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National Chemistry Week Plus National Mole Day

October 20, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Interested in Chemistry? Then this is a big week for you because it is National Chemistry Week from Sunday, October 19, 2014 to Saturday, October 25, 2014, plus Mole Day is Thursday, October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m!

NCW 2014 - CandyThe theme for Chemistry Week this year is “The Sweet Side of Candy.” Isn’t that perfect for the days leading up to Halloween?

Candy Chemistry Experiment Links:

I have been teaching a high school chemistry class, and one of the activities we did was place M&M candies in groups by color on a paper plate and then carefully cover them with water. The dyes in the candy coating go into solution, but don’t mix readily. See more about it in a post at East Valley Chemistry Club.

The NISENetwork has suggestions for candy-related chemistry activities and experiments, including an old favorite, candy chromatography.

Candy chromatography is popular. A similar experiment uses a water solution to make spots on a coffee filter.

Chocolate science is always fun. This chocolate experiment is for older kids interested in food science studies the process of tempering. It does require heat and special ingredients.

Steve Spangler’s Science has several candy-related experiments:

1. This experiment uses pop rocks popping candy and soda to explore how this candy gets its bang.

2. Mentos candy and diet soda always causes a big splash.

If you have some time on your hands, try Making Rock Candy. Use the recipe to make some sugar crystals.

Will studying all this candy science ever be useful in the future? Check out the videos from the American Chemistry Society that discuss some sweet careers in chemistry and food science.

 

candy-jelly-beans

Mole Day, Thursday October 23

Mole Day commemorates Avogadro’s Number or 6.02 x 1023. It is held on 10/23 (October 23) from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m.

Some ways to celebrate:

  • Make some guacamole with avocados and eat with 6.02 corn chips (avocados can be used to study oxidation, too).
  • Make and drink a glass of molasses milk (try stirring 1 tsp. dark molasses into 8 oz milk, soy milk, rice milk or almond milk).
  • Bake molasses cookies and share 6.02 of them or eat one at 6:o2 p.m.
  • Figure out how much aluminum foil you would need to make a 1.0 mole aluminum foil sculpture*.

How do you determine one mole of some substance weighs? For a specific atom, you can use the atomic mass from a periodic table to figure out how much a mole of that atom weighs. For example, one atom of hydrogen has an average mass of  about 1 amu. Converting to grams,  one mole of hydrogen atoms (6.022 x 1023 of them) has an average mass of about 1 g, but because hydrogen gas is normally in the form of H2, a mole of hydrogen gas would be 2 grams.

For molecules, add up the atomic mass units for the atoms in the molecule. Therefore, one mole of H2O is the mass of two hydrogen atoms (2) plus the mass of one oxygen atom (16), or approximately 18 g.

*Hint:  The atomic mass unit of Al is 26.982 or about 27.

However you choose to celebrate it, this week is a great time to think about chemistry and the mole.

If you choose to share, how are you going to honor Mole Day?

Bug of the Week: Eastern Yellow Jacket

October 15, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In Arizona, we have more than our share of stinging arthropods and prickly plants.

yellow-jacket-101

We do not, however, have any of these wasps in the low desert.

yellow-jacket-wasp-vespula

This yellow and black wasp is the Eastern yellow jacket, Vespula maculifrons. You can identify it by its relatively small size (smaller than other yellow jackets) and the anchor-shaped marking on the first tergite (first dorsal plate on the back of the abdomen, near the thorax).

eastern-yellw-jacket-vespula

The Eastern yellow jackets are found throughout eastern North America. They nest under the ground or sometimes in houses. They have even been known to nest in between bales of hay in a barn. Under the cover of the ground or other material, yellow jackets’ nests are made of a papery material similar to that of the white-faced hornet, which are more likely to be visible because the white-faced hornets nest in the open.

wasp-nest

Yellow jackets are social insects, with colonies divided into queen and worker individuals. Unlike honey bees, yellow jackets do not overwinter as a colony. Instead, only founding queens overwinter. Each spring a queen starts a new nest by laying eggs that become worker wasps, which in turn raise more and more workers in the cells of the papery nest. Eventually the queen starts laying eggs that become more queens or males, as well.  The numbers of yellow jackets are highest in the fall.

The worker wasps feed the larvae food ranging from pieces of insects such as caterpillars to bits of luncheon meat in a picnic sandwich. As you can see in the photographs above, the adults also feed on nectar from flowers.

Have you ever seen yellow jackets processing a caterpillar or luncheon meat by chewing off manageable-sized pieces? It can be quite fascinating to watch.

Do you see yellow jackets where you live?

Mystery Seed of the Week 221

October 14, 2014 / / 2 Comments

Look what’s back!

I was able to get some new photographs for Mystery Seed of the Week. In fact, I’m set for new Seed of the Week posts for the next few months while I develop some other materials behind the scenes.

Without further ado, we have some funny-shaped seeds.

mystery-seed-221

Do you recognize what plant the seeds are from? If you choose to, please leave a comment with your ideas.

(New mystery seeds and Seed of the Week answers are posted on Tuesdays.)

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