surface area, or concentration. Catalysts also speed up the reaction rate without being sucked into the reaction.

Some reactions that happen every day is iron turning into rust! I also saw one first hand when Mr.Olson smashed cannon balls covered in aluminum foil creating sparks. My favorite was the gas turning into flame, but I kept thinking the roof was going to burn down.

Acids and Bases

Acids and bases are quite the opposites. Acids have a pH of 0 to 6, 7 is neutral, and 8 to 14 is a base. Some examples of strong acids are hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, weak ones are acetic acid and hydro fluoric acid. Some strong bases are sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide and some weak ones are ammonia and methylamine!

Acids are proton donors and bases accept protons. Acids have high hydrogen concentrations, while bases have high oxide concentrations!

Solutions!

Earlier we learned about chemical solutions. There are two general types, homogeneous and heterogeneous. Homogeneous solutions look the same throughout, whereas heterogeneous ones are not. Solutions are dilute, with little solute or concentrated, having a lot of solute. Using the molarity equation, molarity=mol/L, I can measure a solution's concentration.

These solutions are very rainbowy and pretty. They are made by mixing different chemicals together!

We also learned how to calculate parts per million and hundred from having the grams of the solute and solution.

Like Dissolves Like

When something is dissolved there is a solvent and solute. The solvent does the dissolving and the solute is being dissolved. The solute is spread out throughout the solute Water is the universal solvent.

There is a concept called "like dissolves like." Polar molecules dissolve polar molecules (and ionic molecules), while nonpolar molecules dissolve nonpolar molecules. Examples are oil and water and salt and water.