Weekly Blog 4/30/17 - Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions

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Summary

Nearly all chemical reactions involve a change in energy. Endothermic reactions occur when energy is absorbed from its surroundings. Exothermic is the opposite of endothermic reactions. It is when energy gets released during the chemical reaction. In an endothermic reaction, energy is absorbed from the surrounding environment. This means the container, for example, that the reaction occurred in would feel cold. The products have more energy than the reactants. In an exothermic reaction, energy gets released into the surroundings making it warmer or glow (like in glowsticks). The products have less energy than the reactants.

SP5: Using Mathematics

This week I used mathematics when I balanced chemical equations while playing games from legends of learning. To balance equations we had to add in coefficients to the beginning of each compound until there was the same amount of elements on each side. To do this, we used addition as well as multiplication.

XCC: Energy and Matter

In endothermic and exothermic reactions, energy is absorbed and released. It is moved around and never destroyed. The same is for matter. In chemical reactions, the amount of mass in the reactants is the same as the amount in the products. That is why we balance equations. Both energy and matter are never destroyed. 

Article Blog 4/16/17 : Using Diamonds to Protect Smartphone Screens

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Summary

One company known as AKHAN semiconductor is working on using one of the worlds strongest minerals to coat smartphone screens. They want to use man made diamonds grown in labs to develop a stronger and more shatterproof screen. They are experimenting with ways to heat, cool, and re-arrange the bonds of the diamonds. Creating the diamonds are also proving to be challenge due to how they need to be at very specific temperatures. Changes in temperature can easily occur. Though the founder of AKHAN semiconductors, Adam Khan claims he can create a synthetic diamond film, other people are still skeptical due to all the problems making and heating diamonds is causing.

Citation

"Diamond in the Lab: Man-made Coating May Protect Smartphone Screens." Newsela | Diamond in the Lab: Man-made Coating May Protect Smartphone Screens. Newsela, 12 Apr. 2017. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

SP8: Communicating Information

The author of this article communicated information by writing an informational article and publishing it online. By publishing the article he or she wrote, he or she made information on new and developing smartphone technology available to all readers online. The author helped take a step forward in understanding the world by sharing information on technology with others. Without communicating information and informing others, no science would be advanced.

Article Blog: Experiment proves that foxes can be tamed the same way as dogs

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Summary

Foxes are usually considered wild animals, whether tame or not. However, a Russian biologist named Dimitri Belyaev was interested in how dogs became domesticated. He wanted to simulate the early days of domestication in dogs. In order to simulate and see what the domestication process looked like, he used foxes due to their similarities with dogs.  He and his team picked the tamest wild foxes they could find, spent time around and bred them. They recorded and analyzed data and slowly the foxes began to change. Nowadays, there is a large population of domesticated foxes. The tamest foxes are called the elite. Over time, as the elite had children and the children had children the number of elite foxes being born began to increase. The foxes also showed physical traits that weren't found in wild foxes. They developed spots, curly tails, and floppy ears. When the Soviet Union (where the experiment took place) fell, the scientists had to stop their research due to a lack of money to fund it. Now, the facility sells the domesticated foxes. 

Citation

"Experiment Proves That Foxes Can Be Tamed the Same Way as Dogs." Newsela | Experiment Proves That Foxes Can Be Tamed the Same Way as Dogs. Newsela, 5 Apr. 2017. Web. 09 Apr. 2017. <https://newsela.com/articles/domesticated-foxes/id/28741/>.

S&EP: SP4: Analyzing and interpreting data

The author analyzed data on the domestic fox experiment to write about and communicate information on what the experiment was. In order to put together an article, the author/s had to do lots of research and reading on the experiment and the scientists. Once the data was gathered they would have to go over and summarize it to create a short and informational article on the topic.

Weekly Blog 3/31/17 - Chemical Reactions

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Summary

During chemical reactions, atom molecules get rearranged to become new things. Sings that a chemical reaction has occurred includes color change, a seemingly random change in temperature or state and more.