Journal #12 Proton Poem

Far from being large
and a mass of one
a proton has a positive charge
while a neutron has none.

Inside the nucleus it will always hide
the atomic number is what it will reveal
while the electrons roam on the outside
there are many things a proton can conceal.

Journal #11 Fossil Fuels

One type of energy we have been studying in chemistry is fossil fuels.  Fossil fuels are made of the remains of living things in the earth.  Two examples of fossil fuels are oil and coal.  Oil forms at the bottom of an ocean, and coal forms in swampy lowland environments.  Fossil fuels are often used to create electricity to power homes, buildings, and other structures or devices we see on a daily basis.  According to the American Coal Foundation, “Nine out of every 10 tons of coal mined in the United States today is used to generate electricity, and more than half of the electricity used in this country is coal-generated electricity.”  I personally do not support the use of fossil fuels for energy.


How are fossil fuels turned into electricity?  The fossil fuel is heated in a boiler to create steam.  The steam is used to power a turbine, which changes the heat energy from the fossil fuel into mechanical energy, which makes the magnets and the copper coil in the turbine spin.  When the turbine spins, the mechanical energy is turned into electric energy, and used for electricity.  After this process is complete, a condenser cools the steam, turning it into water.  The water goes back into the boiler and the process restarts. The process for turning oil into electricity is slightly different than the process for turning coal into electricity, because coal is a solid, and oil is a liquid. Since the coal is a solid, a machine must grind the coal into a powder before it is heated in boiler.  The powder is mixed with hot air to make burning more efficient and is then moved to a furnace.  This is one reason why I am against the use of fossil fuels for energy is that the process of releasing energy from the fossil fuels is extremely harmful to the environment and causes acid rain. 


Fossil fuels are non renewable resources.  This means that after a while, we will run out of them.  A New York Times Article titled “Coal,” discussed the growing use of and need for coal.  The consumption of coal has increased, which will only add to the pollution and smog problem.  “According to a recent U.S. Energy Department study, world coal consumption could increase by 65 percent between 2005 and 2030.”  (New York Times)  The article also talks about how the burning of fossil fuels like coal creates coal ash, which is an extremely hazardous substance.  The article explains how the Democratic Party is fighting to regulate the usage of production of electricity from fossil fuels, and how the government is acknowledging that there is an issue, but does not really do anything about the issue yet.

Sources

Article- http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/coal/index.html?scp=5&sq=use%20of%20fossil%20fuels&st=cse

Other sources
http://www.powerscorecard.org/tech_detail.cfm?resource_id=8

http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/fossilfuels.htm

http://www.teachcoal.org/aboutcoal/articles/coalconvert.html

Nuclear Power Activity

PART ONE QUESTIONS

1) The eastern part of the United States is in a potentioally dangerous area, as is almost all of Europe and Southern East Asia. (Japan)

2) Thia map tells where it is safe to put plants, however since Japan is so small, plant designers probably put plants wherever they could..  This would affect the crisis in Japan because since there are dangerous nuclear areas, it would affect the amount of agriculture produced.

PART TWO QUESTIONS

3) One of the more important issues is fire protection problems.  Thia problem is thte most dangerous because it is the most life threatening and the second mot common safety issue among nuclear reactors.  One reactor is Browns Ferry Unit 1 Reactor in Decatur, Alabama.

4)  The Eureka California Reactor, The Clay Station California Reactor, The Avila Beach California Reactors, the San Clemente California Reactors, and the Wintersberg Arizona Reactors are dangerously close to an earthquake epicenter.  I think these reactors should be shut down because if an earthquake were to happen, then these reactors would cause a crisis close to what happened in japan. I think the Avila Beach California Reactor is in the most danger because it is right on the coast of California. 

Journal # 10 Energy Source- Solar Power

Solar power is a form of energy that utilizes the sun in order to power houses and other necessities that are part of our daily lives.  The New York Times Article I used called "Private Dollars Revive a Solar Panel Plan For Military Housing."  This article was about a California company called SolarCity.  SolarCity wants to install solar panels in over 100,000 military housing units over the next five years.  The residents of the military housing unit would pay SolarCity for electricity, and any power left over would go to the military base.   In order for this to work, SolarCity had to receive a loan of 350 million dollars from Bank of America.  By Bank of America doing this, the company was guaranteed a federal loan, which they had not had before.  According to Jonathan Plowe the managing director of the bank, this is a solid investment because "Photovoltaic technology is proven, the diversity of installation sites reduces the risk of a failure everywhere at one time, the electricity is relatively easy to transmit, construction time is short and there are few negative environmental consequences."

