Wild Chemistry Ride 11:


Acids, Bases and Alkalis

In this topic we learnt on what acids, bases and alkalis are, and also discovered reactions between acids and other substances, such as metals, carbonates and bases.

Acids

• An acid is a substance that produces hydrogen ions in water
• Acids can be characterised into whether they are strong or weak
• Examples of strong acids include sulfuric acid, sulfurous acid, nitric acid, nitrous acid, hydriochloric acid, phosphoric acid and phosphorous acid
• Examples of weak acids include ethanoic acid (which is commonly found in vinegar) as well as carbonic acid

• Acids dissolve in water to form hydrogen ions, which is why blue litmus paper does not turn red when it comes into contact with, for example, hydrogen chloride. For the blue litmus paper to turn red, the hydrogen chloride must dissolve in water, because in this way hydrogen ions are produced and thus it turns the blue litmus paper red.
• Acids turn blue litmus paper red and universal indicator red/ yellow, showing that their PH is <7

• Metal + Acid --> Salt + Hydrogen gas
^this reaction is indicative of the presence of a reactive metal, and effervescence is produced. The gas evolved extinguishes a lighted split with a pop sound. Non-reactive metals include Silver, Copper and Gold.
• Carbonate + Acid --> Salt + Carbon dioxide + Water
^effervescence is produced. The gas evolved produces a white precipitate in limewater. I learnt from this topic that we should no longer write "the limewater turned chalky", but rather state that "there was a white precipitate produced in the limewater"


Bases
• A base is any metal oxide or hydroxide that reacts with an acid to produce a salt and water only (no effervescence produced)
• Examples of common bases include Copper (II) oxide, Magnesium oxide, Sodium hydroxide

• Base + Acid --> salt + water 


Alkali
• An alkali is a type of base that is soluble in water to produce hydroxide ion in water
• Examples of alkalis include sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, aqueous ammonia and calcium hydroxide (otherwise known as limewater and it is slightly soluble)
• Alkalis produce hydroxide ions in water and have a PH greater than 7. Like bases, they turn red litmus blue and universal indicator blue/ violet

Click to watch a video on Acid-Base reaction! :D
Here's a wacky video on sulfuric acid... and sugar!

Wild Chemistry Ride 10:


Kinetic Particle Theory Practical!

Activity 1: Chemical changes due to light

We first did a practical to observe what will happen to sections of a filter paper when exposed/ not exposed to light.

The procedure is as follows:
We placed a piece of filter paper on a petri dish and soaked it with sodium chloride solution, then placed it on a clean white tile. After dripping some silver nitrate all over the filter paper, we observed some white precipitate covering the filter paper. We quickly placed the opaque object on top of the filter paper, and placed the paper in bright light for about 20 minutes.

This is what we observed after  20 minutes: 

As shown, the area of the filter paper which the opaque object covered (or the area not exposed to light) was still white. On the other hand, the area of the filter paper which was not covered by the opaque object (or the area exposed to light) had a purple-greyish colour. 

Also, earlier when the silver nitrate was dripped onto the filter paper soaked with sodium chloride, a chemical change occurred. It was identified to be a chemical change as silver nitrate and sodium chloride, two colourless substances, react rapidly to form a new substance, a white precipitate.

Activity 2: Combination, decomposition and combustion reactions

Combination--> Two reactants combine to yield one or more products
Decomposition--> One reactant is broken down into two or more products
Combustion--> Occurs when a substance (usually a compound) reacts with oxygen, and releases energy 

We conducted a few more short experiments:


1. For magesium: My benchmate held a strip of magnesium ribbon using a pair of metal tongs and heated it directly at the hottest part of a Bunsen flame.
Observations: The silver metallic strip burned and produced a very bright flame and light. After that, there was white powder on the strip. It was a combination type of reaction.

2. For the reaction between potassium iodide solution and lead nitrate solution: 
a) We filled a boiling tube with potassium iodide to about 1cm, then added 5 drops of lead nitrate solution to the boiling tube. 
Observations: The two colourless liquids, when added together, became a yellow mixture. 



b) After achieving the yellow mixture, we added water to the boiling tube until it is half-full and heated it to obtain a near colourless solution. Then, we allowed the tube to cool for about 10 minutes.
Observations: When the diluted mixture was heated, there was effervescence and there were white fumes. Also, there were fewer yellow crystals over time, such that in the ned, a colourless liquid with few bright yellow crystals remained. 


One very interesting experiment was the teacher demonstration of propane gas. First, in a beaker of soap water, our teacher bubbled gas from the gas tap into the soap water. Next, one of our classmates volunteered to wet her hand and scooped up a handful of bubbles. When our teacher light a lighter at the bubbles, my whole class was very amazed to see that it caused a big flame when the splint lighted the bubbles. It was a combustion type of reaction. Also, to our surprise, our classmate's hand was not burnt and she did not feel any pain either. 

