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My First Presentation

In Thailand, I never had to make a presentation and present it in front of the class, but since I moved to the United States, schools are more advanced and there are many presentations that you have to make throughout your school years.

So this is the first presentation in my life that I presented in front of the class and it’s about Jewish Migration. It might not be as good as the last one though.

Press “S” or press the cog wheel for speaker notes (there’s not much but there’s some)

And there it is. Thank you for reading.

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My Best 8th Grade Presentation

Our Social Studies teacher gave us our biggest assignment since 8th grade will end soon and this assignment is worth a lot of points so I tried my best to make this perfect. It took me around 1 week to create this and present this and I thought it’ll be nice to show it to you because I’m very proud of it.

I made a presentation about Benjamin Franklin using google slides. His biography, information about that time period, and his primary sources need to be included. You also had to include a video, podcast, or an app.

I put the whole presentation into HTML code and put right here:

You can open speaker notes by pressing the cog wheel or pressing “s”

Speaker Notes:

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 and passed away on April 17, 1790. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States (A group of leaders who made the new United States upon republican principles). He was a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor, and diplomat. His father, Josiah Franklin, married twice and had 17 children. Franklin launched a hospital, college, and library and he had performed many experiments with electricity and many more projects. As an inventor, he was commonly known for the lightning rod, bifocals (glasses with 2 different optical powers), and many more. He made people understand electricity by saying that it has positive and negative elements. He also negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War. His education was limited and ended when he was 10 years old, but he was an enthusiastic reader and he taught himself to become a skilled writer.

At age 12 he was apprenticed by his older brother James, a Boston printer. But at age 17 he quit the apprenticeship and became a printer. In 1726, he opened a printing shop, and the business was successful. He created a variety of things such as newspapers, currency, and government pamphlets. In 1748, when he was 42 years old, he retired, and he conducted many experiments to fully understand electricity. He also invented the lightning rod that prevented houses from catching fire caused by lightning. He invented bifocals. In 1766, he traveled to London and testified in the British Parliament against the Stamp Act. In 1776, he helped draft the Declaration of Independence. And again, he negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War.

In the 1700s, popular entertainment for children would be checkers, kite flying, and tag. For grown-up men, there was a special game called nine pins, played out doors. It’s similar to bowling but the ball and the pins were way much smaller. Quilting was entertaining for women at that time, but the most popular was storytelling and it was a great way to pass time.

For jobs, agriculture and farming were the most popular at that time, but blacksmithing, candlemaking, fishing, and gunsmithing were also popular jobs too.

For food, eggs, bacon and bread, cheese, potatoes, pumpkins, and squash were popular at that time. But seafood, vegetables, and fruits were also common. For fashion: women had stockings, gowns, belts, hoods, capes, and hats. For men there were, shirts, stockings, hats, coats, and breeches. Women wore their hair up in a bun and men braided their hair.

Classical music from Mozart, Beethoven, and other artists was the only music people listened to. But a small amount of people listened to opera too.

JOIN, or DIE is the first political cartoon attributed to Benjamin Franklin. It was designed to unite the colonies and each segment represents one of the Thirteen American colonies or regions. It soon became a symbol of colonial freedom during the American Revolutionary War.

The gulf stream is located along the East coast of the United States. He was interested about the stream because he discovered that the warm surface water of the stream could improve and speed up postal delivery from America to Europe.

He signed the Treaty of Paris, in 1776, he helped draft the Declaration of Independence, he negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary war, and he testified in the British Parliament against the Stamp Act.

He wanted to abolish slavery 1787 and he brought the matter to the Constitutional Convention. And he launched a hospital on May 11, 1751, a college in 1714, and a lending library on July 1st 1731.

Benjamin Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1726, opened a printing shop, and produced government pamphlets, newspapers, and currency. He also made a coin called the Fugio Cent made from copper electrical parts and it was worth 1 cent. The message “mind your own business” meant “pay attention to your affairs”. The sun and the sun dial represents the word “Fugio” in latin which means I flee or I fly.

He was intelligent because he created the lightning rod, the bifocals, signed many documents, and made many right choices. He was mysterious because he was a member of a secret underground society known as the Hellfire Club. He was determined because he self-taught himself to become a successful writer. He was inventive because he was creative and made many inventions. He was engrossed because he concentrated hard on his experiments.

A virtue is a trait of mind or character that helps us achieve a good life. The app has Benjamin Franklin’s original virtue’s chart to improve your daily conduct. Tap the day’s date to add a mark if you conduct wrong doing on that week’s virtue. The goal is to live and pay strict attention to each virtue without placing any marks on the chart.

Also, a huge thanks to my father who helped me a little bit with the grammar and thank you to my Social Studies teacher that gave me a 10/10.

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I’m leaving Facebook for good.

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Notifications, notifications, and notifications everywhere. Not only that, it is useless, a waste of time, and it really doesn’t give me any benefits in my life.

My purpose on Facebook is to share stories about my life but I don’t think Facebook is very suitable for that purpose.

Also, I never felt safe using Facebook because I feel like people could find out your identity and know where you live.

But if you know how to use Facebook the right way it might become a powerful tool, for example, merchants sell clothes and receive a lot of income.

But I’ve decided that I’ll be on Twitter from now on here: https://twitter.com/DanDrak87175557

And leaving Facebook forever because it’s useless for me.

Thank you for reading.

 

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No copying content anymore

Hello, how is it going everyone? I hope you had a wonderful month. In this post, I am going to talk about how my blog will change and what will happen to it.

If you have noticed lately I’ve been copying content from other websites and sourcing them. But I guess people could conduct their own research and just answer the questions themselves. So here’s what I’m going to do:

  1. I am not going to copy any content from other websites
  2. I am going to make my own content somehow.

And I am looking forward to doing some more experiments with this website and having fun with it.

A very short post but thanks for reading.

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German Shepards or Siberian Huskies?

I hope you guys had a wonderful month and I apologize that I haven’t posted anything I  while. I had so much to do: projects, homework, and stuff like that.

If you know me well, I am a pet lover especially dogs. Dogs are naturally loving and affectionate. Their pack animal nature makes it easy for dogs to develop strong bonds with those they perceive as members of their pack.

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The German Shepherd and the Siberian Husky are my two favorite breeds and they are similar and I am going to compare them. Even though I had a German Shepherd before and I know Huskies pretty well I still had to do some research on this because every dog has a different personality.

Appearance:

The German Shepherd and the Husky have remarkably similar coats.

Both coats are weather resistant and double-layered and they both shed profusely during shedding season.

The German Shepherd has a lean and muscular build with keen eyes and erect ears.

Their fur comes in six colors:

  • Black
  • Black and Silver
  • Black and Tan
  • Red and Black
  • Sable
  • Grey

The Husky is more compact than the German Shepherd, with a more proportionately shaped body.

They have erect ears, a long tail, and expressive eyes that are either blue, brown, or one of each.

The Husky’s coat comes in 13 color varieties:

  • White
  • Piebald
  • Sable
  • Brown
  • Copper
  • Black
  • Black and Tan
  • Splash
  • Red
  • Agouti
  • Black and White
  • Silver
  • Grey

Behavior:

If you’re an energetic family with young children, the Husky might be more suitable. He is playful, energetic, very patient with kids, and would be a good choice for young families on the move. However, make sure you have a flexible schedule or other dogs around to keep your Husky busy. On the other hand, if you are interested in an intelligent dog who is eager to please and can help out around the house, then the German Shepherd is for you. This breed thrives on doggy jobs and loves to be a helpful part of his family unit. However, the German Shepherd has a shorter lifespan and is prone to a few more health issues than the Husky.

Exercise:

Both the Husky and the German Shepherd are active breeds who need lots of exercise and mental stimulation to stay healthy and happy. The Husky is a bit more energetic than the German Shepherd and both of these breeds will need at least an hour or two of exercise every day. On top of that, they need free time to run and play in a securely fenced yard or dog park.

You can also look at this link for a complete comparison chart: https://www.dog-learn.com/breed-vs-breed/german-shepherd-vs-siberian-husky/

I cannot decide which one I like the most, I probably going to go for German Sherpards but let me know in the comments which one you like the most.

Thank you for reading.

Sources: https://thehappypuppysite.com/german-shepherd-vs-husky/

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Are Desktop Computers Becoming Obsolete?

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Source: https://www.htxt.co.za/2014/08/19/chart-how-smartphone-vs-pc-usage-has-changed-in-sa-over-the-past-three-years/

The desktop won’t die out for several reasons:

1. It’s becoming the creation tool: particularly for businesses but also for the new breed of home or independent business or artist. People who make things still rely on PCs, be they laptops or desktops, to do so. Graphic design, music, art — all on PCs. Sure, you can do some of this on tablets, but the interface doesn’t support that level of control.

Developers do their work on PCs. I don’t see this changing significantly. Development requires powerful devices — multicore processors, lots of RAM, and copious storage. Developers need giant display screens.

2. Bigger screen and more power: for people who play games on PC’s, a gaming laptop is good, but the issue with gaming laptops is that they run out of battery power quickly due to power the immense power of the CPU’s and GPU’s power requirements, the battery last around 3–4 hours if you’re playing games that need powerful CPUs.

3. you can have a big giant monitor in front of your face if you don’t have a tv and do work, like making a game.

So here’s my opinion: PCs will be with us for many many years to come. But their nature will change so that they’re no longer the only way people consume or create. Marketers need to understand this multi-device future to understand the demands on software developers to support multiple devices. This suggests both market opportunities (help them solve their problems) and a way to market to address customer needs and concerns.

Sources:

https://www.quora.com/Are-desktop-computers-becoming-obsolete-Does-it-make-sense-to-only-own-laptops-and-touch-devices

https://developermedia.com/why-pcs-arent-dead-dying-or-even-terminally-ill/

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Why do tuxedos look so good?

tuxedo

To understand this, you have to understand that, no matter how much you want to re-invent the wheel, and try to think about an outfit that objectively will make a man look its best (disregarding of any message of wealth, sprezzatura, laid-backness or coolness he might want to portray with more trendy clothing) you will always arrive at the same point. A man will look his best, when he comes across as slender, tall, with broad shoulders (V-shaped), and his face, the most expressive, humane and important part of the body, in the foreground.

The way a beard (for men), makeup (for women), or a haircut can change the overall perception of your face and its proportions (although the face itself hasn’t really changed) and, thus, making you (appear) more better looking is the same way that clothes can change your body’s appearance without changing the body itself. The tuxedo, or dinner suit, is the modern product of decades and decades of fashion development, evolution, brain-storming, experimenting, and engineering of men’s clothing by the worlds savviest sartorial experts to arrive at an outfit that, per definition, will make a man look objectively its absolute best, independently of actual fashion trends. That is why it’s so classic and so timeless because it relies on pure objective beauty and not on what’s vogue. Every single detail has been thought of, and shouldn’t be changed as it will only mess with carefully engineered refinements.

It works in the following way:

The color black will make one’s figure appear even and, thus, slender and will give a mysterious appearance to the wearer (of course only in the evening/night, where black’s darkness is the richest). To make the man look broader in the shoulders, a V-shaped perception is induced through a big inverted triangle on the torso of the wearer. This is achieved by wearing a white shirt (for the contrast) and a one-buttoned jacket, to make the biggest and longest triangle possible. To accentuate this V, the lapels are covered with a contrasting material (silk, obviously) that accentuates the V-shape even more. To make a man look taller, an uninterrupted and even connection between the legs and the torso is sought, creating an elongated silhouette. This is achieved by covering the waist with a cummerbund or a waistcoat (low cut, otherwise it would break the triangle), avoiding, thus, the white shirt showing below the jacket’s button and breaking the ubiquitous darkness. The last part is to put the face in the foreground, which is done by creating contrast on the white triangle by a black (!) bow tie (and not a normal tie, which would break the triangle), which draws automatically the attention towards it, and imminently, towards the face (colorful bowties would distract the viewer away from the face and don’t create the same effect).

Basically, it comes down to the double V-shape of the lapels accentuating the torso. When fitted right it enhances a man’s posture and creates an illusion of a stronger chest and a slimmer waist.

Other factors contributing are the formal/uniform factor, nice fabrics with classics patterns and exclusive appearances, and that eye-catching examples of suits tend to be made to fit and accentuate all parts of the man’s body (shoulders, protruding bum, leg length, total length.)

A tuxedo makes a man look like a far more decent and respectable human being than maybe he really is.

Typically when a man is wearing a tux, he is also clean-shaven (or neatly trimmed) and has a fresh haircut.

A tuxedo also makes a man look more dashing, handsome, successful and confident.

Tuxes are usually only worn on special occasions, when people are looking (or wanting to look) their best.

Sources:

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-tuxedos-look-so-good-on-men

https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-about-suits-that-make-men-look-attractive

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-females-attracted-to-a-man-in-a-tuxedo

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My Certificate Collection

I currently have 3 Certificates and 2 medals but all of them are in Thai language. I was really hoping to join clubs in my school to get more certificates but I was late. All of the clubs were full and the available clubs are just not for me.

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3 Certificates and 2 medals

The leftmost certificate is for getting second in the province of all subjects in third grade.

The next certificate is for getting first in English grammar in the whole province.

The medal is for winning a spelling B in 7th grade. I came out 1 out of 80 contestants and I forgot what the other one is (it was a very long time ago).

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This certificate is from the spelling B
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Being Left-handed and Right-handed?

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Ambidexterity is the state of being equally adapted in the use of both the left and the right hand. When referring to objects, the concept indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. Only about one percent of people are naturally ambidextrous.

If you can write equally well with either hand, then you are the one percent. Even among the small population of ‘multi-handed’ individuals, very few experience equal ease and skill with both hands. In comparison, around 10% of people are lefties.

How to get ambidextrous:

Step 1, Day 1 – Practice your handwriting. Write your name and the alphabet, along with a few straight lines and a few circles or curves, all with your non-dominant hand. At first, it’s likely your straight lines will look like bacon strips. But the more you practice, the closer your handwriting with the non-dominant hand will resemble the beautiful penmanship you normally exhibit with your dominant hand. Along with handwriting, try to do a few things consistently with your off-hand. Shaving, putting on makeup … these are things you can work on, but start slowly. You don’t want to wield a razor near your carotid artery with a hand that doesn’t do what you want it to do. Step 2, Day 2 – Brush your teeth with your off hand. When you take a shower, turn on the water, reach for/use the soap, reach for/use the towel, dry off and brush your hair with the non-dominant hand. Put your watch on the opposite wrist. Use your off hand to get food out of the refrigerator. And finally, practice your handwriting again. Step 3, Day 3 – Do everything you did the previous two days with the addition of eating with your off hand. Reach for the milk, handle a fork/spoon, butter your toast, cook, etc., using your non-dominant hand dominantly. A quick tip: Don’t eat in public with your off hand until you’ve practiced a bit. Things could get messy. Step 4, Day 4 – Do everything you did the day before. Now, tie your dominant hand behind your back for a bit to make you do everything possible with the non-dominant hand. Only untie it when driving or doing other things that require the use of two hands. Also, switch your mouse buttons to fit your new practices.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambidexterity

http://mentalfloss.com/article/30667/11-facts-about-ambidextrous

https://www.concorde.edu/blog/surgical-technologist-become-ambidextrous

 

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Some Short Facts about Thailand

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Thailand and the United States are 2 very different places. Culture, Language, and way of living are very different. I have lived in Thailand for 12 years and only moved to the United States for 5 months because the education is not good enough for me.

Culture:

Thai culture is deeply influenced by religion. With around 95% of the country being Buddhist, the belief system and values of Buddhism play a huge role in day-to-day life. Throughout the country, the most important values that Thai people hold to are respect, self-control, and a non-confrontational attitude.

Language:

Thai is the sole official and national language of Thailand and the first language of the Central Thai people and the vast majority of Thai of Chinese origin. It is a tonal and analytic language. It is a difficult language to learn.

Thai-Language-Consonants
The Thai Letters

Schools:

Education in Thailand mandates nine years of “basic education” (six years of elementary school and three years of lower secondary school). Education at public schools is free until grade 9. Children are enrolled in elementary school from the age of six and attend for six years, Prathom 1 to Prathom 6.

Expense:

I love traveling Thailand because it’s cheap and backpacking around Thailand usually costs $20–35 USD per day, depending on how much alcohol you consume and how many days you spend on the islands, where costs are higher.

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How can pets make you happy?

 

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My old cat, Smoky

 

A pet is good for your heart

High levels of cholesterol and triglycerides can up your risk of heart disease, but owning a cat or dog can lower both, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Owning a cat or dog can also increase your chances of surviving a heart attack.

Pets lower stress and depression

Stroking your cat or dog can lower your blood pressure and make you feel calmer. Even watching fish can ease tense muscles.

Playing with your pet increases the levels of the feel-good chemicals serotonin and dopamine in your brain. Maybe that’s why people recover from a stressful situation more quickly when they’re with their pets than with their partners or friends, a study was done by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found.

Pets connect you to a community

Dogs, like babies, are conversation starters. On walks, you’re bound to stop for a chat or two with other dog owners.

Pets also give you the chance to meet like-minded owners at the vet, pet store, or training classes.

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My dog, Sally

Pets get you moving

You can’t be a couch potato when you have a dog. Walking a dog regularly means you’re less likely to be obese and more likely to be physically active.

The benefits continue to pay off as you age. One NIH-sponsored study followed 2,500 adults, 71 to 82 years old. The result: Those who took their dogs out regularly had more physical stamina — they walked faster and for longer periods of time and had more mobility inside the house.

Another plus: All that time outdoors increases your vitamin D levels and helps keep your bones strong. Not into dogs? Kitties need exercise, too, so grab a cat toy and have fun.

Pets a source of comfort

Pets can give you love. People may need people to live a richer life, but pets can provide many of the same perks, according to a study published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Pet owners had greater self-esteem and were better able to bounce back from rejection, the study found. Other studies have found that a pet can be a child’s best buddy and help kids develop empathy.