Link to the article
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/business/energy-environment/solarcity-wins-financing-for-military-housing-plan.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=solar%20power&st=cse

Cetyl Alcohol Lab

Members -Lydia Cline
                 -Kristen Rispoli

Group Job- Alternated between all the jobs.

Purpose- To figure out the temperature at which the phase of matter of cetyl alcohol changes

Materials-Hot plate, beaker, tap water, ice, thermometer, cetyl alcohol 

 Procedure

1) Make a 70 degrees Celsius water bath using a 400mL beaker and a hot plate.  Make an ice bath using another 400mL beaker, using tap water and ice.

2) Place the cetyl alcohol test tube in the hot water bath and take the temperature.  This will be time=0

3) Continue to take the temperature every 30 seconds until the temperature reaches 60 degrees Celsius.  Remove the test tube from the hot water bath and place it in the ice water bath while continuing to take the temperature at 30 second intervals until the original starting temperature is reached. 

4) Create a time versus temperature graph of your data on graph paper.

Our Data



Conclusion
Based off the data we collected, the melting point of cetyl alcohol is around 48 degrees Celsius.  43 degrees Celsius is probably the melting point because around this point, the rate at which the temperature is increasing starts to decrease and slightly plateau.  We cannot see the boiling point on this graph.  The reason why we cannot see the boiling point on this graph is because as soon as the cetyl alcohol reached a temperature above 60 degrees celsius, we put it into the ice bath, not allowing it to reach the boiling point.  After doing some research, I found that the boiling point of cetly alcohol is 334 degress Celsius.  Some possible sources of error during this lab was when the smart board turned off/ went blank.  This threw off the timing of the temperatures.  We also had a little bit of trouble maintaining a 70 degree Celsius water bath.  Most of the time it was just a little under or a little over.  It was also somewhat hard to keep exact time due to multi-tasking.  A way we could improve this lab is to have more people in our group...even though we worked in a group of two by choice.  Another way to imrpove this activity is to have individual timers, so we could easily see them, and keep exact time.  Another is that we could take the temperature of the cold water before placing the cetyl alcohol into it.  Lastly, we could use magnifying glasses in order to get a more accurate measure of the temperature.

Link to the boiling point of cetyl alcohol boiling point web site
http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/solalc/CETYL%20ALCOHOL.htm    
             

Journal #9 Web Site Evaluation

I think the information on my blog is pretty valid.  I think it is valid because it looks pretty organized and contains mostly accurate and current information.  Most of the information I post on the blogs has to do with what I learn in class, and I am pretty sure that what I learn in class is accurate.  One web site I visit on a regular basis is the new york times web site.  I love this web site, mostly because it has information on every current event imagineable.  I think this web site is very valid because it is very organized and easy to navigate.  The new york times web site is constantly being updated.  When searching for an article, you can easily find one posted three hours prior to your search. 

Web Site Ranking Class Activity

I thought the best web site was the "All About Water"  web site. I found this web site to be the best because it had the most information.  The information was presented in the least biased way, and the web site was very organized and easy to follow. 


I thought the worst web site was the "How Stuff Works"  web site.  This web site was kind of confusing.  It had ads in the middle of sections which were distracting and made the web site hard to follow. It did not have much information.


I am now more likely to drink from water bottles less often.  The plastic from the water bottles severely impacts our supply of fossil fuels.  Water bottles are not what the seem.  They are just tap water in a bottle, not "natural spring water."  And lastly, " In an interesting study conducted by Showtime television, the hosts found that 75% of tested New York City residents actually preferred tap water over bottled water in a blind taste test."  To me, this means the water bottle obsession is only psychological.  


I got all this information from http://www.allaboutwater.org/    

Journal #8 College Qualities

I know college is definitley going to be in my near future, but I do not yet have a college of my dreams.  I think one thing about me that should get me into the college of my dreams is that I strive for success.  I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I need things like homework, essays and projects to be done correctly.  Another quality I have is good study habits. Even though I don't like to study, I know that when I have a test I need to start studying a few days in advanced.  I study a little at a time, because if you just cram everything at once you will not remember anything.  I think the last, and probably the most important quality I consider myself lucky to have is that I absolutely love to read.  I am a very fast reader, and can understand what I am reading easily.  This, has benefitted me a lot throughout my academic career, and I think it will make my life easier when I go off to college.

