Acids and Bases

Acids and bases differ in that acids release protons and bases recieve protons. They transfer these protons in the form of an H+ molecule, making them either basic or acidic from the transfer of that molecule. Solutions are determined to be either acidic or basic depending on their placement on the Ph scale. A solution's postition on the Ph scale can be determined by placing a Ph test strip in the solution, waiting for the strip to change color, and looking at the color key that (should) come with the strips. The key may have a number scale, which should read from 0 to 14. If a solution is below 7 on the scale, it is labeled as acidic. If a solution is above 7, it is labeled as basic. The severity of how acidic or basic it is. The lower on the scale it is, the more acidic it is. The higher on the scale a solution is, the more basic it is. Solutions on the number 7 mark are labeled as neutral, making them less likely to transfer H+ ions. Acids contain more hydrogen while bases contain more hydroxide ions because of their individual transfers of ions.

Beer's law lab

Beer's law states that the more concentrated a solution is, the darker it will appear because of the presence of more of the solute.

Purpose- Determine concentration of solutions based upon how dark the solutions are.
Materials- Nickel Nitrate, clear (clean) test tubes, pipets, distilled water, colorimeter (yes, that's its name), cuvettes and a computer to record data.
Procedure-
Create control for experiment by filling one cuvette with only distilled water and entering in the data from the colorimeter to the computer. Then, switch the colorimeter's settings to red light (as we're dealing with a green-colored solution). Next, add in different ratios of Nickel Nitrate to distilled water in different test tubes, but only so that the result is a total of 10mL of mixture (Ex: 2mL of Nickel Nitrate to 8mL of water, 4mL of Nickel Nitrate to 6mL of water and so on). Stir all test tubes full of the different concentrations of Nickel Nitrate so they are all properly mixed with the distilled water in the test tubes. Enter in all data from colorimeter to computer by pouring one cuvette with one of each of the different of mixtures created so there is one cuvette for each different mixture ratio. The data entered should have  aslightly linear pattern, although we experienced one outlier in our data. In the case of an outlier, it is advised to draw a line of best fit into the graph to determine an estimated trend of concentration. Then, we were given 3 unknown mixtures that were prepared before the experiment and needed to apply our knowledge and data to determine the concentration and absorbance of each of them.
Absorbance for the 3 unknowns were:
1- .186
2- .551
3- .367
Concentration (in moles) were:
1- .155 M
2- .365 M
3- .26 M
Conclusion: Unknown mixtures' concentrations can be determined by the data recieved from known solutions and comparing their absorbance with the unknowns'. Thus, Beer's law is a reliable basis for this sort of experiment.

Crystal formation lab

This lab procedure was slightly trickier than the others in that it required a tid bit more finesse in going through the steps. Some of the smallest mistakes make the steps leading up to it all for nothing.
First, we needed to add a large amount of Aluminun Potassium Sulfate to a glass beaker of distilled water (the experiment will only work with distilled water). I did not use an exact measurement of Aluminum Potassium Sulfate due to lack of time, so all that I can say is that I added a good sized amount to about 250mL of distilled water. Then, we stirred the water until the Aluminum Potassium Sulfate had fully dissolved and made the water cloudy white. Then, we put our glass beakers on top of hot plates (basically safer, more portable stove tops) and continued to stir. After stirring for about 15 minutes, the solution inside the beaker had turned clear, signifying that it was time for the next step. We took our beakers off of the hot plates to let them cool and form seed crystals at the bottom. Then, we chipped away at the newly formed seed crystals until we a had a respectable-sized chunk that we could tie on a piece of string for the second main part of the experiment. (Note: if the seed crystal is not properly tied to the string, it will fall and ruin the experiment; as what happened to me)
Next, we repeat step one, except we don't let seed crystals form at the bottom. Instead, when we tied a seed crystal with the string, we tied the other end to a small wooden stick (much like a tongue-depresser). The reason for this is to suspend the seed crystal so that it sits in the middle of the glass beaker full of solution. (Note: wait until the beaker has cooled enough to be held or the seed crystal will dissipate) This caused the cooling to make the Aluminum Potassium Sulfate in the water solidify around the seed crystal instead of just the bottom of the beaker. So, basically, we covered the seed crystal in another layer of crystal. The result was this:

This lab lead us to learn two important lessons: 1. Solutions can have predictable reactions when solids of that solution are introduced to the experiment that produced the solutions. By dissolving a solute and making it a part of a solution, it can solidify around a solid in the water in which it was made. 2. Some experiments need careful attention to procedure to produce the right end product.