Sources:

https://www.humana.com/prevention-and-care/healthy-living-and-prevention/emotional-health/pets

 

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First Day in a Foreign School

*These are some of my opinions and comments and I am not insulting anything/anyone

School Website: http://www.nhcs.net/noble/

This is the first American school that I’ve been in and I would like to tell my experience to others. I hope you are looking forward to this and I tried to take pictures but it’s hard because there is a rule that you cannot take pictures.

This is Noble Middle School, one of the public schools in Wilmington North Calorina. This school has a very strict policy about bullying, inappropriate content, and profanity. And the school mascot is an eagle.

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Waiting for the school bus

I got into the school in the middle of the semester which is bad because everyone has friends except me. But don’t worry, I’m used to it. At least, I made a couple of friends over there.

I was struggling so much on my first day. It was such a horrible nightmare. I was so scared that I had to ask the school counselor so many questions so many times. The system is very different from Thailand obviously because Thailand schools had no lockers and you do not need to change classes most of the time.

Many of my classmates were afraid to talk to me because they do not know who I am and they didn’t even realize I could speak English. One thing that I remembered is a group of 4 girls gave me a salad in a cup, which is very nice of them because they paid for it. They handed me the salad and then they ran away. I was so scared that I sat there looking at the salad like a mindless person, I threw it away and ran away. But don’t worry, I gave them a quarter and they still talk to me until now.

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The school’s yard

To go to another class, you’ll need to go to the room with the right number. But I couldn’t find the room with that number so I walked around the school like 3 times (and I was terrified) until I found the counselor and she guided me to the correct class.

And that is the first day in an American School and I didn’t study at all (lol).

I remembered myself trying to open a locker. It is hard because I’ve never used a locker before so I had to ask the school counselor many times, but now I know how to use lockers, I just had to practice.

This school is not the “competitive” type which means the students that are behind can catch up easily, but the smarter students (not being narcissistic but like me) they can get bored easily. I know I know, my grades are quite low right now, but I can get them up easily if I stop slacking off.

One thing that is good about this school is that it has no bullies. Not a single bully. This school had only a couple fist fights before but that was a very long time ago.

This is a good school for students who are behind and are sensitive to bullying.

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The important thing to take in that things might not be scary as you think and thank you to the students who accepted me and tried to help me.

And that is my first day in a foreign school.

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Paper or Digital?

I rather use paper because I feel much more comfortable and it is easier for me read and some students can process the content better. But some kids are more comfortable with screens.

E-readers appeal by being travel-friendly and storing a whole library at your fingertips, but print books seem to win when it comes to comprehension. Studies have shown that readers often remember more when they consume material in print rather than from a digital source. This is most likely linked to the concept of spatial context, which causes “seemingly irrelevant factors like remembering whether you read something at the top or the bottom of page—or whether it was on the right or left hand side of a two-page spread or near a graphic—can help cement material in mind.”

According to the market research firm Millward Brown, “tangible materials leave a deeper footprint in the brain.” The physical and sequential task of writing letters and words creates a stronger connection with working memory than tapping on a keyboard. The physical representation of written plans and tasks is then perceived as more “real,” which makes them easier to remember. Here are tricks to writing a more productive to-do list.

A UCLA study has shown that manually writing notes with a pen and paper is more conducive to retaining information than typing notes on a laptop or computer. This is because “analog” note takers—those who used a pen and paper—were forced to synthesize lectures rather than merely transcribe everything they heard word for word. Being forced to sort out what was worthy of being written helped to trigger stronger mental processes that promote retention, a phenomenon known as “desirable difficulty.” Additionally, digital note-takers often felt less compelled to study because they felt all the answers were right there on their laptops, and would typically perform more poorly on exams.

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Are boys actually better in math?

In preschool and elementary school boys and girls generally perform similarly on math tests. Later in school, in high school and college, more consistent differences start to emerge. In addition, gender differences are often larger among higher-performing students but not necessarily for lower- or average-performing ones. Within this specific group of higher-performing math students, boys tend to perform better. Similarly, when studies do find gender differences among elementary school children, they find these start to appear for higher-performing students earlier in schooling than they do for lower- and average-performing ones.

Whether a gender difference is found also depends on what type of math the kids are doing. In general, boys tend to outperform girls on tests that are less related to what is taught in schools (like the SAT math test, for example) whereas there tend to be minimal gender differences on statewide standards-based math tests, which are more tied to what’s taught in schools. When it comes to grades in school, which are even more closely tied to the curriculum, girls often outperform boys. A recent meta-analysis of research on the performance of students from elementary age through adulthood found boys tend to outperform girls in more complex areas of math such as those involving more advanced problem-solving. In contrast, there are no differences—and, in some cases, an advantage for girls—on more basic numerical skills and on math problems that have a set procedure for solving them

Two of the factors above, age and the type of math, can impact research results at the same time. This could be partially explained by the young age of the sample, and also because there are often few gender differences found in basic numerical skills.

Although there are differences in math performance between girls and boys of both high school and college age, and when doing certain types of math, these studies find only a small gender difference in math performance. The mean performance scores for boys and girls are about 0.1 to 0.3 standard deviations apart from one another—very small differences and with a lot of overlap between boys’ and girls’ math skills. Thus, boys and girls are much more similar than different in math performance, even when considering studies that found the largest gender differences. In addition, even when we find there are differences, it is important to remember they are in the averages of the two groups and are not deterministic of any individual student’s performance.

Interestingly, we often see larger gender difference in other math-related outcomes compared with overall performance. Girls tend to have less positive math attitudes: They have higher levels of math anxiety and lower levels of confidence in their math skills. This means even when girls show similar performance levels to boys, they are often less sure of themselves. In addition, we see larger gender differences in spatial skills, the way students approach solving math problems and math-intensive career choices. Therefore, these math-related skills and attitudes may be more useful areas for researchers to investigate related to gender and math.

Stanford looked at 260 million test scores in more than 10,000 school districts in the United States between 2008 and 2015. Researchers found:

– The math gap between genders has narrowed over the years.

– Boys outperform girls in math only slightly.

– Boys outperform girls in math in wealthy, suburban school districts.

– Girls outperform boys in math in low-income districts only slightly.

– Girls excel in English across all economic groups.

– Wealth likely plays a role in creating gender gaps.

The examples of researches and studies cited above imply that the gender-based gap is only made by the environment rather than the X and Y chromosomes. What is needed at this point is to alter our mindset and discuss how perceived inequality can be eliminated from our society. The first step should be to stop drilling it into the female psyche that they cannot be good with numbers. In fact, parents need to support their girl child and make them believe that math is not rocket science.

Sources:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-boys-better-than-girls-at-math/

https://www.voanews.com/a/gender-gaps-in-education-are-closing-study-indicates/4486638.html

https://opinionfront.com/are-boys-better-at-math-than-girls

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How to write faster by hand

Writing fast gives you many benefits. For example, I’m at school and the teacher told to copy a paragraph from the board, and I copied it pretty quick (Most of the time I write fast and copy everything). So I’ll show you how to write faster with good handwriting.

1. Maintain good posture. Straighten your back and make sure that your feet are resting flat on the floor. Your lower back and hips should be fully supported by the chair that you’re sitting in. Both your knees and your elbows should be bent and you should feel comfortable while you sit. Maintain this posture to reduce fatigue and improve stamina as you write correctly.

  • Maintaining good posture is also beneficial for your back and hips.

2. Hold the pen or pencil properly. The way that you grip your pencil is a big impact on writing speed. When writing, make sure that your hand is in a comfortable position and doesn’t cramp or get fatigued as you write. If it does, consider switching the way that you’re holding the pencil or pen to improve your writing speed.

  • Rotating the paper in a different way may also feel more comfortable for you.

3. Use a pen or pencil that doesn’t require you to press down hard. If you have to press down hard as you write, you will write slower. Find a pen that isn’t so thin that it’s hard to grip, but that isn’t so thick that writing is uncomfortable. That is why I rather use pens than pencils.

4. Write more. Practice every day to improve the speed and the appearance of your handwriting. The more that you do it, the quicker and neater your handwriting will become.

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A New Year a New Life

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It is now 2019 which is the starting of a new year and a new life for everyone and tomorrow I’ll be going right to school. And it’s very scary for me because I have no idea what an American School looks like, and I hope my school will go well for me.

But let’s think about the moments that we had in the last year. Leave the bad vibes and only think about the great moments that all of us had.

Alright! Have a nice day and once I settle down in school, I will make more posts.

Peace,

Dan

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Thailand to America… A long Journey

I’ve finally got a new home in the USA and North Calorina is a great place to live! Flying from Thailand to America was a very long and tiring journey. My family still haven’t sold our house and so half of the family’s money is over there. And we’re living poor here, but it’s still fun.

We had to fly from my city to Bangkok. Then Bangkok to Hongkong, and Hongkong to Washington D.C. This whole journey took around a week to be in North Calorina. Also, I hate jetlag haha!

Enjoy these photos!

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I can’t do Chemistry Experiments anymore

Ah, the good old days and my craze for science experiments. It was a fun time but I’m starting to lose motivation and I also don’t want to waste money. Since I’m moving to the U.S.A., I had to sell all of my supplies to someone else and if I move there, I’ll need to buy all of my supplies again. I cannot do this hobby because I’m just bored of it.

You might be asking: “Dan, then what are going to post on this blog?”

I’ll be posting about other hobbies and blogging about myself.

Anyways, right now I’m still trying to get to U.S.A and I’ll get back “the WordPress grind.”

Ciao and see you later!

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My old blog header

My best science posts:

1. Does mercury conduct electricity

2. Turning a coin to silver and gold simple redox reaction

3. How to make basic copper carbonate

4. Pouring super glue into borax

Thank you for reading my chemistry posts. It was a fun experience.

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I’m moving to the United States in one week…

Hi guys.

I’m sorry that I left this blog for too long and the reason why I didn’t make any posts is because nothing interesting is happening in my life in these couple months.

Nothing much really happened in these months. I grew up a little and I just have a couple of friends on the internet.

And in one week I’ll be moving into the United States and I still haven’t sold my house yet (I do not understand why I can’t sell my house, I think it’s a beautiful house and the price is cheap). And now I’m scared that my family doesn’t have enough money to live in the United States.

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But, I’ll be back to make more posts soon.

I hope you guys are doing fine.

And see you later!

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Inconsistency…

Im-Back-e1447780576866Hey guys, I’m back.

I’m sorry for not posting anything for a while

I didn’t have any time to blog because of problems that I had and many other things.

Since my school has changed its time and added more study time, I had to be at school for 9 hours. Yes, 9 hours for the whole of September. And I told them I wasn’t learning anything and I didn’t have many friends, so they decided to take me out of there. And since my father doesn’t have time to teach me, now I have 5 months of free time (Yay)! I really like to blog but I just didn’t have time.

I also have a surprise for you guys in my next post.

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Protecting Iron Nails from Rust

Protecting Iron Nails from Rust

Rust is an iron oxide, a usually red oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture. Several forms of rust are distinguishable both visually and by spectroscopy, and form under different circumstances.

Given sufficient time, oxygen, and water, any iron mass will eventually convert entirely to rust and disintegrate. Surface rust is flaky and friable, and it provides no protection to the underlying iron, unlike the formation of patina on copper surfaces. Rusting is the common term for corrosion of iron and its alloys, such as steel. Many other metals undergo similar corrosion, but the resulting oxides are not commonly called rust.

Rust is another name for iron oxide, which occurs when iron or an alloy that contains iron, like steel, is exposed to oxygen and moisture for a long period of time. Over time, the oxygen combines with the metal at an atomic level, forming a new compound called an oxide and weakening the bonds of the metal itself. Although some people refer to rust generally as “oxidation”, that term is much more general; although rust forms when iron undergoes oxidation, not all oxidation forms rust. Only iron or alloys that contain iron can rust, but other metals can corrode in similar ways.

The main catalyst for the rusting process is water. Iron or steel structures might appear to be solid, but water molecules can penetrate the microscopic pits and cracks in any exposed metal. The hydrogen atoms present in water molecules can combine with other elements to form acids, which will eventually cause more metal to be exposed. If chloride ions are present, as is the case with saltwater, the corrosion is likely to occur more quickly. Meanwhile, the oxygen atoms combine with metallic atoms to form the destructive oxide compound. As the atoms combine, they weaken the metal, making the structure brittle and crumbly.

So here are the iron nails that I’m going to be using for the experiment.

One nail is covered in glue, the other is covered in WD-40 (if you don’t know what that is: it’s a penetrating oil and water-displacing spray). And the last one is covered in aluminum foil.

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And I put them in cups of water and waited for 24 hours.

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22 Hours Later: 

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I was really suprised that everyone one of them worked. The nail that was covered in Aluminum foil was completly dry. As you could see I used the method of stopping the water to touch the iron and it worked so well.

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Dropping Paper and Copper into Acids

Dropping Paper and Copper into Acids

I was really curious about what would happen if you drop some paper and a weak metal (Copper) into strong acids. I only have 2 acids so that’s all I could do.

Hydrochloric acid:

Paper (A4 70 Grams) :

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The paper started to fizz.

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And after that, it ended and nothing happened. But the paper is mushy and soft.

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Copper:

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Nothing happened with the copper. So I waited for one hour, but still, nothing happened.

Nitric Acid:

Paper:

The same thing happened with the Hydrochloric acid…

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Copper:

The piece of copper dissolved very quickly and created this fumes which I think is called nitrogen dioxide (because of the orange vapor). And after that, there was only a green solution left in the beaker.

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I think the Hydrochloric acid is less stronger than the Nitric Acid.

Thanks for reading.

I’m sorry that this was a short post.

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Homeschooling vs. Public School

Homeschooling vs. Public School

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Homeschooling or Public School? I’m really curious which one is better so I’ve done my own research and compare my opinions.

But first, before we begin, I’ll tell you about my history in my school life:

From kindergarten to grade forth, I’ve gone to private school but I’ve never gone to a public school before. And after that horrible school that the teacher gives answers (cheats) on tests, I decided that homeschooling will be the best way. But I lasted only for 4 years because I started to feel lonely. And I decided I will stay in traditional schools forever.

Let’s start comparing:

My opinions:

1. Homeschooling:

It’ll be nice to get away from the distractions (bullies, social media, unsuitable content for kids) and everything is so much easier because you’re at home. No late classes, you can eat anything you want, take many breaks. And the best thing is: you don’t have to pay anything (not for the books, obviously).

But your student will start to get lonely (like me) and will soon to have problems in the future about getting in/along with people.

But that won’t always happen. If your student has neighborhood friends, brothers/sisters, or classmates, your student will be fine. It’s just if you don’t have any friends.

They are still more negative opinions but they’re not as bad as the first one.

2. Public/Private School:

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There’s no difference between these two schools, and they’re pretty much the same.

It’s nice to have friends and be able to practice to live without your parents for a while. But what happens if your kid gets bullied and gets to see unsuitable content? (Note: both of these things will happen, and they happened to me already.)

From researching:

Pros & cons from Homeschooling:

  1. Children have a flexible schedule and are not restricted to the place and time where and when they must study. It allows developing child’s gifts by dedicating more time to enrichment activities.
  2. Such learners obtain real-world experience as they communicate with people working in different fields, of different age, and with different backgrounds. They can be involved in clubs, volunteer organizations, religious communities or try their entrepreneurial skills.
  3. Studying takes place at the learner’s own pace and there is no exhausting homework. On average, homeschool students show 30 points better results than their traditional school peers.
  4. Homeschool kids appear to be more mature in comparison to the school children of the same age. A higher level of discipline and self-organization. Total freedom allows managing time better.
  5. Better family relationships are guaranteed because children spend more time with their family members, communicate and discuss any problems with them. Consequently, relatives become closer to kids and understand them better.
  1. Lack of socializing with peers.
  2. Critical thinking is developed not so well.
  3. Additional money on materials is required.
  4. Being misunderstood by other members of society.
  5. Such kids have fewer friends.

Pros and cons from Private/Public School:

  1. Traditional timetable guarantees that a child will get acquainted with all school subjects beginning with their basics.
  2. The school program is organized in such a way that students get all the necessary skills to be able to live in the modern world analyzing the behavior of heroes and avoiding their own pitfalls.
  3. Children learn to cope with difficulties faced at school themselves, without the assistance of their parents and that prepares them for an adult life.
  4. Teachers offer a variety of learning methods and approaches that will meet the requirements of every child.
  5. Moreover, they have a decent person to take an example of. Public schools are affordable for all kids and parents.
  1. Customary routine does not always allow taking up activities a child would like to.
  2. No motivation to develop.
  3. All the students are placed in the equal positions so more gifted and talented kids have to wait for those who follow behind.
  4. Children are passive listeners and their participation is minimal. Parents are not usually involved in the educational process.
  5. Students make efforts to receive better grades rather than obtain new important knowledge or skills.blog.noplag.com

Conclusion:

I will stick to public/private school for the rest of my life. Since my father is too old to teach me and my mother can’t, and I don’t want to have problems in the future about getting in/along with people.

But I’d say both of the choices are good.

There might be many things I’ve missed, but that’s all I’ve got. If I miss anything, can tell me in the comments.

That’s it! And that’s all I know.

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End of the week #3 (My exam results)

 

Alright so my midterm exam results finally came out, and I didn’t do so well.

Here are three reasons why didn’t do well: First, I wasn’t paying attention (I didn’t put effort into getting good grades). Second, I past the 8th grade many times already, and the grades are better than this. And lastly, the test is in a language I’m not comfortable with.

My parents were upset that I got these grades, but I wasn’t sad. Because I didn’t try my best (but they won’t listen to me). Anyway, let’s see the grades:

Math: D 40% (It was in Thai)

Science: C 67.5% (It was also in Thai)

Computer: D 56.67%

History: C 62.5%

Thai language: F 22.5% (There’s nothing I can do)

P.E. B 80%

English Grammar: A 95.5% (Easy)

Social Studies: C 75%

And there they are.

Plus, nothing really happened this week, except for the grades.

I would of gotten better grades if I was paying attention.

Thanks for reading.

