Chemistry @chemistry2013-14 - Tumblr Blog

relating it back to chemistry: puff pastries

Wow! I just read Megan's really intriguing blog post about puff pastries! You can read it at this url: http://yes-meganchemistry-things.tumblr.com/post/78257865881/puff-pastry. In her blog, Megan informed me about the important role chemistry plays in puff pastries! I learned so much from this blog, and it inspired me to do some of my own research!

First, what is a puff pastry you may ask? It is a delicious treat! Hence the name, it is a pastry! Megan's blog taught me so much! I learned that baking is a chemical reaction! When the pastries back, a gas is released! Like Megan said, when a gas is released, it indicates that a chemical reaction has occurred. This is what makes the pastry so puffy, since gas is in the pastry!

I decided to do my own research! I learned that baking pastries is just like a chemical equation! You have your reactants on one side which when they react together, they produce a product! In class the other day, we learned that we would be doing a lab in which we bake and cook! This will be like a chemical equation right before our eyes! My research showed me how chemistry can be seen in our daily lives, like in baking! Or even baking a puff pastry!

It is evident that chemistry is important in our daily lives! These puff pastries are just another example of the importance of chemistry in our daily lives! I learned so much from Megan's blog post, and I did my own research! We were both able to relate what we learned to the chemistry we learned in class and labs we have done! Good blog post, Megan!

http://blog.sfgate.com/mchihak/2010/03/12/baking-and-pastry-no-its-chemistry/

relating it back to chemistry: sticky notes

After reading Malvina's blog on post- it notes, I was fascinated. You can read her article on http://malvinachemistry.tumblr.com/post/79103975774/post-it-notes. She taught me so much about how chemistry is used in sticky notes.

There is so much chemistry in our daily lives, and sticky notes are a perfect example of that. Malvina's blog taught me the importance of chemistry because of the importance of polymers. She got me interested in the chemistry of post-it notes. Her blog was really informative on the chemistry of sticky notes, and I learned so much! I was inspired to do my own research!

In my own research, I learned about the adhesive in post it notes. The adhesive is made out of acrylate copolymer when it is made a certain way. It formed microspheres, but they would not dissolve in a solution. We learned about solutions in chemistry class. We also learned about mixtures and what the differences is! In class, we learned about certain things that dissolve in solutions, and other things that don't!

Clearly, chemistry is super important in our daily lives! Sticky notes are just another example of how chemistry can be found where you least expect it! Chemistry is used in every aspect of our lives, and Malvina's blog shows how sticky notes is another thing! Great blog, Malvina!

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8214sci3.html

relating it back to chemistry: teeth whiteners

Wow! Dhara's blog on teeth whiteners was so interesting! You can read her post at the link, http://captainchemistry.tumblr.com/post/80217608628/tooth-whiteners. It really taught me so much! I did not know how much chemistry was involved until I read her blog, and then I decided to do my own research!

Dhara's blog taught me that hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide are the main bleaching agents that whiten teeth. I did not know how important these chemical compounds were in bleaching teeth. This is an example in how chemistry is used in our daily lives.

While Dhara's blog post taught me a lot, I decided to do some of my own research. I wanted to find out more ways that chemistry is important in teeth whitening.

I learned that an oxidation reaction occurs in the process of whitening teeth. The bleaching chemicals go to the tooth enamel and set of the oxidation reaction in which the staining compounds (what causes the discoloration of teeth) break apart. We learned about oxidation reactions in chemistry class before, and they are popular reactions. This means oxygen was involved if it is an oxidation reaction, and oxygen is an important element in the periodic table! This is a new way that I learned from my research that chemistry is used in our daily lives, specifically teeth whitening process.

Clearly, chemistry is super important in our daily lives. Teeth whitening is just another example of this. It is important because of the different chemicals needed for it to even work or exist and the chemical reactions that occur for the whitening to happen. Dhara's blog inspired me to do my own research, and I found out so much! Her post was interesting and informative! Good job, Dhara!!!!