Flash Memory

View my Prezi presentation about my research on the subject of flash memory and how it works. The presentation includes a short history of companies who utilize and distribute flash memory-related devices such as USB memory units and SD cards.Some questions to review said presentation include:
1.What company is credited with first utilizing flash memory in the 1980's? (Toshiba)
2. What part of USB devices store information? (storage chip)
3. What are common types of devices utilize flash memory?(Memory cards, memory sticks, SD cards, USB drives)

Silver nitrate precipitate lab

Purpose: Find how much silver is produced from 1g of silver nitrate.
Hypothesis: If silver nitrate is mixed with copper wire, then one gram of silver precipitate will form on the wire.
Materials: Silver nitrate solution, copper wire, distilled water, test tube, beaker, filter paper and small funnel.
Procedure: Pour 1g of silver nitrate solution into the test tube, leaving enough room left for the copper wire. Carefully put on 30cm of copper wire into the test tube and tape over the opening of the tube. Let the wire sit in the solution for 24 hours. Upon return, position the funnel over the opening of the beaker and roll the filter paper to create a cone to catch any precipitate that may have formed from the reaction. Next, carefully remove the tape from the test tube and pour out the excess solution into the filter paper cone. Then, lightly spray the copper wire with distilled water, getting off any precipitate from the wire and into the paper cone. Once all remaining precipitate is in the filter paper, weigh the wire and the precipitate separately.
Conclusions: 0.35g of silver was produced from the reaction and 0.247g of copper was lost. Our original hypothesis was proven wrong, due to a miscalculation in stoichiometric equations which led us to the aproximate result of 1g of precipitate.

Molar calculations

One mole is equal to 6.02 times 10^23. This number was introduced by Amedeo Avogadro to simplify a unit of atoms. An element's atomic weight is how many grams of weight are present in one mole of that atom. Percentages of elements present in a molecule of a substance, such as aluminum chloride, can be found by going through some simple mathematical steps; as shown below:

Popcorn lab

Purpose: find out how much of unpopped popcorn kernals' mass is made up of water.
Hypothesis: When popcorn kernals are popped, atleast one third of the total mass of the kernals will be lost due to loss of water caused by high temperature.
Materials: Glass beaker, vegetable oil, unpopped popcorn kernals, Bunsen burner, and foil.
Procedure: First, weigh the popcorn kernals and record the total weight befor reaction takes place. Next, fill the glass beaker with a small amount of oil to pop the kernals in. Put kernals in the beaker and cover the top with aluminum foil to keep heat inside the beaker. Poke holes in the foil to let pressure from the heated air escape. Then, place the beaker above a bunsen burner so that the flame heats the beaker evenly. Light the flame and wait for the kernals to pop. Then, remove the popped kernals and weigh them and record the difference in weight.
Results: One gram of weight was missing from the kernals.
Conclusion: The original hypothesis of one third of weight being lost from the reaction proved false. Though only a small amount of weight was lost from the lost water from the kernals, it was still apparant that the weight difference was caused by evaporated water trapped in the kernals. Based on the original weight of 6.5g of the kernals and the loss of 1g from teh experiment, it can be calculated that about 15.38% of the unpopped kernals' weight comprised of water.

Metal Reaction Lab

Hypothesis: Some metals will be more reactive than other metals, due to their atomic configuration.

Materials: Copper (II) nitrate, magnesium nitrate, zinc nitrate, silver nitrate, copper grains, magnesium ribbon, zinc granules, pipets, and a 24 well plate.

Procedure: First, we added small amounts of copper (II) nitrate, magnesium nitrate, zinc nitrate, and silver nitrate to 3 seperate wells each in the 24 well plate. Thats 3 wells for each mixture. For each of the 3 wells that we gave the separate mixtures, we mixed in one with copper grains, one with a small piece of magnesium ribbon, and one with zinc granules. After each of the metals was mixed with the 3 separate solutions, we waited about 5 minutes to observe any reactions.

Copper on reacted with the silver nitrate; producing a precipitate. All of the other solutions had little to no visible reaction with the copper grains.
Magnesium had almost the opposite effect, which reacted with every solution except for the magnesium nitrate.
Zinc reacted with the copper (II) nitrate and silver nitrate solutions, but not with the zinc nitrate nor the magnesium nitrate.

Conclusion: Our hypothesis was correct to an extent. We were right in the aspect that some metals are more reactive than others. Magneium was very reactive to the solutions while copper (II) was not so very reactive. We didn't specify which metals would react more, but we got our results. In reactivity (from most to least), the metals used ranked magnesium, zinc, then copper (II).

Periodic Table

The periodic table of elements is a way of organizing the chemical elements in periods and groups according to their properties. For example: a highly reactive element can be found on the table next to another highly reactive element. These are called halogens, but we'll get to those later. The periodic table goes from left to right in periods according to the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of that element. As you move from left to right in a period, the number of protons from element to element increases.
This is all well and good, but what about conductivity or reactivity? Well, as you reach the end of a period, the number of valence electrons (electrons in the outer electron shell of that element's atom" increases.What does this mean? Well, when an atom's outer electron shell is full, that means that is not very reactive. When the outer shell of an atom is filled all the way, it is called a noble gas. These are the least reactive of the elements. Right to the left of those are the halogens, highly reactive elements. They are so reactive due to the fact that their outer electron shells are not filled to the maximum, but by just barely. This means that another element's atom with an electron to fill that gap in the halogen's electron cloud can react with it so easily.

Spectra Lab

Using spectrascopes, we looked at different light filters and what lights they emit. When we looked through these special devices through the right angle, we could see the different colors in the visible light spectrum emitted by different properties.