 

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Here are some tips to past a Test at school

Here are some tips to past a Test at school

Well, it’s back to school, which means it’s back to tests 😦 Which also might mean it’s back to being stressed out.

Exam

I have already done my midterm exam. If you don’t know what a midterm exam is, it’s an exam given near the middle of an academic grading term, or near the middle of any given quarter or semester.

If you want to pass tests, then try these tips that I always use:

1. Do your homework: Always try to complete all of your assignments, essays, and homework. I just realized that homework was important because the teachers warn the students to finish all of their homework. So try your best to do your homework and you’ll definitely get extra points.

2. Schedule your study time: Trying to fill in all of your studying the night before a test is impossible because you won’t be able to master all of the material, and it also makes you tired on the day of the test. Instead, prepare for a test by scheduling your study time each day for several days before. Trust me, the step is pretty important.

I usually study a day before and a little bit before the test day, and I spend the whole day resting.

3. Use your time wisely: Before studying, clear your desk of electronics and your phone so you don’t get distracted. When hitting the books,  be sure to take a few breaks (not too much though).

4. Form a Study group: Studying with a parent or friends can help you better understand the material and learn from one another. But you have to keep the group small, the larger the group, the more confusion, the more distractions.

I never had a study group before.  I only had a partner, which was pretty good. Many of my classmates recommend this step because it works many times.

5.  Get ready: Sharpen your pencils, grab your pens, and get your bag ready the night before the test. Get a good sleep and eat your healthy breakfast. Now your mind and body is prepared.

You must get your rest. It very important. I didn’t get enough sleep many times and I’m not able to think. So sleeping is very important.

Now you’re ready! Good luck!

Answer sheet

Now, The Test: 

1. Answer the easiest questions first, then the hard ones.

2. Read the instructions and the questions carefully (you might miss something).

3. Guess if you have to (if you’re really stumped).

4. If you start to feel stressed, remember to breathe deeply and relax.

I hoped this will help the students out there and good luck!

 

 

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End of the week #2

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Hey guys,

Nothing really happened this week. But I did took the midterm exam in the school, and I think I did pretty well. I don’t know when I’m going to see my result, but I’m sure it’s going to be soon. I didn’t have time to make any posts because the test interrupted me.

The English grammar and science were easy. The math was a little difficult because the questions were in Thai and I don’t quite understand them. The rest of the subjects were way difficult (because they were in Thai).

And that’s pretty much it.

Actually, school isn’t bad as I thought, because some people are still talking to me. But school is still pretty boring because I don’t like the activities.

That’s all for now and I’ll see you guys later!

 

 

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End of the week #1

Calender - Copy

Hey guys!

I’ll be making new posts that will be called “end of the week” every Sunday. And the posts are going to be about what I’ve learned in the week, and what will happen next week. So it’s basically like a diary.

Alright, let’s begin:

About my school, I hate it. No friends, boring activities, 9 hours of studying every day.

Studying isn’t the issue here, it’s about time. It’s really difficult to survive when you have no friends. I do not know why no one wants to talk to me. But anyway, I have to deal with that myself.

Two days ago, my father told me that my mom’s visa to move to America (we’re trying to move to America) will be coming in November and I must finish eighth grade in my school that I hate…

I will get horrible grades since I’m not good at the Thai subjects.

So I have to stay in that school for another long long time.

“Ugh, 5 days per week of nothing to do. Just thinking of it makes me don’t want to go to school.”

About this blog is good news: I’ll make 5 posts on Saturday and Sunday, then I’ll post on the weekdays.

So that’s pretty much it. And the school is really annoying–that’s my conclusion.

The end…..

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Mercury Compared to Water

Mercury Compared to Water

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This is going to be a short post because I’ll be comparing Mercury to Water. I’ll be trying to find out why mercury is 14 times denser than water:

I poured all of my mercury into a petri dish and I have 22.70 grams of it. So I added the same weight of water into a petri dish and weighed it.

Mercury
Water

And after that, I pour the mercury and water into beakers to measure them.

Mercury 1.6 ml
Water 22 ml

There are 1.6 ml of mercury and 22 ml of water. That explains why mercury is 14 times denser than water (22 ÷ 1.6 = 13.75 ≈ 14).

Here are some more comparisons:

 Mercury  Water
Color  Metalic Silver  Clear/Transparent
Density  13.534 g/cm3  1 g/cm3
Conductivity  High  Medium
Toxicity  High  None

 

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Pouring Super Glue into Borax 1

Pouring Super Glue into Borax 1

Everyone has heard about slime from school glue.

But I was thinking what would happen if you use superglue instead of just regular school glue.

Glue has long flexible molecules in it called polymers. These polymer molecules slide past each other as a liquid.

Borax in water forms an ion called the borate ion. When the borax solution is added to the glue solution, the borate ions help link the long polymer molecules to each other so they cannot move and flow as easily.

When enough polymer molecules get hooked together in the right way, the glue solution changes from being very liquidy to a rubbery kind of stuff that we call slime.

I was thinking what would happen if you replace superglue instead of just regular school glue.

So here I have a 2% borax solution by adding 2 grams of borax into 200ml of water:

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Now I’ll put one drop of superglue into the borax, just to see what happens.

The drop of super glue has turned into jelly. Now let’s add more:

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The same thing happened. Then I decided to take it out with forceps:

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The superglue instantly dries when it touches the air.

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After that, I decided to put a teaspoon of borax into the solution and poured more superglue.

It dried up in the solution fast. I took the chunk of superglue out to inspect it. The superglue felt like hard foam. I pinched it with my hand, there are still some superglue that hasn’t dried inside since the borax can’t touch it.

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That’s it! I think the experiment was too quick, and a little sloppy so I’ll try this experiment again and I’ll do a better one sometime later.

Also, I’m going to write a scientific report after every and each chemistry experiment. But this one is a little too short so I’m not going to write anything.

And that’s all for now!

Sources:

 

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I’m going to make more posts

Hello Everyone!

Today I’ll tell you the reason why I went away for a long, long, long time. Here’s what happened:

I’ve finally went to school and I never had time to do any more experiments and posts.

I learned so many things in these months.

Everything was going well, but then one I felt terrible. I felt really lonely and I’m not able to get along with people So my parents decided for me to go to school, but I said no because I thought I won’t have friends. I felt worse every day, so I went to a physiatrist and he said to go to public/private school or do some activities. I’ve finally went to school because I feel so lonely (and everybody said so).

I was really scared on the first day of school since I haven’t gone to a private school for a long long time (3 years). My class has 22 girls, 11 boys, and a nice teacher. This teacher was the best teacher I’ve ever seen (ever!). She always helps me when I need help (about friends, not studying), and she always moves the students’ places around the room.

Another positive thing is that I get to get on stage in front of everyone since my grammer is very good.

After those few weeks, things are much better now. But there are still some sad moments though… So that’s my school story.

The End.

Hope you learned more about me, and I’m sorry for leaving this blog for too long

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How to make Rochelle Salt (Potassium Sodium Tartrate)

How to make Rochelle Salt (Potassium Sodium Tartrate)

Rochelle Salt (Potassium Sodium Tartrate) a crystalline solid having a large piezoelectric effect (electric charge induced on its surfaces by mechanical deformation due to pressure, twisting, or bending), making it useful in sensitive acoustical and vibrational devices. In 1824, Sir David Brewster demonstrated piezoelectric effects using Rochelle salts, which led to him naming the effect pyroelectricity.

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Materials + Methods:

Materials + Methods that I used:

  • 2 50ml beakers
  • alcohol lamp and stand
  • Glass stir rod
  • Funnel
  • Filter paper or coffee filter
  • 5 g Potassium bitartrate (also known as cream of tartar)
  • Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda)
  1. Fill the 50 ml beaker 5 ml with water. Add 5 grams of potassium bitartrate one at a time, and stir.
  2. Using the alcohol lamp, heat just until it boils, stirring constantly.
  3. Remove the beaker from heat and turn off the lamp.
  4. Add heaping scoops of sodium carbonate, stirring in between. The solution will fizz. Repeat until no more bubbles form upon addition of sodium carbonate and the solution is clear.
  5. With a hot pad and an adult’s help, pour the hot solution into the 250 ml beaker. Use a filter-paper-lined funnel. This step takes some time. If the solution begins to cool and crystals form and clog the filter paper, simply reheat the solution and pour again.
  6. Place it in the refrigerator, uncovered. Within a few hours, crystalline Rochelle salt (potassium sodium tartrate) will have begun to form. Leave it overnight.
  7. The next day, carefully pour off the remaining solution and use a spatula to transfer the Rochelle salt onto filter paper to dry so you can examine it.

Original Method:

  1. Fill the 600 ml beaker to the first line (~25 ml) with water. Add 10 heaping scoops of potassium bitartrate one at a time, and stir.
  2. Using the alcohol lamp, heat just until it boils, stirring constantly.
  3. Use a hot pad and adult’s help to remove the beaker from heat and turn off the lamp.
  4. Add heaping scoops of sodium carbonate, stirring in between. The solution will fizz. Repeat until no more bubbles form upon addition of sodium carbonate and the solution is clear.
  5. With a hot pad and an adult’s help, pour the hot solution into the 250 ml beaker. Use a filter-paper-lined funnel. This step takes some time. If the solution begins to cool and crystals form and clog the filter paper, simply reheat the solution and pour again.
  6. Place it in the refrigerator, uncovered. Within a few hours, crystalline Rochelle salt (potassium sodium tartrate) will have begun to form. Leave it overnight.
  7. The next day, carefully pour off the remaining solution and use a spatula to transfer the Rochelle salt onto filter paper to dry so you can examine it.

Results:

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The salt white, but if you want to make the crystal, it’ll a lot harder. My solution is not water clear, I still have impurities, it also may appear a little strange since it has a higher refractive index and is light polarizing. To purify further: simply grow the crystals again with another salt solution. I agree with myself that this experiment is hard.

Sources:

Methods: https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-make-rochelle-salt-science-project/

https://www.britannica.com/science/Rochelle-salt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_sodium_tartrate

https://mistralhowto.wordpress.com/tag/uses-for-rochelle-salt/

Methods: http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Rochelle-Salt/

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How to Calculate Molar Mass

How to Calculate Molar Mass

Moles are a unit of measurement of chemicals. A mole is the atomic weight of a molecule of the chemical in grams and it is used very commonly in chemistry, so I’m going to show you how to calculate molar mass.

You can find the molar mass right on the periodic table. On the table, there is the element symbol, the atomic number, and the molar mass.

PeriodicTable-56a128ab5f9b58b7d0bc938c

Here I’ve got some elements:

 

Nitrogen’s molar mass is 14.0067 g/mol, for oxygen, it’s 15.9994 g/mol, and for silver, it’s 107.8682 g/mol.

The first method of finding the molar mass is to look right on the table (just like I did).

The second method is to add up the masses of each atom (.Add up the masses of the atoms that form the compound) I’ll show how with the chemical silver nitrate.

AgNO3

One Silver molecule: 107.8682 + one Nitrogen molecule 14.0067 + and three molecules of Oxygen: (15.9994 x 3)

107.8682 + 14.0067 + (15.9994 x 3) = 169.8731

AgNO3 = 169.87 g/mol

Let’s try another one:

NaOH

One Sodium molecule: 22.989769 + One Oxygen: 15.9994 + and one Hydrogen: 1.00794

22.989769 + 15.9994 + 1.00794 = 39.997 g/mol

NaOH = 39.997 g/mol

H2SO4

Two Hydrogens: (2 x 1.00794) + One Sulfur: 32.07 + Four Oxygens: (4 x 16.00)

(2 x 1.00794) + 32.07 + (4 x 15.9994) = 98.079 g/mol

H2SO4 = 98.079 g/mol

 

I hope you understand, leave a comment if you have any questions or if there are any mistakes ↓

 

Sources:

http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/propulsion/3-what-is-a-mol.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9NkYSKJifs

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I’m Back!!

It’s already turning to December, but I didn’t do anything! (I was gone for a month).

But now I’m back to make more posts!

Nothing much happened in this month, I really don’t have much time for my blog left since I go to the gym. My dad gave me twice of school work because the gym is in the morning and I’m tired in the afternoon (too tired to study). So I need to give more work to myself on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But don’t worry, I went nonstop studying in the middle of nights and now I have less work.

Anyways, I’ll be making more posts soon.

Bye for now!

 

 

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How to make Basic Copper Carbonate

How to make Basic Copper Carbonate

Sometimes, I’m missing a couple of chemicals. The way to fix that problem is simply ordering them online, but I need it right now. So I decided to make my own chemicals by following procedures from the internet. For the first one, I’m going to be making basic copper carbonate (CuCo3).

First, I added about 85 grams of copper sulfate to a flask (I didn’t know why I put 86 g).

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After that, I added 240 ml of distilled water and tried to dissolve all of the copper sulfate. And then, I put 30 grams of sodium carbonate into 60 ml of distilled water and did the same.

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Next, I poured the sodium carbonate solution into the copper sulfate solution slowly and carefully. There were lots of fizzing and bubbles. What’s happening is: CuSO4 (Copper Sulfate) + Na2Co3 (Sodium Carbonate) + H2O → CuCO3 (Copper Carbonate) + Na2SO4 (Sodium Sulfate) + CO2

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I added all of the sodium carbonate, and waited for one night to make the copper carbonate settle to the bottom.

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After that, I filtered all of the copper carbonate out and let it sit for 2 days (to dry it).

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All of the copper carbonate is dried.

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I’m actually impressed. I put it in a bottle and labeled it.

Well, I would have to thank the person in that video. The color and the texture of the chemical seems to be correct. I can use this chemical!

I hoped you enjoyed. Any suggestions? Feel free to comment down below ↓

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Revealing Fingerprints With Silver Nitrate

Revealing Fingerprints With Silver Nitrate

Another Method from the same chemistry book.

Weigh 0.3 grams of AgNO3.

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And pour it into 10ml of distilled water.

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I sprayed it and I shone it with an LED lamp (a UV lamp is better).

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Now I got this:

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I didn’t know why it was a line like that, but it worked.

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I didn’t find any other fingerprints and the fingerprint that I have is hard to see.

Well, this experiment is considered as a fail. I rather use the iodine fuming method that I used the last time. The silver nitrate reacts to the salt on the fingerprint and produces silver chloride, just like on the skin.

 

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How to Reveal Fingerprints With Iodine Crystals

How to Reveal Fingerprints With Iodine Crystals

Fingerprints on glass, metal, and other surfaces can be revealed by dusting them with powder. I tried it twice already but it was very hard, so I found this method in my chemistry book.

Position the paper in the beaker like this:

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And put a gram of iodine crystals, that should be enough. It was already reacting and making stains. But It stopped, so I turned on the heat. About 10 seconds, vapors are forming quickly. (Becareful, if you wash your hands before touching paper, it’ll not work. Sweaty hands will work. Soap removes all of the oils and salts on the fingers.)

I love the vapors, it looks so beautiful.

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Here’s the paper:

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I’m actually quite surprised that it worked so well! Definitely better than using powder.

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It so clear that you could see it! But I had another idea. What would happen if I sprayed a little bit of cornstarch? Starch will turn iodine into an intense “blue-black” color (iodine-starch reaction). So I added a gram of cornstarch into 20 ml of water and put it in a spray bottle.

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It works, but I didn’t spray more because the prints are already clear 🙂

How it works? Very simple. Iodine fuming was the first method to reveal fingerprints on surfaces. As the iodine is heating, purple vapors start to form. The iodine condenses to a solid and sticks fast to oils present in fingerprints, and of course, it reveals the fingerprints.

I hoped you enjoyed. This is now one of my favorite experiments.

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Making a Mercury Switch

Making a Mercury Switch

Remember that experiment about mercury? I tried to show you that mercury can conduct electricity. And it did. I studied it a little bit more and I found this:

A Simple (Tilt) Mercury Switch:

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It’s similar to the one we did the last time. Instead of tilting it around, what if you suck the mercury in and out. Isn’t that better? I’ll try to build one just for fun.

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I made a hole in a little container (what don’t know what to call it) and put a syringe in there. Then, I poked holes in the bottom and glued 2 wires in, and poured the mercury in.

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Mercury sucked:

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Works pretty nicely. I hoped you enjoyed!

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Making Naphthalene Crystals

Making Naphthalene Crystals

I realized that time passes so fast, it was about a week since I made a new post. I feel like it has been for only 3 days. Anyways, let’s get started with the post.

I’ll try to make Naphthalene crystals. Naphthalene is a white crystalline solid with a characteristic odor. It’s melting point is about 80°C. If you leave it to expose air, it’ll change into a gas.

My Naphthalene:

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I put about 7 balls of Naphthalene into a 600 ml beaker, and I put a flask with cold water on top of it.

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The Naphthalene is vaporizing quickly. The vapors will get in contact with the cold water in the flask and turn back into a solid.

Crystals are also forming in the beaker, because it’s touching the cold air outside, just like what’s happening in the flask.

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All of the Naphthalene has changed into liquid, it was boiling a little too fast so I stopped the heat.

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The crystals are so fragile so I used a trash bag to make the crystals fall onto it.

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Here are the crystals. They look like fern leaves and snowflakes! But I wish the crystals were chunks, not thin like this. I looked in the internet for pictures of Naphthalene crystals, and they’re just like mine. The reason that it’s yellow is because the light is just reflecting it.

Here’s the beaker:

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I hoped you enjoyed the post, if you did, drop a like down below ↓

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Cleaning My Laboratory Sink

Cleaning My Laboratory Sink

I think today is the time to clean my sink. I can’t have a dirty sink; If I have one, I’m going to turn into a sloppy chemist. Being clean and neat in life brings success to you (that just means being clean is good).

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Here’s my dirty sink, tons of stains in there.

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Before I had this sink, I had to use the kitchen sink. My mom didn’t like the chemicals contaminating the kitchen, so my dad bought this sink for me. My dad almost bought a bathroom sink (the white ones), but they’re expensive so he bought this for me. If I had a bathroom sink, I won’t make this post (because I’m embarrassed).