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/tooth-whitening1.htm

relating it back to chemistry: crayons

Coloring is really fun. I remember when I was younger I would always color with crayons. There are so many different colors, too! Now that I am older, I realized there is more to crayons than just a utensil to color and draw! I wondered how they were made, and the answer was easy: chemistry! Crayons are just another example to how chemistry is used in our daily lives.

The two main ingredients of crayons are pigments, and paraffin wax. The chemical formula for paraffin wax is C25H52. This is an example of how important chemistry is in our daily lives. There are chemical formulas in everything, including components of crayons! This can be related back to chemistry class and the photography project! In the photography project, we took pictures of 8 different pictures to show how important chemistry is in our daily lives. We had to break down every object in the picture and the chemicals that make up the objects with the chemical formulas!

Clearly, chemistry is important in our daily lives! We see it every day, including crayons! I never would have thought that chemistry would be so important in crayons, but after doing some research, I found out it was! The chemical compounds used in crayons show how important chemistry is in our daily lives. Crayons are the perfect example to how important chemistry is in life!

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/question563.htm

relating it back to chemistry: hair turns green from pools

Don't you hate it when your hair turns green after swimming? Ugh! It is the worst? I always wonder why that happens after I leave the pool! Being a swimmer all year round, it can definitely be frustrating!!

I did some research, and I found out what is the cause of the green hair after swimming! While most people think that Chlorine, a chemical used in pool water, would be the reason, it is more important than that! Chlorine is an important element in the periodic table with a symbol of Cl, and in the swimming pools, but surprisingly, it is not the reason for green hair.

The reason hair turns green is due to oxidized metals in water! They bind to the protein in hair and their color gets deposited in the hair shaft. The green tint is because of the metal copper. Copper has a symbol of Cu. It is found in most algicides. Bleach in pools contributes to oxidizing the metal. The metal copper when oxidized makes hair turn green! Since it is present in pools, when you get out after swimming, you can see your hair is green!

Clearly, chemistry is really important in our daily lives. Chemistry is used in swimming pools. In this case, it has many important elements used and chemical reactions occur. This is related to what we learn in class because we learned about different types of chemical reactions and the different elements in the periodic table. The first thing we learned in chemistry this year had to do with what elements and trends in the periodic table are. I learned a lot about chemistry, and how it affects our daily lives! How our hair turns green in swimming pools is a great example in how chemistry is evident in our daily lives!

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/f/greenhair.htm

relating it back to chemistry: hair dye

Spencer's blog about hair dye, http://okspenco.tumblr.com/post/79424533207/hair-dye, was super fascinating! It is so cool how hair dye can change the color of people's hair! This blog was really interesting and it taught me so much about the science of hair dye! Spence was able to relate hair dye in our daily lives back to chemistry and what we learn in class!

Spencer's blog informed me on the three different types of hair dye, which are temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent. Permanent dye is the only hair dye that chemical reactions occur within.

I decided to do some more research! I learned so much about hair dyes through research of the chemistry of hair dye. I was able to make some more connections to chemistry, in addition to Spencer's connections. I learned that semi-permanent and temporary hair dye both have acidic dyes that rest on the outside of hair. There may be small amounts of peroxide in these hair dyes. After a few washes, or a few weeks, depending on which hair dye you use, the hair color begins to remove.

The permanent dyes have the chemical reactions in them. I learned through research that the hair needs to be open so that the hair dye can react with the cuticle so it can permanently last. The colorant bonds with the hair shaft. Peroxide breaks bonds in hairs and releases the element Sulfur, which is the reason for the smell of hair dye. Melanin in hair is decolorized, and the new hair dye color bonds to the cortex of the hair. Conditioners help seal the hair dye color with hair. This is the chemical reactions and bonding that occur in hair dye.

In conclusion, hair dye is related to chemistry. There are many different chemicals and reactions that take place in hair dye. We also learned about bonding, and bonding occurs in hair dye with hair. There are also acids, which we learned about in class. Clearly, chemistry is important in our daily lives. Hair dye is the perfect example to how chemistry is seen and used in our daily lives. Spencer's blog inspired me to do some of my own research, and also informed me a lot about hair dye and chemistry. Great job, Spencer!