The experiments were great and I can't wait to explore more on Chemistry!

Click here to watch a video on propane gas lighting up!
Click here for another article and video on lighting of propane gas!

Wild Chemistry Ride 9:


Kinetic Particle Theory Group Assignment

For this group assignment, we had to match the substances to their particle models. 

Pictures of Substances:

Pictures of Particle Models:



We not only had to match the substances to their particle models, but we also had to explain each choice. As such, my group used properties of particulate models of the three states of matter for our explanation. Here is a table of such properties:

Last but not least... 
 Click here to view our responses to this assignment!

Wild Chemistry Ride 8:


Chromatography 

Did you know?: Chromatography was originated by a Russian botanist in 1906 who named this technique chromatography because he separated components of plant pigments into bands of colour for his experiment!

And here's a fun fact: Scientists use chromatography columns to purify substances from multiple chemical compounds and that narrow glass tube can measure up to 50mm and can be up to 1 meter tall!

Well for the experiment we did, it was on paper chromatography, where we separated the ink dyes of a ZIG marker pen. I managed to separate the ink of my marker pen into 3 components: yellow dye, pink dye and blue dye. The results were mostly similar to my classmates', however not all markers use the same constituent elements/ compounds thus there might be some difference in the component results.

Apart from the concept on paper chromatography, I also learnt that the Rf value is the (distance travelled by spot) ÷  (distance travelled by component), thus the value would always be less than 1. Also, I discovered how to measure the distance of the spot, which is the center of the area covered by the dye if the "spot" covers a large area.

I've also learnt that factors affecting the Rf value are 1. The type of solvent used, 2. The temperature of the solvent and 3. The type of paper used.

Wild Chemistry Ride 7:


Crystallisation

Crystallisation is based on the principle of variable solubilities of solutes in solvents at different temperatures, and it is the most common method used to purify soluble solids.

We did a practical where we attempted to purify copper (II) sulfate crystals. In summary, the solution of copper (II) sulfate dissolved in water is heated to form a hot, saturated solution. This heating allows for excess solvent to be removed via evaporation. As the hot saturated solution cooled, the dissolved solids appeared as crystals as the solubility of the solute decreases with decreasing temperatures. This means that as the temperature of the solution drops, less solute can be dissolved in the solution. The excess solute would then appear in the solution in the form of crystals. 

At first, I was confused as to why we had to stop heating the solution before all the solvent evaporated. However, later on I realised that leaving some solvent behind prevents decomposing of copper (II) sulfate into copper (II) oxide. Another reason was that soluble impurities will be left behind if all the solvent evaporated, because some solvent is required to keep teh soluble impurities dissolved, so taht it can be separated from the crystals by filtration. 

From this experiment, I not only learnt how to crystallise using the seeding method, but I also learnt that by controlling the variables such as the evaporation rate, the size and shape of the crystals can be controlled. For example, crystals obtained by rapid cooling are small, many in number and have ill-defined shapes. On the other hand, crystals obtained by slow cooling are large, small in number and have a more refined shape, like the shape of a snowflake.

Wild Chemistry Ride 6:


Simple Distillation

Distillation involves only two physical changes: 1. The liquid/ solution mixture is boiled to vaporise the most volatile component in the mixture; 2. The vapour is cooled by cold water in the condenser to condense it back to a liquid, which is the distillate, and is collected

Essentially, simple distillation is based on the principle of the lower boiling point of miscible liquids

Distillation can be used to purify water  and separate two miscible (=forming a homogeneous mixture when adde together ) liquids, like in a desalination plant and oil refineries.

Fractional Distillation

It separates a mixture of miscible liquids using a fractionating column and by the order of boiling points: the liquid with the lowest boiling point is distilled first, while the liquid with the highest boiling point is distilled last. Fractional distillation makes use of condensers as well, and the differences between fractional distillation and simple distillation are: 

• Fractional distillation uses a fractionating column while simple distillation does

• Fractional distillation consumes more energy than simple distillation

• Fractional distillation has much better separation between liquids than simple distillation

• Fractional distillation separates immiscible liquids with difference in boiling points of approximately 20-25 degrees Celsius

Wild Chemistry Ride 5:


Elements, Compounds and Mixtures

This was a topic which was quite confusing for some, but fortunately with prior reading I didn't find it that bad. So I've learnt that matter is classified into 3 categories: elements, compounds and mixtures. 

• Element: A substance made up entirely from only one type of atom
• Compound: A substance which is made up of two or more elements chemically combined in a fixed composition
• Mixture: A substance made-up of two or more elements or compounds not chemically combined in a fixed composition, and these components can be physically separated. 

There had been some confusion on identifying molecules, which are the smallest particles in an element or compound that has the properties of the element or compound, and they have to contain two or more atoms. And one misconception that some of us had was that a monatomic substance is a molecule, which we later learnt was untrue.

