Here are some songs to help you learn the periodic table. Hope you like them, though they may get stuck in your head.
If you like chemistry, than you'll be excited to hear that I'm starting a unit on it! I'll be doing a series called "Meet the Elements", and today is the first post. The star element: potassium. If you’re looking for potassium, you’ll find it in the fourth period and the first family of the periodic table, in the metals section. The box will be labeled with a 19 in the corner, which is the atomic number; a K in the center, which is potassium’s symbol; and a 39.098 at the bottom, which is the atomic mass.
If you were to, somehow, look at the atoms in potassium, you would find 19 protons and 20 neutrons in the nucleus. Circling around the nucleus, you would find 19 small electrons, located on different paths called energy shells- 2 on the first shell, 8 on the second shell, 8 on the third shell, and 1 on the last shell, called the valence electron. The element potassium is a silver-whitish, soft metal that oxidizes when exposed to air. Its melting point is 63°C or 145°F, which is very low for a metal; you could hold it over the flame of a candle and it would melt. Potassium’s boiling point is 770°C or 1,420°F. Potassium is less dense than water, so it would float in water, but I wouldn’t recommend testing that; potassium is very active and reacts violently with water. As a pure element, potassium has few uses. But its compounds, specifically potassium chloride, are used often in fertilizers. Other potassium compounds are used in products such as baking powders, soft drinks, fire extinguishers, explosives, fireworks, matches, dyes, rocket fuel, detergents, and liquid soaps. Sorry it's been a while, faithful readers. I'll be posting weekly from now on, especially since I have lots more to write about. It's old news by now, but liquid water has been discovered on Mars! On September 28, 2015, NASA confirmed the evidence that there is liquid water on Mars. You'd been holding out on us, Mars! Before that day, scientists knew there was frozen water in the caps, but now there is evidence of liquid water. This is an important step for a few reasons: first, if we were to ever colonize Mars, liquid water would mean a greater chance of survival, and second, liquid water is one of the best things to support life, which we have been searching for. The streaks above are evidence of the discovery; NASA scientists say these streaks, called recurring slope lineae, are caused recently flowing water. Scientists have also found hydrated salts on the slopes, adding more proof to the discovery. How? The salts would lower the freezing point, just like salt on sidewalks on Earth. This would allow ice to melt and flow more quickly. These slopes have been found to flow and ebb over time; they darken and flow in warm seasons, but fade away in cooler seasons.
Now that we've found liquid water on Mars, who knows? There might be life somewhere... Sources: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Mars Do you know what the rock cycle is? Besides a cycle about rocks, obviously. The rock cycle is how rocks change into one another. Take a look at the diagram below: Igneous rock forms from cooled magma which makes crystals. Several things could happen to this igneous rock- It could, after adding heat and pressure, become metamorphic rock; it could weather down into tiny pieces of rock called sediment, which is then compacted to become sedimentary rock; or it could melt back into magma that might cool and become igneous rock again.
Now, say the igneous rock became metamorphic rock when heat and pressure was added. The heat and pressure from inside Earth bakes the rock; instead of a cake like when you bake, though, crystals form, or, if there were already crystals, larger crystals are formed. Since the rock changes, it is called metamorphic rock, as in metamorphosis- when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. The metamorphic rock is still made of what igneous rocks are made of, so it could also melt into magma. Or, again like the igneous rock, it could be weathered down into sediments. All the rocks can be weathered into sediment, actually. Especially sedimentary rock, which is made of sediments. To form sedimentary rock, layer after layer of sediment is laid down, eventually cementing into sedimentary rock; this is why sedimentary rock has layers. If you were to add heat and pressure to that sedimentary rock, it would become metamorphic rock. As you can see, all the rocks are connected, changing into each other again and again. That is why, after all, they call it a rock cycle. Source: http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/rock.html First, you will select one of the minerals. Try to scratch the mineral with your fingernail. If the mineral is scratched it is less hard than a fingernail. If the mineral isn't scratched, it is harder than a fingernail. Write down the results, then repeat the process using the rest of the equivalent items on the rest of the minerals. Good luck!
