Bieber,+Eric

From reading this article i learned that hydrofluoric acid, although not considered one of the strong acids, is especially dangerous to the body because of fluorine's willingness to gain an electron, and within the body there are multiple elements, like calcium and magnesium, that fluorine would bond with over the hydrogen atom it is already bonded with. Hydrofluoric acid carries no charge so it can easily get through the outer membranes of our skin. When the hydrogen atom is no longer bonded with the fluorine atom, it is free to bond to enzymes with regulate the pH level in our system causing problems within our body. The more dangerous part is when fluorine bonds with magnesium or calcium with can cause convulsions, an irregular heartbeat, and even death.

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One interesting thing i learned from the article is that many words not only use Greek prefixes and suffixes but they incorporate Latin prefixes as well in seemingly random places like using a Latin prefix for 9 but not the other numbers. I also leaned that over 35 elements were named with some relation to Greek language or other source like Hydrogen being named because the prefix and suffixes Hydro + gen means water former. A third thing i learned from this article was that several topics like stoichiometry and exothermic also have Greek roots.

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http://www.gizmag.com/energy-positive-wind-powered-rotating-skyscraper-dubai/9192/ I read the article on dynamic architecture and wind power. Dynamic architecture is architecture that can change to fit its surroundings and can also produce its own energy. These buildings are different from usual skyscrapers because they not only collect their own energy from wind power and distribute it to its surroundings, but it is constructed first from the center, and then from the bottom down. Each floor of the skyscraper can be owned by a separate business, and can also be spun to a different view without changing the orientation of the other floors. The building can generate can generate enough energy to power itself in only 4 of its 48 turbines% which allows it to distrbute energy from thProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 20other 44 turbines to the surrounding buildings.

Biebs, Good stuff. I wonder if you can feel the building moving - if so would you get motion sickness? MW

From the article about the polymers i learned that when making an astroturf field, they use polymers that are cross-linked in a process called vulcanization, which makes the solid. They also die these polymers so that the field looks more natural and can have lines without painting it. I also learned that the rubber bits on the field are made of recycled rubber tires. The article said that the track was different though because it uses completely new rubber which i found interesting. I also learned that the field absorbs a large amount of heat and this can somewhat be counteracted by spraying water on it which our school should do more often so band kids don't get so hot.

I sometimes feel sorry for the band kids in those uniforms! MW

One thing i already knew from the oil and water article was that water molecules are polar and have hydrogen bonding and so have dipole dipole attractions. I also knew that polar molecules are miscible with other polar molecules and the same with two non-polar substances. A third thing i already knew from the article was that water beads on a non-polar surface. Something i learned from the article was that non-polar substances are attracted to polar ones more than to other non-polar ones. I also learned that instead of beading, a non-polar substance spreads out to an incredibly thin layer when on a polar substance. One last thing i learned is that the reason a rainbow can be seen when oil is on a wet surface is because it spreads out to an incredibly thin layer because it is non-polar and the water is polar. Eric, Looks good! MW

From the salt article I learned that the salt begins to melt the ice where it is in contact. After some is melted it creates a salt solution which then melts more ice. I also learned that since bridges freeze faster than roads some have built in sprayers to prevent the formation of ice. I also learned that calcium chloride or magnesium chloride solutions depress the freezing point further than sodium chloride because it creates more ions. One last thing I learned is that cane sugar can be added to the solution to help the salt molecules stick to the roads surface. Something I already knew before I read the article was that salt can be used to melt ice that has already formed.

I wonder if animals would like the roads if sugar was put on them? MW

I learned from the hand warmers that they contain iron and that essentially all that is produced is rust. I did know that foot warmers get hotter than hand warmers from experience, but I learned that it's because foot warmers allow more oxygen in so its concentration is higher and the rate increases. I also learned that some handwarmers can last up to 24 hours although I've never had any last that long. I also learned that you can reuse the reusable handwarmers by boiling them although i knew they were supersaturated solutions. I also learned that they are made from sodium acetate solutions.

Beebs, OK. Lots of chemistry there! MW

Before reading the article I knew that sap was sweet because it had sugar molecules in it like sucrose or glucose, but I did not know what exactly was in it. I learned that in maple syrup the sweetness comes mainly from sucrose and has low concentrations of fructose and glucose. I also knew that sap had to be concentrated before it was made into syrup, but I learned that this is done by either evaporation, or reverse osmosis and then evaporation, and that approximately 2600Kj to evaporate one liter of sap, which results in only a small amount of syrup. I also knew before reading that you have to tap trees to get sap to make maple syrup. From the article I learned that the concentration of compounds within the sap varies depending on what time a tree is tapped, and even the acidity changes through the tapping season.

Beebs,

I liked that reference to time of tapping also. 5 stars. MW

Before i read the article, i knew that reduction was when an element or ion gains electrons, and i also knew that for electrochemical reactions, there must be a way for the cathode to connect to the anode. Another fact i knew before reading this was that rust occurs more at spots where the paint is gone. I learned that, although cost ineffective, and unsafe, gold and silver cars would have almost no rust and would last through the ages. I also learned that they are making paints that ooze into places where paint has been removed. A third thing i learned was that only the Iron in cars is responsible for the rust we see because the other metals don't lose electrons so easily.

Beebs, Well covered. 5 shiny stars! MW