It was interesting how the atomic number was the proton number which is unique for every element, and that the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons. And as such we discovered that the number of neutrons is the proton number deducted from the mass number (which indicates the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom) 

Wild Chemistry Ride 4 (part 2):


After successfully completing the Energy Tower task, I was better able to carry out a scientific experiment since I had experience from Sunken Treasure. As such I had a clearer plan and idea on what to do for the experiment, for example: building 5-spoke wheel+building tower--> testing out--> recording down data--> repeating 2 more times for reliability--> repeating whole experiment again but instead using 8-spoke wheel and so on. 

My group mates and I had great teamwork this time as well, especially when we discovered in the middle of our experiment that our first plan did not work. Our original idea was to poke holes at different heights in a large bottle, cover the holes with tape and fill the bottle up with water, then remove the tape from each hole for each try and let the water spray onto the wheel. Thus we were planning to investigate if the height from which water is spraying out from affects the speed of the turbine. However, we came up with our second idea, which was to find out if a larger number of spokes on the turbine will affect the time taken for the weight to be lifted to 15cm.

Additionally, we discovered that we had to make the weight stop only at 15cm, thus we improvised and quickly made a simple stopper (two sticks) to ensure that the weight is lifted to a height of 15cm and nothing more.

However, I think we should make an effort to focus more on the task at hand. This is because for the past two experiments, despite us successfully completing the task, we could have been more efficient if we had been less distracted with playing with the materials.

Have a chem-tastic day!

Wild Chemistry Ride 4 (part 1):

Aim: To find out if a larger number of spokes will increase the time taken for the weight to be lifted to 15cm.
Hypothesis: The larger the number of spokes, the shorter the time taken to lift the weight to 15cm.

Independent Variable: the number of spokes

Dependent Variable: time taken for the weight to be lifted to 15cm

Controlled Variables: the mass of the weight, the length of the string from the wheel to the weight, size of each spoke, number of rotations of the sink handle thing

Assumptions: the speed of water flowing from the tap is consistent with every try, the (human error) reaction time is the same with every try

Materials Provided: (excluding the turbine and tower, though toilet rolls were given)

Procedure:
    1.  Cut out 5 3cmx5cm rectangles from the plastic board
2. Use tape to attach the rectangles onto the tape-coated part of the towel roll to create even spokes, then secure the spokes to the towel roll with plasticine
3. Poke a hole through the width of the end of the second towel roll
4. Stick a wooden skewer through the hole
5. Stick 2 sticks at the 15 cm mark to act as a stopper (distance between sticks < width of 5g weight
6. Poke a hole through the width of the end of the second towel roll
7. Stick a wooden skewer through the hole.
8. Stick two sticks at the 15 cm mark to act as a stopper
9. Tape one end of the string to the tape-coated end of the first towel roll

11. Stand the second roll up with the skewer at the top end

12. Secure the roll onto the bench

13. Guide the string from the first towel roll to over the skewer and between the two skewers below it

14. Tie the other end of the string to the weight

15. Position the turbine on the first roll horizontally across the sink and under the tap

16. Turn the tap on

17. Record the time taken for weight to be lifted to 15cm

18. Repeat 1-17 but make a 8-spoke turbine instead of a 5-spoke one

Video: one of our successful set-ups!

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HESMrpb3vKIe8LV6KgqiycWM7RKnoESRGz5aXa2T-20/edit#slide=id.p

Data Tabulation:

	Time taken for the load to be lifted 15cm when using 5 spokes/ms	Time taken for the load to be lifted 15cm when using 8 spokes/ms
Try 1	41	36
Try 2	30	38
Try 3	25	51
Average	32	42

*Note: We tested the reaction time by pressing the button three times and the result was 16ms for every try. Therefore 16ms was deducted from the time taken to derive the actual time taken for each try

Conclusion:

The smaller the number of spokes, the shorter the time taken for the weight to be lifted to the 15 cm mark.

Limitations:

We were not able to … 

1. Control the speed of the water gushing out from the tap, which will affect the the speed of the turbine

2. Measure and ensure that the total mass of plasticine added to the spokes for the 1st and 2nd try were the same, due to time constraints

3. Measure the degree/distance between each spoke exactly due to time constraints

Wild Chemistry Ride 3 (part 2):


After the Sunken Treasure experiment, I learnt much more about carrying out a proper scientific experiment through a fun and meaningful way. For example, I learnt the difference between "observations" and "data collection": observations are the what you observe (such as see, hear, smell etc.), while data collection is about gathering and measuring information (such as the volume of gas collected in a gas syringe etc.)