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa101203a.htm

relating it back to chemistry: gummy bear experiment

Gummy bears are really tasty candies! I was always liked in gummy bears, and after doing some research, I found that there is an experiment that involves gummy bears! I was fascinated by this, and decided to find out more!

I watched a video on youtube about the gummy bear experiment. In the gummy bear experiment, there was a heated test tube of potassium chlorate. The chemical formula is KClO3. When the gummy bear was placed into the test tube, a purple fire came out of the test tube and lasted for a while! I was so surprised about this chemical reaction! I wondered what sparked this (haha get it? spark!!) and did more research!

The experiment worked by heating the potassium chlorate in the test tube over a bunsen burner until it melted. A small amount of potassium chlorate is all that is needed. Once the gummy bear is placed in the potassium chlorate, the chemical reaction occurs between the sucrose of the gummy bears, oxygen in the air, and the potassium chlorate. It results in carbon dioxide, water, and potassium chloride (KCl).

This experiment is a perfect example of chemistry! When I saw the youtube video, I was interested to find out the impact chemistry had in this experiment! Gummy bears is something I see almost every day, so I was surprised to know how it is important with chemistry! This is easy to relate back to class because this involves chemical compounds and a chemical reaction occurred! There were reactants (sucrose, potassium chlorate, oxygen) and products (carbon dioxide, water, potassium chloride). Recently in class, we learned the different types of chemical reactions and about products and reactants! This is just another example of chemistry in our daily lives!

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistrydemonstrations/ht/gummibear.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txkRCIPSsjM

relating it back to chemistry: anesthetics

Anesthetics is a really interesting thing! I always was interested in how it worked, and after reading Angie's blog, I learned so much! Her blog was really interesting and made really good connections to chemistry! You can read her blog post on anesthesia at http://melbelblue2.tumblr.com/post/72828569571/how-does-an-anesthetic-work.

It taught me a lot about anesthetics, like the different types there are! Anesthetics causes analgesia, which causes no pain, amnesia which means no memory, and anesthesia which causes no consciousness. I also learned that anesthetics are only temporary, and after a while it begins to wear off.

I did some of my own research to make some connections to chemistry. Anesthesia was invented in the mid-1800s. There are two kinds of anesthesia, one that only numbs part of your body (local) and the other that puts your whole body numb and unconscious (general). In the earlier form of general anesthesia, ether and chloroform was part of it. The chemical name for ether can be diethyl ether or ethyl ether. The chemical formula is (C2H5)2O. Chloroform is a clear liquid with a sweet taste. It is a natural chemical, but most forms of chloroform is man-made. Chloroform can be made during the breakdown of chlorine compounds. Clearly, there are important chemicals in anesthetics.

Modern forms of anesthesia include chemicals like nitrous oxide, isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane. However, while we know what is in anesthetics, scientists do not fully know how they even work! Their best theories involve how the affect cells, and many believe they dissolve fat in brain cells, which change cell activity.

Clearly, while scientists do not know everything about anesthetics, they know enough to know how important chemistry is in anesthetics! Anesthesia is composed of many different chemicals and compounds. Also, anesthesia affects how cells work, so a reaction is definitely occurring between the chemicals in anesthesia and the cells! This is just another example of how chemistry is used in our daily lives! Angie's blog inspired me to do more research on this topic, and both of us were able to make connections back to chemistry! Good job, Angie!

http://www.livescience.com/33731-anesthesia-work.html

relating it to chemistry: shampoo

Recently, I was thinking about shampoo and how it relates to chemistry! Chemistry is important in every aspect of life, so I was curious about shampoo! There are plenty of chemicals and compounds used in shampoo, so I decided to learn more about it. I did some research, and was able to compare chemistry and shampoo together!

I looked up how shampoo even works. Firstly, hair has a protective coating called sebum. This is a greasy substance that hair is coated in, and it protects the hair. Sebum can give hair a healthy shine, but also make it look dirty. Sebum can cause hair to stick together and look dirty if too much is made. Sebum attracts dust and dirt. Sebum is also hydrophobic, which means hair is waterproof. This is why just rinsing your hair does not fully clean it, since it does not remove the oils and sebum in hair. That's where shampoo comes in.

