Graeme's Pre-Ap Chemistry Blog: 2016

More Gas Laws

We learned a new equation which is going to be very helpful in chemistry. It is PV=nRT. P is pressure, V is volume, n is moles, R is a constant .0821, and T is temperature. We can use this equation to find grams of substance or any of these variables. It was a big help in the airbag lab we did as well.

http://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/jmonegan/2014/02/20/gas-laws/

Here are some more helpful links. Also check out the link above.

Here

Video

Airbag Lab

I was a little nervous about this lab. We had to fill a ziploc bag with baking soda and vinegar to have it puff up, but not explode. We were simulating an airbag. My plan was to take all the measurements of pressure, volume, and temperature that day of the bag. Then I would use that to find the moles of baking soda and vinegar. Then I could use moles to find the grams or mL of product I needed in order to create the airbag. However, I was exempt from the lab because I had to take the AP Physic C test. I was very happy about that. No worries, here is some pictures, though.

http://www.indypl.org/kids/blog/?p=9584

First Quiz

We took our first quiz over the unit the other day. There was stuff on there I did not know so I got a C on the quiz. I don't remember learning about the kinetic theory, so I tried to use my prior physics knowledge to answer the questions. I also forgot was STP was. Now I know that it is 1 atm and 0 degrees Celsius. I guess I will have to study more for the test.

http://clipartcow.com/sad-face-clip-art-image-22745/

Gas Laws Intro

To start the unit, we learned about Charles, Boyles, and Avagadros gas laws. To make the summary a bit shorter, these all can be summed up to the combined gas law which is PV/nT. You can use these proportions to find different factors whether it's pressure, volume, moles, or temperature.

http://www.showme.com/search/?q=derivation%20of%20combined%20gas%20law

http://chemin10.com/combined-gas-law-chemistry/

Check out the link under the second photo or these for more help.

Here

Energy test

We recently had a test over energy and phase changes. I did decent on the test with an 85%. I was hoping for a little higher, but I'm content with that. I had a pretty good understanding of the phase change graph and transfer of energy between phases. So here's some cool pictures relating to this unit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Energy_thru_phase_changes.png

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/General_Chemistry/Phase_Changes

Energy

We have moved on to our next unit of energy. This unit seems to be easy so far and we only have two lectures. Our first lecture was about energy in relation to the movement of energy in a substance.

We use and equation Q=mcT where Q is energy, m is mass, c is specific heat, and T is change in temperature. This equation can be used also to relation two substances to each other if you use mcT=mcT.

http://www.slideshare.net/nmacintoshwqsbqcca/electricity-heat-energy-15979832

https://sites.google.com/a/pleasantonusd.net/barnettdreyfuss/physics/thermo

Boat Race

To finish off the unit, we had boat races with our biodiesel. Most of our fuel decayed, so we all used the same fuel. So it pretty much came down to who had the fastest boat.

My team's original boat, USS Buttstuff, wasn't a very big success. It was build out of duct tape and an empty milk carton. It wasn't sealed properly with tape and the design wasn't aerodynamic.

Our second boat, USS Buttstuff 2.0, was a success. We used an empty can with a hole on the top and a red solo cup nose. It got a final time of 14.9 seconds which got us in 4th place.

I was hoping for better, but it was a decent run.

Biodiesel Lab

In this lab, we made our own biodiesel which we will later use for a boat race. To make the biodiesel my team tried something new and use corn oil instead of the leftover fry oil. We heated the compound which another chemical to make the biodiesel.

Unfortunately, like many other teams, our biodiesel decayed over the weekend, so we ended up using a different fuel anyway for our boat.

It looked clean though.

Biodiesel Movie

My partner and I were to create a short film promoting biodiesel. This film was to be entered into a national contest where we could win about $120.

Our video was about a hero named Biodiesel Man facing his arch nemesis, Dr. Pollution. Dr. Pollution was planning on destroying the world, but Biodiesel Man explained how biodiesel is created and how it has a positive effect on the environment. Eventually he defeats Dr. Pollution and the day was saved.