Some scientific concepts I have learnt are when hydrogen peroxide (which I found out later was Solution 2) and the carrots' catalyse are physically combined, gas will be produced. Also I discovered that by chopping up the carrots into small pieces, the exposed surface area of the carrots to the salt and sugar solution will be increased, thus the reaction will occur within a shorter period of time.

Overall, I felt that my group worked together very well, as we each were given a role in the team, for example two were in charge of taking pictures and recording down observations and data, two were in charge of preparing the experiment apparatus and chopping up the carrots into very small pieces, while another group mate and I were mainly performing the experiments. However, all of us still contributed ideas to our plan and our teamwork was what I thought helped us in achieving success, and I am thankful for that.

On the other hand, my group mates and I could be less distracted by other things like playing around with the balloons, and also be less careless like when we often forgot to pump the air out of the gas syringe before using it again the next try.

*the ride coming up next… Energy Tower!

Wild Chemistry Ride 3 (part 1):


SUNKEN TREASURE

Experimental Design!: Our task was to lift a bottle full of marbles from a large basin of water without pulling it out using muscle power, inflating the balloon outside of the tank or inflating it using lung power. However, we were allowed to put our hands in the basin of water and tie/ attach any device we built to the hook-shaped wire attached to the treasure bottle.

Our aim was to find out which solution, 1, 2 or 3, will be able to create a chemical reaction that will be able to release enough gas to be able to inflate the balloon and lower the density of the bottle of marbles and balloon such that they will float.

We hypothesised that the mixture of a particular solution with salt and/or sugar and carrots will produce the most amount of gas, enough to inflate the balloon so the combined density of the balloon and the bottle of marbles will be lower than the density of the water such that the whole set-up will float to the surface.

First, how did we find out which solution reacts best? We used the dropper provided to fill each of 3 test tubes with one type of solution- 1, 2 or 3. Then we added a 1cmx1cmx0.5cm piece of carrot into the test tube. After observing the carrot and solution for 1 minute, we found out that Solutions 1 and 3 with the carrot had no visible reaction, while for the test tube filled with Solution 2 and the carrot, bubbles formed on the carrot and it floated to the surface. Thus we concluded that Solution 2 was the most suitable to use as it reacted best with the carrot among the 3 solutions.

The table below shows more observations we made...

	Solution 1	Solution 2	Solution 3
Carrot only	No visible reaction	Bubbles form on surface of carrot and float to surface	No visible reaction
Carrot+Sugar	No visible reaction	Many bubbles from the carrot	Few bubbles from the carrot
Carrot+Salt	Salt dissolves slowly	Salt dissolves super fast and the bubbles float to surface	Salt dissolves slowly
Control (Solution only)	No visible reaction	Bubbles formed on surface of test tube	No visible reaction

Next, we poured another 15ml of Solution 2 into another test tube and added another 1cmx1cmx0.5cm piece of carrot plus a pinch of salt (although we should have weighed the mass of salt added to ensure that for every try we added the same amount of salt/ sugar), then we measured and recorded the volume of air collected after 2 minutes using the gas syringe. We repeated the steps here but this time we added a pinch of sugar instead, and for another try we added both a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. To ensure the reliability of our results, we repeated these steps twice.

After recording down our observations, we presented them in a table shown below...

Volume of gas collected/ml
Carrot + Sugar + Salt+ Solution 2	Carrot + Sugar+ Solution 2	Carrot + Salt+ Solution 2
3.0	1.5	0.5

Therefore, the most amount of gas was collected when we used the carrot and solution 2 with BOTH sugar and salt.

After finding out what mixture (salt, sugar, solution B and carrots) we should use for our set-up, we proceeded with the task. We first chopped carrots into as small pieces as possible, as we believed this would allow the carrots to have a greater exposed surface area to the solution, thus increasing the rate of the reaction occurring. Then, we filled a conical flask with Solution 2 and prepare balloon with the chopped carrots, salt and sugar. After stretching the balloon such that it covers the top of the conical flask without pouring the contents into the flask, we attached the conical flask to the treasure (the bottle of marbles) using wire. Next, we placed the set-up into the tank and poured the contents of the balloon into the conical flask.


^AND WE SUCCEEDED!

As such, we concluded that the mixture of Solution 2 with salt, sugar and carrots produced the most volume of gas and therefore was able to inflate the balloon and reduce the density of the bottle of marbles and balloon combined, successfully making the treasure float.

However, despite our success, we faced some limitations as well. Due to:

•Time constraints, we were unable to repeat the experiments to make ensure its reliability

•The small amount of salt and sugar given, we were unable to use more salt and sugar to create the chemical reaction even more to inflate the balloon bigger.

•The lack of proper measuring tools, we did not measure the sizes or mass of the carrot when chopping them for the balloon, however, we cut them as small as possible to have more surface area for reaction. Thus, it would have a greater effect than when we did the test solutions.

More will be up next… in my next post on my reflections after this experiment!