Journal #7 Pogil

One way I find Pogil activities useful is by being allowed to work with other people in order to get the answer.  If you don't get a problem, then the chances are that someone in the group may get it.  The part of Pogils that are least useful to me are the cover pages with information and terms on the front.  I do not find them useful because sometimes they are not relevant to a few of the problems.  I would improve this activity by doing it as a class, or maybe trying it individually and then going over the answers in groups.  This way, instead of being given the answers, people have to actually try to figure it out.

Extra Credit

At first glance, I would say the pumpkin represents Halloween, but after looking at the design carved into the pumpkin, I would say it represents radiation...

Journal #6 Response to Reaching for the Stars Article

I think that a lot of people may change the lives of other people without even knowing it, whether it be a teacher teaching students, making a friends with someone, or helping someone with a simple task.  I am part of the Unified Sports program at Greenwich High School.  Unified sports gives students at Greenwich High with special needs the ability to learn to play a sport and stay active.  We encourage them.  We are there to make friends with the students, play with them, and instruct them on how to play the game.  With this program I have been able to connect and interact with many of these students.  I love cheering them on and seeing a huge smile on their faces after they have scored a goal (right now we are playing soccer).

The article talked about a decrease in the amount of doctoral and graduate students interested in the field of science and or technology.  "We want these intelligent, dedicated people to live in our cities, to make their discoveries at our universities and to raise their families- the next generation of bright minds."  (paragraph 7).  The reason for this decrease is the fact that no one is guaranteed success because they went to college.  Also, the scientific field is not a very high paying field. Jobs are not abundant either. (One of the reasons for Occupy Wall street). "There is a sense of fear among our leaders that we can't afford to invest in our future, just the kind of fear that endangers thoughtful debate about big-picture priorities." (paragraph 3)

The United States was the scientific leader of the world.  It still is.  If the decrease of graduate and doctoral students will cause the United States to lose its status as the scientific leader.  The amount and rate of technological devices will decrease very quickly.

"Though some of these jobs are of the hard-hat variety, this is not a bridge to nowhere; this is a bridge to the edge of the universe itself." (paragraph 11)

Lab Report Summary and Conclusion

The purpose of this lab was to separate the beads (yellow, blue, gray, and clear) by their densities.  We did this by adding more or less salt water to the beaker, then pouring the beads into the water and seeing which one floated on top. 

Our first trial was freshwater. We poured all the beads into the beaker, and found that the gray colored beads floated while the others sank to the bottom.  We fished the gray beads out of the water and found their mass was 2.6g out of 10.5g.  This gave us a percent composition of 24.7%

Our next trial was mostly salt water, but due to some difficulties, there was some freshwater in the salt solution.  We found that both  the blue and the yellow beads would float, so we decded to dilute the mixture to be approximately half freshwater and half salt water.  When we did this, the blue still floated on the surface, while the yellow sank down to the middle, and the clear beads stayed on the bottom.  Once again, we collected the blue beads out of the water and found that the blue beads had a mass of 4.0g out of 10.5g.  This gave us a percent composition of 38%

Our last trial was purely salt water.  During this trial, the yellow beads floated back to the surface of the solution, while the clear beads stayed on the bottom.  We collected the yellow beads and the clear beads.  We then measured them separately.  The yellow beads had a mass of 10.9 out of 10.5.  This is obviously wrong, but it gave us a percent composition of 103%.  The clear beads had a mass of 9.91g out of 10.5.  We got a percent composition of 94.3%.

In conclusion, by looking at this data obviously something went wrong.  The sum of the percents is over 100%, and sum of the masses of the beads do not equal 10.5g.  I think that one thing that went wrong was that we were not exactly precise about the amount of water used.  I think if we kept track of how much of the salt solution and how much of the freshwater we used, we would have had results that were more accurate.  I think that finding the mass of the beads while they were still wet definitely affected the mass of the beads, especially the beads we weighed after putting them in salt water.  Salt water is more dense, so it probably affected the mass moreso than the freshwater.  Either way, both the freshwater and the salt solution affected the mass of the beads.  We should have dried the beads before finding the mass.  I think a way we can improve this experiment is to add another color of beads.  Another way we could do this is to maybe test the beads in another type of solution, not including testing the beads in salt solution and freshwater.

Journal #5 Reflection on this quarter so far...

I am really happy about the grade that will show up on my progress report. I think blogging helps me a lot. I think blogging is a great way for students who do not really like to raise their hands in class (like me). It helps us to contribute ideas. Blogging also prevents boredom while doing homework because instead of taking monotonous notes, we are excercising our critical thinking skills.  I find that I almost never run out of things to write. However, raising my hand more in class is something I definitely need to do more often.

