Snare,+Daniel

When I read the word "hydrofluoric" in "An Invisible Fire", I immediately made the connection to hydrochloric acid. I knew that the two were chemically structured in similar ways, but what I did not realize was that hydrofluoric acid is a much weaker acid. I also remember the fact that an ion is an atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons and that hydrofluoric acid is formed by an attraction between a fluoride ion and a hydrogen ion. What I didn't know, but what makes sense, is that because fluoride tries to get so many electrons, it will attack human tissue that is swarming with them. This explains why William Turner was in so much pain.

Dan, OK. Good to go. 5 stars. MW

This article showed me that the Ancient Greek language has been very influential on the terms used in chemistry today. There were a few ‘very important points’ that I took from the story. One was that if I want to understand many of these chemistry terms I need to know Greek prefixes and suffixes. Another important point was that 36 elements’ names come from the Greek language, meaning that in order to understand these elements better it helps to know what their etymological meaning is. This brings me to my third important that is also my M.V.P. There are hundreds of chemical terms derived from Greek and with some knowledge of Greek language, understanding chemistry is so much easier.

Dan, Well if not easier it does allow you to make connections - which is always gratifying. 5 stars. MW

Well I knew that Albert Einstein was one of the most intelligent people to ever walk the Earth, but I didn't really know what his accomplishments were. I was blown away by what I read, however. My first VIP comes from what Einstein discovered about the photoelectric effect. He found that the frequency of light causes electrons to leave the metal and higher frequency increases the rate at which electrons leave. I think it took some guts for Einstein to sort of challenge what Newton had discovered years before. My second VIP is that Einstein's work on the atomic theory helped the science world accept the notion that atoms existed. It must have been such a large task to change stubborn scientists' minds but Einstein helped to do it. The final VIP is the fact that time and space are compressed as you approach the speed of light and that they're both "relative" states for the same object. I can't wrap my mind around this theory and it's amazing that a man could come up with this thought. My MVP is that 1905 was a great launching point for Albert Einstein as he showed off his great mind and made huge contributions to the world of science.

Dan, No doubt publishing something so radical could have destroyed his reputation but instead.... Good thoughts! 5 stars. MW

This entire article on polymers has really opened my eyes to the connection between real world construction and chemistry. I can easily relate to the description of the turf and track rubber granules due to marching band and sports by the thing I didn’t realize was that they are two entirely different types of rubber. The vulcanized rubber on the track is stronger and tougher, which is explained by the cross links of the polymers. The unvulcanized rubber is looser and gives the athletic field a more natural field. I can also attest to the fact that the turf is much warmer than the air and through this article I learned that the dyed blades of material strongly absorb solar radiation. Very interesting stuff!

Dan, Looks good! I thought it was interesting as well. 5 stars. MW

This article has really answered a lot questions I've had about the reasoning for putting salt on roads in the winter. I came away from the article with a few main points. The first is that the water in a solution does not usually begin to freeze until it reaches a lower temperature than the normal freezing point due to the fact that more energy needs to be moved in getting water molecules in a solution to form into a crystal. This helps to explain why there is a such a thing as a freezing point depression, along with other things such as lowered vapor pressure. The second point I took away is that for road ice, the practical limit for road salt is -10 degrees Celsius. This results in the fact that in parts of Canada and Alaska, where the temperature can reach -20 degrees Celsius, road salt is ineffective. There are in fact limits on this type of chemistry. My third important point is that the number of dissolved particles in a solution determines how greatly its freezing point is lowered. For example, MgCl2 is more effective than NaCl because there are three dissolved particles per mole instead of two. The most valuable piece of knowledge I gained out of all this though is that when the road salt dissolves in the liquid water, a solution of salty water is formed and this solution has a lower freezing point than regular snow.

Dan, Good points all around! 5 stars! MW

Pool Chemistry Questions: 1. What is the pH level of the pool water? The pH level ranges from about 7.2 to 7.8 but usually stays around 7.5.

2. What is the process and how often is the pH level checked? The pH level is usually checked 3 times a day by Jason by taking a sample of water, dropping a few drops of a chemical in the sample, and comparing the color of it to a chart.

3. Are any disinfectants used to clean the pool? I believe that Jason said that the most prominent chemical used is the liquid chlorine and not really much else.

Dan, Finish please! You are 1/2 way home. 5. MW

Dan, A little late and light on the answers. 7 stars. MW

I found that the article, "Flaking Away" contained a lot of information that I already knew but also some that I hadn't learned before. The first thing I noticed that was familiar to me was the statement that the redox reaction that forms rust only needs an anode (iron), a cathode (oxygen), and an electrolyte solution such as a water droplet. The explanation of the rusting process was sort of a review as I had just learned about it. Another piece of info that was already known was the fact that cars in northern states are more susceptible to rust because the salt used on roads for melting ice makes water a better conductor. In addition, when I read the back page on galvanization I remembered about learning how when a thin layer of zinc is added to steel, the zinc acts as a sacrificial anode and the steel becomes the cathode. There was some new information in this article however. I did not realize that physical strains on iron and steel leave stress points in the metal that are more easily oxidized and rust forms more easily. Rust must be an important issue when it comes to large steel skyscrapers then. I also learned that iron used in cars is converted into a pure metal from rusty iron ore because pure iron is so rare. A final piece of new information came when, at the end of the article, I read about new high tech paints which "ooze together to close gaps" in areas where paint is scratched and iron is exposed. At the end of the day, I've realized that a solution to the issue of rust would save the country millions of dollars and get rid of a major problem.

Dan, Billions of dollars actually. Sounds like the basis of a good science fair project! 5 stars! MW