Katie+Mc

Wiki Assignment #10: Biomolecules
1. Carbohydrates: Made of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. They are made up of two units of sugar: a simple sugar of one unit (monosaccharides) or two units (disaccarides). Also, there are complex sugars which are polymers of the simple sugars. Carbohydrates play a big role in our bodies. They are our source of energy (carbohydrates are broken down and converted into glucose). They also help the function of our immune systems, heart, brain, and nervous system. Examples of carbohydrates: glucose and fructose.

2. Lipids: There are four categories: fats, waxes, steriods, and phospholipids. Waxes are made from monohydroxy alcohols and phospholipids and fats are made of glycerol and fatty acids. Lipids are insoluble in water and therefore act as storage in the body. They control metabalism and play an important role in cell construction. Two examples are cholesterol and testosterone.

3. Proteins: Made of amino acids. Protein builds muscle in the body and is necessary for hair growth. Protein is necessary for virtually all functions in the body ranging from hair and muscle growth, antibodies and enzymes, to getting oxygen through the bloodstream. Examples of protein are insulin and hemoglobin.

4. Nucleic acids: Made of nucleotides. Nucleotides are made of nitrogen which contain a base, and a long chain of sugar and phosphate molecules. Nucleic acid is found in DNA and RNA. DNA and RNA determine every characteristic of a certain person (through genes). Nucleic acid also helps with the replication and sythesis of DNA and mitosis and meiosis. Two examples of nucleic acid include DNA and RNA.

Wiki Assignment #9: Concentrated vs Dilute and Strong vs Weak
Concentrated vs Dilute: A dilute solution is one in which there is a relatively small amout of solute compared to the total amount of solute that can be dissolved in the given amount of solvent. A concentrated solution contains a higher amout of solute to the amount of solvent (either a lot or the total amount of solute that can be dissolved in the given amount of solvent). An example of this would be putting blue dye into glasses of water. The least concentrated, or most dilute, glass would be a light blue, almost transparent. The most conentrated, and least dilute, would be a dark, navy blue, almost black.

Strong vs Weak: In strong acids, nearly 100% of the acid molecules ionize where as in weak acids, only a small percentage of the molecules ionize. This means strong acids react almost completely in a reaction so the forward reaction dominates. Weak acids do not react completely in a reaction so the reverse reaction dominates. Examples:

Wiki Assignment #8: Equilibrium 2
1. When a chemical system has reached equilibrium, the rate of the forward reaction is the same as the rate of the reverse reaction. The concentrations of both the reactants and products stay the same because there is no increase or decrease in molecules in the system. This does support the picture of equilibriums as dynamic because when equilibrium is reached, there is no net change in the concentration but the reactions are still occurring. A dynamic reaction is continuous. Why is there no change in concentration, then? Because they are occurring at the same rate, and therefore no net change in concentration is visible.

2.The format for writing the equilibrium expression is as follows: K =[C]c [D]d / [A]a [B]b. The "[ ]" means concentration (molarity) and K is the equilibrium constant (the ratio of concentration of products over the concentration of the reactants at equilibrium). The capital letters are different substances and the small letters are the coefficients of the balanced chemical equation. A. N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) **//<>//** 2NH3 (g) **Equilibrium expression:** K= [NH3] / [H2]3 [N2] B. 2NBr3 (g) **//<--->//** N2 (g) + Br2 (g) **Equilibrium expression:** K= [N2] [Br2]3/ [NBr3]2 C. H2 (g) + F2 (g) **//<>//** 2HF (g) **Equilibrium expression:** K= [HF]2 / [F2] [H2]

3. In a homogeneous equilibria, all species in the equilibrium reaction are in the same state, but in a heterogeneous equilibria, there are more than one state involved. Solids and liquids are not shown in the equilibrium expression because their concentrations cannot change and that is what equilibrium expressions show: concentrations. 

A. **Homogeneous:** 2O3 (g) **//<->//** 3O2 (g) **Equilibrium expression:** K= [O2]3 / [O3]2 B. **Heterogeneous:** CaCO3 (s) **//<-->//** CaO (s) + CO2 (g) **Equilibrium expression:** K= [CO2]

Wiki Assignment #7: Equilibrium
An example of an every day equilibrium is Isaac Newton's third law of motion: the action-reaction principle. Newton said that every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. One example is of two ice skaters of the same mass. The push each other in opposite directions with the same amount of force and therefore do not move. This is like a chemical equilibirum because in an equilibirum, the rate of the forward reaction is equal to the rate of the reverse reaction, therefore there is no net change. The concentrations of the reactants and products are constant, but not necessarily the same. In the ice skaters' case, one is the reactant, and the other the product and because they exert the same amount of force in opposite directions, like Newton's law says, there will be no net change (meaning they won't move).

