Chemistry: This Day in Science History - August 1 - Jean Baptiste Lemarck

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This Day in Science History - August 1 - Jean Baptiste Lemarck Jul 31st 2011, 22:05 August 1st is Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck's birthday. He was more widely known as simply Jean-Baptiste Lemarck. Lemarck was the French biologist who developed the first theory of evolution called Lemarckism. Lemarckism was a popular theory of evolution where an organism passed on characteristics it collected during its lifetime to future generations. This was known as soft inheritance. Another aspect of inheritance was the idea of use and disuse. An organism would lose characteristics it didn't use anymore and develop ones that were useful. For example, giraffes grew longer necks to reach leaves at the tops of trees, and their children would have longer necks as well. Lemarckism fell out of vogue when Darwin came on the scene. But Darwin and the later theories of Mendelian genetics haven't completely replaced it. Some scientists are applying the idea of soft inheritance to single celled organisms. Scientists have observed single celled organisms and prions develop new genetic structures apparently as a result of resistance to an environmental influence and then go on to pass that resistance on to future generations. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

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Chemistry: Ivory Soap Trick

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Ivory Soap Trick Jul 31st 2011, 09:34 Ivory soap is the soap that floats, the soap that is 99.44% pure. It is not true that Ivory was invented accidentally by a Proctor & Gamble employee who neglected to turn off a mixing machine when he left for his lunch break. I liked that story, though. Meatloaf day at the cafeteria! I'm so outta here! (just teasing you, P&G people) Apparently James M. Gamble, son of P&G co-founder James Gamble, made floating soap back in 1863. A notebook entry states, "I made floating soap today. I think we'll make all of our stock that way." However Ivory came to be, there is no disputing it's fun to microwave. The air and water inside the soap expands (safely), producing mountains of foam, which maintain their shape when cooled. Try it out...

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Element Word Search

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Element Word Search Jul 31st 2011, 10:02 An element word search is a fun way to learn how to spell the names of the elements. Here are some element word search sheets, complete with element word search answer keys. The word searches are available as pdf files so you can save and print them. This word search contains the names of all of the elements. Here is the pdf file so you can save and print the search. The answer key for this word search is on the next page.

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Bathroom Chemistry Quiz

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Bathroom Chemistry Quiz Jul 31st 2011, 10:02 Bathroom Chemistry Quiz Do You Know What's in Your Toilet? Do you know about the chemicals you find in your bathroom and the biochemistry of excretion? Here's your chance to test your knowledge. These questions are challenging! Can you answer all of the multiple choice questions correctly? Start this quiz again. More Chemistry Quizzes Hazard Symbol Quiz Food Chemistry Quiz Everyday Chemistry Quiz Recent Chemistry Features

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Deliquescence Definition

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Deliquescence Definition Jul 31st 2011, 10:02 Return to the Chemistry Glossary Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Definition: the process in which a soluble substance picks up water vapor from the air to fom a solution. In order for deliquescence to occur, the vapor pressure of the water in the air must be greater than the vapor pressure of the saturated solution.

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Chemistry: This Day in Science History - July 31 - Who is Buried on the Moon?

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This Day in Science History - July 31 - Who is Buried on the Moon? Jul 30th 2011, 22:30 On July 31, 1999, NASA's Lunar Prospector mission ended with a dive into the south pole of the Moon. Lunar Prospector was part of the Discovery Program, NASA's attempt at creating "faster, better, cheaper" planetary missions. A mission goal would be outlined, budget set and open to just about anybody. If an industry, team of students, or government lab felt they could accomplish the task for the money, they could submit a proposal to a review committee. If the proposal was selected, a mission was created. Lunar Prospector was the third mission in this program. It was designed to return to the Moon in a low polar orbit and conduct experiments. Among these experiments was the search for water ice. The final act of Lunar Prospector was to impact the Moon to search for ice under the surface of the South Pole. Lunar Prospector carried a cargo of 28 grams of the remains of a person. When the craft buried itself in the Moon, it buried the first and only person to be buried on the moon. Find out who it was and what else occurred on this day in science history.

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Chemistry: Modeling Clay Recipes

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Modeling Clay Recipes Jul 30th 2011, 09:24 I have many recipes for slime, but there are other types of polymers you can make using common household chemicals. For example, you can make homemade modeling clay. Clay needs to be pliable enough to work, yet stiff enough to hold its shape. Some types of clay remain soft so you can re-use them, while others harden to form permanent sculptures, decorations, refrigerator magnets, jewelry, or perhaps a model molecule for your desk. Whatever your goal, there is sure to be a modeling clay recipe that suits your needs.

