We did an experiment in class that was a way to show how Ocean Acidification works. The experiment was to make Disapearing Ink. The first step in the experiment was to measure 0.1 grams of phenolphthalein (phenolphthalein is a colorless clear solid that when you add acid to it it will tell you how basic it is) into a 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask. The next step was to add 10 mL of ethanol and to stir it until it dissolved. Then we added 100 mL of distilled water and watched it turn into a watered down milk color. We were then told to wait for the teacher to come and add 3 drops (or until it was turning dark red. typically took closer to 5) of sodium hydroxide (the teacher did this because sodium hydroxide could potentially give us a very bad rash, burn, or blisters if it came in contact with our skin). The sodium hydroxide turned the whiteish water into a pink then once it was complete it was a dark see through red. We then took the mixure out of the flask and exposed it to the air. Once it was exposed and put on paper it started reacting to the carbon dioxide in the air. It started to DISAPEAR. It was now nowhere to be seen, but it was still there. That's not exactly what happens with Ocean Acidification, but it's similar. The CO2 reacts with somethings to get you something else. In Ocean Acidification the CO2 creates a harmful acid. The acid is HCO3-2. It is called Calcium Bicarbonate Acid. The reason that the Calcium Bicarbonate Acid is dangerous is because it starts to break down shells of some animals. Overtime it also kills coral which is a big part of the Oceans eco-system. In the Disapearing Ink it takes away the color in the ink so you can no longer see it. I liked this experiment. I thought it was a good cool way to show a similar process to Ocean Acidification.
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Ocean Acidification. What is it? How does it happen? At the beginning of class we were given that question. We then were instructed to talk to our table and gather our thoughts. Then a class discussion started. Everyone shared their thoughts about Ocean Acidification. As a class we had a pretty basic understanding of what happened. Personally I knew only a little bit. My guess was that it had to do with the acidity level of the ocean (the pH level of the water). There was more too it though. My class got the next part. The carbon dioxide from the air entered the ocean and made it more acidic. That was good but again there was still more. We learned that once the carbon dioxide entered the ocean it reacted with other molecules in the water. The CO2 mixes with the water (H2O) and creates H2CO3. That then eventually get turned into HCO3-2 which is Carbonic Acid. That is where the water gets more acidic. That over time will break down animals shells and coral which can kill a lot of the oceans population. At first it was difficult for me to understand how this process worked. Andrew went over it a few times and after a couple times I understood what was going on and how the water became more acidic.
The earth is composed of four layers. Those four layers are the Inner and Outer core, Mantle, and the Crust. The Inner and Outer cores are both made of iron and nickel. The Inner core is a solid and the Outer core is a liquid. Both cores are under extreme pressures and heats. The Inner core is under so much pressure so it is solid. As you move closer to earth surface there is the Mantle. Inside the mantle there is lava. When the earth surface cracks magma will rise up to the top. When that magma dries it dries as a rock. The reason that happens is because the Mantle is made of liquid silicates. A silicate is a molecule that forms rocks. The final layer to the earth is the crust. It is the thinest layer and it is a solid silicate. In our experiment we were making rocks. We had liquid silicates in the test tube then we added a reactant. Once we did that there was a reaction between the two molecules that created rocks. That experiment was a smaller example of what happens on a bigger level all over our earth. When the liquid silicates erupt from the crust it reacts with the air and the surroundings and it then forms rocks.
Hot air rises. That is because it is less dense than colder air. When two things come in contact with each other the one that is less dense will rise to the top. An example of that is the cold and hot air. Another one is oil and water. Oil is less dense than water so when they are mixed the oil will float to the top. It will appear as if the oil is floating above the water. The reason that happens is because of the mass and volume of the object. In this case oil has less mass so it circulates to the top. In our hot air balloon experiment, the hot air balloon rose up in the air because the candles were creating hot air. That air rose to the top of the bag and still wanted to go up. The hot air molecules were pushing up against the bag which caused it to rise.
