Mini Project!

This is my mini-project #3
This project is called..cup fizz!

In chemistry, I made a cup fizz out bubbles of vinegar and baking soda! It looked like a slushy from ICEE, but I wouldn't drink it!! It's not very good for anyone!!
The materials that I needed were:

• food coloring (to make the "fizz" different colors)
• some vinegar
• baking soda
• a plastic cup

So I poured some vinegar into the cup, added some red food coloring, and some baking soda and CABOOM! Fizz started busting out of the cup! The fizz traveled so quickly, it happened in a snap! It was very impressive. So I basically took and acid and a base, mixed them together, and it caused a reaction that ended up with the fizz!

Photo credit: Kayla J. 7

Mini Project!

This blog post is my mini project #2.



I'd like to call this one glass-bending! We took some glass and we made it bend in to different shapes! Now you may ask...how is this possible? Wouldn't the glass break? But all questions are answered, once you do the experiment of course..



Well, here are the supplies that we needed in order to make this possible!:

• glass rod
  
• filer
  
• fire
  
• tongs

First we had to use the filer to break the glass in half. Then, we put our glass piece in the flame, and with our tongs, we shaped the glass into cool shapes! The glass bended really easily, once the glass had melted to the point where we can actually bend it.

Now to answer the previous questions, the glass doesn't break unless you keep the glass in the same spot under the flame for a long time. And this is possible because you have to find the melting point of the glass..

Certain glasses have different melting points, but usually glass has a melting point of about 14ooo degrees Celsius! However, we don't completely melt the glass, we melt it to the point where it can bend comfortably.

photo credit:Kayla J. 7

Chemistry satnDard!

Chem std: 5c: Students know strong acids and bases fully dissociate and weak acids and bases partially dissociate.


Strong acids are acids that can completely dissociate to produce and H+ ions in a solution, like water. The important causes for a strong acid to dissociate is its conjugate base and conductivity. The conjugate bases should be weak. Weak acids only partially dissociate. This happens because the acid cannot conduct electricity or there is an effective base that attracts H+ ions in the solution.

A strong base is a substance that can dissociate in a solution to produce hydroxide ions (OH-). For example, if a solid sodium hydroxide ion (NaOH) dissolves in water, the products should be Na+ and OH- in order to be a strong base. Weak bases will not be able to produce the OH- ion.

As you can see, strong acids and bases are the substances that can split up in a soultion completeley. The weak acids and bases are only able to do that partially.

Mills Canyon Trip

On Thursday April 29, 2010, our chem class went on a field trip through the Mills Canyon in Burlingame. We walked there, to the canyon, and then we walked around the whole canyon! We walked this giant circle, but the views were pretty nice. I think I was more tired than I have ever been walking on that trip, mostly due to the hot weather. It was a nice trail, and I think I might want to do that again someday, but with different clothes and shoes!

View Chem Field Trip! in a larger map

MY SLIME=]

Okay, so I finally did my slime mini-project!
It was definitely a lot easier than I thought it would be, except that instead of liquid starch, I used borax powder which works just as well.

So this is what you need:

• Glue (like Elmer's Glue)
• Borax Powder
• water
• food coloring
• spoons for mixing
• tablespoons
• cups

You first put the glue in a bowl, then add two tablespoons of water. At this point you have to dd your food coloring and stir. Then you add the Borax Powder, like one tablespoon, and stir some more. In a few seconds, you should have your slime ready, but before you play with it just yet, you have to put it in the refrigerator, still in the bowl, for a couple of hours.
The glue works as a polymer and enables the slime to be stretched and played with. The Borax Powder makes sure that the glue polymers are together, which allows us to play with it!

I Propose We....

PROJECT! PROJECT! PROJECT!

So Kayla and I were thinking of different scientific projects that we can do, with the stuff that we found in the classroom! Fortunately, we have found projects that we can do. I am the leader of a project that we call SLIME. We are going to explain how to make a slime, using basic ingredients that we found in the classroom, and how it relates to science! I'm really excited for this project to take place because I never thought that slime would be so fun, yet scientific at the same time..I feel like we will have a good time and learn a lot with this project.

International Week!!

International week at Mills is the greatest!

All of the flags, food, and shows are so nice to experience. Out of everything though, my favorite is the International Food Faire. There are tables and more tables set up with different types of food from all sorts of cultures and clubs! It's overwhelming! However, it's all so delicious. My favorite food that I get has to be the burritos sold by my club, Latina Mentor Program. They are the perfect size and they taste delicious! But the desserts are always amazing too, like I had a Connolly and it was delicious! The thing that makes the faire not great, is the lines! Sometimes the lines for a certain food is so big, that I can't even see the food that is being sold! But I guess it's in the package=]

Another thing, is the assembly. I'm usually performing a type of Latin dance for my club, but when I get to see the other culture performing, it's so nice! Everyone is so good and passionate about what they are dancing to, or presenting, it gives me a taste of what their culture is like. Shows and food is the best way to experience someone else's culture, I agree completely!