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Rock and Mineral Chemistry Quiz

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Rock and Mineral Chemistry Quiz Jul 30th 2011, 10:02 Rock and Mineral Chemistry Quiz Science Fundamentals Do you know about the properties of rocks and minerals? Here's a ten question quiz you can take to test your knowledge. Are you ready? Have fun! Start this quiz again. Related Resources Types of Crystals Diamond Chemistry Rock Tumbler Instructions What Is the Most Abundant Element? Atom Basics Quiz Recent Chemistry Features

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Olympic Medal Composition

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Olympic Medal Composition Jul 30th 2011, 10:02 Question: What Are Olympic Medals Made Of? What do you think Olympic medals are made of? Are the gold medals really gold? They used to be solid gold, but now Olympic gold medals are made from something else. Here's a look at the metal composition of Olympic medals and how the medals have changed over time. Answer: The last Olympic gold medal that was actually made from gold was awarded in 1912. So, if Olympic gold medals aren't gold, then what are they? The specific composition and design of Olympic medals is determined by the host city's organizing committee. However, certain standards must be maintained: Gold and silver medals are 92.5% silver. Gold medals must be plated with at least 6 grams of gold. All Olympic medals must be at least 3 mm thick and at least 60 mm in diameter. Bronze medals are bronze, an alloy of copper and usually tin. It's worth noting that gold, silver, and bronze medals have not always been awarded. At the 1896 Olympic Games, the winners were awarded silver medals, whiile the runners-up got bronze medals. The winners at the 1900 Olympics received trophies or cups instead of medals. The custom of awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals started at the 1904 Olympics. After the 1912 Olympics the gold medals have been gilded silver rather than real gold. Although the Olympic gold medal is more silver than gold, there are gold medals that are really gold, such as the Congressional Gold Medal and Nobel Prize Medal. Before 1980 the Nobel Prize medal was made from 23 carat gold. Newer Nobel Prize medals are 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold.

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Hot Ice Help

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Hot Ice Help Jul 30th 2011, 10:02 Several of you have written in asking for help with your homemade hot ice or sodium acetate. Here are the answers to the most common hot ice questions as well as advice for how to fix the usual problems making hot ice. What is hot ice? Hot ice is a common name for sodium acetate trihydrate. How do I make hot ice? You can make hot ice yourself from baking soda and clear vinegar. I've got written instructions and a video tutorial to show you how to do it. In the lab, you could make hot ice from sodium bicarbonate and weak acetic acid (1 L 6% acetic acid, 84 grams sodium bicarbonate) or from acetic acid and sodium hydroxide (dangerous! 60 ml water, 60 ml glacial acetic acid, 40 g sodium hydroxide). The mixture is boiled down and prepared the same as the homemade version. You can also buy sodium acetate (or sodium acetate anhydrous) and sodium acetate trihydrate. Sodium acetate trihydrate can be melted and used as-is. Convert sodium acetate anhydrous to sodium acetate trihydrate by dissolving it in water and cooking it down to remove the excess water. Can I substitute baking powder for the baking soda? No. Baking powder contains other chemicals which would act as impurities in this procedure and prevent the hot ice from working. Can I use another type of vinegar? No. There are impurities in other types of vinegar which would prevent the hot ice from crystallizing. You could use dilute acetic acid instead of vinegar. I can't get the hot ice to solidify. What can I do? You don't have to start from scratch! Take your failed hot ice solution (won't solidify or else is mushy) and add some vinegar to it. Heat the hot ice solution until the crystal skin forms, immediately remove it from heat, cool it at least down to room temperature, and initiate crystallization by adding a small quantity of the crystals that formed on the side of your pan (sodium acetate anhydrous). Another way to initiate crystallization is to add a small amount of baking soda, but if you do that you will contaminate your hot ice with sodium bicarbonate. It's still a handy way to cause crystallization if you don't have any sodium acetate crystals handy, plus you can remedy the contamination by adding a small volume of vinegar afterward. Can I Re-Use the Hot Ice? Yes, you can re-use hot ice. You can melt it on the stove to use it again or you can microwave the hot ice. Can I eat hot ice? Technically you can, but I wouldn't recommend it. It is not toxic, but it is not edible. You show glass and metal containers. Can I use plastic? Yes, you can. I used metal and glass because I melted the hot ice on the stove. You could melt the hot ice in a microwave using a plastic container. Are containers used to make hot ice safe to use for food? Yes. Wash the containers and they will be perfectly safe to use for food. My hot ice is yellow or brown. How do I get clear/white hot ice? Yellow or brown hot ice works... it just doesn't look that much like ice. The discoloration has two causes. One is overheating your hot ice solution. You can prevent this type of discoloration by lowering the temperature when you heated the hot ice to remove the excess water. The other cause of discoloration is the presence of impurities. Improving the quality of your baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and acetic acid (from the vinegar) will help prevent discoloration. I made my hot ice using the least expensive baking soda and vinegar I could buy and managed to get white hot ice, but only after I lowered my heating temperature, so it's possible to get decent purity with kitchen ingredients.

