Science ''Making Water Wetter'' Reflection

In class we were doing a lab called ''Making Water Wetter.'' In this lab we were learning about cohesion and surface tension.
Cohesion- The intermolecular force that holds together molecules in a solid ot liquid.
Surface tension- surface tension is a force present within the surface layer of a liquid that causes the layer to behave as an elastic sheet.

We had to write our hypothesis and the observations we saw when we were doing this lab. We also had partners, my partner was Alfie. What we did in the lab was have to put different types of liquid on a coin and record the number of drops that fell on the coin. The second part was using wax paper, and we put different types of liquid on it, and used a toothpick to spread the water around the wax paper, by doing that we see which ones have a higher surface tension and which one shave a lower surface tension.

My hypothesis was that by changing the type of liquid, you change the surface tension, my hypothesis was correct. Some observation I made were that more drops of plane water could fit on the coin rather than putting the coin in soap, taking out, and then putting water on it. When there was just water, the bubble of water on the coin popped, and with the soap the water drops just glided right off the coin and onto the paper towel. When me and Alfie were doing wax paper, the regular water had the most surface tension because we could move it around the most, what would happen was it would hold a certain amount, and then it would drop all the water and start collecting water again, and then it would repeat, that is cohesion. The second liquid with the second highest surface tension was the ''unknown liquid.'' Then it was the green soap that had the least surface tension.

Will drillinga Volcanoe save Naple?

This city is near Mount Vesuvius. This volcano has erupted 50 times since 79 A.D. That was when it hit Pompeii. Now scientists are trying to figure out when the next major eruption will be so that they can save Naples. Geologists are planning to drill down 4,000 meters (13,000 ft.) in the volcano to save Naples and its people. What they will then do is collect a lot of magma so that it can not erupt as much as it should. There is a possibility that it will not work because all the equpment has not been used in such hot temperatures. There is a bigger fear, that when drilling it might cause an eruption and earthquake sooner. For now we all have to keep our finger crossed, hope for the best, and see what happens next.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRfEGvp6wDU&feature=player_embedded (cool video about it)
http://www.dogonews.com/2010/10/9/will-drilling-into-a-volcano-save-naples (article link)

Food Coloring and Water Reflection

We did an experiment in class with blue food coloring and water. The temperatures of each water was different, we had hot water, cold water, and room temperature water. The particles in each water were different. The molecules move faster in hot water the heat is giving the molecules more energy and the temperature of the water is higher. Temperature is the measure of average kinetic energy of the atoms. Also the density is lower and causes the molecules to move around more, also partly because of evaporation that the molecules are less dense. In room temperature water the molecules move faster than cold water because the hotter the water the more energy, the more energy, the faster the molecules move. Molecules in cold water move, but not fast because there is less heat and that means less energy, and energy determines the speed of the molecules. What happened to the cold water when we added the blue food coloring was it just went down in a straight line. Also it took the longest in cold water because it is the most dense. In the room temperature water the food coloring went to the bottom and top and then the top and bottom worked their way to the middle. The speed movement of the dye was in the middle because of the density, not high and not low. The hot water spread the dye as it went down, it also spread the fastest because it is the lest dense and has the most room for the blue food coloring.

Gold Particles make trees become a source of Light

There is a new theory that nano gold particles could be a source of green energy that could make our trees street lights. A Taiwanese scientist came up with idea. We are researching to find a new substitute for LED (Light emitting diode) that is commonly used for street lights. Using LED is very efficient, but it uses phosphor powder to emit lights at different wavelengths, that is not only expensive it is very toxic. The gold, when testing, reacted to the chlorophyll (what makes the plant green) and caused a red glow on the leaves. The radiance also makes an energy source that allows the leaves to photosynthesizes at night, and that takes in the carbon dioxide and releases the fresh oxygen and makes the air we breath even more healthier. The idea is still in process and there are still many flaws with this idea, such as the huge expenses of gold!!! There are so many problems and things that have to be done that it might never happen, but the idea is still great.


http://www.dogonews.com/category/science

So I am going to talk about mixtures. ''

• Suspension:

  The ingredients are (stirred) in. If left alone, they will settle out. The heavier ingredient will settle to the bottom. Filtration can separate the two ingredients. An example would be dirt mixed with water.

• Colloidal:

  The size of the solute is smaller than in a suspension, but greater than in a solution (see below). The solute breaks down but remains as a clump of molecules and is smaller than the eye can see. Colloids are a bit unusual in that the solute is equally dispersed in the solvent as in a solution, but the solute does not completely break down. In many cases this is because something coats the bits of solute and prevents them from completely dissolving in the solvent. An example would be mayonnaise, jello or oobleck

• Solution:

  ''The solute and solvent are dissolved and cannot be separated unless one of the ingredients changes state of matter. ie. distilation, (evaporating) or crystallation. An example would be salt and water.''

• -http://www.psinvention.com/mixtures.htm
  

The two general types of mixtures, homogeneous and heterogeneous. A homogeneous mixture is all liquid or all solid, not bits of anything and example is apple juice, you do not see any particles of apples. A heterogeneous mixture is when it is mixed (such as a solid in a liquid, a liquid in a solid, or a liquid and gas), for example a smoothie, it can have pieces of the fruit that it was made of. You can also say that a homogeneous mixture is the same throughout and can be evenly mixed and a heterogeneous mixture can be easily separated.

Examples

HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURES
salty water (dissolved)
sugar water (dissolved)
brewed tea or coffee
alcohol
wine
milk
brass (a buttery yellow alloy of zinc and copper http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-brass.htm)

HETEROGENEOUS MIXTURES

• Salad
• Sandwich
• Solids
• Liquids
• Gases
• Beach sand
• tree
• basically anything that has multiple parts

I hope that this gave you a good idea about mixtures, what they are, and the types of mixtures.

Oobleck Reflection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amfjWWMg9c0
This is a video to show you what corn starch can do.
When i made oobleck what happened was when i held it in my hands and was doing something to it it stayed and the second I relaxed it became a complete liquid and flew down. Also when i pounded it, it w2as a solid and when i dipped my hand in it, it was a liquid.When we did this is class me and my partner put to much water in the corn starch. The corn starch made it softer and more liquid like than all the other ones. Then we took some water out and it became harder. In the end we were pretty successful. Now it is drying and becoming corn starch again!

Corn Starch and Water Reflection

When we did this is class me and my partner put to much water in the corn starch. The corn starch made it softer and more liquid like than all the other ones. Then we took some water out and it became harder. In the end we were pretty successful. Now it is drying and becoming corn starch again!