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This is a mess…

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I don’t know why I’m posting this though…

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After a little bit of scrubbing, the sink is good as new. There’re still some stains but I can’t clean them. The way that home chemists dispose their chemicals is to wash it down with a lot of water. But the most important thing is the sink is clean.

“A clean room, a clean mind” – Danupon Drake

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Turning a Coin to Silver and Gold (Simple Redox Reaction)

Turning a Coin to Silver and Gold (Simple Redox Reaction)

combine

This simple experiment will make you understand the redox reaction. This is one of my favorite experiments so I decided to make a post about it.

Things you’ll need: a copper coin (a penny, basically), zinc powder, sodium hydroxide (more than 50%), alcohol lamp, forceps, and a beaker.

  1. Pour Sodium Hydroxide into a beaker and pour some zinc dust in it, enough to cover the coin.IMG_20140101_092241
  2. Put the coin the beaker and wait for a couple hours, I’ll be using my country’s copper coin.

     

  3. Take the coin out with forceps and wash it with water, now you have a silver coin.IMG_20140101_094157
  4. If you want to continue, do the following steps: Make sure the coin is dry. Heat it up with an alcohol lamp until it’s yellow.IMG_20140101_094250
  5. Enjoy.IMG_20140101_094758

An oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction is a type of chemical reaction that involves a transfer of electrons between two chemicals. A redox reaction is any chemical reaction in which the oxidation number of a molecule, ion, or atom changes by losing or gaining an electron. For example, like this experiment, the zinc transferred its ions to the copper; that’s how the coin turned silver, and that’s why this is a redox reaction. What about turning it to gold? The color of silver and copper are just mixing together when heated and that makes the gold color.

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Do Water Vapors Effect the Mass of Copper (II) Sulfate?

Do Water Vapors Effect the Mass of Copper (II) Sulfate?

The pentahydrate form, which is blue, is heated, turning the copper sulfate into the anhydrous form which is white, while the water that was present in the pentahydrate form evaporates. I wanted to know if water vapors affect the mass of copper sulfate.

Things you’ll need: crucible, balance, Copper (II) Sulphate, spoon, alcohol lamp, and stand.

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  1. Weigh the crucible and tare it. After that, put 5 grams of copper (II) sulfate into the crucible. My crucible weighs 50.41 grams as shown on the bottom.IMG_20140101_133307IMG_20140101_133513
  2. Warm it up until it turns whiteIMG_20140101_134156
  3. Let everything cool off and weigh the crucible.

I had an error during this experiment… The balance’s batteries are out… So I had to take the copper sulfate out and reweigh the crucible. One of my epic fails…

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Crucible: 50.41 grams

Copper (II) Sulfate: 5.00 grams

Anhydrous Salt: 3.43 grams

Mass loss: 1.57 grams

I pour in some water to get to the original mass, and it appears that I poured in about 1 and a half ml of water.

Hope you enjoyed, if you did, drop a like down below ↓

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Does Mercury Conduct Electricity?

Does Mercury Conduct Electricity?

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I bought this from my science shop yesterday so that I could perform more experiments.

Why is it a liquid?

The reason for mercury being a liquid is complex. It is heavy; a chunk of iron can float on mercury. Compared to other metals, it does not conduct heat well. However, it conducts electricity fairly well.

Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at normal temperatures and pressure. What makes mercury so special? Basically, it’s because mercury is bad at sharing… electrons, that is.

Most metal atoms readily share valence electrons with other atoms. The electrons in a mercury atom are bound more tightly than usual to the nucleus. In fact, the s electrons are moving so fast and close to the nucleus they exhibit relativistic effects, behaving as if they were more massive than slower-moving electrons.

Why does it conduct electricity?

Mercury is a liquid metal. As with all metals, the outer electrons are detached from the nuclei and form a kind of “sea of electrons” in which the rest of the atoms sit. A small electrical force, in other words a voltage, placed across any two points in this sea will make the electrons move, and that constitutes a current and makes a metal electrically conducting.

I wanted to see that mercury can conduct electricity. I opened mercury bottle, it has an inner closure, I’m not going to take it out because we need it.

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I’m going to put pins in it.

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I will flip the bottle and the mercury will be in contact with the pins and the circuit will turn on.

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It works nicely!

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This chemical will go into my favorite chemical list!

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-mercury-conduct-electricity-so-well

https://www.thoughtco.com/why-is-mercury-a-liquid-608454

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Copper Plating: Part #1

Copper Plating: Part #1

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I’ve never used a copper stick in one of my experiments, I found out that I’m good at plating, which is what we’re going to be doing in this post. You probably wondering why my copper is a green, it’s because of chemical reactions with the elements. Just as iron that is left unprotected in the open air will corrode and form a flaky orange-red outer layer.

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First, warm up some distilled water, which is what I’m doing above. Heated up until about 45°C. Don’t go too hot with the water because it’ll accelerate the plating and form crystals, which is what we don’t want.

To be honest, I’m not actually following any instructions though, so I’m not sure if this is going to work.

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Mix the distilled water with scoops of copper sulphate, I don’t know how much to put in there, so I put about… 100 grams I guess.

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What I’m going to be plating is this iron nail. I connect the nail to (-) and the copper to (+). What’s happening now is simple: the copper ions (+) is charging to the metal. Copper (which are positively charged) are attracted to the negatively charged iron electrode and slowly deposit on it—producing a thin layer of copper plate. The electrolyte just helps ions to move around.

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I shook the nail around because the copper will only go to one side.

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Now the nail is all covered in copper but…..

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The copper is falling off, easily…

I tried with a stick that metal and some aluminum mixed in it. But it still falls off.

The common problem is the electrolyte, as said above it accelerates the plating and makes crystals, but the water is about 35°C. Or the other problem is too much copper sulfate…

Can you tell me what the problem is? If you know, comment down below↓

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Warm Chemistry

Warm Chemistry

After that long break, I would like to do a very simple experiment to start. This one is pretty common, most people probably know this experiment, but no one realized that there was more to it.

Things you’ll need: Yeast, hydrogen peroxide, a beaker, and a thermometer.

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  1. Pour 200 ml of hydrogen peroxide into a beaker.IMG_20140101_070545
  2. Insert the thermometer and look at the temperature.IMG_20140101_070613
  3. Add some yeast, not too little, stir it into the hydrogen peroxide.IMG_20140101_070705
  4. Keep waiting, the temperature will be high.IMG_20140101_070056

My temperature is about 63°C. That’s very hot. You saw the temperature change. The energy in the chemicals was converted to heat energy by the chemical change. You must know the yeast + H2O2 reaction, so I’m not going to explain it. This is also another way to create the elephant’s toothpaste demonstration.

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Thanks for taking your time to look at this post 🙂

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What is Silica Gel?

What is Silica Gel?

Silica gel is a granular, vitreous, porous form of silicon dioxide made synthetically from sodium silicate. Silica gel contains a nano-porous silica micro-structure, suspended inside a liquid. Most applications of silica gel require it to be dried, in which case it is called silica xerogel. For practical purposes, silica gel is often interchangeable with silica xerogel. Silica xerogel is tough and hard; it is more solid than common household gels like gelatin or agar. It is a naturally occurring mineral that is purified and processed into either granular or beaded form. As a desiccant, it has an average pore size of 2.4 nanometers and has a strong affinity for water molecules.

This is how it looks like (I got this one from a medicine bottle):20170831_141218

Silica gel is most commonly encountered in everyday life as beads in a small (typically 2 x 3 cm) paper packet. In this form, it is used as a desiccant to control local humidity to avoid spoilage or degradation of some goods. Because silica gel can have added chemical indicators and absorbs moisture very well, silica gel packets usually bear warnings for the user not to eat the contents.

Because Silica gel is non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-reactive and stable with ordinary usage. It will react with hydrogen fluoride, fluorine, oxygen difluoride, chlorine trifluoride, strong acids, strong bases, and oxidizers. Silica gel is irritating to the respiratory tract and may cause irritation of the digestive tract, and dust from the beads may cause irritation to the skin and eyes, so precautions should be taken.

Silica gel’s high specific surface area (around 800 m2/g) allows it to absorb water readily, making it useful as a desiccant (drying agent). Silica gel is often described as “absorbing” moisture, which may be appropriate when the gel’s microscopic structure is ignored, as in silica gel packs or other products.

An aqueous solution of sodium silicate is acidified to produce a gelatinous precipitate that is washed, then dehydrated to produce colorless silica gel. When a visible indication of the moisture content of the silica gel is required, ammonium tetrachlorocobaltate(II) (NH4)2CoCl4 or cobalt chloride CoCl2 is added. This will cause the gel to be blue when dry and pink when hydrated. An alternative indicator is methyl violet which is orange when dry and green when hydrated. Due to the connection between cancer and cobalt chloride, it has been forbidden in Europe on silica gel.

Once saturated with water, the gel can be regenerated by heating it to 120 °C (250 °F) for 1–2 hours. Some types of silica gel will “pop” when exposed to enough water. This is caused by breakage of the silica spheres when contacting the water.

Now let’s play with it.20170831_141919

I got these from two packets, that’s why there’s so many.

I put about 5 ml of water into this little graduated cylinder. After that, I poured the gel in there and wait for a couple minutes.

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Time to measure the water.

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Look at that, the water went down about 1.4 ml. It actually absorbs water. I wish I could weigh the gel though.

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Did you learn anything? If you did, drop a like below ↓

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel

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4 Science Books you Should Buy

4 Science Books you Should Buy

Want to be an expert in doing science experiments? Want to study science? Then these are the science books you should take a look at. I use these books a lot and they’re very very helpful. So let’s get started.

4. Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture

Want to be an expert in using a microscope? Then this one is for you! It’s mostly about microscopes, but there’re some other things in there.20170829_13590520170829_13591420170829_135934

PDF: http://www.thehomescientist.com/manuals/Illustrated_Guide_to_Home_Biology_Experiments.pdf

3. The Annotated Build-It-Yourself Science Laboratory: Build Over 200 Pieces of Science Equipment! (Make)

Want to start a home laboratory from scratch? Wanna make DIY science equipment?Then this one is for you. Build every science equipment! Build: a carbon arc furnace, cloud chamber, mechanical stroboscope, microtome, and so many others! This book was originally published in 1963!! It’s awesome, believe me!20170829_13562520170829_13565620170829_141919

Don’t want to buy the book? Download the PDF: http://www.ebook777.com/make-annotated-build-science-laboratory/

2. Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (DIY Science)

Want to be an expert in using chemistry equipment? Trust me you’ll turn into an expert after you read the whole book! This book has: a guide on setting up a home laboratory, experiments you can try, and scientific principles.

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PDF: https://zookeepersblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/illustrated-guide-to-home-chemistry-experiments.pdf

1. The Science Book: Everything You Need to Know About the World and How It Works

This is the best. You don’t the internet to find something if you have this book.

This book has everything you need to know, about the world, about everything! If you knew everything in the book, you’re a genius. There is so much to learn in the book. It has everything about science. It’ll take me forever to learn everything in this book! Trust me, if you want to know about the world, then this is for you.

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You need this: https://fy45g7645f5uggu45.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/the-science-book-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-world-and-how-it-works.pdf

Hope you enjoyed the post and Do you think these books are good? Let me know in the comments↓↓

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Rehydrating Copper (II) Sulfate

Rehydrating Copper (II) Sulfate

Someone gave me an idea and I want to do it:

Screenshot (80)

See what he said? Let’s follow him.

The last time we used test tubes and destroyed all of them! So I’m going to use a beaker.

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I put the copper sulfate in it and going to burn it.

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It’s white now. I’ll drop water on it.

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It worked!

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I’m guessing that it works like this: I took the water molucles out by evaporating the water, now I have this white dust without water in there, and when I added the water, it turned back to blue (it’s like adding the water molucles back to it). This is why I love chemistry. It’s so awesome!

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Melting #4: Testing the Liquid

Melting #4: Testing the Liquid

In the last time: I extracted water from Copper (II) Sulfate, and I would like to test it. What I would like to know is: can we drink it. Let’s find out.

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The liquid

I didn’t use a rubber stopper to close the test tube because the new test tubes didn’t fit it. At least, I can close it with a tissue.

 

The first thing that I always do when I test liquids is to check the PH.

A better tool for this task is a PH meter, but I don’t have one. So I have to use the old-fashioned litmus paper.

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The left piece of paper is the liquid that we’re testing now and the right is drinking water from bottles (not tap water). And on the top is a chart of what the litmus paper is indicating. Looks like the liquid is acidic and the drinking water is about in the middle.

It smelled like plastic when I smelled the liquid, I’m guessing it’s because the rubber tube that I used is heated and the plastic smell comes out.

After that, I thought about PH indicators. I used Phenolphthalein, Bromothymol blue, and Methyl orange. Phenolphthalein is colorless from 0 PH to 8.3 PH, Bromothymol blue will be yellow from 1 to 6 PH, and Methyl orange is red from 1 to 3.1 PH.

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Well, I guess you can’t drink it. I thought that I could manufacture water from it.

Thought it will work but I guess the only place you could obtain water is from nature 🙂

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Melting #3: Liquid from Copper (II) Sulfate

Melting #3: Liquid from Copper (II) Sulfate

Well, the last time, we tried to melt copper (II) sulfate, and it didn’t work at all. But there’s this water vapor from it:20170808_164631

What I wanted to do today, is to extract the water out of it and test it. It loses two water molecules when heating at 63 °C (145 °F), two more at 109 °C (228 °F), and the final water molecule at 200 °C (392 °F). What are we waiting for? Let’s get started!

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OK, I’ve setup this apparatus to extract the liquid. On the top left is the copper sulfate in a test tube. I’m going to heat it up and water vapor will go into the plastic tube and go into the test tube.

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Turned on the heat and we just need to wait.

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Yay! it’s working!

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There is so much water coming in!

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I turned off the heat because most of the water is extracted, I’m going to put some more in there.

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I added a new load of copper sulfate to get more liquid, but… the test tube….

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I added some cold water in the beaker on the test tube that’s receiving the liquid because I think that using a cold temperature will turn the water vapor into drops of water before the water vapor escapes from the test tube.Water vapor turns into liquid droplets when cooled. That is called condensation, it’s the opposite of evaporation. Let’s see if this works.

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All right, finished. I think the second method works better. And the best thing is: we got some liquid! I’m going to make a separate post about testing this liquid.

But… the test tube… It’s gone…

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R.I.P

It’s sad to see death…

Good bye.. Last test tube…

Don’t worry, I’ll buy new ones 😃

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I Found the Answer

I Found the Answer

Finally, I found what this is:

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I cracked one of the tiny stones and the inside was black:

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I guess the color has been covered by some other minerals or the color on the outside has been changed from weathering. Remember, the color of magnetite is always black.

Also, I did the streak test. The “streak test” is a method used to determine the color of a mineral in powdered form. The color of a mineral’s powder is often a very important for identifying the mineral. The streak test is done by scraping a specimen of the mineral across a piece of unglazed porcelain known as a streak plate. I don’t have a streak plate so I used a scalpel to scratch it and the dust is black. The color of the dust must be black as well.

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Today, magnetite is mined as iron, that means I can claim that this is iron.

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Well, another mineral is added to my collection. Just a couple more to go and this collection will be finished.

 

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How to get rid of flies in your house

From Indianes Kitchen.

Go visit the link on the bottom of this post. It will tell you how.

Don’t you hate that time of the year when the Fruit Flies invade your kitchen? Landing on your food is disgusting! It seems like they are everywhere and you can’t get rid of them! You won’t get rid of them completely unless you throw out your ripe produce or put the ripe produce in the […]

Visit the full post here:

Fruit Fly Solution — In Dianes Kitchen

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What Happened to the Sulfur Coin? (Sulfur science and can the coin melt again?)

What Happened to the Sulfur Coin? (Sulfur science and can the coin melt again?)

The coin:

Now, what happened to that coin? It was 10 days since I made it, and I wanted to show you what happened. Here’s the coin:20170815_174126

The coin has turned white and it came apart into a couple pieces… I guess it’s useless now, but I was wondering, can I melt it again? Let’s try it.

Can we melt it again:

Yes! Look at this:

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It’s melting just fine. It started melting in ten seconds (very quick). I’m guessing you could melt it as many times as you want just like the other metals.

Sulfur Science:

Why does yellow sulfur turn black when heated?

The internal structure of sulfur changes under heating. From stable at room temperature crystalline form of yellow color it turns into its plastic form, which has no specific internal structure. This changes the color of the substance: initially yellow sulfur becomes red-brown, and then black.

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When heated above 119oC sulfur crystals melt and form a reddish-orange liquid, also consisting of S8 molecules. At temperatures even higher the sulfur ring molecules break, forming “strings” of atoms linked with one another. Exactly the occurrence of linear molecules makes molten sulfur black. These “strings” can bond their free ends to each other, forming very long molecules. As a result, the liquid sulfur thickens due to the “clumsiness” of large molecules. They can be compared to threads: the greater their length, the easier they get tangled with each other. If the black viscous liquid is heated to 187oC, it will become maximally dense (plastic sulfur). At temperatures higher yet still, the bonds in long molecules are destroyed once again, and the mass becomes thinner. Maximally runny black sulfur becomes at 400oC, and boils at 445oC.

Why does the coin change its color over time?

A substance always aims to take its most stable form. Black plastic sulfur is not stable under normal conditions. Therefore, it gradually changes its internal structure, crystallizes and turns into yellow rhombic sulfur.

The black figurine is made of very long molecules of sulfur Sn. Such an internal structure of the substance is stable only at high temperature. It can be temporarily stabilized only by quick cooling. At room temperature, long molecules gradually “break”, and their fragments form ring molecules S8. The latter form crystals of rhombic sulfur, which is the only allotropic modification of sulfur, stable at room temperature. In addition to color change, changes in other physical properties also occur. The figurine becomes fragile and eventually shatters. This process cannot be prevented, but it is very interesting to watch.