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Fried Green Egg

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Fried Green Egg Jul 30th 2011, 10:02 Red cabbage juice contains a natural pH indicator that changes color from purple to green under basic (alkaline) conditions. You can use this reaction to make a fried green egg. Green Egg Materials Prepare the Red Cabbage pH Indicator There are several ways you can prepare red cabbage juice for use as a pH indicator. Here's what I did: Coarsely chop about a half cup of red cabbage. Microwave the cabbage until it is soft. This took me about 4 minutes. Allow the cabbage to cool. You may wish to set it in a refrigerator to speed things up. Wrap the cabbage in a coffee filter or paper towel and squeeze the cabbage. Collect the juice in a cup. You can refrigerate or freeze leftover juice for later experiments. Fry a Green Egg Spray a pan with cooking spray. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Crack an egg and separate the egg white from the yolk. Set the yolk aside. In a small bowl, mix the egg white with a small amount of red cabbage juice. Did you see the color change? If you mix the egg white and red cabbage juice thoroughly then the 'white' of the fried egg will be uniformly green. If you only lightly mix the ingredients you will end up with a green egg that has white splotches. Yummy! Add the egg white mixture to the hot pan. Set the egg yolk in the middle of the egg. Fry it and eat it like you would any other egg. How It Works The pigments in red cabbage are called anthocyanins. Anthocyanins change color in response to changes in acidity or pH. Red cabbage juice is purplish-red under acidic conditions, but changes to a blue-green color under alkaline conditions. Egg whites are alkaline (pH ~9) so when you mix the red cabbage juice into the egg white the pigment changes color. The pH does not change as the egg is cooked so the color is stable. It's also edible, so you can eat the fried green egg!

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Chemistry: This Day in Science History - July 30 - Vladimir Zworykin

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This Day in Science History - July 30 - Vladimir Zworykin Jul 29th 2011, 22:05 July 30th is Vladimir Zworykin's birthday. Zworykin was a Russian born, American engineer who was a major contributor to the early development of television. He designed a method of transmitting pictures with sound electronically using a cathode ray tube called a kinescope. He also designed a camera system based on the same technology he called the Iconoscope. Much of the basic technology used in today's 'tube' television sets is based on Zworykin's work. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

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Chemistry: Color Change Thermometer Project

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Color Change Thermometer Project Jul 29th 2011, 10:27 Here's a color change project that will give you a liquid that fluctuates between pink and blue as the temperature changes. What You Need beaker or attractive clear container 3 g cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate (also known as cobaltous chloride hydrate) 500 ml alcohol Prepare the Solution Mix 3 grams of cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate in alcohol. The pink solution will turn blue as it is heated and will return to the pink color as the solution cools. Alternatively, heat the solution until it it is just slightly warmer than room temperature. Add water dropwise until the blue solution turns pink. This solution will be extremely sensitive to color changes near room temperature. How It Works Aqueous solutions of hydrated cobalt chloride are pink, but formation of [CoCl4]2- produces a blue color. Addition of hydrochloric acid to an aqueous cobalt(II) chloride solution will change the solution from pink to blue as will temperature change of the alcohol solution. This presumably occurs because the amount of water attached to the cobalt ion changes as you vary the temperature of the alcohol solution. Rainbow Wand | More Color Change Projects

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Chemistry: Try an Element Word Search

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Try an Element Word Search Jul 29th 2011, 00:10 You know what a Word Search is, right? It is a word puzzle game in which you find words in a grid of letters. A word search is also called a word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle (Wikipedia helped me out there). In addition to being fun, word searches are helpful if you aren't that comfortable with the spelling of the words. A lot of people get confused about the spellings of element names, so here are some word search puzzles that include the names of all of the elements. Even if you know how to spell all the element names, the puzzles are still a fun way to pass the time.

