Wednesday, October 20, 2010

scribe post for october the 21st

Today in the ancient study of chemistry and potions our professor began the class by demonstrating an experiment. She took a small chunk of (pronounce the British way) Aluminum, Magnesium and Calcium and placed them in the mystic substance known in some regions of Tibet as water. The Aluminum and Magnesium were boring and didn’t do anything yet the Calcium was nice and put on a show. It bubbled and oxidized the piece of calcium. After the pieces of metal were added to the water she added magic potion known as Phenolphthalein which would mutate the water and turn it a pinkish hue if a base was present. For all three metals the test was positive and a base was found. After we tested for a base we placed the three pieces of the same type of metals into the substance discovered by the voodoo men of thirteenth century Europe, HCL, or hydrochloric acid. The aluminum was once again boring and there were no visible changes however the magnesium bubbled and the calcium bubbled vigorously. We then once again placed the magic potion into the small trays containing the metals to test for the existence of a base and only Calcium was positive. The conclusion of the lab was that the dull metals that the king refused to where on his crown were more reactive. This could be told because the react with the air and tarnish where as the other metals do not

After the potions and magic display we went over the assignment that was due that day. Our professor went over the periodic table work sheet pages two and three. These pages can be found in the town market know as Moodle. The main points in the pages were that families of mystic elements are more closely related then periods, and that the electron configuration is what determines the group’s reactivity. After we finished going through that sheet we began our journey through the magical world of ionization energy. In short it is the amount of energy needed to remove one electron form one atom however the amount of energy needed is not constant. For example it takes very little energy to take an electron form an Alkali metal where as it takes a lot of energy to take an electron from a Nobel gas. If you need to know more about ionization energy travel through the wormhole and check out these websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionization_energy

http://www.shodor.org/chemviz/ionization/students/background.html

After we finished the sheet on ionization energy it was time to leave the mystic land of test tubes and Bunsen burners

The last announcement is that mole day will be celebrated in the east gym on Oct 22 at 6:02 am, if you go you will receive 6.02 points of extra credit and bring cans for the caned food drive

That is all the information this electronic message devise has to offer now go on your way and enjoy the wonderful world of chemistry

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