Three-Layer Density Column Lab

CONGRATULATIONS to:Christen Swan of 7th hour had the winning column!

 

 

Chemistry I class created a three-layer density column in a test tube past week using water, food coloring, and/or sugar and salt.  They learned how to manipulate the density of each layer by changing the mass, volume, or temperature of each solution.  Of the 80 columns created, winners were picked to represent each hour and an overall winner was crowned!  Here are some of the runners-up:

 

 

 

3rd hour:  winner Brianna Blair with Kaitlin Neibarger and Samantha Abshier

6th hour:  winner Jake Meister with Janessa Watson and Lauren Swinford

7th hour:  OVERALLWINNER Christen Swan with Payton Stewart

8th hour:  winner Josy Sudduth with Alejandro Torres and Libby Lawson

 

 

3rd Hour Chemistry I Smarty Pants Class

During the semester, Chemistry I classes compete with one another for smarty pants points.  If they score the highest average on a quiz or test, or perform well in lab, or complete a challenge that I give them, they earn a smarty pants.  The class with the most smarty pants by the end of the semester wins a party and a perfect score on their semester review packet even if they don't do any of it!  This year's winner was third hour.

3rd hour - 9 smarty pants
6th hour - 2 smarty pants
7th hour - 2 smarty pants
8th hour - 3 smarty pants

3rd hour students Lea DeBoer and Kaitlin Block made an oreo cookie tower and snowman sculpture for a smarty pants challenge while 8th hour student Collin Sherer also made an oreo tower sculpture.

 

 

7th hour won a smarty pants for the best density column (Christen Swan).

Energy Of Foods Lab

 

Kaitlin Block and Brianna Blair burn a cheeto.

 

 

Kaleb Smith and John Vice team up in lab.

 

Chemistry I students looked at how much energy a glucose molecule (represented by a marshmallow) and a linoleic acid molecule (represented by a fatty chip and cheeto) take to both form and burn.  Students used WebMO, a virtual molecular chemistry program phs_block_3 password:students, to draw both molecules and discover that it takes glucose more energy to form than the fat linoleic acid due to the more complex carbon-oxygen bonds that it possesses.  In the wet lab, students then burned these foods to discover that more energy is released by fats than sugars.  Below are some pictures of the calorimeter devices the students used to measure the heat released.

 

collecting data in a calorimeter can.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT IT IS LAB

 

Students Ryan and Lucas in Chemistry II are analyzing common household products to predict and test them for pH litmus paper readings, labelling them as an acid or base.

 

 

Not only do soda pops have acid in them, many have caffeine which can prevent your bones from absorbing calcium just as the phosphoric acid in caramel-colored pops do.  They also contain sugars which can harm your teeth.

 

Americans win Nobel Prize in chemistry for revealing gateway to cells

 

By Ben Brumfield, CNN

updated 9:18 AM EDT, Wed October 10, 2012

Research by Robert J. Lefkowitz, left, and Brian K. Kobilka has increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals.

 (CNN) -- Two American scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work revealing protein receptors that tell cells what is going on in and around the human body. Their achievements have allowed drug makers to develop medication with fewer side effects.

Research spanning four decades by Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka on "G-protein-coupled receptors" has increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals in the bloodstream and external stimuli like light, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the prize.

Lefkowitz began the research by tracking adrenalin receptors. The Nobel Prize announcement apparently set off some of the excitement hormone in his own body.

Suiting up for Chemistry Lab!

Kaleb, Tyler, Devon, and Alejandro help each other out getting ready for their Physical and Chemical Properties Lab.  Students saw many chemical reactions such as:

 

magnesium ribbon burning and reacting with hydrochloric acid

precipitates forming

sulfur floating around in water

gases being produced

 

various precipitates

 

 

magnesium ribbon burning

 

 

 

sulfur geyser

Methylene Blue and Huntington's Disease

Common Lab Dye Found to Interrupt Formation of Huntington's Disease Proteins

Scientific American Article

A small molecule agent like methylene blue that has been grandfathered into approved use as a diagnostic tool in humans can be studied further as possible treatment for the neurodegenerative illness.  A compound already sitting on the shelves of biomedical laboratories and emergency room supply closets seems to interrupt the formation of neurodegenerative protein clumps found in Huntington’s disease, according to a preliminary animal study published August 7 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

This versatile agent, called methylene blue, gets a mention in medical literature as early as 1897 and was used to treat, at one time or another, ailments ranging from malaria to cyanide poisoning. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never formally approved it as a therapy for any illnesses. But that fact hasn’t stopped biomedical researchers from tinkering with the agent’s apparent ability to improve cognitive function. And although the new paper out today relies on a Huntington’s disease model in flies and mice, scientists are hopeful. "Because of existing knowledge of methylene blue and the fact that it’s not harmful to humans, I would hope that progress toward clinical trials could go relatively quickly," says Leslie Thompson, a neurobiologist at University of California–Irvine and lead author on the new study.

Huntington’s disease occurs when the C-A-G sequence of DNA base pairs repeat too often on the HTT gene, resulting in an abnormally long version of the huntingtin protein, that therefore folds incorrectly and forms clumps in the brain. The illness usually begins to affect people in their 30s and 40s, causing movement problems and early death. No drug is currently available to stop the disease from progressing.

methylene blue structure