Silly Putty Reflection

In class, we did an experiment and made some sort of silly putty. o make the silly putty, we mixed baking powder in water and we poured glue in a cup, we added the water to the glue and mixed. After we added acid to make it less sticky. I realized that if you did not put the right amount of each ingredient, the experiment did not work. The silly putty was either too liquid, in that case you needed to add some glue, or if it was too sticky, you had to add some acid. If you put just the right amount, at the end, the silly putty bounced off the table or the floor if you threw it hard enough. 

Current Event #2

A Friend Like Me: When Given More Choices, People Pick Friends Similar to Themselves

A recent study shows that students who are around more people, choose friends that are similar to them. It can be deciding what to eat, what to do, where to live or even who to hang out with we like to have many choices. You would think that being around more people would influence your choice of friends and you would have more and they would all be different but no, the study says that in larger schools, people tend to hang out with others who are   similar. If you are in a smaller school, you are more likely to hand out with people who are different because you don't have much choice and you usually create dissimilar- but closer- friendships.

Building an Atom Simulation

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/build-an-atom


We were asked to go to this website and do the simulation. After, we had to answer these questions:


1)What happens when you add a proton?


When you add the first proton, the mass number changes to 1, the charge becomes +1 and the element formed is Hydrogen. It is stable.


2)What does it mean when an atom is stable? What does it mean when an atom is unstable? 


I think that an atom is stable when it has the same number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. The atom is unstable when the number of protons is not equal to the number of neutrons.


3)How do you make an atom stable? What do you need to do?


To make an atom stable, you need to add proton(s) or neutron(s).


4)What is the valence electron pattern as you move across the periodic table?


The valence electron is the number of electrons on the outer shell of a atom. A valent electron is added as you move along a line in the periodic table. But when you change line, it goes back to one.


5)What happens to the atom when there is more protons, more neutrons, or more electrons?


When protons, neutrons or electrons are added, the atom becomes a different element.


6)What's the difference between a positive and a negative ion?


A positive ion is an atom that has given or lost a electron to another atom. A negative ion is an atom that has taken a electron from another atom.


7)How do you make a neutral ion (charge of 0)?


An ion cannot be neutral. It can be either positive or negative. If it was neutral, it would be an atom.

Current Event #1 (Due on: 23/09/11)

Electronic Tatoo! ;)

Dr. John Rogers recently created a type of electronic with the same physical properties as skin. These electronics can be used to measure your heart rate, your body's temperature, it can sense any kind of electrical activity in your body, your breathing, brain waves, speech and many other things.

This electronic is like a microchip but it made out of a very thin sheet of silicone and it is; flexible, bendable, elastic, very thin, translucent… As oppose to a normal microchip that would be rigid, probably thicker and it would not stick to the skin in a normal way.

This “electronic skin” can be applied in the same way as a regular temporary tattoo. The best part is, it is removable and stays on for about a week or two.

It is made out of several circuits and wires that together look like a spider web.

 I think that this idea of temporary tattoo including a microchip is a good idea and could help improve our everyday life. For example, if you monitor your heart rate and you realize that something is not normal, you could send the information through a wireless device and send it to your doctor.

 

Also go and see and have a look at the bottom of the article on this page:

http://www.talkingscience.org/2011/08/epidermal-electronics/

There is a video and a recording that are both very interesting and worth looking at. 

Source: http://www.talkingscience.org/2011/08/epidermal-electronics/
Author of the original text: April Garbuz
Date published: August 25, 2011

My Prezi on Nitrogen

We were assigned to do a Prezi on an element, I got Nitrogen.
Our prezi had to include:

• Physical properties 
• Chemical Properties of your element, 
• Element Symbol, Bohr Diagram, Lewis Dot diagram
• What type of element it is
• Common Compounds (in which their element is a primary constituent), 
• Occurrence and Production,
• Hazards
• Safety (For example: exposure to air, water, combination with other compounds, touching, etc...)
• USES:  (Health sector use, Military use, Industrial use, and/or New Research or Emerging Technologies using their element.

Here is the link to my prezi on Nitrogen:
http://prezi.com/fyjqozspifwp/nitrogen/

Periodic Table With Metals and Non Metals

My scientific summer

This summer, every week-end my dad and I would go meet my mom at our cottage in Vermont, Lake Champlain. I took advantage of the opportunity and asked my uncle (also our neighbor) if he could take me water skiing. Every summer I usually go water skiing and this time I decided to try on one ski. I managed on the second try! 

This is a picture of me water skiing

I found out that water skiing has something to do with science, because of gravity and density and a lot of other things!

For example, when you get in the water you sink, that's because you are denser than water. So you wear a life jacket which increases your buoyancy and allows you to float. When you are in the water with your skis on, you need to have the tip of your skis out of the water. So when the boat starts, it is pulling you forward and you are pushing against the ski with your weight to stand up. That is gravity. You are obviously not as strong as the boat so it pulls you forward but you are strong enough to stay straight and not fall forward. 

For a skier to stand up and be pulled forward, the boat has to go at least 20 to 25 miles per hour in average. 

If the skier stays inside the wake and skies in a straight line, he is following the boat at the same speed. It he decides to turn and go out of the wake, he has to go faster than to boat. And the moment when the skier is going the fastest, is when he is out of the wake and the boat is turning 180 degrees (makes a U-turn). This is the part I like best!