Wiki Assignment #6: Reaction Rates
[|Concentration]: In this video Dr. Carlson does an experiment called "Elephant Toothpaste" with two different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. In the first experiment, he has 3% hydrogen peroxide mixing with sodium iodide, and a little dish soap. The hydrogen peroxide gives off oxygen gas creating bubbles. The reaction rate for this particular concentration is slow, because the more concentrated a solution is, the higher the likelihood of two or more molecules will collide and create a reaction at a faster rate. In the next experiment, Dr. Carlson uses sodium iodide again, but with 30% hydrogen peroxide. This reaction is much faster, because the solution is more conentrated, meaning the likelihood of molecules colliding is greater (because there are more molecules) and a faster reaction occurs.

[|Temperature]: In this video, a scientist is demonstrating to his class the affect of temperature on reaction rates. He has three glow sticks, breaks them (allowing the hydrogen peroxide and oxalate ester to mix), and they glow about at the same brightness. He puts one in hot water, one in cold, and one in room temperature. The glow stick in the hot water glows the brightest, the one in the room temperature stays at about the same brightness and the one in the cold water becomes dimmer. This happens because the molecules in the glow stick in the hot water have more energy because of the higher temperature, collide more with each other and give off more light. The molecules of the glow stick in the cold water slow down, collide less and therefore give off less light. The higher the temperature, the more energy the molecules have, the more collisions and therefore, the faster reaction.

[|Surface Area]: In this video, a man puts 20g of potassium permanganate in two dishes. In one dish, the potassium permanganate is powdered and in the other it is crystalized. In each, a few drops (but the same amount to each) of glycerin is added. Almost immediately, the powdered potassium permanganate smokes and then flames. The crystalized form of potassium permanganate takes longer to smoke and catch on fire. The reaction rate for the powdered form is much quicker because when you increases surface area, you increase the available spots for reactions to occur, in turn increasing the frequency of collisions/reactions, making the reaction rate faster.

[|Catalysts]: In this video, hydrogen peroxide and a catalyst found in blood called catalase are mixed. Oxygen gas is given off and causes the reaction to bubble and foam. The reaction happens very fast because the catalyst lowers the activation energy (the minimum amount of energy needed to cause a chemical reaction to occur). Without the catalyst, the reaction is much slower.

Wiki Assignment #5: Investigating Solubility and Immiscibility
1. When oil spills occur in the ocean the effects are devestating. So it is necessary to act immediately to clean up the spill and there are many ways to go about this. **Here are four of these ways:** A. Placing **a boom** (barriers that extend about three feet below the surface of the water; they intercept and contain the oil) around the tanker that is spilling oil. B. Using a **skimmer** inside the boom to remove oil (the skimmer collects the oil so it can be removed). C. **Chemical dispersants** help break up the oil into its chemical constituents so it is less harmful to wildlife. D. **Igniting the oil** while it is floating on the surface of the water.​

2. **Solubility** is defined to be the maximum quantitiy of solute that can dissolve in a certain quantity of solvent. A. When temperature is increased solubility of a solid solute increases as well. In gases, however, when temperature is increased solubility decreases and in liquids there is not much difference when temperature is increased. B. Stirring has no effect on solubility. C. When surface are is increased, there is no effect on solubility.

3. **Rate of Dissolutio**n is defined to be the rate at which a solute dissolves in a solvent. A. When temperature is increased the rate of dissolution icreases as well. B. Stirring increases the rate of dissolution, as well. C. Surface area increases the rate of dissolution.

Sources: [|Oil Spill Info] [|Oil Spill Info #2] [|Solubility] [|Solubility #2] [|Rate of Dissolution]

Wiki Assignment #4: Wonderful Water
Some physical properties of water are: 1. **Surface tension** of 72.9 dynes/cm (when the water temperature is 20 degrees Celsius)- This is very unique to water because it is **unusually high**. Ethyl alcohol has a surface tension of about 22.3 dynes/cm in comparison. [|#1: Surface Tension]

2. **Heat capacity-** Water's ability to absorb heat without a significant temperature change is also **unusually high.** Specific heat is the ratio of a specific substance's heat capacity to the heat capacity of water. Water's specific heat is 1.0 BTU (British Thermal Unit). In comparison the specific heat of iron is 0.1 BTU. [|#2: Heat Capacity]

3. **Heat of vaporization-** Water has an **unusually high** heat of vaporization. Heat of vaporization is the "energy required to convert liqiud water to gas". About 580 calories of heat are needed to evaporate each gram of water, which is nearly double the amount needed to evaporate a gram of alcohol. [|#3: Heat of Vaporization]

4. **States of matter**- Water is the **only natural substance in all three states of matter** (solid, liquid, and gas), at temperatures normally occuring on Earth. [|#4: States of Matter]