The coin turned yellow and crumbled in a couple days

Well, nothing is actually wrong here. Sulfur crystallization is a complicated process. The time it takes is mostly determined by the temperatures the substance was subjected to initially.“

Source:

https://melscience.com/en/experiments/sulfur-melt/

 

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Melting #2: Copper (II) Sulfate (Didn’t Work)

Melting #2: Copper (II) Sulfate (Didn’t Work)

The last time we melted sulfur, and it was really fun (except for cleaning the test tube). Now let’s melt something else, what about Copper Sulfate?

Copper (II) sulfate is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula CuSO4. Older names for this compound include blue vitriol, bluestone, vitriol of copper, and Roman vitriol. The pentahydrate (CuSO4·5H2O), the most commonly encountered salt, is bright blue.

Melting Point: 110 °C (230 °F)

Sulfur’s melting point is 5 °C higher (which means they’ll melt about the same time).

It looks impossible to melt it because the sulfur is more (soft) like a powder, but this one is tiny crystals. Let’s give it a try anyway.

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Light the lamp!

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OK, it’s heating it up nicely.

A couple minutes later:

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The copper sulfate is turning whiter, but still, all of it still remains solid.

But look. There’s water vapor in there. That’s weird, maybe there’s too much heat? But the sulfate didn’t melt yet.

10 minutes later:

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The sulfur melted already at this time. But the sulfate still remains a solid and it’s just turning whiter.

20 minutes later:

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This is taking forever! It’s not melting. Did I do something wrong?

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It’s 115 °C already, and the temperature can go further.

I guess it won’t melt anymore so I turned off the heat.

Wow! this experiment is a fail. I wonder why it has water vapors? Why is it turning white? When is it actually going to turn to liquid?

Any ideas why it didn’t melt? Feel free to comment down below ↓

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Melting #1: Sulfur (Making a Sulfur Coin)

Melting #1: Sulfur (Making a Sulfur Coin)

I’m going to be melting sulfur…

Sulfur is a chemical element with symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent, and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow crystalline solid at room temperature.

Sulfur Melting Point: 115 °C ( 239.38 °F)

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Yay! the sulfur is melting!

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It took about 10 minutes to melt the sulfur. Now time to pour it into the mold!

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OK, the sulfur hardened. Time to take it out the mold. I used a hammer to take it out.

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No! that’s the ugly side. The better side is this:

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I used a hammer to take it out

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Wow, I’m actually impressed. You’re probably wondering why the sulfur is brown. Just wait a couple days and the coin will turn yellow. But once it turned yellow, it has a chance to crumble in a month. Because sulfur crystallization is a complicated process. The time it takes is mostly determined by the temperatures the substance was subjected to initially. I’ll be making another post to show you how the color changed.

Hope you enjoyed the experiment if you did, drop a like on the bottom ↓

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur

https://melscience.com/en/experiments/sulfur-melt/

 

 

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Playing With Black Light

Playing With Black Light

I was just looking around the internet for some cool stuff, and I found something that catches my eye. I found black light.

A blacklight (or often black light), also referred to as a UV-A light, Wood’s lamp, or simply ultraviolet light, is a lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and not much visible light.

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Black light fluorescent tubes. The violet glow of a black light is not the UV light itself, which is not visible to the human eye, but visible light that escapes being filtered out by the filter material in the glass envelope.

 

One type of lamp has a violet filter material, either on the bulb or in a separate glass filter in the lamp housing, which blocks most visible light and allows through UV, so the lamp has a dim violet glow when operating. Blacklight lamps which have this filter have a lighting industry designation that includes the letters “BLB”. This stands for “blacklight blue”, which is a contradiction in that they are the type that does not look blue.

A second type of lamp produces ultraviolet but does not have the filter material, so it produces more visible light and has a blue color when operating. These tubes are made for use in “bug zapper” insect traps, and are identified by the industry designation “BL”.

But I don’t have a blacklight. So I made my own from the internet (man! I can’t live without the internet). 20170804_15213520170804_152200

 

Let’s test it by using highlighters.

It worked!

But I found this: Wikipedia says: “Scorpions are also known to glow a vibrant blue-green when exposed to certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light such as that produced by a black light, due to the presence of fluorescent chemicals in the cuticle. One fluorescent component is now known to be beta-carboline. A hand-held UV lamp has long been a standard tool for nocturnal field surveys of these animals. Fluorescence occurs as a result of sclerotisation and increases in intensity with each successive instar. This fluorescence may have an active role in scorpion light detection.”

And I have one! Let’s try it.20170804_152439

I collected this on November 2016. It’s about 12 cm which is quite small.

I wish I have another one to show you how I pinned it.20170804_152505

Nope, it didn’t work. Maybe because the scorpion is dead or I need to use a real black light.

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The next thing I wanted to do is to put the highlighter’s ink in water and I would like to compare it with water.

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Let’s do it!20170804_192513

It didn’t work well like I thought but at least it’s glowing nicely. Let’s compare it with the water.20170804_192518

Plain water looks nice too.

Hope you enjoyed this if you did, drop a like on the bottom ↓ 😀

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklight

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion

 

 

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(DIY) How to make Ring + Stands for Test Tubes and Funnels

(DIY) How to make Ring + Stands for Test Tubes and Funnels

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I need a test tube ring and stand for this experiment, but I don’t have one. The chemical shop doesn’t have it either. I went to my laptop and looked at my online science supplier, but it’s too expensive. Then there’s only one way… Do it yourself! This is my idea. So in post, I’m going to show you step-by-step how to make ring stands for test tubes and funnels. Let’s get started!

Things you’ll need: Strong wire, a candle, lighter, scissors, forceps, and electrical tape.

 

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Some things are not in this photo.

 

1. Planning:

Of course, the first step of a project is planning. The whole stand was made by me (I designed it by myself). In this step, you just need to design your own stand.

If you want to have the exact same stand that I have, just follow the picture below.

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2. Making the base:

Make a circle with the wire and make sure to leave an end on both sides (one long one short). 20170802_173609

3. Making the circle:

Wrap the end of the circle around the longer end. Now try to stand it up, and make some changes to balance it.

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5. Making the ring:

Use the long end to make a ring. This depends on what you want to hold, and make sure it’s balanced by putting some weight on it.

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6. Wrapping the tape:

Electrical is just like rubber. You need to make the stand “not slipping around the table”. So put tape on the base and the ring. It looks messy but you’ll fix later.20170802_175812

7. Burning:

Melt the tape with a candle onto the metal. This will make the tape look cleaner and stronger.

 

8. Squeezing the tape:

While the tape is still soft, squeeze it with forceps. This will make the tape stick onto the metal.

9. Cleaning up the tape:

Use scissors to cut the excess off the tape. Mine is messy but if you put more effort into it, I’m sure that it’ll neater.20170802_180722

Finished. Test it and make sure nothing falls off the ring. Unfortunately, my wire is too short so I decided to make it a funnel holder.

This is one method of making a test tube or funnel holder, but I’m sure there’s more floating around.

Did you like my method? Feel free to comment down below ↓

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I Figured out why the Coins look Different

I Figured out why the Coins look Different

Remember the coin experiment that I performed lately?

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When I washed the coins, they looked different.

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But why?

I finally figured out the answer.

Copper metal is oxidized by the Ag1+ to Cu2+ and the Ag1+ ions are reduced by the copper metal to silver metal.

But do you remember what the coins are made of?

Penny: The alloy remained 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the composition was changed to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copper-plated zinc) until now. Cents of both compositions appeared in that year.

50 Satang (Thai baht): The core is 99% iron and cladding is 99% Copper.

10 Yen (Japanese Yen): 95% copper, 3–4% zinc, and 1–2% tin.

The Penny turned yellow-orange because the zinc was mixed with copper.

The Thai coin turned darker because of the iron.

The Japanese coin turned yellow because of the zinc and tin. Tin is light yellow and zinc is gray.

I hope you enjoyed that experiment, if you did, comment down below ↓

Sources:

www.chem.indiana.edu/faculty…/5-5%20Silver%20Tree%20Redox%20Reaction.doc
More sources at: The Silver Coin

 

 

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Is this Iron or Magnetite?

Is this Iron or Magnetite?

Today I wanted to identify this brown dust. I found the dust by me. I accidentally dropped a magnet on the ground and the dust sticks to the magnet. So I collected it to perform some experiments with it. So in this post, I’m going to identify this dust. Let’s perform some tests.

This dust could be two things:

Magnetite: Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores. It is one of the oxides of iron. Magnetite is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. It is the most magnetic of all the naturally-occurring minerals on Earth. Naturally-magnetized pieces of magnetite, called lodestone, will attract small pieces of iron, which is how ancient peoples first discovered the property of magnetism.

Magnetite is very easy to identify. It is one of just a few minerals that are attracted to a common magnet. It is a black, opaque, sub metallic to a metallic mineral with a Mohs hardness between 5 and 6.5. It is often found in the form of isometric crystals.

But magnetite is brown and my dust is brown…

Iron: Elemental iron occurs in meteoroids and other low oxygen environments, but is reactive to oxygen and water. Fresh iron surfaces appear lustrous silvery-gray but oxidize in normal air to give hydrated iron oxides, commonly known as rust.

My dust is brown, so it be iron.

The dust has tiny chunks of stone in there too.

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1. Magnet Test:

I used a rare earth magnet to see if it attracts. Of course, that’s how I found it. This could mean that it’s iron or magnetite.

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2. Iron Test:

I poured the Dust onto a Petri dish. And I mixed a chain of paper clips in there. And it turns out that tiny pieces of the dust are on the paper clips. This probably means that the dust is magnetite.

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I tried to make the tiny stones stick onto the paper clips but didn’t work.

3. Reacting to Magnet Test:

When I used the forceps to carry a piece of tiny stone onto a piece of paper, some of the dust is sticking onto the stone! 20170731_203351

Let’s ignore that for now.

I wrapped a magnet in a plastic bag, in case the dust sticks on it (you wouldn’t be able to take the dust of the magnet. If you take off the plastic bag, the dust will come off).

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I took the north pole of the magnet and hover it over the small stone. The dust on the stone is attracting to the magnet, but some of them don’t. When I used the south pole of the magnet, the dust that isn’t attracting to the north pole is attracting to the south pole.

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After all of these tests, I think the dust is tiny pieces of magnetite. But I’m not sure, because magnetite is black. My final answer is: I don’t know… Scientists shouldn’t publish the results when they’re not sure. And that’s why my answer is I don’t know.

I’ll need to do some more tests with it to make sure…

What do you think it is? Let me know in the comment section↓

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetite

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=how+to+identify+magnetite&rlz=1C1CHBD_enTH751TH751&oq=how+&aqs=chrome.1.69i59l3j69i57j69i60l2.3385j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=what+color+is+iron&rlz=1C1CHBD_enTH751TH751&oq=what+color+is+iron&aqs=chrome..69i57.8591j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

 

 

 

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The Silver Coin

The Silver Coin

What about this experiment? Remember the silver tree? That was a great experiment. Go over there and check it out (here: https://danupondrake.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/the-silver-tree/). The silver nitrate will stick to the copper coil and make crystals. But instead of copper coils, why don’t we try copper coins? It will be fun to try! Let’s get started then!

Let’s some coins from different countries.

Penny (19 mm diameter): The alloy remained 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the composition was changed to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copper-plated zinc) until now. Cents of both compositions appeared in that year.20170731_141057.jpg

50 Satang (Thai baht) (18 mm diameter): The core is 99% iron and cladding is 99% Copper.20170731_141106

10 Yen (Japanese Yen) (23.5 mm diameter): 95% copper, 3–4% zinc, and 1–2% tin.20170731_141232.jpg

To hang the coins in the beaker, I used paper clips to hold the coins…

…And tie rubber bands at each paper clips.20170731_143925 - Copy

I made the solution for the experiment and dipped the coins in there…

Now I just have to wait.

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30 Minutes later:

 

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The coins are just turning blacker. So I took the coins out and cleaned them.20170731_15315320170731_153124

The coins look different. The penny turn yellow-orange, the Satang turned darker, and the Yen turned yellow.

But I wonder why…

Maybe bec

Hope you enjoyed this post, if you did, tell me in the comment section ↓

Sources:

www.livescience.com/32401-whats-a-penny-made-of.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty-satang_coin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_yen

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How to Look at Pond Water With a Microscope

How to Look at Pond Water With a Microscope

After the microscope slide series, I wanted real specimens from nature like pond water, which is what I’m doing today, and I have a pond in my backyard. I did this several times, it will be easy, so let’s get started.

Things you’ll need: Pond water, a jar, forceps eye dropper, microscope slides, cover slips, paper, and a microscope with 40x-100x magnification.20170726_163820

  1. Collect the water using the jar. I found 2 tadpoles and 1 mosquito larva in my collected water.20170726_163959
  2. Use the eye dropper to collect a small amount of the water from the jar.
  3. Place the microscope slide that you’re using on to a piece of paper
  4. Release one drop of the water onto the microscope slide from the eye dropper. 20170726_164218
  5. Use forceps to carry the cover slip, then use it to cover the slide.  This will spread the water out into a thin layer over the slide.
  6. Place the prepared slide into the microscope. Then, activate the microscope’s light.

I looked at the water under the microscope but I don’t see anything interesting. The only thing I see: dirt, string, and dots.

So I’m not going to look at the water. I wanted to see the organisms I collected.

I sucked the mosquito larva into the eyedropper.

Mosquito Larva:

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I dropped the mosquito larva onto the slide. But I’m not going to put the cover slip on.20170726_164747

Yay! I can see it!

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Tail (40x)
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40x

Look at it! Compare it to the one from the previous posts:

Tail (from the pond)

I wonder what will happen if I put the cover slip on.

And it appears that I crushed it…20170726_165643

Let’s look at the tadpole:

Tadpole:20170726_165748

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40x
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Tail (40x)

 

I put the cover slip on, and the tadpole crushed.

I released the left over tadpole back into the pond :D.

Do you like microscopes? Tell me in the comment section↓

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The Agar Test and Bacteria Culture

The Agar Test

I completely forgot about this exciting experiment. I did this experiment 2 years ago, but I don’t know what to call it. I will call it… The bacteria experiment. This experiment is to let you culture (grow) bacteria. But I’m not going to do that experiment today. I wanted to check my agar.

Agar is a jelly-like substance, obtained from algae. Agar is derived from the polysaccharide agarose, which forms the supporting structure in the cell walls of certain species of algae, and which is released on boiling.

Simply, agar is the bacterias’ food. Let’s look at it.20170707_190853

I used half of it. I store it in my refrigerator and hid it deep in there so nobody can see it. If my mom sees that, it will be in the garbage bin because she doesn’t like chemicals to be with food. Anyway, I’m going to check it to make sure that it works properly. Wait, what’s this?20170707_190901

Expires on September 10th 2015?

…

This would not work. But I hid it so well though 😂.

And store it at 2-8°C (36-46°F)? My ‘fridge is only 10°C.

This can’t work. But you know, it may work.

It’s still frozen, so I’m going to boil the whole bottle if I remember 2 years ago. I need to clean everything, even the container that it’s going to be boiled in. I don’t want it to be contaminated.

To do the test you’ll need:

Things you’ll need: 2 petri dishes, beaker, alcohol lamp, agar, gloves, towels, and Q-tips.

Warning: Make sure everything is clean.

  1. Boil the whole bottle of agar in the beaker. The agar will turn into liquid.20170708_092615
  2. Pour the agar into the petri dishes; half way.20170708_102827
  3. Use a Q-tip to collect bacteria. Rub it on dirty things (I used a shoe).
  4. Rub the Q-tip that is dirty on to one petri dish. Leave the other one alone.20170708_103632
  5. Place it in a dark place, cover it with half way a petri dish lid, and wait for 2-3 days.

If the dirty petri dish has dots on it and the other one doesn’t, your agar is fine.

If the dirty petri dish has nothing on it, the agar is bad.

But it looks like that it’s fine.20170709_182657.jpg

The clean one is one the left and the dirty is on the right.20170709_182703.jpg

The result is: my agar is fine.

 

 

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Golden Rain

 Golden Rain

The silver tree was beautiful, now let’s perform a golden experiment.  This experiment kind of failed and pass. What I mean is that the experiment failed, and it was a success, you know what I mean. So don’t trust my steps, but be sure to follow the video at the end of this post.

This experiment is hard. Even I fail. So you shouldn’t handle this unless you’re an experienced chemist.

Things you’ll need: potassium iodide, lead (II) ni-  (wait, why am I posting this even it’s a fail? Ok then, I’ll show you what I did).

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This is when I took the flask from the alcohol burner. Yup, it looks like a disaster. This doesn’t even look like the video! Well to the next photo.20170702_114426

Yay! it worked! You could see the shiny particles coming down to the bottom. Success and fail. It looked really nice, I like this experiment.20170702_114538

Yes, Gold, Au everywhere!20170702_115440

This is when I filtered it out. Looks like golden paint.20170702_115434

A closer look.20170702_115622

This is the water that is filtered out. It still has some golden particles in it.

Well, after all of these photos I would say that it’s a success. Follow the video to do it:

 

Golden rain demonstration is made by combining two colorless solutions, potassium iodide solution and Lead(II) nitrate solution at room temperature to form yellow precipitate. During the chemical reaction, golden particles gently drop from the top of erlenmeyer flask to bottom, similar to watching the rain through a window. The golden rain chemical reaction demonstrates the formation of a solid precipitate. The golden rain experiment involves two soluble ionic compounds, potassium iodide (KI) and lead(II) nitrate (Pb(NO3)2), as formular : Pb(NO3)2 + 2KI → 2KNO3 + PbI2. They are initially dissolved in separate water solutions, which are each colorless. When mixed, a the lead from one solution and the iodide from the other combine to form lead(II) iodide (PbI2), which is insoluble at low temperature and has a golden bright yellow color. At higher temperature, this substance easily re-dissolves by dissociation to its colorless ions. To explain, a double displacement reaction occur when potassium iodide and lead(II) nitrate mixing together causing metals changing their position in both two compounds forming lead (II) iodide and potassium nitrate. Lead iodide is strong insoluble in water at room temperature causing yellow precipitate of lead iodide.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rain_demonstration

Posted on

Burglar Door Alarm

Burglar Door Alarm

The last time I did an alarm that’s under a mat and it received a lot of likes. The link for that is here: How to Make a Burglar Alarm Mat. So today I have another alarm to make, and it involves a door. Make sure to follow the pictures and have fun.

