Feedback

Feedback on the Summer Chemistry Course:

1. What has worked well this summer?

I think that the labs were a success this summer because it taught us to actually work together and get the job done. We followed the directions and made compromises and set positions to complete the procedures. Each lab was different, but they were all extremely informative and educational, yet fun. I enjoyed doing the labs even though group work is not my favorite thing in the world. I am more of an independent learner, but this year I realized that group work could be helpful and convenient.

2. What suggestions do you have for tweaking or changing the course?

In my opinion, we had an excessive amount of homework this summer that was mostly irrelevant to what we were learning or being tested on. I think that in order to further improve not only our education, but our test scores, we should do more review on what will actually be on the tests and mini quizzes. I understand that were in class to expand our knowledge, but I feel that in an environment like Buckley the pressure that were under requires us to focus mostly on how were going to get a high grade instead of what we need to know in the future.

3. How can we go even further with presentations about individual interests a la economist reports? Can we make some of them group presentations, even more creative, mini research projects, or even videos or performances or experiments?

I really enjoyed doing the economist reports because they were educational and taught us all a lot about things going on around the world. We never would have thought that all of the articles of the website would be connected to science because they were all so random. We can improve these reports by incorporating articles from other magazines as well because it seemed that we repeated the same articles several times.

5. Should the instructor check all homework on the blogs?

I don’t think that the instructor should have to check the homework because it is straight from the textbook, so nothing we put on our blogs will be irrelevant. It would be hard for the teacher to check all of the homework because he would have to grade 18 student’s homework’s everyday. Although I think that homework should not be graded based on our answers, I do think that it should be graded based on effort and whether or not we actually did it. Homework should be a grade booster, not something that would lower our overall grades.

6. With a new head of school who is calling for more creativity, even in science, what whacky vision do you have for learning Chemistry that has more joy, less fear of G.P.A, and more excitement about learning about science?

I think that less pressure for tests and quizzes would allow us to learn in a more comfortable environment because we wouldn’t be worried about preparing for them everyday. Instead, we would be focused on what were learning and have fun in class! The pressure that Buckley puts on us to do well on tests and keep a high G.P.A causes stress for many of the students that attend it. Finals, especially, cause anxiety and even panic attacks! I don’t think a child should be dreading going to school; they should be looking forward to learning around their peers. I have experience with getting panic attacks in the middle of my science final, and I felt that I couldn’t breath, and I was being trapped. This kind of stress really hurt my body and since then I am highly afraid of taking finals, and tests in general. This was a traumatizing experience and I hope with our new dean, we will not have to undergo the pressure that we have been under for years. 

Look who's listening

The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported that America’s national security agency (NSA) will be collecting the telephone records of millions of americans not suspected of crimes. In addition, NSA will also start a program named PRISM which will collect emails, photos, videos, file transfers, and social-networking date from big internet companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, YouTube, Skype, and Microsoft. These telephone records have been going on for years. Edward Snoden, a man who had worked as a security contractor at the NSA, reveals how he feels about this plan. He mentioned how he does not feel safe living in a world where everything he says and does is recorded. Not everyone is a criminal, thus not everyone’s every move should be analyzed, he says. NSA has been listening in on the world’s communications, like soviet leaders to Osama bin Laden’s satellite phone. Therefore, although this plan to “spy” on people might make people not feel safe because they are constantly being checked on, it also makes people feel protected. NSA has the ability to use their system to protect their citizens from dangerous people like Osama bin Laden, before he died. However, Barack Obama has ordered for this plan to not listen on the content of calls, but to collect data of the records of who people call, when, for how long, and so on. 

This is significant to me because I feel uncomfortable that the government can look through my private conversations and affairs. It makes me feel unprotected because random people can find out private information about me from the internet. NSA should not be able to see my information, it is an extreme disadvantage of the internet. 

 

NSA uses verizon to find their information.

http://www.twincities.com/national/ci_23399345/nsa-wants-all-u-s-phone-records-from

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21579473-americas-national-security-agency-collects-more-information-most-people-thought-will

Homework 7/23

Page 235 #31-38

31.  A) Propane, C3H8

B) Pentane, C5H12

32. The suffix -ane indicates that hexane is an alkane.

33. Yes, each of these molecules are isomers of each other. They all consist of 5 carbon atoms and 12 hydrogen atoms, but appear to be different because of the arrangement of atoms. These three molecules are structured isomers of one another, for they have identical molecular formulas but different arrangements of atoms.

34. 

35. Butane (C4H10) is the shortest-chain alkane that can demonstrate isomerism- alkanes with four or more carbon atoms can be demonstrated as straight-chain structures, branched-chain structures, and ring structures.

36. Both representations are correct because their different arrangements of atoms do not change the identical molecular formulas of the molecule; this would make the molecules structural isomers of each other.

37. A) 

B) The branched-chain molecule would have the lower boiling point. Since the straight-chain molecule has greater molecule-to-molecule contact, it has a stronger intermolecular force than the branched-chain molecule, resulting in a higher boiling point.

38. A) A short, straight chain would have a lower boiling point because of decreased molecule-to-molecule contact than the longer boiling point. The bonds of this chain would be easier to break than a longer straight chain.

B) A short, branched chain would have the lower boiling point. Although the bonds of a branched chain are easier to break than those of a straight chain, it would be more difficult to break more molecular bonds within the long chain, resulting in a higher boiling point.