The video turned out okay since the program I used only allowed for 2 characters and 1 dialogue per character. So it was a little boring, but it had good information.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU_eKFSEGGc

Links:

www.biodiesel.com
www.biodiesel.org
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/biodiesel.html
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/biodiesel.shtml
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/biofuels/biodiesel-fuel/

http://extremebiodiesel.com/

Lewis Structure Lab

We did a lab where we went into the library to work out lewis structures on white board tables. We had to find the structure, shape, polarity, bonding and non bonding pairs, hybridization, and VSEPR formula for different molecules. Some of the molecules included BeH2 and PCl5.

Polar Bonds

In this lesson, we learned about polarity and the different kinds of bonds. In order for a molecule to be polar, the bonds must be polar which means that the electranegativity needs to be be more on one side of the bond than the other. This section was a little confusing for me, so why not post more links.

Here

Here

Resonance

In this lesson, we learned about structure and resonance. In a nutshell, resonance is when a lewis structure can be drawn in multiple different ways for the same molecule. The shape change is displayed by a double headed arrow between the two structures.

We also checked out the shapes of molecules. When there is a structure with no non-bonding pairs, we have 5 different regions the structure can be. Depending on the number of bonds, it can be linear, trigonal planar, tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramid, and octahedral. If there are non-bonding pairs, the shape can be a asymmetrical form which will also be polar.

For more info check out this link here. Also check the one out under the photo.

http://socratic.org/questions/what-is-a-resonance-hybrid

Lewis Formulas

We started our new unit about chemical bonding. Its mostly about the relationships between electrons. Our lesson was about lewis formulas which is used to display chemical structure of molecules. There is a certain equation you use taking the sum of the electrons you have and what you need to find the amount of bonds in the structure. We also learned about bonding and non-bonding electrons. For some more info, check out this link here. Also check out the link under the photo.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/lewis.html

Electron Structure Quiz

We did our electron structure test today. It wasn't too bad, but I'll probably do bad like the rest of the test. I didn't study the ionization level section too much so that stumped me on the test. I knew most of everything else, but we'll wait until I see my grade. I liked the frequency and energy questions because that was what I was an expert on. It was physics all over again!

Element Properties

We were given a sheet with different riddles about element properties and we were to place them on the S and P sections of the periodic table. It was pretty easy and it spells out a phrase.

We then did another based on periodic trends. This was much harder. We used density for some of the graph and then ionization levels for the rest of it. For more info on periodic trends, check out this link here.

Analysis of Cr and Co

This was an interesting lab. We used a device I've never heard of before called a spectrophotometer. We started by using a tube of water to set the device to 0% transmittance. Then we place the blue tube in there, which is Cr, and the the red tube, which is Co. We measured the absorbance of light and the %T of light.

Quantum Numbers

We had a new lesson today about quantum numbers. Every element is assigned to a specific quantum number which identifies it by energy levels and electron structure. There are things called orbitals which take over certain parts of the periodic table. Check out the link under the photo under the picture.

http://www.mikeblaber.org/oldwine/chm1045/notes/Struct/EPeriod/Struct09.htm

The set of numbers is set up by principle number, the energy level, angular momentum, determines orbital, magnetic number, determines the run from -1 to 1, and the spin quantum number, the -1/2 to 1/2. Click here for more info as well as here.

Flame Test Lab

This lab we did was very cool. We took different metals and held them up in a flame to see what color the flame was. We then used the wavelength of that color to find frequency then used frequency to find the energy per mole of the light. Some of the metals glowed green and pink which were very cool.

This is a picture of our Bunsen Burner set up and us putting LiNO4 into the flame, causing a hot pink flame.