Things you’ll need: String, a bottle cap, 9V battery, a small box, 3 alligator wires, speaker with sound or a piezo buzzer, a paper clip, and tape.

  1. Cut a hole outside of the box.20170701_150211
  2. Cut a piece of plastic from a bottle cap.20170701_150741
  3.  Put tape on one “tong” of an alligator clip and leave the other alone as shown in the picture.20170701_151111
  4. Build a circuit in the box as shown below. Make sure the speaker is working and the alligator clip with tape needs to be next to the hole.20170701_151321
  5. Attach a string to the piece plastic from the bottle cap. Then, put the piece of plastic between the alligator clip and make the string go through the hole.
  6. Make sure you see the circuit from the hole and the string cannot be blocked or tight.
  7. Now the alarm is done. When you pull the string the speaker will be activated.
  8. The door needs to pull the string, so find a place that the door knob moves away from the alarm.20170701_151847
  9. Tape or place the box in the right position.20170701_152559
  10. Tie the string to the door knob.20170701_152701.jpg
  11. Now your alarm is ready. When someone opens the door, the door knob will pull the string, the wire will be connected to the paperclip, and the speaker will be activated.

The reason I put tape on only on “tong” of the alligator clip is because the speaker will be activated when it has the piece of plastic between the first tong. The tape and plastic is an insulator. An electrical insulator is a material whose internal electric charges do not flow freely; very little electric current will flow through it under the influence of an electric field. This contrasts with other materials, semiconductors and conductors, which conduct electric current more easily. The property that distinguishes an insulator is its resistivity; insulators have higher resistivity than semiconductors or conductors.

When the door knob pulls the plastic with the string, the metal will touch and the speaker will be activated.

 

 

 

Posted on

Color Change Chemistry 3

Color Change Chemistry 3

On the second and first experiments, I used chemicals. But this time, I’m going to use grapes. Grapes contain a pigment molecule called flavin (an anthocyanin). This water-soluble pigment is also found in apple skin, plums, poppies, cornflowers, and red cabbage.

Things you’ll need: Black grapes, alcohol lamp, beaker, water, test tubes, test tube holder, vinegar, borax, a funnel, and a pipet.

  1. Put grapes into the beaker and fill it with water until it’s above the grapes.20170628_145426
  2. Set the alcohol lamp (you can use a stove instead of the lamp and a pot instead of a beaker).20170628_150103
  3. Wait until the water boils, then turn off the heat and let it cool.20170628_151232
  4. Use the funnel to take the grapes out.20170628_155310
  5. Pour vinegar into the first test tube. Pour water in the second. And pour water + borax into the third. Now we have acid to base.
  6. Drop 2-3 drops of the grape juice into the test tubes (if nothing happens keep adding the grape juice).20170628_155425

Very acidic solutions will turn anthocyanin a red color. Neutral solutions result in a clear color. Basic solutions appear in greenish-yellow. Therefore, it is possible to determine the pH of a solution based on the color it turns the anthocyanin pigments in grape juice.

Extra steps:

7. Pour the first and the third test tube together.

8. You will have the same colors.20170628_155534

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Is Albert Einstein’s Brain Different From us?

 Is Albert Einstein’s Brain Different From us?

Today; I’m taking it to the next level (well, maybe only in this post). I’m going to do a long long post today and it’s about someone’s brain, you already saw the title so I don’t have to tell you again. But this is going to be a long one, that means if you don’t like reading you won’t like this… Anyway, I tried to make this shorter but I love reading so I really can’t make this shorter, every word is important. Enjoy the show!

Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). Einstein’s work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Einstein is best known by the general public for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has been dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”). He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect”, a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory.

So my question is: is Albert Einstein’s brain different from us?

Simple answer: YES!

Skip this to Diffences

The brain of physicist Albert Einstein has been a subject of much research and speculation. Einstein’s brain was removed within seven and a half hours of his death. The brain has attracted attention because of Einstein’s reputation as one of the foremost geniuses of the 20th century, and apparent regularities or irregularities in the brain have been used to support various ideas about correlations in neuroanatomy with general or mathematical intelligence. Scientific studies have suggested that regions involved in speech and language are smaller, while regions involved with numerical and spatial processing are larger. Other studies have suggested an increased number of glial cells in Einstein’s brain.

Einstein’s autopsy was conducted in a lab at Princeton Hospital by pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey shortly after Einstein’s death in 1955. Harvey removed and weighed the brain at 1230g. Harvey then took the brain to a lab at the University of Pennsylvania where he dissected Einstein’s brain into several pieces; some of the pieces he kept to himself while others were given to leading pathologists. He claimed he hoped that cytoarchitectonics would reveal useful information.Einstein_brain_-_T.Harvey Harvey injected 50% formalin through the internal carotid arteries and afterward suspended the intact brain in 10% formalin. Harvey photographed the brain from many angles. He then dissected it into about 240 blocks (each about 1 cm3) and encased the segments in a plastic-like material called collodion.Harvey also removed Einstein’s eyes, and gave them to Henry Abrams, Einstein’s ophthalmologist.

Whether or not Einstein’s brain was preserved with his prior consent is a matter of dispute. Ronald Clark’s 1979 biography of Einstein states, “he had insisted that his brain should be used for research and that he be cremated”, but more recent research has suggested that this may not be true and that the brain was removed and preserved without the permission of either Einstein or his close relatives. Hans Albert Einstein, the physicist’s elder son, endorsed the removal after the event, but insisted that his father’s brain should be used only for research to be published in scientific journals of high standing.

In 1978, Einstein’s brain was rediscovered in Harvey’s possession by journalist Steven Levy. Its sections had been preserved in alcohol in two large mason jars within a cider box for over 20 years. In 2010, Harvey’s heirs transferred all of his holdings constituting the remains of Einstein’s brain to the National Museum of Health and Medicine, including 14 photographs of the whole brain (which is now in fragments) never before revealed to the public.

More recently, 46 small portions of Einstein’s brain were acquired by the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia. In 2013, these thin slices, mounted on microscope slides, went on exhibit in the museum’s permanent galleries.

Differences:

Autopsy

Harvey had reported that Einstein had no parietal operculum in either hemisphere, but this finding has been disputed. Photographs of the brain show an enlarged Sylvian fissure. In 1999, further analysis by a team at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario revealed that his parietal operculum region in the inferior frontal gyrus in the frontal lobe of the brain was vacant. Also absent was part of a bordering region called the lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure). Researchers at McMaster University speculated that the vacancy may have enabled neurons in this part of his brain to communicate better. “This unusual brain anatomy…[missing part of the Sylvian fissure]… may explain why Einstein thought the way he did,” said Professor Sandra Witelson who led the research published in The Lancet. This study was based on photographs of the whole brain made at autopsy in 1955 by Harvey and not a direct examination of the brain. Einstein himself claimed that he thought visually rather than verbally. Professor Laurie Hall of Cambridge University, commenting on the study, said, “To say there is a definite link is one bridge too far, at the moment. So far, the case isn’t proven. But magnetic resonance and other new technologies are allowing us to start to probe those very questions.”brain

Glial cells

In the 1980s, University of California, Berkeley professor Marian Diamond received four sections of the cortical association regions of the superior prefrontal and inferior parietal lobes in the right and left hemispheres of Albert Einstein’s brain from Thomas Harvey. In 1984, Marian Diamond and her associates were the first ever to publish research on the brain of Albert Einstein. She compared the ratio of glial cells in Einstein’s brain with that of the preserved brains of 11 other males. (Glial cells provide support and nutrition in the brain, form myelin, and participate in signal transmission, and are the other integral component of the brain, besides the neurons.) Dr. Diamond’s laboratory made thin sections of Einstein’s brain, each 6 micrometers thick. They then used a microscope to count the cells. Einstein’s brain had more glial cells relative to neurons in all areas studied, but only in the left inferior parietal area was the difference statistically significant. This area is part of the association cortex, regions of the brain responsible for incorporating and synthesizing information from multiple other brain regions. A stimulating environment can increase the proportion of glial cells and the high ratio could possibly result from Einstein’s life studying stimulating scientific problems. The limitation that Diamond admits in her study is that she had only one Einstein to compare with 11 brains of normal intelligence individuals. S. S. Kantha of the Osaka Bioscience Institute criticized Diamond’s study, as did Terence Hines of Pace University. Other issues related to Diamond’s study point out glial cells continue dividing as a person ages and although Einstein’s brain was 76, it was compared to brains that averaged 64 in age (eleven male brains, 47-80 years of age). Diamond in her landmark study “On the Brain of a Scientist: Albert Einstein” noted that the 11 male individuals whose brains were used in her control base had died from nonneurologically related diseases. She also noted that “Chronological age is not necessarily a useful indicator in measuring biological systems. Environmental factors also play a strong role in modifying the conditions of the organism. One major problem in dealing with human specimens is that they do not come from controlled environments.” Additionally, there is little information regarding the samples of brains that Einstein’s brain was compared against such as IQ score, or other relevant factors. Diamond also admitted that research disproving the study was omitted. His brain is now at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia and two of the 140 sections are on loan at the British Museum.

Scientists are currently interested in the possibility that physical differences in brain structure could determine different abilities. One part of the operculum called Broca’s area plays an important role in speech production. To compensate, the inferior parietal lobe was 15 percent wider than normal. The inferior parietal region is responsible for mathematical thought, visuospatial cognition, and imagery of movement.

Hippocampus

Dr. Dahlia Zaidel of the University of California, Los Angeles, examined two slices of Albert Einstein’s brain containing the hippocampus in 2001. The hippocampus is a subcortical brain structure that plays an important role in learning and memory. The neurons on the left side of the hippocampus were found to be significantly larger than those on the right, and when compared with normal brain slices of the same area in ordinary people, there was only minimal, inconsistent asymmetry in this area. “The larger neurons in the left hippocampus, Zaidel noted, imply that Einstein’s left brain may have had stronger nerve cell connections between the hippocampus and another part of the brain called the neocortex than his right. The neocortex is where detailed, logical, analytical and innovative thinking takes place, Zaidel noted in a prepared statement.” 

Stronger connection between brain hemispheres

A study published in the journal Brain in September 2013 analyzed Einstein’s corpus callosum – a large bundle of fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication in the brain – using a novel technique that allowed for a higher resolution measurement of the fiber thickness. Einstein’s corpus callosum was compared to two sample groups: 15 brains of elderly people and 52 brains from people aged 26. Einstein was 26 in 1905, his Annus Mirabilis (Miracle Year). The findings show that Einstein had more extensive connections between certain parts of his cerebral hemispheres compared to both younger and older control group brains.

Soures:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein%27s_brain

 

 

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Separating Salt out of Water

Separating Salt out of Water

Salt (NaCl) is a natural mineral made up of white cube-shaped crystals composed of two elements, sodium, and chlorine. It is translucent, colorless, odorless (officially, though we think you can smell the freshness of the sea in one of our boxes) and has a distinctive and characteristic taste. Salt occurs naturally in many parts of the world in mineral form and has been mined for thousands of years. Chemically, sea salt is the same.

Gastronomically, it’s very different. I’m going to show you how salt can be separated out of water.

Things you’ll need: a beaker, water, salt (ocean water would be better), and an alcohol lamp.20170627_143414

  1. Mix 50 ml water with 19 grams of salt together, stir the solution until dissolve.
  2. Light the alcohol lamp and place the beaker on the stand.20170627_143509
  3. Wait until the water is all gone (don’t let the salt be in there for too long, or it will burn)

Here’s my salt. It’s fluffy and soft like snow when I touched it.20170627_191307

I wish I could weigh it and see the difference from where I started.

Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns, salt works or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested. The ponds also provide a productive resting and feeding ground for many species of waterbirds, which may include endangered species. The ponds are commonly separated by levees.

Natural salt pans are geological formations that are also created by water evaporating and leaving behind salts. Some salt evaporation ponds are only slightly modified from their natural version, such as the ponds on Great Inagua in the Bahamas, or the ponds in Jasiira, a few kilometres south of Mogadishu, where seawater is trapped and left to evaporate in the sun.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_evaporation_pond

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Elephant’s Toothpaste

Elephant’s toothpaste

Today I’m going to do this common experiment that is used in chemistry classes called the elephant’s toothpaste. Elephant’s toothpaste is a foamy substance caused by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. This is often used for classroom demonstrations because it requires only a small number of ingredients and makes a “volcano of foam”.

Things you’ll need: a plastic container (as shown on the picture), potassium iodide, food coloring, latex gloves, dishwasher soap, hydrogen peroxide 6%, and a graduated cylinder.

  1. Place the graduated cylinder in the middle of the plastic container (it will be very messy so prepare some paper towels).20170626_124640
  2. Wear the latex gloves and pour 50 ml of hydrogen peroxide into the graduated cylinder.
  3. Pour food coloring and dishwasher soap into the graduated cylinder.20170626_124849
  4. Put 2 grams of potassium iodide. The reaction will start.20170626_124945

This is a fun experiment. You could see the liquid just flows out nicely.20170626_124947

The reaction ended in about 30 seconds. Very fun for young kids.

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Concentrated (>30%) hydrogen peroxide is first mixed with liquid soap. Then a catalyst, often potassium iodide or catalase from baker’s yeast, is added to make the hydrogen peroxide decompose very quickly. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen and water. As a small amount of hydrogen peroxide generates a large volume of oxygen, the oxygen quickly pushes out of the container. The soapy water traps the oxygen, creating bubbles, and turns into foam. Often some food coloring is also added before the catalyst to spice up the experiment, and make it more colorful and fun.

This experiment shows the catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) decomposes into water and oxygen gas, but normally the reaction is too slow to be easily perceived or measured:

{\displaystyle {\ce {2H2O2->{2H2O}+O2{\uparrow }}}}

The iodide ion from potassium iodide acts as a catalyst—it speeds up the reaction without being consumed in the reaction process. The reaction is exothermic; the foam produced is hot. A glowing splint can be used to show that the gas produced is oxygen.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_toothpaste

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The Silver Tree

The Silver Tree

download

As said on my post (it finally came 2) the silver nitrate is only 10 grams and it’s about $20. 10 grams is a little amount and it is very expensive, so I hope I don’t make any mistakes. The classic silver tree demonstration! Very simple to set up and perform, it’s great to introduce kids to the world of chemistry.

Things you’ll need: copper wire, silver nitrate, a beaker, and distilled water.

  1. Pour 120 ml of distilled water into the beaker.20170624_111346
  2. Pour about 4 grams of silver nitrate into the beaker.20170624_112031
  3. Make a copper coil by wrapping copper wire around something round and taking it out. Put the copper coil into the beaker.20170625_102905

As you could see the reaction has started.

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0 minutes

The more silver nitrate you add, the quicker the reaction starts.

20170625_104052
15 minutes

 

Silver Crystals are covering the copper. It looks very pretty.

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30 minutes

 

Prettiest experiment I ever performed.

20170625_111503
50 minutes

This experiment is very easy to setup and very fun for kids.

20170625_112444.jpg
1 hour

You can keep going, but the more you wait, the more crystals will grow and turn blacker because when silver nitrate absorbs light, it will turn black. Now the silver nitrate is turning into silver metal.

Now I’m going to filter the silver metal out and see what comes out.20170625_115600

I got the silver metal. I put it in a bottle to preserve it.

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The silver nitrate is in solution and the metallic copper will dissolve to form copper nitrate; as it does so, the silver in solution will be precipitated out as metallic silver. That is, the silver in solution is exchanged for copper and the copper that is not in solution is substituted for silver. Hope this makes sense!

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Is Facebook Bad for you?

Is Facebook Bad for you?

A long time ago I wanted to know that: are video games bad for you? And I made a post about it. I got a final answer on that question on that. Video games are good and bad for you. You probably read that post already. If not Click here. I recommend you to play video games one hour per day. I only play 30 min per day and like video games like other kids do. But I still like science more than video games. Anyway, we’re not talking about video games now. I wanted to know: Is facebook bad for you? Again, video games are good and bad for you. So now I wanted to know that facebook is good or bad for you. To answer this question, I’ve got to do some research and know what facebook is.

Facebook is an American for-profit corporation and an online social media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, California. The Facebook website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.download

The founders had initially limited the website’s membership to Harvard students; however, later they expanded it to higher education institutions in the Boston area, the Ivy League schools, and Stanford University. Facebook gradually added support for students at various other universities, and eventually to high school students as well. Since 2006, anyone age 13 and older has been allowed to become a registered user of Facebook, though variations exist in the minimum age requirement, depending on applicable local laws. The Facebook name comes from the facebook directories often given to United States university students.

Facebook may be accessed by a large range of desktops, laptops, tablet computers, and smartphones over the Internet and mobile networks. After registering to use the site, users can create a user profile indicating their name, occupation, schools attended and so on. Users can add other users as “friends”, exchange messages, post status updates and digital photos, share digital videos and links, use various software applications (“apps”), and receive notifications when others update their profiles or make posts. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups organized by workplace, school, hobbies or other topics, and categorize their friends into lists such as “People From Work” or “Close Friends”. In groups, editors can pin posts to top. Additionally, users can complain about or block unpleasant people. Because of the large volume of data that users submit to the service, Facebook has come under scrutiny for its privacy policies. Facebook makes most of its revenue from advertisements which appear onscreen.

