Types of Reactions

In order to fully understand what is happening with a chemical reaction you had to be able to first understand what is happening. To do this first you have to understand the concept that matter can't be made or destroyed. With this in mind that means that when a chemical reaction happens that each side of the equation has to be balanced. For Example: To start it off basic when you have 2Na+Cl2----> 2NaCl. This equation above is balanced and a synthesis reaction. A synthesis reaction occurs when two or more substances react to produce a single product. Another simple equation: C+O2----> CO2 and this is a combustion reaction. A combustion reaction is when oxygen combines with a substance and releases energy in the form of heat and light. Note that some of the combustion reactions are synthesis reactions too like the one above, but not all are this way. CH4+2O2---->CO2+2H2O, This is an example of a combustion equation that isn't also synthesis. Another type of reaction is the decomposition reaction. This reaction occurs when a singe compound breaks down into two or more elements or new compounds. NH4NO3--->N2O+2H2O is an example of this reaction. There is also two different types of on kind of reaction, single and double replacement reactions. A single replacement reaction happens when a retain in which the atoms of one element replace the atoms of another element in a compound. When 2Li+2H2O--->2LiOH+H2 is an example because as you can see the Oxygen and Hydrogen combines with lithium. Then a double replacement occurs like this; Ca(OH)2+CuCl2--->CaCl2+Cu(OH)2. A simple to think of this is AX+BY--->AY+BX,  this helped me a lot when dealing with all the reactions that we looked at in class.

              1. Synthesis Reaction

              2. Decomposition Reaction

              3. Single Replacement Reaction

              4. Double Replacement Reaction



By knowing how to balance equations it helps to understand what the reactions do. For example when you perform a lab it is easy to do a lab report because you know exactly what is happening in the reaction. We did many different labs in class (will try to get pictures up soon), but we had to balance equations and work ineptly in order to really tell what was going on with the reaction that was occurring in front of our eyes. Knowing how to balance equations and understand what is happening has made me look deeply into the world that we live in. I will never be able to look at anything the same again. When anyone goes to light a candle or even grill a steak, I will be able to look into what is happening and possibly even be a little educated and show my parents what I have been learning by explaining what is happening. It will be a fun process now that I have this deep of knowledge into this really fun field of science.

Chemical Bonding

Chemicals bond in three different ways; ionic, covalent, or both. To have an ionic bond, the formula has to have a metal and nonmetal. In order to have a covalent bond in the formula has to have two nonmetals bonding together. Finally to have both bonds happening at the same time a polyatomic ion is needed.

Below is a picture of a worksheet we did in class that demonstrates how each bond can be determined and my ability to name each bond that is happening. 

Naming Compounds

When naming compounds and formulas it is really quite simple. Using our charts that Mr. Ludwig handed out we were able to name the formulas and compounds. Below is a quiz that we took and as you can see I did really well only messing up because I superscripted instead of subscripting which was an easy fix for me to make.

 In this picture below we named molecular compounds. By adding prefixes and suffixes we were able to determine what each formula made.

After being able to name the compounds we moved on to how they would combine to actually make the compounds. The picture below shows that by looking at the valence electrons you can determine how the compound will combine to become stable.

The Periodic Table

This table is very important in the world of chemistry. The way that the table is organized in a very specific way that allows for better understanding. We will also look into how to we know what the energy level of an atom is, and how big the atomic radii is. As we look into the design you will notice patterns and specific details about the periodic table that will help you understand chemistry even better.  As you look into this blog.

The history of the periodic table is very interesting. It started off as a list of elements that were known since the prehistoric times. Then by the 1870's there were about 70 elements known. Then Newlands came along and noticed that by arranging the elements by increasing atomic mass he noticed that the first and eighth elements had similar properties and that the second and ninth elements did too. He noticed that this was a periodic pattern and named it the law of octane. Though not popular with other scientist his law was for the most part correct, the properties of elements do repeat in a periodic way. Mendeleev later came about as a Russian chemists. He used the increasing atomic mass and properties. By doing this he created the first periodic table. This table also predicted the existence and properties of undiscovered elements. The table was yet to be perfect though as it was proven with advancements that the atomic mass put elements together with different properties and out of order. Henry Moseley came up with the idea of arranging the table with the atomic number and by doing this the order of the elements was solved. The periodic table was now in a clear periodic pattern of properties.