I think I have done well with my study habits so far, but I think there is room for improvement when it comes everything.  I think I will try to make flashcards, because for me this is a foolproof way for me to make sure I know everything I need to know before a test or quiz.  By doing this, I will be less nervous for tests and quizzes.   

Density Lab Report

Link to our density lab report.
katiefarychem.blogspot.com

Journal #4 Response to E-book Article

Personally, I do not find e-books useful to study from.  I find it harder to concentrate on what I am reading and often find it hard to relocate or summarize the information later.  It is even harder to take notes.   E-books take up more time and energy than simply reading from a textbook.   As the article states, "the process of locating information takes longer, they have less energy or other tasks, and their ability to maintain their desired levels of productivity suffers." (paragraph 14).  Reading from e-books is very monotonous and makes it tempting to do other things such as surf the net and go on social networking sites.  It enables people to put off doing work they know needs to be done.  Reading from a textbook is a little more entertaining without being distracting.  Reading from a textbook allows a person to pay more attention to what is written.  Another reason why I think it is better to study from a regular textbook is for medical reasons:  Staring at a kindle screen or computer screen ruins eyesight and causes headaches.  Textbooks ensure that a student will actually be able to do their reading or studying without the dilemma of a dead battery or technical difficulties.   

"The printed page continues to be a remarkably powerful reading tool, and it seems to be particularly well suited to the needs of students." (paragraph 15).   According to students at the University of Washington, many students were given kindles, but by the end of the school year, most of the students had become frustrated with them and stopped using them.  Obviously e-books are not as well suited for students as people thought.  I am slightly concerned about the idea that kindergarteners may be starting off their education using e-books.  In a world where my generation's writing and reading skills are being heavily influenced by texting lingo, and shortened reading passages, imagine how the use of e-books will affect the reading skills of kindergarteners throughout their education!  It will also be much harder for them.  If college students are having trouble using e-books, what makes anyone think 5 year olds will have an easier time learning to read with e-books?    

Even though I am against the use of e-books for studying, I do actually find technology a useful and beneficial part of my education.  I think that word documents are extremely helpful when writing essays, because they are easier to edit and are more organized.  PowerPoint presentations are also useful for projects,  presenting information, and student note taking.  They are used in classes to make them more entertaining and organized, rather than listening to a teacher's lecture while students try to keep up and take notes at the same time.   In some classes, such as American Sign Language, homework is mostly based off technology because it is easier to look up a video to watch how to do a sign than it is to read about how it is done.

 "New technologies are seductive, but we should always think twice before rushing to replace old tools with new ones." (paragraph 17)

Journal #3 Density

From the bottom to top, the layers would be honey, with a density of 1.42g, then soy sauce with a density or 1.2g, and lastly olive oil with a density of .918g.  The reason the three ingredients separate into layers is because their densities are all significantly different, making them unable to mix.  The most  dense layer is honey, which means it is the heaviest.  This is why it is on the bottom.  The olive oil is on top because it has the smallest density, making it have a smaller mass. 

These are the links I used.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=soy+sauce+serving+density&lk=1
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/seven-layer-density-column
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/IngaDorfman.shtml

Journal #2 BP Oil Spill

The BP oil spill of April 20, 2010 was the largest accidental oil spill in history.  It caused many people to lose their jobs, unsafe beaches, and unedible fish.  Since the oil spill, the oil left on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico has been collected and almost everything effected by the oil spill has been returned to its original state.  Only a small amount of the Gulf of Mexico is still ruined because of the oil spill.  The oil spill could have been prevented.  BP violated many safety regulations, resulting in an explosion causing a loss of life and the oil spill that took a signigicant amount of time to fix.  I think BP is handling the oil spill in a cooperative manner by taking full responsibility of the oil spill.

This is the link to the New York Times Article "Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill" I used to write this journal.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/oil_spills/gulf_of_mexico_2010/index.html?scp=1&sq=bp%20oil%20spill%20cleanup&st=cse  

Journal #1 Academic Goals

This year I have a few goals I would like to achieve.  My first goal is to learn to ask for help when I need it rather than trying to figure things out on my own.  I have a very hard time asking for help and I have learned that there are some situations that you cannot fix or handle on your own.  My second goal is to try much harder in school this year.  I will try to study for longer periods of time and more frequently.  I will use different methods of studying so I will not be bored so easily.  My final goal this year is to participate more in class.  To do this, I will contribute more to class dicussions and raise my hand more often.