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Unit 5

2/25/2014

18 Comments

 
In this unit, students will learn about the Periodic Table and how to use it in our chemistry work.  The unit begins by bridging what we've learned about atoms and then progresses on to understanding how it can be used as a tool to predict how molecules form.  The lab experiments for this unit are designed to give students an initial exposure to ions and their properties in preparation for Unit 6 in two weeks.  

Below are the materials for this unit.
Unit 5 Cover Sheet
Unit 5 Notes
Periodic Table Worksheet
Ion Worksheet
Unit 5 Journal Writing
Crystallization Lab 1
Crystallization Lab 2
Crystallizaiton Lab 2 Reporting
Flame Test Lab
18 Comments
Sophie Rickless link
2/27/2014 01:28:00 am

This article was called "'Super-Earths' may be dead worlds: Being in habitable zone is not enough", and I found it on the website, "Science Daily". Basically, what is says is that certain planets exist orbiting other stars that are in the 'habitable zone'--the optimal place in the solar system for water to potentially be able to form. We look for signs of life or the possibility for life on these planets which we call "super-Earths". However, new research suggests that for certain planets in these habitable zones, being in the perfect place is not enough. When these planets' cores are too large, the atmosphere becomes incredibly thick, and is too heavy to and high-pressure to support life as we know it. Scientists say that it would be nearly impossible for life to exist in these places. Two examples we have just discovered are the Kepler-62e and -62f, which we found--you guessed it--with the Kepler space telescope.

This article really interested me, because one of my favorite series (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) is based around life on other planets. (It's incredibly funny, if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.) I love to imagine that we are just too moronic to realize that life on other planets exists. Unfortunately, as this article suggests, this simply is not the case, and Vogons could have never wanted to raze Earth for a hyper-spatial express route, because the Vogons could never have existed (READ THE BOOK). So yeah, this article was kind of a downer, but at least we still have great fiction...

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Jake Schroeder link
3/7/2014 01:40:13 am

This article is about plasma plumes and how they can shield our planet from potentially hazardous solar storms. This works due to a magnetic reaction between low-energy plasma and the magnetic fields of the sun, thus slowing the effects of a process known as magnetic reconnection. This slowing lessens the effects that solar storms could possibly have on our planet. Scientists have been studying this plasma plume phenomenon in ground based technology involving satellites that send data about the events that take place on a solar level and how these plasma plumes react.

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Julian Armijo link
3/7/2014 04:09:09 am

The article is called "High-Tech Manhole Cover." This article is mainly about these manhole covers that can wirelessly charge electric cars from them being parked over them, The idea is being introduced and it is only in New York at the moment. At this stage, they say that the charger is not substantial to give it a full charge.




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Sophie Williams link
3/11/2014 03:47:01 pm

I'm not too sure how I found this article, I was just browsing the web and clicked on a link that said, "Top Ten Emerging Technologies of 2014" From there I clicked on another link that sent me to this article, which is about what scientists are calling "Brain-Computer Interfaces".

In this article they basically explain that computers, controlled solely by our brains, are closer to reality than we think. The article then begins to venture off in multiple directions, talking about how scientists at Duke University have sucessfully connected two brains with a similar device. Something I thought was really interesting was when the article began to talk about implanted memories, and how MIT professors have successfully planted a false memory into the brain of a mouse. It just leads me to question what else we could to with new, and upcoming technology.

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Sabrina San Vicente link
3/13/2014 08:20:34 am

I found this article under the Psychology section of Reddit Science.

This article was about the importance of self esteem to a Senior Citizen. Researchers at Concordia University say that boosting the self esteem of an elderly person can lower their potential health threats. They met with 147 men and women over the age of 60 and measured they're self esteem, stress, and symptoms of depression over the course of 4 years. Their tests were measured through questions that asked the elders how they felt about themselves. They also looked at the subject's social, economical and relationship status, and their mortality risk. They found that boosting the self esteem of a Senior improves their overall well being.

I chose this article because I never realized the importance of self esteem to people that aren't teenagers. Usually we hear about how teens are battling insecurities, but in reality, almost all of us are. I think it's interesting that low self esteem can increase an elderly person's stress levels and can give them a shorter life. I suppose that "be nice to your elders" is a very crucial statement.

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Amanda link
5/25/2014 03:28:17 pm

This article is about the gut feeling we get when we are scared. It was talking about how in a scary situation the feeling we get in our stomach is because our stomach is connected to our mind and our mind is signaling to the stomach that something is about to happen. The scientists did an experiment with a group of rats, what they did was that they cut out specific nerves so the rats were able to receive information from their abdomen to their brain but not from their brain to their abdomen. This made the rats less fearful about the situation the scientists put them in.

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Rodrigo Perez link
6/15/2014 01:05:07 pm

Enviromental Issues

How could we identify the oil on shore, now four years after the spill, and how the oil from the spill was weathering over time." Being the two questions looked at by Christoph Aeppli head researcher. Researchers used comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography in their spill forensics to measure levels of degradation in biomarkers. Although oil consist of thousands of compounds which many of them can be degraded by bacteria or broken down by sunlight. With specific research designed specifically for biomarkers, researchers have been determined to find the source of the biomarkers degradation. Through analysis collected along the Gulf shore over a 2 year period, researchers found the new data that tells them that; the most biomarker compounds were recalcitrant and could be used to identify DWH oil.

I choose this article because it reminded me of the oil spills we have had over the years, it also reminded me of the nuclear meltdown in Japan, and how it would have wiped out all leaving life if it spread through the ocean. Reminding me of past event, I choose to read this article because I found it fascinating how we contaminate our waters, intentional or unintentional, yet we manage to survive.

