I'm Blogging about Blogging!

Right now, I am in chemistry class on the computer. We are supposed to be studying with some chemistry games Mr. Olson provided the link for, but this computer has not been working properly. I continuously tried to log on with my username and password. It would let me work the computer until I clicked Mozilla, when it would shut down and restart. Even when I didn't touch the computer, it kept restarting. Eventually, Fiona logged on with her username, and the computer notified me that it had recovered from a serious error, and is now working properly.

But in the meantime, Catherine and I played letterblox on OMGPOP and we won almost every time. LOL, then we checked schoolloop like the young nerds we are...my grades remain unchanged except history (went down to a 95% T_T). <- that was me bragging LOL. TIME TO STUDY FOR CHEMISTRY YEE.

I like iodine.

Iodine and the Past Week

I say we start this blog off with "IsaTest". I was fairly certain I did well on it at the time...but now that I think about...did I label the measurements on the graphs? Did I do the algebra correctly? AHH, this is making me nervous. My last chance to bring up my grade. :( At least I got the volume and mass correct this time.

I would also like to remark about my site, about Iodine. Iodine has an atomic number of 53. Since it is a halogen (group 17), it can form one covalent bond. Those are just two of the facts I learned about iodine, and the rest of the information is at: sites.google.com/site/resaslab.

The dry ice activity we did in class was also pretty awesome. It was interesting how a few bubbles did not pop in the tank of dry ice (Carbon Dioxide). And it's amazing how the ice can burn your skin if you touch it for too long.

Well, time to start homework...

Powers of Ten!

This week, we discussed in further detail the properties of the atom. We did a variety of worksheets such as "Building Atoms" and "Subatomic Heavyweights". It was really boring, but I did learn how to find the number of neutrons just by knowing the AMU. Also, I learned that the AMU (sum of the number neutrons and protons) of atoms aren't whole numbers because different ISOTOPES of the atoms exist. Isotopes mean that the atom has a different number of neutrons than the standard, which is usually the same number as protons. For example, Carbon - 12, Carbon - 13, and Carbon - 14 are different isotopes of the element carbon. :D

The powers of ten video was quite fascinating. It's amazing how 10x27 can take us farther than the milky way galaxy! I do wonder what's out there though. In the Simpsons parody of the powers of ten, there was an alien. It'd be pretty awesome if aliens really did exist. :o Also, it puzzles me how anything past 10x-21 (I don't remember the exact number, but it was around that) is beyond our understanding. We know the structures of atoms, but nothing further than that. Can there really be another world inside protons, neutrons, and electrons? Is our whole galaxy just part of Homer Simpson's hair? :O

The Periodic Table is My Best Friend

Whoo hoo, for my chemistry webpage project, I'm doing iodine (I). There is just so much to write about iodine. It can be used as an indicator. It is an essential nutrient added to salt to prevent goiters. And it can be used as a solution to disinfect wounds. But I suppose this should be going into my website instead of my blog. But who WOULDN'T blog about iodine? <3

Catherine is doing Holmium (Ho) as her project. :D WHATT, I want an element that's my last name. I hope we get to sing the PERIODIC TABLE song in class. I have a desire to memorize the periodic table. Then I could be identified as the ULTIMATE CHEMISTRY WHIZ. My friend wants to be super chemistry nerd as well, so we will study together. I also want to memorize the properties of the significant elements on the table.

I still have a poor grade in this class. But I will raise it because I'm going to study for the "IsaTest". WATCH ME GET A 100%! D< Rawr. Right now, I'm designing a layout for this blog and my webpage so it doesn't look so plain. I've already gotten a lot of my friends to read my blog, and they have commented on the strange design. Non-chemistry wise, I have quite a large amount of homework this weekend. Perhaps I should stop procrastinating and start now...?

I can't think of a catchy title.

My apologies for the nearly a week late post. I spent the whole Friday last week trying to do "IsaQuiz". I completely blanked out. I even got the mass and volume on the quiz wrong. That is extremely fail of me. I am relieved we get to retake this test. Mainly the reason I failed is because the news that Elizabeth got into a car accident bothered me a lot. At least now, a week later, she is out of intensive care and onto normal care. It must have been a terrible accident. Hopefully, she will back to school soon. T__T

Within the week, we did one chemical reaction lab. We lit a candle, and then placed steel wool within the flame. The wool sparked, and we quickly had to hold it over the sink because at one point, the wool burst into flames for just a few seconds. However, after a certain point, the wool wouldn't spark anymore and nothing would happen as we placed it into the flames.

Also, we electrocuted water. We added a pinch of table salt (NaCl) into a small container of water. Then we attached carbon(graphite or pencil lead) to alligator clips to a battery. We watched as one side of the water started bubbling and turning purple while the other side bubbled only slightly, but it turned its surrounding waters all orange. H2O just split into hydrogen and oxygen. :D

Do we write the units? Yes, we write the units! Got to write the units 'cause the units are so key! Oh gosh, Mr. Olson, that's stuck in my head! D<