Source: Smithsonian Rock and Fossil Hunter by Ben Morgan I could introduce the new unit, but I'm going to leave that to some experts... Sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mineral https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Dioptase-36918.jpg http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/rocksandminerals.html http://f.tqn.com/y/geology/1/S/g/V/granitesalinia.jpg http://museumvictoria.com.au/pages/17094/imagegallery/1pic-43069.jpg Happy Fourth of July, everybody! Here's a little information on fireworks:
Fireworks... When we see them, we probably think of Fourth of July. But have you ever stopped and thought about how fireworks are made or things like that? I know I haven't, until now. Fireworks use something called black powder. Black powder is comprised of mainly potassium nitrite with sulfur and carbon. Wires are covered with fuel as well as well as something to make it burn (like black powder) called an oxidizing agent. This is what happens with a sparkler, which produces many sparks but burns slowly. As for firecrackers, the black powder is wrapped tightly in a paper tube, and when the fuse is lit, it explodes. BANG! But you're probably wondering about the fireworks that are launched in the sky. These are called aerial fireworks. They are similar to both firecrackers and sparklers. They are launched into the sky within small rockets, or launched out of a tube. These fireworks have something called a lifting charge that is filled with black powder, and when lit, it propels it into the sky. When the lit fuse reaches a certain height, it explodes. Tiny packets of chemicals called stars are released. The color depends on the type of chemicals in the fireworks. When a thing burns, a specific frequency of light is given off, which is seen as color to us. Aluminum or magnesium give off white, lithium or strontium gives off red, copper gives off blue, calcium gives off orange, barium gives off green, and sodium gives off yellow. Some fireworks are more complicated- these are comprised of several shells that burst at different times. The shells could also have different kinds of stars. The sound fireworks make also differs; they can whistle and crackle, or make more of a booming noise. But I have to warn you- don't go shooting off your own fireworks everywhere, because it could be dangerous. Serious burns can be caused from even sparklers, which burn at temperatures of hundreds of degrees. 12,000 Americans need to go to the emergency room every year because of firework accidents. So just leave the fireworks to the experts; they do put on great show! Fun Facts: Black powder was discovered around 1,100 years ago in China. Fireworks were used by Chinese to scare off mountain men. Aerial shells were invented in Italy. It's illegal to buy fireworks in New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. Sources: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/14-fun-facts-about-fireworks-180951957/?no-ist BrainPOP "Fireworks" Picture from: http://www.chesterlandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Fotolia_8425271_M.jpg Dolphins are mammals in the family Delphinae (oceanic) or Platanistidae (river), and are related to whales since they are technically a type of toothed whale. Being mammals, dolphins are warm-blooded, breathe air, and drink their mothers' milk. When dolphins surface to breathe, they exhale and inhale air through their blow hole, similar to how humans exhale and inhale with their lungs. Even when they sleep, dolphins need to breathe, so they sleep with one half of their brain awake to remember to surface for air.
There are a variety of dolphins all over every ocean, and in certain freshwater sources too. The most known dolphins are bottlenose dolphins, with their round snout and smile-like mouth. However, there are more than 40 species of dolphins- many are small with about 3 meters in length; the smallest is a 1 meter dolphin called the Hector's dolphin, and 10 meter the orca or killer whale is one of the biggest. Key parts of dolphin anatomy for all species are tail, dorsal fin, and flippers. Their flippers and dorsal fins are used to steer. Dolphins use their tails (flukes) to propel them through the water by moving it up and down, and can reach swimming speeds of over kilometers an hour. This speed helps dolphins capture their prey- fish, squid, and other invertebrate. To find this food, dolphins use echolocation, meaning bouncing sound off of things to determine the exact location of those things. This works by an organ named the melon (located in the head) giving off clicks, and the wave returned from the objects is sensed through the dolphin's jaw. Dolphins are known to be playful; they, most notably the bottlenose, are friendly to and interact with or come close to humans, such as bow riding, or jumping near boats. Dolphins are also said to be very intelligent; they have brains roughly as large and complex as human brains! Dolphins can be taught to do many things, from tricks such as painting with a brush in their mouth to locating divers under the ocean. Dolphins are also quite social, traveling in pods of up to twelve. In these pods, the males are bulls, the females are cows, and the babies are calves. In the wild, most dolphins live for about twenty-five to thirty years, but because some are facing extinction from human activity, their lives may not be so long. Here are some sites to learn about how to help dolphins: http://wilddolphin.org/index.html http://www.defenders.org/dolphin/what-you-can-do Sources: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/dolphin.html http://www.britannica.com/animal/dolphin-mammal https://www.brainpop.com/science/diversityoflife/dolphins/ Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2), and is great for many experiments, like today's dry ice bubble.
Dry Ice Bubble: Dry Ice A round, large bowl A cloth strip Dish soap Water WARNING: Be careful with dry ice; use gloves and do not directly inhale the fumes. Step 1: Soak the strip of cloth in a mixture of 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of dish soap and 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of water. Step 2: Fill the bowl about halfway with water, and add a few pieces of dry ice. Step 3: Run the soapy mixture around the edge of the bowl. Step 4: Pull the soapy cloths across the top of the bowl. This will create a soap layer over it. Step 5: Now watch as a bubble forms! In this experiment, the dry ice went through a process called sublimation. That means the dry ice went from a solid to a gas, skipping the liquid form. Putting dry ice in the water caused it to sublimate quicker, creating fog that fills up your bubble until POP! The bubble explodes from the pressure of the fog. Sources: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/dryicebubble.html http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/crystal-ball-bubble |
AuthorHello! I am Katrina, a science enthusiast, who also enjoys art, reading, and tennis. Archives
June 2016
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