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Michael link
6/17/2014 11:09:53 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUDDiWtFtEM
The video I watched was a video of all the elements on the periodic table. It wasn't really necessary for Andrews class but I though it would be helpful for later reference and it was also funny.

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Julian
6/18/2014 12:19:10 pm

Hey michael, this isn't really based on this unit but thanks for a study guide to help memorize the table and better understand it.

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Diego Ruiz link
6/17/2014 11:55:24 am

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/03/26/new-dwarf-planet-redefines-solar-system/#.U6DwnzlD1SU
I read this article and it was about scientists finding a new planet orbiting the sun beyond pluto. They even say that another planet is hiding in the dark in the farther regions. I think this is cool because when a new planet is discovered thats just more discoveries for us and new learnings. Who knows whats on these planets.

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Nick Maciel link
6/17/2014 01:12:17 pm

Psychology

I chose this article because it was new for me to read about children and toddlers. I never really get to see much studies done on children or read about them although I could just imagine how many studies are made on the daily.

The article talked about how toddlers that could somewhat read, were more likely to do what the puppet that read the instructions off a paper compared to the puppet that would just give oral directions. The conclusion that I made from the research study that I read was that toddlers are more trust worthy of those who have a written copy of instructions compared to oral directions. They found that more than 75% of the toddlers that could read chose the reading directions instead of oral commands.

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Michael link
6/18/2014 08:10:46 am

Human Health
In this article they talk about how electronic cigarettes are just as bad as regular cigarettes. I knew they were bad but I didn't know they were the same as a regular cigarette. This topic Appealed to me because my dad smokes and he has started to use the electronic cigarettes because he thinks they aren't as bad but I need to tell him he might as well just use regular cigarettes. There are alot of people who smoke and I don't know why, it isn't smart. Your basiclly paying to kill your self.

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julian link
6/18/2014 12:22:08 pm

This video is an explination for how Ions work, I needed a refresher and maybe some other kids would want it. its just a further explanation into the concept of Ions

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Monica Salas link
6/18/2014 01:42:54 pm

This articular is about the temperature. The hottest mouth of 2012 was May. It talks about how the temperature has changed over the years. Normally I feel it is hotter in July but May is normally hotter. This caught my eye because I like to know what is going on with our world. And how what we are doing is effecting it.

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Jose Vizcaino link
6/18/2014 01:48:08 pm

Subcategory: environment

This article was about how scientists discovered skyscraper sized sculptures under neath ice formations in Greenland. Some of the “basal ice units” the team found are 1100m thick. To map the shapes they used a combination of radar and gravity anomalies compared with what is known about the rock below. However, where the equivalent Antarctic features were found only in the interior, in Greenland they exist right to the edge, interacting with lakes and rivers that fall through crevasses as the surface. Basal melting was found all the way to the giant island's coast, although as one gets closer to the ocean surface melting becomes dominant.

I chose this article because I thought that it was really cool that there are literally Sculptures under neath the ice in Greenland. After seeing this I sort of thought to my self maybe during the ice age when humans were around during the last ice age. maybe they carved the large sculptures or something like that and the ice just covered them.

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Kristine Nailon link
6/19/2014 06:34:25 am

Dog Intelligence

This article doesn't say a lot but it was very interesting to read about. I learned that Golden Retrievers and Border Collies are easier dogs to train because of their breed. The intelligence of a dog is that they have the ability to learn, and obey commands. Dogs have social structure, and have the ability to learn how to behave in terms of being around other animals like them.

I chose this article to read because I have a dog myself. As I was reading I noticed how adult dogs are a lot like human parents. Adult dogs train their kids by correcting them when they misbehave or reward them by playing with them, and cleaning them. Dog's have the same life as a human life but the difference is that we have a different intelligence then them.

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Tiger Hoang link
6/19/2014 08:19:52 am

This article is about scientists able to now observe water at -51 degrees Fahrenheit, in which some of water's strange properties are amplified. I chose this article because even though water is simple, if there's a big banner on the front of a science news page that has this on, it's probably worth a This article is about scientists able to now observe water at -51 degrees Fahrenheit, in which some of water's strange properties are amplified.

Despite it's simple molecular structure, water has many weird traits, some of which we still don't know. But some of what we do know it that its solid form is less dense than its liquid form, which is why ice floats; it can absorb a large amount of heat, which is carried long distances by ocean currents and has a strong impact on climate; and its density prevents oceans and lakes from freezing solid all the way to the bottom, allowing fish to survive the winter.

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Jazzay Buncom link
6/20/2014 06:56:49 am

Sub-category: GEOLOGY

The article that I have decided to write about is focused on the recent discovery that humans have been altering the natural course of the Yellow River for about 3,000 years. Evidence shows that beginning around 3,000 years ago people residing along the Yellow River began building levees and other flood mitigation systems and as the population increased the alterations to the river become more extreme. The article states that by 2,000 years ago, the river had been altered so much that it hardly resembled the natural system of 1,000 years before. "It's easy to see the trap they fell into: building levees causes sediments to accumulate in the river bed, raising the river higher, and making it more vulnerable to flooding, which requires you to build the levee higher, which causes the sediments to accumulate, and the process repeats itself," the researchers say in a statement. "The Yellow River has been an engineered river — entirely unnatural — for quite a long time."

The main thing about this article that struck me is even though humans have only been existent for a short period of time compared to the age of the Earth we have made such a huge (and often gruesome) effect on it even given that relatively short time. This is both concerning and amazing because a lot of what we are doing to the Earth is harming it but it is also amazing to witness that even though we are farely fragile as a species we are also strong and powerful in our ability to so drastically change the Earth that we live on.

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