Matter 6: Coca-cola! :) Yum!

I chose coca-cola for my next matter.

This yummy drink is bubbly and fizzy. It has a dark color and it tastes amazing! 

When a bottle or can of coca-cola is opened, the liquid begins to slowly evaporate. The molecules take the shape of its container (the room) and can sort of be smelled if you’re nearby.

Coca-cola is a colloid because its solution is evenly spread out.

Matter 5: Chlorine

For this matter, I chose chlorine. Too much of it burns our eyes, and not enough of it invites unwanted bacteria and germs. Chlorine has a lot of chemistry to it. For now, I will just mention some of it’s physical and chemical properties.

Before chlorine is added to a pool, it is in the form of a tablet. It’s called Tri-chlor (short for Trichloro-s-triazinetrione). It’s a stabilized form of chlorine. It changes from a solid to a liquid when added to the pool water.

Here’s a chemical equation for chlorine: Cl2 (chlorine) + H2O (water) à HOCl (hypochlorous acid) + HCl (hydrochloric acid).

Matter 4: Cucumber & Melon hand&body cream

Lotion. Essential for every girl to use. Not only does it keep one’s skin moisturized, it can smell incredible as well! For this blog post, I decided to use my cucumber & melon hand & body cream. This solution starts out as a soothing green-tinted liquid. When applied to the body, this cool creamy substance begins to evaporate. This is the reason that one can smell certain lotions. The molecules evaporate (turn into a gas) and begin to take the shape of its container (the room). We can detect the smell since the gas molecules are all around us. The phase change confirms that this solution went through a physical change.

Some lotions are colloids and some are not. It all depends on the ingredients. The lotion in the picture above is in fact a colloid. That’s one of its chemical properties.

Matter 3: Acrylic Paint (light/sky blue!)

Acrylic Paint right out of the tube

Acrylic Paint completely dry

For my third matter, I decided to choose light blue acrylic paint.

This solution, like the hairspray, is in liquid form. It is a really thick liquid, almost a solid, but a liquid nonetheless. It is a pretty sky blue color. The texture is squishy, gooey, and slightly liquidy. When taken out of its sealed container, the solution mixes with the air, causing the solution to dry over a period of time. In other words, when the liquid paint is exposed to oxygen, it slowly evaporates. I can tell that it is going through a chemical change because when I squeeze out paint, I immediately smell the chemicals. I can then tell that the solution is slowly evaporating.

Matter 2: Hairspray/Shine

For my second matter, I chose hair shine/spray. I use this to style my hair and give it a sort of natural shine.

The solution is in liquid form in the container. It’s a clear color and has a shiny look to it. When sprayed, the solution turns into a vapor. Now I’ll describe some of the chemical changes. As the solution is pumped out of the bottle, the liquid disperses into a gas. Knowing this, we can classify this as a colloid. When I use this hairspray, I feel the liquid hit my hair and I can sense the smell (it smells like hair product and roses). After several seconds, the liquid hardens, keeping my hair in place. I assume that the molecules in the solution react with the molecules in the air and in my hair. The solution turns into a kind of solid.

Matter 1: Candle

This aromatherapy candle (called Sweet Blossoms) is my first choice of matter.

This matter goes through a physical change when heat energy is applied. By lighting this candle with a match, I am applying heat energy and therefore causing the substance to change its phase. The wax in the candle melts; it goes from being a solid, to a liquid. The molecules are remaining the same, but the phase they are in is changing.

This substance also has a chemical change. For instance, according to HowStuffWorks.com, “The wick [of a candle] absorbs the liquid wax and pulls it upward. The heat of the flame vaporizes the wax, and it is the wax vapor that burns.” I can tell that the candle is going through a chemical change because I can sense a change in smell. When energy is released, the molecules change into a vapor, mix with the oxygen in the air, and take the shape of its container (the room).

This is why it's not a good idea to use an old video camera to do an assignment....

So the worst possible thing that could possibly happen, happened. I set up my camera (it takes film, but can be uploaded digitally) and I recorded myself teaching the lesson. Everything was great. I opened up imovie, plugged in my camera, and rewound the tape. This is where it gets bad… I pressed the stop button, to stop the tape from rewinding, and the camera immediately ejected the tape by itself. There was a loud “REEEEEEEE” sound, followed by excessive clicking. All of the sudden, film started crawling out of the tape!! I pressed stop again, but that only made it worse. I turned off the camera and took the battery and tape out. Luckily, my dad helped me get all of the film back into the tape. I placed the tape into the camera and tried again. This time, the video began uploading. When it finished, I previewed it. It looked terrible! The film cuts off at random points…. There’s a lot of clicking sounds… and the original sound is totally gone. I’m really disappointed about what happened. I thought that this was going to be one of my best videos! :(

Episode 1.2 of The Art of Chemistry! Yay!

Here's my second video. :]]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_KX-EccOSQ

:D yay.

Episode 1 of The Art of Chemistry! :]

Here's my first video! :]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LYlT9jVrNI