Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Dimensional Analysis: Lesson 6

Want to know how to convert km/hr to mi/hr?

Just like converting between curencies in Chemistry it is usually necessary to convert between units
This process is called Dimensional Analysis
Steps:
  • Find the unit equality
  • Find the conversion factor
  • Apply conversion factor
  • Cancel units
Example:
How many seconds are there in 2.4 hours?
3 600s = 1 hour
(2.4 hr) (3600s/ 1hr) = 8640 s
Example:
What is 100km/hr in m/s?
1 km = 1000 m
1 hr = 3600s
(100 km/hr)(1000m/1 km)(1 hr/ 3600s) = 27.8m/s
Example:
 How many seconds are in a day?

~ Kelly Bui

Thursday, September 23, 2010

LESSON 5 Scientific Notation! (Say whaaat?)

Scientific Notation & S.D. 
  • Accuracy and precision is very important in science 
  • Important to communicate this accuracy carefully 
  • Calculators = not smart enough to decide what is/what is not precise 
  • Scientists have est. rules for rounding off extra digits; YOU MUST FOLLOW THEM!
 (π r^2)(h)   ->   π (0.8)^2(13.2) = 26.540174...      8 SDs present 



Significant Digits
  • Non-zero digits are always significant
  • If zero is a place keeper, it is generally NOT significant 
                 ie.  0.0031  
  • Any numbers to the left of a decimal point are SIGNIFICANT 
                 ie.  2.00, 23.05, 13.900
  • Zeros after another number are SIGNIFICANT 
                ie.  3.000, 0.00000120, 3.014, 1.120
  • When adding or subtracting round to the least precise number 
                ie.  7.4212 - 3.54 = 3.8812     ->  3.88 
                        12.3 + 10.771 = 23.071    ->  23.1     
  • When you multiply or divide, round to the number with fewest SDs 
                ie.   2.5 x 5.55 = 13.875          -> 14         
                         1.33421 x 19.531 = 26.058434551   -> 26.058          
  • Constants (π, G, ect) on your data sheet have infinite SDs


Scientific Notation
  • Used if we need to write the number 1000 with only 2 SDs
  • Used if we want to write the number 22 billion 1 hundred million w/o taking up an entire line 
                 > ie. 22,100,000,000      
                               = 2.21 x 10^10
                               = 2.2 x 10^10
                               = 2.210 x 10^10
  • Shows really big or really small numbers easily 
  • Makes use of power of 10 
Calculators 
  • Your calculator has funtions that you can use easily 
               - EXP, EE, X10
                        > 3.24 E-5    RIGHT :)
                        > (3.24)(10^5)  WRONG :(







SIGNIFICANT  
                    DIGITS   
          (dang they're cool)








    ~ kim nipp

LESSON 4: SI System and Percent Error

Prefixes Used with SI Units

  • We can put a prefix in front of the unit and change the power of it.
- tera (T): 10^12                                  - femto (fm): 10^-15
-giga (G): 10^9                                    - pico (pi): 10^-12
-Mega(M): 10^6                                  - nano (n) 10^-9
-kilo(k): 10^3                                       - micro :10^-6
- hecto(h): 10^2                                   - milli (m): 10^-3
- deca (da): 10^1                                  - centi (c): 10^-2


SI Prefixes

  • the SI System uses many prefixes to represent very large or very small numbers
  • Don't use scientific notation and prefixes together! It becomes very confusing
Experimental Accuracy
  • In general the maximum accuracy of any measurement is one half of the smallest division of the measuring device
  • A ruler with measurements of the millimeters has a maximum accuracy of positive or negative 0.5mm
Expressing Error
  • Error is a fundamental part of science
  • There are usually 3 reasons for error: 
                     > physical errors in the measuring device 
                     > "sloppy" measurements
                     > changing ambient conditions 

Calculating Errors 
  • Two different possibilities: Absolute Error, Percentage Error 
Absolute Error
  • Measured value minus accepted value 
  • Absolute Error = Measured - Accepted 
Percent Error 
  • Most common
  • Percent Error = [Measured-Accepted/Accepted] x 100 

Sunday, September 19, 2010

LESSON 3 Classification of Matter.

  • Understanding matter begins with how we name it. We can divide matter into two types: homogeneous and heterogeneous.
  • Homogeneous -- consists of only one visible component.
    • distilled water, oxygen and graphite
  • Heterogeneous -- contain more than one visible component.
    • chocolate chip cookies, granite



PURE SUBSTANCES
  • There are two types
    • Elements: cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical reactions
      • Iron, oxygen, magnesium
    • Compounds: made up of two or more elements and can be changed into elements or other compounds by other reactions
      • Water, sugar



SOLUTION
  • A solution is a homoegeneous mixture of two or more substances
    • solutions usually involve liquids but don't have to (fog, steel)
  • The component present in greater amounts is the solvent.
    • water is the most common solvent
    • the symbol (aq) is used when something is dissolved in water
  • Component present in smaller amount is the solute.

09.17.2010

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A Joke and a clip about chemical reaction

A neutron walks into a bar. He asks the bartender, "How much for a beer?" The bartender offers him a warm smile and says, "For you, no charge".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66kuhJkQCVM

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

LESSON 2 Physical & Chemical Changes!

CHANGES IN MATTER
  • matter can undergo many changes 
  • nearly all changes can be broken down into 3 categories  
               - physical changes 
               - chemical changes 
               - nuclear changes 

PHYSICAL CHANGES
  • involves changing shape or state of matter (crushing, tearing, etc) 
  • no new substances are formed (eg. boiling water, cutting wood, smashing cars) 


  • changing from a solid to a gas can often be confused as a chemical change 
  • chemicals remain the same 
  • during this melting process, chemicals usually follow this path: 
ENERGY INPUT VS. TEMPERATURE


CHEMICAL CHANGES
  • new substances are formed
  • properties of the matter change  
              - conductivity, acidity, etc. 
              - eg. iron rusting, burning wood, digesting food 

~ Kimberly Nipp

LESSON 1 BALANCING & WORD EQUATIONS

WHAT ARE PHASE SYMBOLS?
They are subscripts that indicate the phase of the chemical, such as
eg. Al(s) - solid , H2O(l) - liquid , H2(g) - gas , AgNo(aq) - Aqueous

CHEMICAL EQUATIONS FROM WORD EQUATIONS

 (Solution means something that is dissolved in water and is therefore an aqueous phase.)
1) In chemical equations it must include phase symbols and a balance of the equation
2) Diatomic molecules: are elements that when on its own in an equation will always consist of 2  
        atoms (these elements form a seven on the periodic table)
eg. H2 , N2 , O2 , F2 , CI2 , BR2 , I2
3) Polyatomic molecules: P4 , S8

Examples:
1) A solution of barium phosphate is mixed with aqueous sodium sulphate to yield solid barium sulphate and aqueous sodium phosphate.

Ba3(PO4)2 (aq) + 3 Na2SO4 (aq) ~> 3 BaSO4 (s) + 2 Na3PO4 (aq)

2) A solution of aluminum chloride , carbon dioxide and water can be prepared mixing pure aluminum carbonate with a solution of hydrochloric acid.

Al2(CO3)3 (s) + 6 HCI (aq) ~> 3 CO2 (g) + 2 AlCI3 (aq) + 3 H2O

9.13.10

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Testing, testing, one, two, three..




The name's Bond. Ionic Bond: taken, not shared.