Chemistry

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This is one person's perception on what life might be like without chemistry. What is your response to this video? Do you have any questions about it?

Why might we want to learn about chemistry?

 * If we understand about chemistry we can figure out how we can use materials in our environment, we can change material and even create new things.
 * Chemistry is everywhere in the universe and ll around us on Earth. Some of the things we use that involve chemistry are; our food, the materials in our clothes, how our brain and bodies work, medicines, your school felts and colouring pens, fuel and tyres for your car or bus that might have helped get you to school.
 * Looking at chemistry we can learn about the history of Earth and about other planetary bodies (objects in space).
 * Can you think of some more reasons to add here?

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Post you ideas about these questions on the discussion board.

 * 1) ====What is chemistry?====
 * 2) ==== What are atoms, elements and compounds, acids and bases? ====
 * 3) ==== What do the terms solution, reaction, process and pH mean? ====
 * 4) ==== What things can you think of at home or school involve chemistry in some way? ====
 * 5) ==== When you think about chemistry do you think it is more about rules or about being creative? ====
 * 6) ==== Do you have any specific questions about chemistry that you would like to know more about? ====

=//** 1. Code-breaking **//= = Do you like reading about spys and secret agents, or creating and breaking codes? Perhaps you like to go geocaching - treasure hunting using clues and a GPS. Then this activity might be for you...Using a paintbrush or cotton bud write a secret message with a watery solution of baking soda. Let it dry. Boil up a quarter of a chopped up red cabbage for about half an hour or until the water is nice and dark. Drain the water into a bowl to cool. You won’t need the boiled cabbage for the experiment. Leave the liquid to cool. When you are ready to have your secret message decoded paint or spray the cabbage juice on the message. Try writing messages with other liquids, such as vinegar, lemon juice or citric acid dissolved in a bit of water. What happens when you decode it? Why do you think this happens? The cabbage juice is what is known as an indicator. It indicates or shows if a solution is basic, has a pH >7 or acidic, has a pH of < 7. //More about codes...// = media type="custom" key="10098943" align="center"

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Have three tall glasses, a teaspoon, citric acid, baking soda and water. Play around with the ingredients using no more than one teaspoon of each ingredient in each glass. For extra fun try this using some of the cabbage juice from the above activity. Time how long your reaction takes place. Write down the quantity of the ingredients you used for he best reaction to compare with others findings.
 * //2. Fizzing fun//**

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//**3. How do plants eat?**// Do you know how plants eat? Play this game to find out more.Make the game board here and play a game to see the chemical process taking place. Can you modify the game to make it more accurate or interesting? Show another person how the chemicals in the process of photosynthesis change by making marshmellow molecules of the compounds involved, then pull them apart to rearrange the atoms into their new molecules. Hint use mini marshmellows and group them by colour. Each colour represents one of the atoms involved in the process, i.e., pink for hydrogen, yellow for oxygen etc. Bond the atoms together by poking them onto toothpicks. media type="custom" key="10098971" align="center"

//**4. Are you a rock hound?**// Is any of your collection limestone like that found in the Waitomo Caves in the Waikato? Test your rocks with a small amount of vinegar. Does anything happen? If so, what did you observe. Try listening really closely as sometimes you can hear a reaction but not see it. Find out more about the rock cycle or, see what you know about limestone rocks - find out about karst, speleothem and other interesting things? You might like to find out more about @sinkholes which can be created in the same way as the Waitomo caves.. media type="custom" key="10098973" align="center"

//**5. Eat up the periodic table**// Using some flat biscuits such as wine biscuits, and some icing, create an edible periodic table. See here for an example. media type="custom" key="10098909" align="center"

And one for all you Harry Potter fans...

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//**6. Let's get inventin'**// Many elements on the periodic table are man-made. Create your own element. Give your element a name. What does it look and smell like? Is it most commonly found as a gas, liquid or solid? How does it behave – it is malleable (bendy), strong, stretchy, viscous (thick and oozy). What could it be used for? If you're up for the challenge, draw the atomic structure – show how many protons, neutrons and electrons it has. media type="custom" key="10098913" align="center"

//**7. Brain Box**// Investigate how chemistry is involved in how the brain works. Create a model neuron to show this using little squirty bottles and straws. To see if you neuron can communicate effectively put water into your dendrites and see if it flows out of the axon of your model. For a bit more fun why not put some cabbage juice indicator (from activity one) in the soma of your neuron, and into the dendrites add different acids (such as vinegar, lemon or citric acid dissolved in water) or bases (such as baking soda dissolved in water). The second model shows how different information comes into dendrites from other neurons, gets changed inside the neuron then is passed on to another neuron’s dendrite. media type="custom" key="10098839" align="center"

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//**8. Milk it for all it's worth**// Huge quantities of milk are produced each year on New Zealand dairy farms. Create a mind-map to show how many uses you can think of for cow’s milk. Ask your classmates and add their ideas on in another colour, then research on the internet to see what other interesting and strange things milk can be used for and add these on in third colour. media type="custom" key="10098923" align="center"

People used to make milk paint, made with lime to give wood a beautiful finish. This simple version, using powdered milk and food colouring, is great for painting cardboard or paper. It has a soft, pretty finish and won't smell once it's dry.

Materials:
 * 1/2 Cup water
 * food colouring
 * 1/2 Cup powdered milk
 * a jar with a lid
 * 1) Put the water and a few drops of food colouring in the jar. Add the powdered milk. Put the lid on the jar and shake until the mixture is dissolved and the colour is even.
 * 2) Make lots of colours.
 * 3) Store in the fridge for up to a week.

From 'Make These Toys' by Heather Swain, Penguin Books, 2010, p206.

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 * Do you believe chemistry is important?
 * Consider how chemistry has been used in the past, for good and bad. What could this mean for the future?
 * Do you believe that humans should be creating new elements? What impact do you think this has or could have?
 * Do you believe we can use chemistry to learn from the past or predict what might be in the future?
 * Would you like to be a chemist? Why or why not?