Bad things about facebook: 

  1. It can make you feel like your life isn’t as cool as everyone else’s. Social psychologist Leon Festinger observed that people are naturally inclined to engage in social comparison. To answer a question like “Am I doing better or worse than average?” you need to check out other people like you. Facebook is a quick, effortless way to engage in social comparison, but with even one glance through your News Feed you might see pictures of your friends enjoying a mouth-watering dinner at Chez Panisse, or perhaps winning the Professor of the Year award at Yale University. Indeed, a study by Chou and Edge (2012) found that chronic Facebook users tend to think that other people lead happier lives than their own, leading them to feel that life is less fair.
  2. It can lead you to envy your friends’ successes. Did cousin Annabelle announce a nice new promotion last month, a new car last week, and send a photo from her cruise vacation to Aruba this morning?  Not only can Facebook make you feel like you aren’t sharing in your friends’ happiness, but it can also make you feel envious of their happy lives. Buxmann and Krasnova (2013) have found that seeing others’ highlights on your News Feed can make you envious of friends’ travels, successes, and appearances. Additional findings suggest that the negative psychological impact of passively following others on Facebook is driven by the feelings of envy that stem from passively skimming your News Feed.
  3. It can lead to a sense of false consensus. Sit next to a friend while you each search for the same thing on Google. Eli Pariser, author of The Filter Bubble (2012), can promise you won’t see the same search results. Not only have your Internet searches grown more personalized, so have social networking sites. Facebook’s sorting function places posts higher in your News Feed if they’re from like-minded friends—which may distort your view of the world (Constine, 2012). This can lead you to believe that your favorite political candidate is a shoe-in for the upcoming election, even though many of your friends are saying otherwise…you just won’t hear them.
  4. It can keep you in touch with people you’d really rather forget.  Want to know what your ex is up to? You can…and that might not be a good thing.Facebook stalking has made it harder to let go of past relationships. Does she seem as miserable as I am? Is that ambiguous post directed at me? Has she started dating that guy from trivia night? These questions might better remain unanswered; indeed, Marshall (2012) found that Facebook users who reported visiting their former partner’s page experienced disrupted post-breakup emotional recovery and higher levels of distress. Even if you still run into your ex in daily life, the effects of online surveillance were significantly worse than those of offline contact.
  5. It can make you jealous of your current partner.  Facebook stalking doesn’t only apply to your ex.  Who is this Stacy LaRue, and why is she constantly “liking” my husband’s Facebook posts?   Krafsky and Krafsky, authors of Facebook and Your Marriage (2010), address many common concerns in relationships that stem from Facebook use. “Checking up on” your partner’s page can often lead to jealousy and even unwarranted suspicion, particularly if your husband’s exes frequently come into the picture. Krafsky and Krafsky recommend talking with your partner about behaviors that you both consider safe and trustworthy on Facebook, and setting boundaries where you don’t feel comfortable.
  6. It can reveal information you might not want to share with potential employers.  Do you really want a potential employer to know about how drunk you got at last week’s kegger…or the interesting wild night that followed with the girl in the blue bikini?  Peluchette and Karl (2010) found that 40% of users mention alcoholuse on their Facebook page, and 20% mention sexual activities. We often think these posts are safe from prying eyes, but that might not be the case. While 89% of jobseekers use social networking sites, 37% of potential employers do, as well—and are actively looking into their potential hires (Smith, 2013). If you’re on the job market, make sure to check your privacy settings and restrict any risqué content to “Friends Only”, if you don’t wish to delete it entirely.
  7. It can become addictive.  Think society’s most common addictive substances are coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol? Think again. The DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) includes a new diagnosis that has stirred controversy: a series of items gauging Internet Addiction. Since then, Facebook addiction has gathered attention from both popular media and empirical journals, leading to the creation of a Facebook addiction scale (Paddock, 2012; see below for items). To explore the seriousness of this addiction, Hofmann and colleagues (2012) randomly texted participants over the course of a week to ask what they most desired at that particular moment. They found that among their participants, social media use was craved even more than tobacco and alcohol.
  8. My opinion: For example: what if one of your subscribers says to you to go to the most expensive restaurant in the world 20 times? You’re just wasting money because of this.

Good things about facebook:

1. Boost your confidence in minutes. According to a Cornell University study, spending just 3 minutes on Facebook can make you feel better about yourself, possibly because you’re able to choose the information you put out there. Bonus: Editing your own profile during a Facebook break yields the biggest confidence boost, researchers say.

2. Chill out by perusing posts. Students experienced a decrease in heart rate and lower levels of stress and tension when using the social network, report researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

3. Dream up vacation ideas. German researchers found that many users report feeling envious while visiting Facebook. Specifically, drooling over others’ vacation photos triggers more than half of jealousy-inducing incidents. But research shows taking a vacation reduces stress, increases satisfaction, and could even help you live longer. Turn your resentment into inspiration and book that beach getaway—then make others jealous with photos of your toes in the sand.

4. Show off! Nearly two thirds of men report putting their art, music, writing, and photography online compared to just 50 percent of women, Northwestern University researchers found.

5. Drop pounds. Participants following a weight loss program shed more weight—4.5 pounds, on average—when they joined a Facebook group than those who followed the program without the social media component. Sharing your goals and progress can help you feel accountable and motivated.

6. Fight pain. People report lower levels of pain while viewing photos of a loved one, say UCLA researchers. Got a dentist’s appointment scheduled? Cue up your girlfriend’s profile.

7. Boost productivity. In a study at the University of Melbourne, workers given a 10-minute break to read Facebook were 16 percent more productive than a group that wasn’t allowed to use the Internet during the rest, and 40 percent more productive than people who didn’t receive a break at all.

8. Smarten up.  A University of Arizona study found that older adults who used Facebook experienced a 25 percent improvement in their working memory, possibly because it requires you to process so much information—photos, status updates, and comments—at once. It’s a mini mental workout.

9.  Land a date. Men feel more confident saying things online they may not say in person, Buechel says. In other words, logging on can give you the guts to message a girl you’re attracted to, but are afraid to make the first move with face-to-face.

10. Stay informed. Thirty-one percent of men and women say keeping up with the news is the major reason they log on to Facebook, according to Pew Research Center survey findings.

11. My opinion: Posting some interesting facts to your friends. That’s all that I have….

Alright, final decision. Is Facebook bad for you? My vote………….. YES!!! 

Why yes? It’s still addictive now. And I heard a lot of people wasting their money because their subscribers told them to go to restaurants.

Leave a comment for your opinion↓

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sex-murder-and-the-meaning-life/201404/7-ways-facebook-is-bad-your-mental-health, and http://www.menshealth.com/guy-wisdom/10-reasons-facebook-good

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The Sediment of Lead (II) Nitrate

The Sediment of Lead (II) Nitrate

Today, I’m going to do a common experiment about the sediment of Lead (II) Nitrate. This is a very quick demonstration showing that two solids can react together. White lead nitrate and white potassium iodide react to make yellow lead iodide.

I added 5 grams of each chemical into 95ml  of water so I could have 5 % of each.

I pour 10ml of potassium iodide solution into each test tube. And poured 3ml of lead (II) nitrate into the first test tube. Poured 6ml of lead (II)nitrate into the second test tube. And poured 9ml of lead (II) nitrate into the third test tube.20170621_204221

As you could see on the picture the more lead (II) nitrate I add to the potassium iodide, more sediment increases in the test tube.

The demonstration might have more impact if the test tubes are opaque and the yellow product can be poured out and shown to the unsuspecting audience. Have a white background available.

Point out that for a reaction to occur, particles of the reactants must meet. This is much easier in solution (where the particles are free to move) than in the solid state.

The reaction is:

Pb(NO3)2(s) + 2KI(s) →  2KNO3(s) + PbI2(s)

All of these compounds are white except lead iodide, which is yellow.

Lead ethanoate can be substituted for lead nitrate, but the reaction is much slower.

The experiment  Diffusion in liquids is a class practical using the same compounds but as solutions.

We must first convert from a word equation to a symbol equation:

Lead (II) Nitrate + Potassium Iodide → Lead (II) Iodide + Potassium Nitrate

The lead (II) ion is represented as Pb2+, whilst the nitrate ion is NO−3. To balance the charges, we require two nitrate ions per lead (II) ion, and so lead (II) nitrate is Pb(NO3)2 .

The potassium ion is K+ and the iodide ion is I−. The two charges balance in a 1:1ratio, so potassium iodide is simply KI.

In lead (II) iodide, the charges balance in a 1:2 ratio, so the formula is PbI2.

Finally, in potassium nitrate, the charges balance in another 1:1 ratio, giving a formula of KNO3 .

The symbol equation is as follows:

Pb(NO3)2+KI→PbI2+KNO3

The most obvious change we must make, when balancing this equation, is to increase the number of nitrate ions on the right hand side of the equation. We can do this by placing a coefficient of 2 before the potassium nitrate:

Pb(NO3)2+KI→PbI2+2KNO3

In doing this we have upset the balance of potassium ions on each side of the equation. Again, we can fix this: we must simply place another coefficient of 2, this time before the potassium iodide:

Pb(NO3)2+2KI→PbI2+2KNO3

Checking over the equations once more, you will notice that we initially had 1 iodide ion on the right hand side, but 2 on the left. However, we already dealt with this in balancing our potassium ions. Now, our equation is balanced.

And that’s it! One last thing to add is that you may have noticed the irregularity in iodide ions rather than nitrate ions. In this case, you would have arrived at the same answer simply by working backwards.

Source: https://socratic.org/questions/how-do-you-write-the-the-reaction-of-lead-ii-nitrate-aq-with-sodium-iodide-aq-to

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Why can’t Chickens Fly?

Why can’t Chickens Fly?

Most chicken breeds are still able to fly short distances. For example, flying up into a tree (that’s where they would naturally roost), or to escape a predator.

They certainly are not good at flying, though. There are two reasons for that.

1. Ancestry
Chickens were bred from a wild species call the red jungle fowl. These jungle fowl are a little more adept at flying than chickens are now, but they are fundamentally more adapted for a ground-based life

All of their food is located on the ground, and they have an adapted beak to match. Their feet are adapted for walking, rather than perching. Its wings have become partially vestigial since the survival of an individual no longer relies heavily on flight; instead, natural selection has advanced those ground-oriented traits. So, to recap, chickens are bad at flying because their direct ancestor was bad at flying, because they’re adapted for spending time on the ground.

2. Selective Breeding by Humans
Chickens are not a natural species; they were created by breeding the red jungle fowl into a new organism. Since humans were responsible for the gene selection process (“artificial selection”, as opposed to natural selection), chickens were bred not for survivability traits, but to have great big tasty breast muscles. Chickens’ ability to fly has only worsened under human management because no breeder has prioritized that, opting instead for edibility and commercial traits.

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Changing Iron to Copper

Changing Iron to Copper

In this post, I’m going to show you how to change iron to copper in two easy steps.

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That’s not rust

 

Things you’ll need: copper (II) sulfate, a cup, a spoon, water, and nails or paper clips.

  1. Pour water into the cup.20170619_105233
  2. Put lots of copper sulfate into the cup. I put two spoons.20170618_200525
  3. Drop a paper clip or a nail into the solution.
  4. Wait for 24 hours, and take the paper clip/nail out of the cup. Be careful not to leave it too long in the cup, or else the metal will rust. (Wait for one day after you take the metal out of the solution).

    20170619_105333
    You can’t see the copper very well because of the shadow
   In Discorso, one of the last manuscripts written by Antonio Neri before his death, he reveals several transmutation recipes. One describes turning iron into copper; it is instructive because it uses common materials that we can identify and because the chemistry is now well understood.
Take some iron sheets and lay them in vitriol water, being immersed in that, they will rust. Scrape off this rust, which will be a red powder, melt it in a crucible, and you will have perfect copper. The same effect can be had from various waters that are naturally vitriolated, because they flow through mines of vitriol, such as those of a source some distance from Leiden, and another below the fortress of Smolnik, [now in Slovakia].
Vitriol is an acidic sulfate dissolved in water, it could be made in the laboratory, but it also occurred naturally around mining operations where sulfurous minerals were present. Alchemists knew this solution as “oil of vitriol” and “spirit of vitriol.” The mine that Neri references in Smolnik became famous for transmutation. As late as the eighteenth century, scientists and experimenters from around Europe made the pilgrimage to see the effect for themselves and tried to figure out what was happening. It may be a surprise to some readers, but following the above instructions will, in fact, produce copper just as Neri claimed. There is no deception or sleight of hand involved; the explanation is straightforward, but first, Neri treats us to a rare glimpse of his own reasoning on the subject:
Some estimate and not without reason, that this experiment, being used to prove the transmutation of metals, is not suitable for this purpose. They say that the vitriolated waters become such because they are already heavy with the corrosive spirits of sulfur, having passed through the copper or iron mine, these waters corrode copper in the same way aqua fortis corrodes silver. So that really the substance of the copper remains in the water, which attacks the surface of the iron, which always remains iron. However, if that were true then the iron would not get consumed, or if it were consumed it would mix with the substance of the corroded copper in the water, and if it were fused, it would remain a mixture of iron and copper. And yet in this experiment, all the iron is consumed; it is reduced by the vitriolated water into powder, […] which in the fusion is still pure copper, so there should remain no doubt that this is a true transmutation.
Given the state of chemistry at the time, Neri’s reasoning is clear and rational. The iron disappears and a copper coating materializes in its place. What better evidence of transmutation could one ask for?
The key to what was actually happening is in the criticism leveled by skeptics. It turns out that they were on the right track, but neither they nor Neri had the full picture. Today, we understand it as a simple ion exchange reaction; blue vitriol water is a transparent saturated solution of copper sulfate (CuSO4), in the presence of solid iron, the liquid dissolves the iron; copper from the vitriol is deposited in its place. The two metals, copper and iron, change places: the iron dissolves, forming green vitriol (FeSO4) and copper is expelled from the solution. The result is a reduction in the amount of the iron, which is replaced by a proportional deposit of pure copper.
On a physical level, this chemical reaction is no different today than it was in the seventeenth century. What has changed is our interpretation of the experiment. What Neri viewed as a transformation of iron into copper, we now see as an exchange. There is, however, a deeper lesson in all this. As an alchemist, Antonio Neri was not being delusional or dishonest; he was careful, observant and applied his knowledge as best he could. This is no different from the way science works today. Both then and now, to be successful in unraveling nature’s secrets, one must become accustomed to a very uncomfortable situation: In the past, careful reasoning by brilliant thinkers has led to utterly wrong conclusions. The fact that much of our world is a mystery is unsettling; that the very process we use to understand it can be so flawed is harder to accept. Even more difficult is that the faculty we all rely on for survival—our own wits—can lead us so far astray.
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Color Change Chemistry

Color Change Chemistry

Change a clear liquid pink, then back to clear again in this impressive experiment. It may seem like magic, but it’s actually the science of PH.

Things you’ll need: a beaker, a graduated cylinder, test tube holder, 3 test tubes, pipet, phenolphthalein, sodium carbonate, vinegar, and water.20170613_163519

  1. Fill the beaker halfway with water, and set the test tubes in the holder. I’ll refer to them in order as test tube 1, 2, and 3.20170613_163623
  2. Use a spoon to put a little bit of sodium carbonate in test tube 1.Use the pipet to add a few drops of water from the beaker. Swirl the test tube around to dissolve.20170613_164027
  3. In test tube 2, put two drops of phenolphthalein.20170613_164150
  4. Use the graduated cylinder to add 10 ml of vinegar to test tube 3.
  5. Carefully fill the first two test tubes with water from the beaker. Then, all at once, pour the contents of test tube 1 and 2  back into the beaker. The water will turn pink.20170613_164252
  6. Now pour the contents of test tube 3 into the beaker. the liquid will now be clear again. 

Phenolphthalein is a PH indicator that changes color when mixed with a base  (like sodium carbonate) but stays clear when mixed with an acid (like vinegar). In step 5, the phenolphthalein reacted to the basic sodium carbonate and turned the solution pink. To change it back to clear, you added acidic vinegar, neutralizing the basic sodium carbonate.

Learn more about phenolphthalein at this post: Invisible ink

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How can the Glass Catfish be Transparent?

How can is the Glass Catfish be Transparent?

You’ve probably heard about this fish. But if you don’t know what the fish looks like I’ll tell you how it looks like. Anyway, I wrote this post because I was wondering why is it transparent. The answer will be below.

Kryptopterus vitreolus, known in the aquarium trade traditionally as the glass catfish and also as the ghost catfish or phantom catfish, is a small species of Asian glass catfish. It is commonly seen in the freshwater aquarium trade, but its taxonomy is confusing and was only fully resolved in 2013. It is endemic to Thailand, where found in rivers south of the Isthmus of Kra that drain into the Gulf of Thailand and river basins in the Cardamom Mountains. There are also unconfirmed reports from Penang in Malaysia.

 

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A Glass Catfish

Until 1989, it was considered to be the same as the “glass catfish” Kryptopterus bicirrhis, a larger species infrequently seen in the aquarium trade. Subsequently, the ghost catfish commonly seen in the aquarium trade was believed to be the same as K. minor, but in 2013 it was established that the aquarium specimens actually represented another species, which was described as K. vitreolus. The true K. minor, which is restricted to Borneo, has rarely (if ever) entered the aquarium trade.

But how is it transparent?

This is a question for which there is no satisfactory answer, because we are only beginning to understand the physical and anatomical basis of transparency in living tissue.

Although the physical and anatomical bases for some transparent tissue (e.g. the cornea and lens in the eye) are better understood than others, the situation in the eye is unique in the sense that the tissues are highly modified for transparency and these modifications (e.g. complete absence of a circulatory system) are not applicable to muscular tissue.
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Furthermore, many of the primary modifications for transparency are ultrastructural and can only be seen with an electron microscope. For biological tissue to become transparent, the primary mechanism is to reduce the amount of light being scattered as it passes through it: the less light scattered by the tissue, the more light will be transmitted through it and the more it becomes transparent.

While we do not yet fully understand how biological tissues (particularly muscles) can be transparent, there are several possible mechanisms which might contribute.  The first is that transparent fishes such as glass catfishes and glassfish have very thin bodies.  The flatter the body, the less the potential scattering of light (and hence the easier it is to make the tissue transparent).

Another possible mechanism is the ordered packing of small molecules within the cytoplasm of the cells to reduce the scattering of light.

