September 29, 2015

The following Ted Ed video takes a look at an analogy of the equilibrium process.

If molecules were people... - George Zaidan and ... - TED-Ed

View the video and then think of an example of an equilibrium process in real life (does not have to be a chemical process).

For example, when people who are unaccustomed to high altitudes move to a city at a higher altitude, they experience difficulty obtaining enough oxygen. There is less oxygen in the atmosphere and the equilibrium between oxygenated hemoglobin and unoxygenated hemoglobin shifts towards the unoxygenated hemoglobin resulting in less oxygen being delivered to the muscles and brain. Natives to the city do not have the same problem as their bodies have adapted (as will the newcomers over time) and produce more hemoglobin to carry more oxygen.

September 24, 2015

The following video is about 5 minutes in length. You should be able to click directly on it.  Watch it and comment on the two things listed below. (Probably inspired by "My Chemical Romance".)

How to speed up chemical reactions (and get a date) - TED-Ed

1. What concept did it help clarify or solidify for you?
2. What other analogy could you come up with for one of the factors affecting the rate of a chemical reaction?

September 20, 2015

4 NH₃(g)  + 5 O₂(g)   --->   4 NO(g)  +  6 H₂O(l)

I will write a question based upon rates of the above reaction. The first person will answer this question and then write a second question that the next person will answer and then write a question continuing on …..

So to start: What is the expression for the rate of disappearance of NH₃?

September 16, 2015

Find in everyday life, an instance where you observe rates of chemical reactions. What is impacting the rate of the reaction?

For example, certain food is stored in the refrigerator to slow down the growth of bacteria. The lower temperature decreases the rate of production of the bacteria.

September 10, 2015

List one concept that you are having difficulty with from Chapter 12.
a.  Why do you think that you are having issues with this concept?
b. Write down a number of things that you do understand about this one particular topic.

September 8, 2015

Follow the following link and read the short article. Comment on how you see this relating to what we are talking about and form an opinion about the use of salt on our roads during the winter.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happens-to-all-the-salt-we-dump-on-the-roads-180948079/?no-ist

September 5, 2015

Identify a specific topic from Chapter 11 (or from C105 that applies to Chapter 11) that you are having a bit of difficulty with. Include your thoughts on "why" you are having difficulty with that topic. The next person to respond should address that problem to the best of their ability and then identify their own issue.

So I will start the process off:

"Jane" says that she is having difficulty with understanding why there is 1/8th of a corner atom inside a face-centered cubic unit cell. She thinks that it is because she has difficulty visualizing in three dimensions.  In response to this, I would explain:

A corner atom of a cubic unit cell is cut through by 3 planes (looking at the pictures in your text, page 521 and 522 will help you to see this as I try to explain). For example, a front plane, a side plane and a top plane. Since this "cuts" the atom in half each time, the first time I throw away 1/2 of the atom, leaving 1/2, the second "cut" throws away 1/2 of 1/2 leaving 1/4 and the third "cut" throws away 1/2 of 1/4 leaving 1/8 inside the cubic unit cell. It does not matter whether it is a primitive cubic unit cell, a face-centered cubic unit cell or a body-centered cubic unit cell, a corner atom will always have 1/8 of the atom inside one cubic unit cell. Maybe you can take an apple and actually cut it in half three times to help you visualize this.

A problem that I might have as a student: I don't understand how an increase in the external pressure causes the boiling point to increase. I know that we have been talking about this on the molecular level also, but I do not understand how temperature is related to the external pressure.

(Now the next person explain this to me and then list your own issue)

September 2, 2015

Read the following article. How does this relate to our Chapter 11 material? What new concept did you get out of this article?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/11/19/lake_effect_snow_in_buffalo_climate_change_is_making_snowstorms_more_extreme.html