Shampoo is a detergent. Detergents work as surfactants, which lowers surface tension. This means hair is less likely to stick to oils or stick to itself. Part of the detergent is hydrophobic, and it is hydrocarbon. This bonds to the sebum of hair. There is also a hydrophilic part in detergents, which means when you rinse your hair, the sebum and shampoo leaves, too.

I decided to focus more on how shampoo works, rather than what is in shampoo. Shampoo is similar to chemistry because it deals with bonding and breaking bonds. We learned in class about bonding before. Also, sebum is a chemical in hair, which is also related to chemistry. Shampoo is another example of how chemistry is used in daily life.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howcleanerswork/a/How-Shampoo-Works.htm

relating it back to chemistry: Jell-o

I learned so much about Jell-o by reading Megan's blog! She was super informative and taught me a lot! She definitely did a lot of research! You can see the article by clicking this url: http://yes-meganchemistry-things.tumblr.com/post/75274605368/jello. After reading her blog post, I realized that I also wanted to learn more about Jell-o. I did my own research, and was able to also make my own comparisons to chemistry.

Megan's blog informed me of interesting facts of Jell-o. I learned that Jell-o has many different chemicals. These chemicals include Sugar, Gelatin, Adipic Acid, Artificial Flavor, Disodium Phosphate and Sodium Citrate, Fumaric Acid, and Red 40. Sugar is an important in chemistry because it is used often. Sugar can be glucose, fructose, etc. We also learned in chemistry about acids and bases. Fumaric Acid is a type of acid. This is one way Jell-o is related to chemistry. It is composed of many types of chemicals and compounds that are used in chemistry, and we learned about a lot of these in class.

I was very interested in Megan's topic, so I decided to do my own research. I found a really helpful website, and I was able to make more connections to chemistry! Jell-o has gelatin in it. Gelatin is made up of collagens, which is an important protein in animal tissue. Gelatin powder gets boiled, and the weak bonds of collagen protein chains break. New bonds form between amino acids in the protein. The colored, flavored water fills in the gaps between the chains. Jell-o is mostly water because it is trapped between the protein chains. Heating up the Jell-o causes the bonds to break, so it is important to keep Jell-o in a cool atmosphere.

I learned so much from Megan's blog, and I also did my own research. We were both able to make comparisons between Jell-o and chemistry. This is just another example of how chemistry is used in our daily lives! Good job, Megan!

http://chemistry.about.com/od/foodcookingchemistry/a/how-jell-o-works.htm

relating it back to chemistry: running shoes

I never knew how important chemistry was in running shoes until I read Malvina's blog post! You can read it a tthe url, http://malvinachemistry.tumblr.com/post/76587263478/blog-entry-43-running-shoes. Her post was really fascinating and taught me so much! I learned how chemistry is used in our daily lives, and running shoes is a great example!

Malvina's blog taught me a lot. I learned that there are so many elements used in running shoes! There are many chemicals used also! There is polyester, water, and acids. We learned the pattern of acidity on the periodic table in class! That was an easy connection for me to make in chemistry class!

After reading her blog, I decided to do some of my own research! I wanted to learn more about how chemistry was important in running shoes! I learned that there is a type of plastic, called Polyurethanes, that are really important in running shoes! This is a foamy material which absorbs shock. I also learned that shoes have different types of rubber depending on what type of physical activity you want to do.

Clearly, chemistry is super important in our daily lives. The running shoe is a perfect example of that. Without chemistry, there would be no materials to make up the running shoe. I learned a lot from Malvina's blog about chemistry and running shoes. Good job, Malvina!

http://blog.americanchemistry.com/2012/07/chemistry-and-sports-innovations-that-are-changing-the-game/

relating it back to chemistry: contact lenses

When I saw that Stephanie did a post on contact lenses, I was really interested in reading it and learning more about them! I was fascinated about chemistry's importance on contact lenses! You can see Stephanie's whole post at this url, http://stephaniehparkchemistry.tumblr.com/post/72930459724/lets-link-chemistry-contact-lenses.