This artist's representation of what was viewed through the spectrascope show what colors are given off. The first of this set was a normal, white light which showed each of the 7 colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). But, as the lights change, different colors are emitted. When a red fluid is placed in front of the light bulb and viewed through the spectrascope, the red part of the spectrum is larger. When a light blue fluid is put in front of the light instead, there is no orange light reflected. When gasses and other materials were put into a bulb and shown, we examined each of them with the spectrascopes. When examining a bulb with hydrogen in it, the only colors that were shown were red, blue and violet. When we used a mercury bulb, only orange, green and violet were visible. When argon was used, red and orange were very faint when viewed through the spectrascope. However, green and violet (the only other 2 colors present) were clearly seen. When a neon bulb was observed, there was a black line in between orang and green, replacing yellow. There was also little to no indigo or violet light seen. When a nitrogen bulb was observed, the full spectrum of colors was visible. The only odd thing was the two black lines in the green area of the spectrum. When observing iodine, all colors were very faint and there were black lines on both sides of the blue area. Helium reflected all of the colors except for violet and had black lines before and after the orange area.

This experiment shows that different gasses and elements reflect and absorb different parts of the visible light spectrum. It gives us better understanding of the energies emitted by what colors are absorbed or reflected.

Atomic Structure

An atom, the smallest particle of an element that still retains the properties of that element, can be split up into smaller particles. Even long ago, they conceived that the atom could be divided into smaller parts. The problem was that they did not know exactly how they were split up. The ancient Greek philosopher, Democritus, thought that atoms were the smallest form of matter and were , therefore, indivisible. A man named John Dalton also believed atoms to be indivisible. Dalton also believed that atoms could not be created or destroyed.

As the question of how atoms are composed has ben risen many many times; so much that people have tried to explain how atoms look. A man named J.J. Thomson made a "plum pudding" model of what an atom looks like:

As you can see, the positive particles (protons) and the negative particles (electrons) are randomly spread out in the atomic space. Thomson was on the right track, but no cigar. A more accurate model was produced by a man named Ernest Rutherford:

Rutherford proposed that the negatively charged electrons orbited around a positively charged nucleus. While this is very very close, what's missing from this picture? Figure it out? That's right; there are not neutrons in the nucleus.

That's better. The orange, uncharged particles in the nucleus that are with the protons are the neutrons. They have no charge, but they add to the atomic mass of the atom. An atom of an element is characterized by its mass number and its atomic number. The mass number is the average mass of the most commonly found isotopes of an element found in nature. Isotopes are atoms of the same element with a different amount of neutrons. The atomic number is the number of the number of protons in the atom of that element. If two atoms have a different number of protons, they are atoms of different elements. If they have the same amount of protons, but different amount of neutrons, they're isotopes.

Separation of Mixtures Lab

Steven and I produced a mixture composed of plastic boiling stones, iron filings, and calcium chloride. After putting each of the ingredients into a small, plastic tray and weighed each of them. We then mixed them all into a beaker and passed them on to another group to be analyzed. The iron filings weighed 4.23 grams; the plastic weighed 10.01 grams; and the calcium chloride weighed 10.57 grams. Once we poured each of the substances into the glass beaker, we stirred them together with a spatula.

After we passed our beaker mixture to another group, we took another groups mixture and tried to analyze what contents they had included into it. Once we got their mixture, we did our best to separate the plastic boiling stones from the sand. The beaker was wet, so it was difficult to know whether or not they used sugar in their mixture. If they had, it had dissolved in the water. The sand that they had put in their beaker was also wet, so we were unable to properly weigh the sand by itself. Once we had separated the ingredients of their mixture, we weighed the plastic at 3.87 grams and the wet sand at 13.21 grams. Once we separated the sand from the sugar using a paper filter and running water, we estimated the weight of the sugar to total at 0.12 grams.

By going through the process of separating each of the individual components of the other groups mixture, we were able to understand how different ingredients can add up to a different weight. While there were larger pieces of plastic, the smaller wet sand weighed more. We also learned that we can separate a small granular ingredients (like sugar) from larger granular ingredients (like sand) using a sort of filter.

Part II
In the second part of this lab, we learned the effects of water on solution when spreading across a paper filter. Before we did anything with the water, we drew different patterns on our pieces of filter paper with different colors of ink. Then, we poked a small hole through the center of the filter and put a small, rolled up pice of paper towel through the hole. After our filter papers were good to go, we filled a small dish halfway with water. Once there's water in the dish, we put our filter papers on top of the dishes, face up, with the small piece of paper towel in the water. As the small piece of paper towel sat in the water, the water slowly made its way up the paper towel and through the filter. As the water spread across the filter, so did the ink. Colors like green broke into yellow and blue as the water spread across. As this went on, the darker colors spread toward the edge with the water while the lighter colors stayed toward the center. This example of chromatography shows that the darker colors on the filter paper are more proved to be carried away by water than the lighter colors. It also showed how colors of ink break apart when water runs through the paper that it's drawn on.