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Definition Theoretical Yield

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Definition Theoretical Yield Jul 29th 2011, 10:03 Definition: Theoretical Yield is the quantity of a product obtained from the complete conversion of the limiting reactant in a chemical reaction. Theoretical yield is commonly expressed in terms of grams or moles. Common Misspellings: theoretical yeild Return to the Chemistry Glossary Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Carbon Facts Quiz - Multiple Choice Quiz about the Element Carbon

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Carbon Facts Quiz - Multiple Choice Quiz about the Element Carbon Jul 29th 2011, 10:03 Carbon Facts Quiz Multiple Choice Quiz about the Element Carbon How much do you know about the element carbon? Here's a ten question quiz you can take to test your knowledge of carbon facts. Before starting, you may wish to review some Carbon Facts or 10 Quick Carbon Facts. Start this quiz again. More Chemistry Quizzes Element Picture Quiz Element Word Search Element Atomic Number Quiz First 20 Element Symbols Quiz Which Element Are You?

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Chemistry: This Day in Science History - July 29 - Happy Birthday NASA

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This Day in Science History - July 29 - Happy Birthday NASA Jul 28th 2011, 23:30 July 29th is NASA's birthday. In October of 1957, the Soviet Union greatly injured the pride of the United States by launching their first satellite, Sputnik into orbit. The United States had not given much priority to launching rockets into space. Much of their rocketry research was done by the military to develop ballistic missiles. Sputnik changed all that. Public opinion believed the Soviet Union was already technologically ahead of the U.S. and "something" had to be done. The "something" started when President Eisenhower signed an act to create the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. NASA would start operations on October 1, 1958 with 8,000 employees and an annual budget of $100 million. The Space Race was on. NASA launched their first satellite in January 1958. In the next twenty years, they put men in space, landed men on the Moon, sent robotic probes to other planets and out of our solar system, created networks of satellites, built the Skylab space station and created a fleet of reusable Space Shuttles. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

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Chemistry: Using an iPhone to Measure Chemical Levels

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Using an iPhone to Measure Chemical Levels Jul 28th 2011, 19:47 Scientists at Northwestern University have devised a means of measuring blood levels of glucose and sodium using an iPhone, according to a report at Campus Technology. Fluorescent nanoparticles tattooed onto the skin bind to the substances and emit light when exposed to special LEDs used with a filtered iPhone camera. Presently the camera image is transferred to a computer for interpretation, but an app could be written to analyze the data instantly, providing a quick test for dehydration or glucose levels. The process could be adapted to quantify levels of other chemicals, too. Find details of the invention at MIT's Technology Review.

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Chemistry: Make Your Own Magic Rocks

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Make Your Own Magic Rocks Jul 28th 2011, 09:58 Magic Rocks are the educational toy that comes with a packet of multicolored 'rocks' and a growing solution. You add water to the solution, pour it into a clear container and drop in the rocks, which grow into colorful spires while you watch. The product is inexpensive, so if you haven't given it a try, definitely add it to your 'to do' list. If you're an old hand at the Magic Rocks kit, why not try making them yourself? Make Magic Rocks | Watch Magic Rocks Grow!

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: Neon Facts Quiz - Multiple Choice Quiz about the Element Neon

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Neon Facts Quiz - Multiple Choice Quiz about the Element Neon Jul 28th 2011, 10:02 Neon Facts Quiz Multiple Choice Quiz about the Element Neon How much do you know about the element neon? Here's a ten question quiz you can take to test your knowledge of neon facts. Before starting, you may wish to review some Neon Facts. Start this quiz again. More Chemistry Quizzes Iron Facts Quiz Carbon Facts Quiz Element Word Search Element Word Search Element Atomic Number Quiz First 20 Element Symbols Quiz Which Element Are You?

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Chemistry: What's Hot Now: How Popcorn Pops

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How Popcorn Pops Jul 28th 2011, 10:02 Question: How Popcorn Pops Popcorn pops because each popcorn kernel is special. Here's a look at what makes popcorn different from other seeds and how popcorn pops. Answer: Popocorn kernels contain oil and water with starch, surrounded by a hard and strong outer coating. When popcorn is heated, the water inside the kernel tries to expand into steam, but it cannot escape through the seed coat (the popcorn hull). The hot oil and steam gelatinizes the starch inside the popcorn kernel, making it softer and more pliable. When the popcorn reaches a temperature of 180 °C (356 °F) the pressure inside the kernel is around 135 psi (930 kPa), which is sufficient pressure to rupture the popcorn hull, essentially turning the kernel inside-out. The pressure inside the kernel is released very quickly, expanding the proteins and starch inside the popcorn kernel into a foam, which cools and sets into the familiar popcorn puff.

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