From her post, I learned so much. I learned that originally, contact lenses were made out of glass! Like Stephanie, I was shocked by this information! Then, it transitioned from glass to being made out of plastic! Wow! That is crazy! Contact lenses now are clear, malleable, and a strong acrylic polymer.

After reading her blog, I did my own research! I learned that contact lenses work by refracting light! The bending light helps focus the retina, so then the person wearing the lenses have clearer vision. In chemistry class, we learned a lot about light and wavelengths! In Rutherford's gold-foil experiment, light was also refracted and reflected!

I also learned that the more hydrophilic, which means water loving, a contact lens is, the more comfortable they are to wear. This is because it allows water to freely move throughout the eye.

Clearly, chemistry is super important in daily life, and contact lenses. From Stephanie's post, I learned a lot about the impact of chemistry. She related contact lenses and chemistry really well. I decided to do my own research, and learned a lot more, too! There is so much information about contact lenses, and chemistry is really important in it. Great job, Stephanie!

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/cosmetic-treatments/contact-lens2.htm

relating it back to chemistry: hand warmers

After reading Stephanie's blog post on hand warmers, http://stephaniehparkchemistry.tumblr.com/post/65365892594/lets-link-chemistry-hand-warmers, I learned so much! I have seen people use hand warmers, and I always wondered how they worked! After reading Stephanie's blog, I learned so much! I learned how they worked and was really interested. I decided to find out even more information about chemistry and hand warmers!

From Stephanie's post, I learned that hand warmers are a result of an exothermic reaction. An exothermic oxidation reaction occurred and produced heat when the oxygen and iron reacted together. This is how the hand warmers get their heat!

I did some more research! I learned how many elements from the periodic table were used in this product. There are also many compounds used in chemistry that are also used in hand warmers. This includes salt, also known as Sodium Chloride, iron, water, and activated carbon.

Oxygen also is used in the reaction. Hand warmers have a permeable pouch so that Oxygen from the air can easily get into the hand warmers for the reaction to begin!

In my research, I also learned that to keep hand warmers lasting longer, companies put more iron in the product! Also, they have small holes for oxygen to come in but not too quickly so that the reaction does not last long.

Clearly, chemistry is super important in hand warmers from the elements and compounds needed to the reactions that occur! Stephanie's blog really interested me and caused me to do some of my own research to learn more and make connections to chemistry! Good job, Stephanie!

https://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/88/8804sci3.html

relating it back to chemistry: popcorn

I learned so much about popcorn by reading Stephanie's blog! It can be found on http://stephaniehparkchemistry.tumblr.com/post/72934099684/lets-link-chemistry-popcorn. Stephanie's blog was very informative on the chemistry of popcorn. It taught me a lot that I did not know!

However, after reading the blog, I thought it was really fascinating. I wanted to learn even more, so I did some more research.

I discovered that the popping of popcorn relies heavily on the kernel. The reason that the kernels pop into popcorn is because of water! Water has the chemical formula of H2O. Kernels have water in a circle of starch inside of the hard casing of the kernel.

Like Stephanie said, when popcorn gets heated, that is when the kernels pop into popcorn. I learned that this is because at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, pressure builds within the kernel when the water inside the kernel turns to steam. After enough build up of pressure, the case surrounding the kernel gives way. The kernel then pops and turns inside out! And then you have popcorn!

I learned so much from Stephanie's blog and was able to discover more information on my own with my own sources! This reaction shows that chemistry is important in our daily lives. Also, water is an important chemical compound in popcorn and chemistry! Good blog post, Stephanie!

http://humantouchofchemistry.com/how-does-popcorn-pop.htm

relating it back to chemistry: hair detangler

Angie's blog on hair detangler spray was super informative and interesting! You can find her blog with the url http://melbelblue2.tumblr.com/post/76685829787/tangle-free. Angie's blog informed me that there are important elements and polymers, such as Silicon, found in the periodic table of elements, that are in this spray. Also, there are acidifiers that help balance the pH levels by lowering it in Silicon polymers. It also strengthens the Hydrogen bonds in keritan molecules of hair to help tighten the strand of hair, and therefore, less tangles and knots!