The periodic table to with is divided into rows and columns or are also called groups and periods. The columns  or groups are vertical on the periodic table and the rows are horizontal. Each group is set up because of a similarity in the outer shell of valence electrons. The groups all have the same number of valence electrons. Then the periods are set up also to show an increase a long of valence electrons. As the period continues on the periodic table the elements pick up one valence electron in their outer shell. This is important in chemistry because it really helps you to understand how the chemical reaction will happen and which elements will react with each other to create a different element.

When looking deeper into the periodic table you will find that the periodic table is set up to show how reactions will happen and how stable the electrons are. As you look at the periodic table you will notice that as you go from left to right the elements will become stabler and in the end become stable, then another row happens and starts back to unstable.

There are four blocks of the periodic table can be shown by using the s-block, p-block, d-block, and the   f-block. By using these blocks it is easy to determine the number of valence electrons and be able to write out the correct configuration of the element. It also shows that the energy level of an atom's valence electrons equals it's period number.

When dealing with the atomic radii it is really simple. For the most part the radii will decrease as you move along the periodic table and increase in size as you move down a group. Below is a picture of questions I did out of the book that will help in this category.

 

I hope that this blog has helped out in your understanding with the periodic table. Once you get the hang of how everything works with it I promise you that it will become your best friend in chemistry.

 

Magnesium Lab

Light and Energy Levels

Light is one thing that is hard to grasp on to. Light is a very unique and complex. When dealing with colors there are many different things to look at. We are going to look at what makes colors appear the color they do, and is light a wave or a particle. There's a lot of questions being answered in this one blog so be ready to learn!

Color is formed all around us, but what makes each object change into the colors that they are. As light hits the object it either absorbs or reflects the colors that hits the object. So when an object appears yellow that means the object is able to absorb all other energy levels exept yellow which is then reflected creating color. Imagine if they were only able to absorb or deflect colors. If objects did this then we would live in a black and white world. So this is pretty incredible how much this matters in the world. In class we did many different experiments involving light. We looked through sprectascopes and we could then tell which colors were deflected and which colors were absorbed. It was ineresting being able to see why each color was the way they were. Colors are different levels of energy ranging from red being the lowest to purple being the highest.


To measure the energy of a wave you use the frequency. The higher frequency the wave has the more energy it has. As you can see purple has a high frequency when red has a low frequency.



So is light a wave or a particle? The answer is both believe it or not. Light beaves as a wave sometimes and a particle sometimes. If you set up two labs you will see that it has been proven to behave as both.

To start I will start with light behaving as a wave.

In this image you can tell that as light is shot through two slits then it expands to three slits because the wave frequencies will cancel out the light or combine to create a bigger wave. This shows that light is able to behave as a wave.

Now I will talk about how light also behaves as a particle.

In this experiment you can see the particles of light flying through the slits and hitting the wall. As you can see there is a clear pattern occurring along the wall. This shows that light behaves as particles as passes through two slits and the electrons are recorded on the wall.

Conductivity Lab

The Make Up Of An Atom

The atomic structure of an atom isn't as bad as you might think. When hearing all those scientific terms you might want to run and hide like a little girl, but once explained it really isn't bad at all. While studying the atom you will learn the parts and structure pretty easily. The atom is made up of protons, electrons, and neutrons. these three particles make up an atom. Electrons are found in the electron cloud. This surrounds the nucleus and holds most of the volume of the atom. Electrons are in fact very small though and barely contribute to the mass of an atom. The electron also is negatively charged. The Proton and Neutron can be found in the nucleus which is located at the center of the atom. Although very small in volume, the nucleus does hold most of the mass. The Proton is positively charged and the neutron is neutrally charged.
This link will lead you to a video to watch more on the concept of the protons, electrons, and neutrons if you need more help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP57gEWcisY&safety_mode=true&safe=active

When dealing with the Periodic Table of the Elements you have to know what all the numbers are and what they indicate about the elements chemical make up.