Electronic Structure

We started our new unit today and it so far is much easier than the last two units. It is about electronic structure. We first learned how light is electronic energy that is carried through space. All electronic energy can be characterized by waves. A couple relationships arise from this concept. The two we learned were wave speed = frequency x wavelength and energy = planck's constant x frequency. Check out the link under the picture and the link here for more info.

http://www.itseducation.asia/science/physics-four.htm

Acid/Base Test

I will be honest, I did not study for this test at all. I had a complete brain fart on this test, too. I did very bad and had no clue how to find a pH or H+ concentration or use an ICE equation. I'm just glad the very hard sections are done and the class will become easier.

http://funnyand.tumblr.com/post/91424015436/after-a-test-after-a-test-i-did-so-bad-on-this

Titration II

We preformed another titration lab, but this time we only found the molarity of an unknown solution. The whole lab was basically the same, but we had no clue what the acid was. We needed to find out what was the molarity and mass of the base to find the info on the acid.

Titration Lab

In this lab, we used a base to find the molar mass of an acid. We put NaOH in a burett. In a flask we have multiple chemicals to help find the molarity of the NaOH. After we find the molarity, we mix the acid, which was vinegar, and the base to find the molarity of the base, which can then be used to find the molar mass.

pH of Solutions

When finding the pH of solutions, you must use a "log" function. By taking a simple negative log function, you can find either the pH or pOH. pH is relating to [H+] and pOH is relating to [OH-].

The hard part of this lesson was writing equilibrium equations. Your Kc will equal an [H3O+] multiplied by the product and all divided by the other reactant. The hardest part was finding the pH of an aqueous solution. Learn how to do it by this link here.

Arrhenius Reactions

Arrhenius reactions the product is always produce salt and water. The strengths of the parent acids and bases determine the strength of the salt. Check out this awesome video about Arrhenius Reactions here.

We also learned about Kw and how it is used to find the equilibrium statement of the autoionization of water. Kc = [H30+][OH-] = Kw. If you take the Kc constant and divide it by the Molarity, you can find the [H+] and [OH-]. This link also has some good info about the reaction here.

Also check out the link under the photo.

https://www.shodor.org/unchem/advanced/kin/arrhenius.html

First Thoughts

By the very first lesson, I was already confused. I'm definitely going to have a hard time on this unit. To start off with, acids produce H+ ions and bases create OH- ions. For a good basic summary check out this link here.

https://sites.google.com/a/wyckoffschools.org/ems-biochemistry/acids-and-bases

The link under the picture also has some good information about the ph scale and acids/bases.

Useful Links

http://www.occc.edu/kmbailey/Chem1115Tutorials/Molarity.htm

http://dl.clackamas.edu/ch105-04/calculat.htm

Murder Mystery

In this lab, we had to discover who killed Mrs. Scarlet and what she was killed with. She was either killed with Silver Nitrate or Potassium Iodide. We did some pre-calculations and found out that only the silver nitrate will create a precipitate. When we performed the experiment, we found that the reaction produced a precipitate and that told us that silver nitrate was the murder weapon. We then found the molarity to come to the conclusion that Mr. Green killed Mrs. Scarlet.

Weekly Quiz

We had a quiz and I did absolutely horrible. The only thing on the quiz I knew how to do was dilutions. I had no idea how to do molarity because I fell asleep during that lesson. I did some research to figure this lesson out. I found an awesome website that completely explained the lesson. Check it out here if you had trouble with this section.

http://studyfaq.com/blog/molarity-equation

Also check out the link under the video.

Dilutions

Today we covered a new topic called Dilutions, more specifically serial dilutions. Right away, I made a connection between the dilution equation to the equation for the conservation of momentum or inertia. Basically serial dilution is when a solution is continually mixed with water and over time, the amount of the original solution will decrease in the water. You should really check out this video over stock dilution here.

http://www.slideshare.net/sarah_jumali/serial-dilution

Also if you want to learn more about dilution, check out this link here.

We also preformed a lab dealing with dilutions. We placed food coloring in water then took that solution and mixed it with more water. Eventually, we could not see the red anymore in the solution, but the percentage of food coloring was so low.