5. **Hydrogen bonds-** The hydrogen bonds in a water molecule account for water's unique property of staying liquid over a wide variety of temperatures than most other molecules of its size - the ability to stay liquid over a wide range of temperatures is **unusually high.** [|#5: Hydrogen Bonds]

Wiki Assignment #3: Global Warming: The Greenhouse Effect
The Greenhouse Effect simply stated is light as radiant energy from the sun passing through the Earth's atmosphere and it is absorbed by the surface of the Earth increasing its temperature. When the Earth is warmer is emits infrared radiant energy. Gases like the ones in the Earth's atmosphere (Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Argon), have a simple structure of only two atoms. The gases with only two atoms allow the radiant energy to pass back into the atmosphere. In gases that contain more than two atoms, the molecules stretch, push, and pull so the radiant energy is emitted in many different, random directions with infrared light frequencies. This in turn increases the Earth's temperature and contibuting to Global Warming. A few opinions I have heard about Global warming are: 1. The artic will have its first "ice-free summer" by 2040 2. Not only is the Artic suffering from global warming, but coral reefs are experiencing the greatest amount of water-temperature related dying of reef-dweling creatures since the late 1990's 3. The Earth has gradually been warming since the 1400's.

Wiki Assignment #2: Examples of the Gas Laws
[|Intro to Boyle's Law] (Read the two paragraphs after "Let's follow an example...") **Boyle's Law-** In this example, Boyle's Law is demonstrated by bringing a balloon underwater and observing the relationship between pressure and volume. Boyle's Law states, when temperature is held constant, the volume of a given mass of gas is inversely proportional to the pressure. In this example, at the surface, a balloon is under 1 atmosphere of pressure, but when taken to a depth of thiry-three feet, the balloon is under two atmospheres of pressure. The pressure is doubled, so according to Boyle's Law the volume of the balloon must be half of its original size. When taken to sixty-six feet the balloon is under three atmospheres of pressure so the volume is one-third its original size, and so on. When volume decreases, the particles that make up the gas inside the balloon collide with each other more often, which then increases the pressure.


 * Charles' Law-** An example of Charles' Law I observe every year is on Thanksgiving after the turkey is cooked, the pop-up timer pops up when the turkey is cooked to a high enough temperature. The particles of gas inside the syringe increase in temperature as the turkey cooks, therefore increasing the volume of the syringe making the top part pop up.

[|VIDEO: Gay-Lussac's Law] [|ARTICLE: Gay-Lussac's Law] (video was taken from article) **Gay- Lussac's Law-** An example of Gay-Lussac's Law is when a soda can or bottle is heated. Gay-Lussac's Law says pressure over temperature is constant. When temperature is increased, a increase in pressure occurs also (when volume is constant), so if you heat a gas enough that is contained in a certain, unchanging volume, it will explode. This happens because the paticles in the bottle are moving faster when heated, which also increases pressure because the particles collide more.

Wiki Assignment #1-TED Talk: A Better Way to Harvest Bone Marrow
[|TED Talks: Daniel Kraft Invents a Better Way to Harvest Bone Marrow]

I was interested in this video because I want to be a Oncolgy docor when I graduate from college. Cancer is very interesting to me, and I love to keep myself updated on new technology that could save the lives of many caner patients around the world.

As a pediatric cancer doctor, Daniel Kraft sees hundreds of children suffering from all different types of diseases including Leukemia, Myeloma, Anemias, Lymphoma, and many other genetic disorders. Bone marrow saves tens of thousands of patients with these diseases each year. The method of extracting this bone marrow hasn't changed in about forty years and is very invasive and painful. This method incldes injecting a long needle into a donor's soft tissue and hip bone. Ten milliliters of bone marrow are taken with each extraction and about two-hundred extractions with each donation.

Kraft figured there had to be a less-invasive procedure than this. He invented the "Marrow Miner", a long needle with a wire catheter at the end that allows it to stay in the crunchy marrow. The Marrow Miner follows the contour of the hip and requires only one entrace point, versus the old method of about ten. It can be inserted through the front or back of the hip bone and allows the donor to be an outpatient. It allows docotors to be minimally invasive while rapidly aspirating the marrow. Studies show when using the Marrow Miner, the extracted bone marrow contains ten times the amount of stem cell activity than the standard method. Marrow is a rich source of adult stems cells, that help improve heart disease, vascular disease, and neurology diseases. Dr. Kraft's hope for the Marrow Miner is to harvest more stem cells, encourage more people to be donors, and to in turn create more cancer survivors.

I found this video very interesting because of the ideas that turned into reality. Dr. Kraft made a bold move that will save thousands of lives based off of one of his ideas. I learned the standard and new ways of exracting bone marrow. Kraft's invention is fascinating and will hopefully spark other new inventions and lead to a huge step in cancer research. I hope to contribute to the medical field in a way such as this.