This is the atomic number. This number shows the number of protons and electrons. If there is a negative or positive sign then there is extra of either one.

This symbol is the letter that symbolizes the elements name.



This number is the mass number. It shows the average mass of all naturally occurring isotopes of the element. To determine this you just add the number of protons and neutrons. Remember because electrons are so small they do not contribute very much to the mass.



So you just saw the word isotope so I better explain what that is. An isotope is a form of an element that has the same amount of protons, but a different number of neutrons. Isotopes occur in naturally in nature and causes the mass number to be an average.

Separation Techniques

In class we did many different examples of separation showing how each property can be used to separate a substance from the mixture. Using the properties of matter and another form of separation called chromatography we were able to separate and weigh each amount of a substance.

In the first lab we did in class we separated into groups and made different mixtures for the other group to separate. We then had to decide what the best plan of attack was. We noticed that there was a different size to each substance so we started out by filtering out the marble stones. Then we added another layer of filtering mesh and was able to separate the marble chips and boiling stones. We then had white sand and iron. We knew then that a magnet would get the job done and went to town on the mixture trying to get all the iron onto our magnets. We were able to separate the mixture quickly and accurately because we knew the properties of the substances and was able to use them to our advantage.

In the second lab we did, in class, we learned what chromatography is. Chromatography is the separation of a mixture by passing it in solution or suspension or as a vapor through a medium in which the components move at different rates. To demonstrate this we were told to just draw a picture on a piece of filter paper. As the water diffused through the filter paper it started to move the color molecules. The wear transported the molecules differently. The heavier molecules weren't able to travel as far as the lighter ones. This allowed me to see and put into perspective how heavy each color is and which is lighter and which is heavier.

We also did another separation lab where we were told to create layers in a beaker by just using sugar, water, and food coloring. I was able to figure out how to make a 5 layered mixture. It was hard to make the solutions different enough to not combine with each other. It was fun to do this experiment because of how much trial and error went into it. You never knew which solutions with which colors would create each layer. I used a totally saturated mixture to a pure water mixture which left me with three mixtures in between. It was fun to experiment with the total amount of sugar and water used.

The Basics of Chemistry

In Chemistry there are many different characteristics that you have to know in order to understand the class. You have to know different terms and what they mean in order to understand what the questions are asking you to do.

       1. What is matter? Anything that takes up space is matter.
       2. What are forms of matter? The basic forms are solid, liquid, and gas and then there is also
           plasma, Bose Einstein Condensation, and Fermionic Condensate
       3. What is a substance? A matter of a particular type
A substance can be either a compound or an element
       4. What is an element? The purest and simplest form of a substance
       5. What is a compound? A compound is a substance that has more than one element in it's make up
       6. What is a diatomic atom? They contain only two atoms
       7. What is a polyatomic atom? Contains more than two atoms
       8. What is a mixture? A mixture is when two different substance are physically combined
You will also need to know what the physical and chemical properties are of matter. These properties can be used to evaluate and determine what a substance exactly is. Knowing these properties can also help you separate them from other substances. A physical property is anything that is measurable. A chemical property is a property that can only be seen while the material is going through a chemical change.
       9. What are the properties of matter? odor, color, mass, hardness, shape, density, texture, and size
To have a chemical change the matter has to change it's make up.
Science also uses a system of abbreviations in order to allow everyone to understand and reproduce the experiment. We also use scientific notation to do math. For example 5.09x10^5 means 509,000. So now you try one... 6.09x10^2=??????                 If you answered 609 then you are correct.

Using this powerpoint slideshow thingy I was able to pull my examples and meanings from for this blog.
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=5236