Obviously, based on Angie's blog post alone, chemistry is super important in hair detangler spray! There are so many important elements and polymers, and acidifiers! Also, we learned about Hydrogen and how strong its bond can be in class! Hydrogen is definitely an important element in chemistry!

Angie's blog inspired me to learn more about hair detangler spray. I wanted to know more about chemistry's impact on this product. I did some more research.

Upon my research, I discovered that oils are important in hair detangler spray because it makes hair softer by filling in pores of damaged hair. Also, the Silicon polymer causes hair to be glossy when it bonds to hair's surface. There is Hydrolyzed Protein repairs Keratin. When this happens, it smooths the broken strands of hair, or most likely known as split ends, and prevents hair from crossing and tangling with each other so much. Another interesting fact was Cationic Surfactants bond to the negatively-charged Keratin. They smooth the surface of hair.

Clearly, chemistry is super important in hair detangler spray! While Angie's blog was super helpful, interesting, and informative about how important chemistry is in hair detangler spray, I was able to find more facts about chemistry's importance with more research. There are many important polymers, elements, oils, and proteins in this spray. Also, bonding and the strength of bonds are also really important and crucial to the success of this detangler spray. In class recently, we learned about bonding and specifically, Hydrogen bonding. This product has a lot to do with that, so it was easy to relate it back to class! This is just another example of how important chemistry is in our daily lives! Good blog post, Angie!

http://chemistry.about.com/od/healthbeauty/a/Hair-Detangler.htm

relating it back to chemistry: sweat

Wow! After reading Dhara's blog on sweat, http://captainchemistry.tumblr.com/post/75404744948/relate-with-chemistry-sweat, I learned so much! Dhara's post informed me that sweat contains many chemicals. These chemicals include ammonia, sugar, and sodium.

This is important in chemistry. Chemistry has many important chemicals. Ammonia specifically was just on our most recent chemistry quiz! Ammonia has a chemical formula of NH3. Ammonium, however, is a polyatomic ion. It has a positive charge and a chemical formula of NH4+.

But after reading Dhara's blog, I wanted to know even more about chemistry in sweat! I decided to do some more research.

We learned a lot about the periodic table in chemistry. So when I found out about all the elements of the periodic table that were found in sweat, I knew how important chemistry was in it!

Some of the elements found in sweat are sodium, potassium. calcium and magnesium. Elements in the periodic table that are specifically metals include zinc, copper, iron, lead, chromium, and nickel.

Clearly, the elements of the periodic table, which is important to chemistry, is also important in sweat! Dhara's blog inspired me to do my own research on sweat, while also teaching me about sweat! It led me to finding out even more on how chemistry is important in our every day lives! Thanks, Dhara! Awesome blog post!

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemicalcomposition/f/What-Is-The-Chemical-Composition-Of-Human-Sweat-Or-Perspiration.htm

relating it back to chemistry: why do apples turn brown

Want to know something that bothers me? When I cut apple wedges and they turn brown! I love eating apples! I like to savor each bite, but I do not like eating apples that have turned brown. I had an apple today, and I wondered why this happened. What causes cut apples to turn brown? I did some research, and the answer is chemistry!

Chemistry is important in the process that causes apples to turn brown. This process is called oxidation. Oxidation is a process in which something is chemically combined with oxygen. When an apple is cut, the oxygen from the air combines with the apple. It gets into the cells of the apple and oxidation occurs. Oxygen in cells causes polyphenol oxidase, also known as PPO, enzymes that are in chloroplasts begin oxidize the phenolic compounds in apple tissues. These oxidize into O-quinones. These are compounds found in most plants. The O-quinones is what causes the brown color we see in cut apples!

Clearly, chemistry is super important in apples turning brown! A chemical reaction, oxidation, occurs. This means the element Oxygen was present. Also, there were important compounds and enzymes in this process. Chemistry is important in our daily lives, and this is just another example of that!

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-why-cut-apples-turn-brown/

http://justjuice.org/2012/when-does-fresh-juice-lose-its-freshness/

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/brownapplefaq.htm

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