Week 7: Molecular Weight

Alkali metal of the week: Calcium

Calcium is the fifth most abundant metal found in the Earth's crust and dissolved in the oceans. It is also found in abundance in the bodies of animals including us! Calcium is not found naturally in its elemental state and is found mostly in sedimentary rock in the minerals Dolomite, Calcite and Gypsum. Within the human body, Calcium is one of the most important elements because it makes up the structural component of our bones, teeth and soft tissues and is necessary for our metabolic processes as well as simple muscular contraction. Calcium makes up about 1-2% of our body weight. Calcium is a big part of us and this world.

Hypothesis

The link on hypothesis was what I had expected. My understanding of hypothesis was basically what the links said.

What is a Mole?

A mole is the weight of a single atom or molecule expressed in grams.

Week 6: Electrochemistry and Alchemy

Halogen of the Week: Chlorine

Chlorine is found in abundance on Earth and is ubiquitous in our lives. It makes up the table salt we eat everyday and is used in common chemical disinfectants like bleach as well as used to clean our drinking water. Chlorine is able to form compounds with almost all elements. In nature, Chlorine ions are found mostly in naturally occurring salts found in the ground and the oceans making up about 1.9% of the mass of seawater. That's a lot of Chlorine! Although it is so common, Chlorine gas is toxic and has been used as a weapon in the past. Whether used for good or bad, Chlorine is a big part of life on our planet.

Alchemy - science, art, magic - or all three?

Alchemy is certainly a science and by the care and precision it has required to be discovered over the years, alchemy would also qualify as an art. In terms of magic, it is dependent on what magic means I suppose. Arthur C. Clarke said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." But maybe that means that it is magic. The discoveries made in herbal medicinals in the past and the current super atom discoveries being made I think could certainly all qualify as magic in some time or context, and perhaps time and context don't really matter and it is just simply magical.

Week 5: The Chemistry of Color and Nutrition

Inert Gas of the Week: Krypton

Krypton is the fictional home planet of the comic book hero, Superman. The planet was destroyed as a result of a nuclear chain reaction shortly after Superman, then know as Kal-El, was placed as a baby by his father, Jor-El, in an escape rocket and sent to Earth.

Krypton is also an Inert gas found on planet Earth! It was discovered in 1898 by the same chemists who discovered Neon a few weeks later. Like all Inert Gases, Krypton is chemically nonreactive. Its concentration in our atmosphere is about 1 ppm. Ionized Krypton gas discharge appears bright white which makes Krypton great for use in "neon lights", florescent lighting, and lower energy usage for higher light output.

To be honest, the fact that Krypton's name was used as the name for a fictional super hero planet is enough for me to chose it as my Inert Gas of the week. Also the chemical symbol is fun and growely sounding, "Krrrrrr...."

Colors in my kitchen!

Red: tomatoes, frozen raspberries, frozen strawberries, kidney beans, red lentils, adzuki beans, red quinoa, red bell pepper, red curry paste, ketchup, sweet and sour sauce, enchilada sauce, canned tomato sauce.

Orange : oranges, tangerines, carrots.

Yellow: Yellow onion, yellow squash, bananas, nutritional yeast, mustard, apple sauce.

Green: kale, collards, chard, green onion, brussle sprouts, spinach, romaine lettuce, avocado, broccoli, frozen broccoli, frozen green beans, green chillies, seaweed, green curry paste, green enchilada sauce, relish.

Blue: frozen blueberries.

Purple: purple cabbage, purple onion.

Brown: brown rice, tempeh, mushrooms, brown mustard, soy sauce, bread, pinto beans, english muffins.

Black: Black beans, black sesame seeds, canned black olives.

White: White rice, garlic, quinoa, potatoes, tofu, soy milk, aioli.

Luminescence

I thought it was very interesting to discover all of the different ways that light is created. The bioluminescence was particularly intriguing since it is created through naturally occurring chemiluminescence. I find it to be amazing that these chemicals that create a bright light without heat can exist naturally in a bug. So cool!