A basic answer to what a Phase Change is, is when a state of matter like a solid, liquid, or gas changes properties to a different solid, liquid, or gas because of the environment that it is placed in. For example, we did an experiment with dry ice. Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide. When it is exposed to the room temperature air and water it heats it up and evaporates. It is then turned from solid to gas. Another part of the experiment was turning the solid into a liquid. The way we did that was putting it in an enclosed tube and adding pressure to it. The way we added pressure was by increasing the heat. When we added heat to an enclosed space it made the dry ice melt and turn into a liquid. When we released the pressure the slightly froze again and it bursted out of the tube looking like snow. All three steps showed the different phases that things can be. The reason they were able to interchange between phases was because of the temperature of pressure.
Light is a confusing topic. A lot of things happen and I'm not quite sure why they happen. Like why some elements burn a certain color. Do they have colored dye in them to make them burn that way? No. Or, why an unstable atoms will lose or gain electrons if they come in contact with other unstable atoms that needs their electron. I understand that these atoms want to become stable but what actually makes them lose or gain their electrons. I think there may be more to it but when different chemicals mix they react with each other and combine to make a stable molecule. That happens because they want to be stable and the only way to do that is to lose or gain elections.
This was very confusing to me. I had a hard time wrapping my mind about most of what was being said in this writing. One of the things that made sense to me were what combustion was. To me combustion is a fast reaction that releases a lot of heat. It must have a fuel, an oxidizer, and an ignition. While reading this there was a term called 'microgravity.' I am curious to what microgravity is and how it is created. Also, what is it useful for. I understand that it takes gravity away but how could that be beneficial if the things you do in microgravity eventually you will do in earths gravity? It seems kind of pointless since it's two different atmospheres essentially. I'm very confused about this microgravity concept but from the looks of it it sounds very important to the study of science so I'm intrigued to learn more. The combustion that happened in the video was because of the heat. The balloon was filled with hydrogen which is a very flammable gas. We were hovering it over the candle which conducts heat. My theory for why the balloon popped is that the hydrogen heated up and expanded which popped the balloon and then the gas lit which is why you see the fire.
UPDATE 9/21/16: I still believe that the combustion from the video above happened because of heat. Hydrogen in the balloon was a gas. Meaning that it was going crazy and moving around. Which in my guess is why it inflates the balloon. I still think my hypothesis from before is correct because the heat from the candle made contact with the hydrogen in the balloon and the hydrogen and expanded the balloon which popped it. Once the balloon popped the hydrogen was released into the air right next to the fire. Since hydrogen is a flammable gas it caught fire. The sound be heard is from the ballon popping then the hydrogen reacted and released its energy which is the fire. How would you describe what "science" is? To me science is an personal exploration. By that I mean what your interested in, you can study and/or work on. For instance last year I did a project where I made a Rubens Tube and then after I expanded and decided to make a box version. I'm interested in building these things and how they work and this is my interest so I focused on that one thing. "Science" is such a broad topic and can range from so many things. There are so many "Science" related topics in everyday items. What is a hypothesis, and why would you make one? A hypothesis is an educated guess. Taking into consideration what you know you can make an educated guess about what will happen in an experiment. I think of a hypothesis as a way for yourself to grow because you know something and with your knowledge you will think something will happen. If your hypothesis is wrong that doesn't mean you were wrong but maybe you didn't know a chemical reacted that way to this other chemical. Since your hypothesis was wrong you can make an observation and take a note so when you go to combine those chemicals again you know how they should react. UPDATE 9/16/16: I want to revisit the topic of what "science" is. I think I hit some strong points in what I originally said but I need to add more. I previously mentioned that "science" is where someone has an interest and they furthermore explore it to. Along with exploring something that you like, you explore it to prove something or learn something new. When exploring an idea or interest you have an end goal of what you want/maybe think will happen. You will also learn something new about the topic and as you hit break through you can get to your end goal. |
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