C) A short, branched chain would have a lower boiling point. Straight chains have stronger intermolecular forces that hold together each molecule in contact; where as bonds between branched chains are more breakable due to the decreased intermolecular molecular forces between them.

Page 258 #1-10

1. Petroleum is sometimes considered "buried sunshine" because as a fossil fuel, it originates from biomolecules of prehistoric plants and animals. The energy released by burning petroleum represents energy originally captured from sunlight by these prehistoric green plants during photosynthesis; "buried sunshine".

2. A) Potential energy is energy of position, or stored energy ready to be released. An example of potential energy is the energy within an unreleased winded up spring toy.

B) Kinetic energy is energy related to motion. A car rolling down a hill is an example of kinetic energy.

3. Chemical energy, another form of potential energy, is stored within the bonds in chemical compounds. When an energy-releasing reaction takes place, the bonds break and reactant atoms reorganize to form new bonds and release energy. If more energy is released than originally started with, the reaction is exothermic, but if less energy is released than originally started with, the reaction is endothermic.

4. A molecule of butane has more potential energy; it has more carbons than methane and a higher boiling point than methane. The bonds of butane are harder to break than the bonds of methane, resulting its higher potential energy.

5. A) Potential energy

B) Potential energy

C) Kinetic energy

D) Potential energy

E) Kinetic energy

6. Energy is required to break chemical bonds because it is what causes the reactant bonds to break and reorganize to form new bonds and energy.

7. A) Exothermic energy is released than is required to begin the chemical reaction.

B) Endothermic energy is required to crack large hydrocarbon molecules than is released.

C) Endothermic takes more energy to digest a candy bar than the energy released after digestion.

8. The product of a burning candle yields more energy than the energy to begin the reaction with an unlit candle. Since more energy is let off than required to begin the reaction, burning a candle is an exothermic reaction.

9. 

10. The law of conservation of energy states that energy is neither created nor destroyed in any mechanical, physical, or chemical processes.

Homework 7/22

Page 233 #1-30 (except 2, 4, 9, 14, 24, and 25)

1. A molecular compound that only contains atoms of hydrogen and carbon.

3. It is not a renewable resource, but it is very versatile and it is used to generate heat, electricity, and energy.

5. Oil is crude because it is pumped from underground and cannot be used in its natural state without some degree of refinement where it is separated into simpler mixtures through distillation.

6. A) 0.11 x 20,000,000= 2,200,000 barrels

B) 0.89 x 20,000,000= 17,800,000 barrels

7.  Heating and cooking fuel, petrochemicals, kerosene, refined oils, gas oil, heavy furnace oil, diesel fuel oil, lubricating oil and grease.

8. A) Water bottle, sports equipment, clothing, and artificial limbs.

B) A water bottle can be made out of aluminum, bamboo can be used to make light, flexible, and durable sports equipment, clothing can be made of cotton, and artificial limbs can be made of iron.

10. A) The Middle East has the most petroleum reserves relative to its population.

B) Central Asia, Far East, and Oceania have the least petroleum reserves relative to its population.

11. A) North America, Central Asia, Far East, and Oceania, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe consume a greater proportion of the world’s supply of petroleum than they possess.

B) The Middle East, Africa, and Central and South America consume a smaller proportion of the world’s supply of petroleum than they possess.

12. Density can be used to separate two different liquids if the substances are insoluble.

13. Water and acetone would be the easiest to separate from each other by distillation because water has the highest boiling point, and acetone has the lowest of the four substances, water and acetone would separate fairly quickly and easily by distillation.

15. 

16. Fractional distillation differs from simple distillation because fractional distillation does not separate each substance in crude oil. Instead, it produces many different mixtures called fractions. Fractional distillation is a continuous process that consists of a distillation column and various temperatures in order to separate solutions. Simple distillation only involves a apparatus and separates a solution using evaporation and condensation.

17. Products derived from light include motor gasoline and refined oil. Products derived from intermediate include gas oil and heavy furnace oil. Products derived from heavy include lubricating oil/grease and heavy oils/wax.

18. The highest boiling point in a distillation column would most likely be removed at the bottom because the thick liquids never vaporize.

19. After fractional distillation, a way to further separate the mixtures is distillation.

20. Methane, pentane, hexane, octane. The higher the boiling point is, the stronger the intermolecular forces.

21. A covalent bond is the sharing of 2 or more valence electrons between 2 atoms, allowing both atoms to completely fill out their outer shells.


22. Atoms with filled electrons (8 valence electrons) are particularly stable, and therefore, tend to be chemically uncreative. Noble gases are atoms with filled outer electron shells.

23. Since the two dogs desire the sock, they must share it, although they desire to have it for themselves; like repelling electrons, the dogs pull away from each other, but are still connected by the bond they share with the sock connecting them.

26. A) A structural formula shows the makeup of a molecule, as well as how high the boiling point is, where as a molecular formula just shows the amount of atoms each element in the formula possesses.

B) The structure of a formula shows how strong molecular bonds within the formula is, as well as the boiling point of the formula.

27. See drawings.

28.The electron-dot representation of a carbon atom only shows four dots because the four dots represent the valence electrons, located on the outer (and not inner) shell of the atom, where two electrons are located.

29. A) C9H20

B) C16H34

C) C10H22

D) C18H38

30. A) 128g

B) 226g

C) 142g

D) 254g