Lastly, theoretical models also predict that the many subcellular components of transparent tissues (e.g. mitochondria, ribosomes) should be small and highly dispersed. As a recent review paper on biological transparency states, this field of study has more questions than answers, and we await future studies to fully understand this phenomenon.

 

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Leaf Fish

Leaf Fish

Do you know what camouflage is? Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see (crypsis), or by disguising them as something else (mimesis). Examples include the leopard’s spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid‘s wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling.

Some animals camouflage in the ocean like the rockfish or flounders. But in my opinion, this one would be the best. It is called the “leaf fish”.
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Leaffishes are small freshwater fishes of the Polycentridae family, from South America.

All of these fishes are highly specialized ambush predators that resemble leaves, down to the point that their swimming style resembles a drifting leaf (thus the common name leaf fish, which is shared with old world fishes of family Nandidae with a similar lifestyle); when a prey animal – such as an aquatic insect or smaller fish – comes within range, the fish attacks, swallowing the prey potentially within a quarter of a second. To aid in this lifestyle, all members of the family have large heads, cryptic colors and very large protractile mouths capable of taking prey items nearly as large as they are. These intriguing behaviors have given the family a niche in the aquarium hobby; however, none of these species are easy to maintain in aquariums, requiring very clean, soft, acidic water and copious amounts of live foods.

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How to Make a Burglar Alarm Mat

How to Make a Burglar Alarm Mat

If a wire connects the circuit will turn on. If a wire is disconnected the circuit will turn off. Wait, that gave me an idea! So today I’ll show you how to make a burglar alarm mat or an alarm under a mat.

Things you’ll need: Aluminum foil, paper clips, a battery, 3 pieces of wire, 2 straws, tape, and a speaker with sound (I used a piezo buzzer).20170612_124758

  1. Connect two pieces of wire on the battery and connect the speaker to one end.20170612_125814
  2. Connect one more wire to the speaker.20170612_124941
  3. Make a chain out of paper clips and connect it with the other wire.
  4. Tape the straws on the ends of the foil and tape the paperclips between them.20170612_125750
  5. Connect the other wire to another piece of foil.
  6. Stack the foils on top on each other and step on it. The speaker will turn on. You could also hide it under a rug or a mat.20170612_125524

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A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads or electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Wire gauges come in various standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a gauge number. The term wire is also used more loosely to refer to a bundle of such strands, as in “multistranded wire”, which is more correctly termed a wire rope in mechanics, or a cable in electricity.

Wire comes in solid core, stranded, or braided forms. Although usually circular in cross-section, wire can be made in square, hexagonal, flattened rectangular, or other cross-sections, either for decorative purposes, or for technical purposes such as high-efficiency voice coils in loudspeakers. Edge-wound coil springs, such as the Slinky toy, are made of special flattened wire.

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Eggs are Strong

Eggs are Strong

Next time someone’s cooking with eggs around your house, save the eggshells so that you could astound your friends with this incredible stunt.

Things you’ll need: 4 raw eggs, a small pair of scissors, masking tape, some books.

  1. To crack the eggs and get four empty eggshells, gently break open the small end of each egg by tapping it on a table or counter.20170611_120634
  2. Carfully peel away some of the eggshell.20170611_120758
  3. Pour out the egg inside.
  4. Put a piece of masking tape around the middle of each eggshell.20170611_121250
  5. Put the eggshells on a table, open end down, in a rectangle that’s just a smaller than one of your books.20170611_121328
  6. Lay a book on the eggshells. Do any of the shells crack?
  7. Keep adding books until – CRRACKK! How many books you can stack on the eggs? Weigh the books and see how many kg or lb it took the break the eggs. Mine is 3.8 kilograms!20170611_121503

Each half pf the eggshell is a miniature dome, and domes are one of the strongest shapes. Why? Weight on the top of the dome is carried down along the curved walls to the wide base. No single point on the dome supports the whole weight of the object on the top of it. That is why domes are often used for big buildings that can’t have pillar supports, such as hocky rinks and arenas.

Staff at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto have shown that a single egg can support a 90 kg (200 lb) person.

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The Wood-nettle: a Plant that could Sting like a Bee

The Wood-nettle: a Plant that could Sting like a Bee

This will be a short post. If you’re interested please continue reading. There are lots of poisonous plants out there. But not as painful as this one:330px-Gardenology.org-IMG_1442_bbg09

Laportea canadensis, commonly called Canada nettle or wood-nettle, is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant of the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern and central North America. It is found growing in open woods with moist rich soils and along streams and in drainages.

Laportea canadensis grows from tuberous roots to a height of 30 to 150 centimeters, and can be rhizomatous, growing into small clumps. Plants have both stinging and non stinging hairs on the foliage and the stems. It has whitish green flowers, produced from spring to early fall.

This herbaceous perennial plant is about 2-4′ tall and either branched or unbranched. The stems are light to medium green and abundantly covered with stiff white hairs that have the capacity to sting when they are rubbed against. The lower to middle leaves are alternate, while the upper leaves are opposite. These leaves are up to 6″ long and 4″ across; they are medium to dark green, ovate-cordate to oval-ovate in shape, and coarsely serrated or serrated-crenate. Young leaves are densely hairy and wrinkled in appearance, while older leaves become less hairy and wrinkled with age. Leaf venation is pinnate. The petioles are up to 4″ long and abundantly covered with stinging hairs, like the stems. The leaves may have a few stinging hairs as well, particularly along the central veins of their undersides. Some plants have a tendency to loose many of their stinging hairs as the season progresses. Individual plants are either monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant) or unisexual.

The male flowers occur in branching cymes from the axils of the leaves. These cymes spread outward from the stem and they are about the same length as the petioles of the leaves. Each male flower is greenish white to white and less than 1/8″ (3 mm.) across, consisting of 5 narrow sepals, 5 stamens, and no petals. The female flowers occur in branching cymes toward the apex of the plant. These cymes are erect to spreading and 4″ or more in length. Each female flower is more or less green and about 1/8″ (3 mm.) across, consisting of 4 sepals of unequal size (2 large and 2 small) and an ovary with a long style. The blooming period usually occurs during mid- to late summer. The flowers are wind-pollinated. Each female flower is replaced by a small dry fruit that is curved and ovoid in shape. This plant often forms colonies of variable size.

When the stinging nettles come in contact with the skin, the unlucky individual is dealt a painful burning stinging sensation, sometimes with barbs left in the skin. The skin can turn red and blister, and blisters can last for several days.

Mmm… that should really hurt. Well, thanks a lot for viewing this short post.

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Walking Fishes

 Walking Fishes

Can fishes walk on land? Sounds crazy! But these two fish can.

1.  Mudskippers are amphibious fish, presently included in the subfamily Oxudercinae, within the family Gobiidae (gobies). Recent molecular studies do not support this classification, as oxudercine gobies appear to be paraphyletic relative to amblyopine gobies (Gobiidae: Amblyopinae), thus being included in a distinct “Periophthalmus lineage”, together with amblyopines. Mudskippers can be defined as oxudercine gobies that are “fully terrestrial for some portion of the daily cycle” (character 24 in Murdy, 1989). This would define the species of the genera Boleophthalmus, Periophthalmodon, Periophthalmus, and Scartelaos as “mudskippers”. However, field observations of Zappa confluentus suggest that this monotypic genus should be included in the definition. These genera presently include 32 species. Mudskippers use their pectoral fins and pelvic fins to walk on land. They typically live in intertidal habitats, and exhibit unique adaptations to this environment that are not found in most intertidal fishes, which typically survive the retreat of the tide by hiding under wet seaweed or in tide pools.

Mudskippers are quite active when out of water, feeding and interacting with one another, for example, to defend their territories and court potential partners. They are found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions, including the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Africa.

 

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Mudskippers

2. Climbing Perch

The Anabantidae are a family of perciform fish commonly called the climbing gouramies or climbing perches. The family includes about 34 species. As labyrinth fishes, they possess a labyrinth organ, a structure in the fish’s head which allows it to breathe atmospheric oxygen. Fish of this family are commonly seen gulping at air at the surface of the water. The air is held in a structure called the suprabranchial chamber, where oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream via the respiratory epithelium covering the labyrinth organ. This therefore allows the fish to move small distances across land.

 

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Climbing  Gourami on land
Of the four genera, Anabas is found from South Asia (they are called chemballi (Malayalam: urulan sugu/Karippidi) in Kerala, kau (odia) in Odisha, India, kawaiya in Sri Lanka), east to China and Southeast Asia. The remaining three genera are all restricted to Africa. They are primarily freshwater fishes and only very rarely are found in brackish water. As egg-layers, they typically guard their eggs and young.

Climbing gouramis are so named due to their ability to “climb” out of water and “walk” short distances. Even though it is not reliably observed, some authors mentioned about they having a tree climbing ability. Their method of terrestrial locomotion uses the gill plates as supports, and the fish pushes itself using its fins and tail.

Mudskipper video

Climbing Perch video

 

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Density Column

Density Column

Let’s start off with an easy experiment today. Create a colorful column with three liquids stacked on top of each other inside a test tube.

Things you’ll need: test tubes, pipet, food coloring, light or dark corn syrup, vegetable oil, and water.

  1. Pour about 3 ml of corn syrup into the test tube.20170608_164615
  2. Use a pipet to add 3 ml of water with food coloring (I use green). Make sure to drop the water on the side of the test tube.20170608_164940
  3. Do the same thing with vegetable oil but no water and food coloring.
  4. Observe the column you made. Which liquid is the least dense? Which is most dense? You could say that the liquid on the bottom has higher density. It means that the corn syrup has a high density. Medium density is water. And the vegetable oil has low density.

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    My density column.
  5. What will happen if you add other liquids? Try adding apple juice, vinegar, soda, etc. You could also follow the column on the bottom.download

An object’s density is determined by comparing its mass to its volume. Consider a rock and a cork that are the same sizes; the rock is denser than the cork, because it has more mass in the same volume. This is due to the atomic structure of the elements, molecules, and componds that make it up. The same is true for liquids. Although you added approximately the same volume of each liquid, they all had different densities, based on mass per volume. Water has a density of about 1.0 gram per ml of volume. Matter with higher density will sink in water; matter with lower density will float on top. Calculate the approximate density of other liquids using this formula: Density= Mass/Volume. Measure mass by calculating weight (how heavy it is). Weigh each liquid in grams (subtracting the weight of your container), the divide that number by the liquid’s volume (ml). The answer is density in grams per milliliter.

See also: The Floating Needle Experiment

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Ice is Sticky

Ice is Sticky

I have an experiment that uses only ice.

Things you’ll need: 2 ice cubes.

  1. Press the flat sides of two ice cubes together.

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    You probably know what I mean. I can’t do it because I’m holding the camera.
  2. Slowly count to thirty, then let go one of the ice cubes. What happened?

When you pushed the two ice cubes together, you created pressure between the two flat sides. Pressure melted the ice, making a thin layer of water in between. When you release the pressure, the water refroze, “gluing” the ice cubes together.

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It glued!

 

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Do Dolphins live in Rivers?

Do Dolphins live in Rivers?

We probably heard that dolphins live in the ocean. But do they live in rivers? To find out please continue reading.

River dolphins are a widely distributed group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. The river dolphins comprise the extant families Platanistidae (the Indian dolphins), Iniidae (the Amazonian dolphins), and Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins). There are five extant species of river dolphins, and two subspecies. River dolphins, alongside other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla, with even-toed ungulates, and their closest living relatives the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago.ddddd

River dolphins are relatively small compared to other dolphins, having evolved to survive in warm, shallow water and strong river currents. They range in size from the 5-foot (1.5 m) long South Asian river dolphin to the 8-foot (2.4 m) and 220-pound (100 kg) Amazon river dolphin. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the males are larger than the females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. River dolphins use their conical-shaped teeth and long beaks to capture fast-moving prey in murky water. They have well-developed hearing that is adapted for both air and water; they do not really rely on vision since the water they swim in is usually very muddy. These species are well-adapted to living in warm, shallow waters, and, unlike other cetaceans, have little to no blubber.download

River dolphins are not very widespread; they are all restricted to certain rivers or deltas. This makes them extremely vulnerable to habitat destruction. River dolphins feed primarily on fish. Male river dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer months and females bear all the responsibility for raising them. River dolphins produce a variety of vocalizations, usually in the form of clicks and whistles.

River dolphins are rarely kept in captivity; breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. As of 2015, there are only three river dolphins in captivity.

River dolphins are members of the infraorder Cetacea, which are descendants of land-dwelling mammals of the order Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates). They are related to the Indohyus, an extinct chevrotain-like ungulate, from which they split approximately 48 million years ago.

 

 

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Euglena, an Amazing Organism

Euglena, an Amazing Organism

I have found this amazing organism in one of my books. When I read the whole thing and read that sentence, I knew this would be great for my blog. This organism is half animal half plant. So if you’re interested please continue reading.

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Euglena is a genus of single-celled flagellate Eukaryotes. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the class Euglenoidea, a diverse group containing some 54 genera and at least 800 species. Species of Euglena are found in fresh and salt waters. They are often abundant in quiet inland waters where they may bloom in numbers sufficient to color the surface of ponds and ditches green (E. viridis) or red (E. sanguinea).

The species Euglena gracilis has been used extensively in the laboratory as a model organism.

Most species of Euglena have photosynthesizing chloroplasts within the body of the cell, which enable them to feed by autotrophy, like plants. However, they can also take nourishment heterotrophically, like animals. Since Euglena have features of both animals and plants, early taxonomists, working within the Linnaean three-kingdom system of biological classification, found them difficult to classify. It was the question of where to put such “unclassifiable” creatures that prompted Ernst Haeckel to add a third living kingdom (a fourth kingdom in toto) to the Animale, Vegetabile (and Lapideum meaning Mineral) of Linnaeus: the Kingdom Protista.

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When feeding as a heterotroph, Euglena takes in nutrients by osmotrophy, and can survive without light on a diet of organic matter, such as beef extract, peptone, acetate, ethanol or carbohydrates. When there is sufficient sunlight for it to feed by phototrophy, it uses chloroplasts containing the pigments chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b to produce sugars by photosynthesis. Euglena’s chloroplasts are surrounded by three membranes, while those of plants and the green algae (among which earlier taxonomists often placed Euglena) have only two membranes. This fact has been taken as morphological evidence that Euglena’s chloroplasts evolved from a eukaryotic green alga. Thus, the intriguing similarities between Euglena and the plants would have arisen not because of kinship but because of a secondary endosymbiosis. Molecular phylogenetic analysis has lent support to this hypothesis, and it is now generally accepted.

Diagram of Euglena sp.

Euglena chloroplasts contain pyrenoids, used in the synthesis of paramylon, a form of starch energy storage enabling Euglena to survive periods of light deprivation. The presence of pyrenoids is used as an identifying feature of the genus, separating it from other euglenoids, such as Lepocinclis and Phacus.

All euglenoids have two flagella rooted in basal bodies located in a small reservoir at the front of the cell. In Euglena, one flagellum is very short, and does not protrude from the cell, while the other is relatively long, and often easily visible with light microscopy. In some species, the longer, emergent flagellum is used to help the organism swim.

Like other euglenoids, Euglena possess a red eyespot, an organelle composed of carotenoid pigment granules. The red spot itself is not thought to be photosensitive. Rather, it filters the sunlight that falls on a light-detecting structure at the base of the flagellum (a swelling, known as the paraflagellar body), allowing only certain wavelengths of light to reach it. As the cell rotates with respect to the light source, the eyespot partially blocks the source, permitting the Euglena to find the light and move toward it (a process known as phototaxis).

Spiral pellicle strips

Euglena lacks a cell wall. Instead, it has a pellicle made up of a protein layer supported by a substructure of microtubules, arranged in strips spiraling around the cell. The action of these pellicle strips sliding over one another gives Euglena its exceptional flexibility and contractility.

In low moisture conditions, or when food is scarce, Euglena forms a protective wall around itself and lies dormant as a resting cyst until environmental conditions improve.

Euglena reproduce asexually through binary fission, a form of cell division. Reproduction begins with the mitosis of the cell nucleus, followed by the division of the cell itself. Euglena divide longitudinally, beginning at the front end of the cell, with the duplication of flagellar processes, gullet and stigma. Presently, a cleavage forms in the anterior, and a V-shaped bifurcation gradually moves toward the posterior, until the two halves are entirely separated.

 

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How to make the Surface of the Moon

How to make the Surface of the Moon

The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth, being Earth’s only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits (its primary). Following Jupiter’s satellite Io, the Moon is second-densest satellite among those whose densities are known.

The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 384,400 km (238,900 mi), or 1.28 light-seconds.

The Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. There are several hypotheses for its origin; the most widely accepted explanation is that the Moon formed from the debris left over after a giant impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia.

The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face, with its near side marked by dark volcanic maria that fill the spaces between the bright ancient crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters. It is the second-brightest regularly visible celestial object in Earth’s sky, after the Sun, as measured by illuminance on Earth’s surface. Its surface is actually dark, although compared to the night sky it appears very bright, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have made the Moon an important cultural influence since ancient times on language, calendars, art, and mythology.

The Moon’s gravitational influence produces the ocean tides, body tides, and the slight lengthening of the day. The Moon’s current orbital distance is about thirty times the diameter of Earth, with its apparent size in the sky almost the same as that of the Sun, resulting in the Moon covering the Sun nearly precisely in total solar eclipse. This matching of apparent visual size will not continue in the far future. The Moon’s linear distance from Earth is currently increasing at a rate of 3.82 ± 0.07 centimetres (1.504 ± 0.028 in) per year, but this rate is not constant.

The Soviet Union’s Luna programme was the first to reach the Moon with uncrewed spacecraft in 1959; the United States’ NASA Apollo program achieved the only crewed missions to date, beginning with the first crewed lunar orbiting mission by Apollo 8 in 1968, and six crewed lunar landings between 1969 and 1972, with the first being Apollo 11. These missions returned over 380 kg (840 lb) of lunar rocks, which have been used to develop a geological understanding of the Moon’s origin, the formation of