Located in Northern Ireland, these beautiful structures were created due to a volcanic eruption. Originally from the North Atlantic Igneous Province, the Giant’s Causeway was part of a lava plateau called the Thulean Plateau. Due to continental drift, the plateau broke into pieces during the Paleogene period, which is roughly 60 millon years ago. The basalt lava contracted and cracked downwards as it cooled down, giving the pillars their unique shape.
Note: The polka dot black thing in the bottom left-hand corner of my pictures is my bag (token to demonstrate photo is taken by me). Also, my iPod is old so the photos aren’t high quality, but hopefully the organisms are still identifiable.
Here is an example of a parasitic symbiotic relationship. The cloud sponges eat floating plankton, except the galatheid crabs have a similar diet. They take advantage of this by eating the organisms that should have become the sponges’ food.
Hidden among the leaves is a golden poison frog. On it’s bright yellow skin is batrachotoxin, which can lead to heart failure on contact.
Next to the bag is a barely visible stingray. The colour of the stingray matches the colour of the sand, allowing it to camouflage into the environment.
In this picture, there are many biotic and abiotic factors. The rocks provide a surface for the white anemones and barnacles to attach to. All of the organisms are sea creatures, so the water is another contributing abiotic factor.
Here is a picture of a sturgeon. They are critically endangered, due to excessive fishing for their quality caviar.
This is a picture of a beluga. Over thousands of years, the beluga have adapted to a cold habitat. One of these adaptations is the absence of a dorsal fin. Without a dorsal fin, it is easier to swim under ice sheets and preserve body heat.
Match and Water Trick – How does the water react with a burning candle?
Magic!
The water appears to magically rise upwards when the flame is extinguished. How does science explain this mystery?
Materials & Procedures
Materials: dish, candle, beaker, water, lighter
Chemical Reaction:
CH4 + O2 → CO2 + H2O (Complete combustion)
Research:
The beaker is placed over the candle, and the flame heats the air up. When the air is heated, the gas particles expand and move faster, putting pressure on the water (higher temperature = higher air pressure; Gay-Lussac’s law – pressure increases proportionately to temperature increase). Carbon dioxide, a product from the chemical reaction (CH4 + O2 → CO2 + H2O) pushes oxygen downwards since it is hotter (less dense). As more carbon dioxide is produced there is less oxygen available for the combustion, causing the flame to go out. This lowers the temperature of the air. Applying the Gay-Lussac Law, there is now less pressure on the water. The decrease in air pressure causes the water to rise.
A common explanation and misconception is how the oxygen burnt during combustion causes the water to rise; oxygen in the air is burnt, leaving an empty space, and the water rises up to fill it. This suggests that the volume of water risen is the same amount of oxygen used in the combustion. However, the conservation of mass tells us that the mass after the chemical reaction is the same as before because no atoms can be created or destroyed. In this case, the oxygen became the products, CO2 + H2O, and wasn’t destroyed.
Observations & Outcomes:
For our first attempt at this experiment, we used a 1L beaker to place over the candle flame. We soon realized that the flame will take too long to extinguish because there is too much oxygen, so instead we switched to a 250mL beaker which helped shorten the time. The flame extinguished and the water started slowly rising. The water stayed up for several minutes.
Sources:
Combustion of Hydrocarbons. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2015, from http://www.ausetute.com.au/combusta.html
Knill, O. (2006, September 24). The burning candle – rising water experiment. Retrieved October 27, 2015, from http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/pedagogy/waterexperiment/
Rudel, D. (n.d.). Chapter 1 of Volume 2: Candles Unders Jars. Retrieved October 27, 2015, from http://misconceptions.science-book.net/free-samples/
The Naked Scientists. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2015, from http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/experiments/exp/losing-air/
Document link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1122u0bRJDFUBANOtCbFBIat51ZDsxzAM6Fu1PnGThg8/edit?usp=sharing
Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8xvhglonrlg3m07/Science%20is%20magic!!.mp4?dl=0
Link to partner’s blogpost: http://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/hanaw-2014/2015/11/02/science-is-magic/
Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is an ionic compound. It is mainly used to produce ferro vanadium, which is created by combining V2O5 with iron. Ferro vanadium is used to strengthen metals and make them anti-corrosive. Steel tools, aircraft and automobile parts are examples of ferro vanadium use.
Sources:
1. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium(V)_oxide>.
2. “Ferro Vanadium.” – Universal Strengthener & Hardener. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.wbrl.co.uk/ferro-vanadium.html>.
Images:
http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/Vanadium_V_oxide_99_6_250g/EW-88220-99
http://www.elementalmicroanalysis.com/images/products/B4001.jpg
Atomic number: 23
Atomic mass: 50.9
Valence electrons: +5, +4
Vanadium is a transition metal discovered by Mexican chemist Andres Manuel del Rio in 1801. His work was not accepted however, when French chemist Hippolyte-Victor Collet-Descotils stated that it was just impure chromium. The element was rediscovered in 1830 by Nils Gabriel Sefstrom from Sweden, and it was named Vanadium after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty, Vanadis. 85% of vanadium that is produced is used to make steel alloys. It’s commonly used to create parts for cars and jet engines, as well as gears and axles. A unique fact about vanadium is that it has four oxidation states and changes colour for each one. Here is a video showing the different states:
Sources:
Images:
The results of this experiment show that the stretchiness of the gum determines how big the size of the bubbles will be. Gum A (Hubba Bubba) stretched farther than Gum B (Big League Chew) when stretched apart. However, Gum B’s bubbles were slightly larger in diameter than Gum A’s. Therefore, if the gum is very stretchy, then smaller bubbles will be created. This proves my hypothesis incorrect, which was that Gum A would produce the largest bubbles due to its stretchiness. These results however, are not completely accurate due to a number of variables: density of the gum, how the gum was produced, the chewer’s bubble blowing skills, the area in which the gum was grabbed then stretched, and the time passed since it was last chewed.
If the gum was denser, then it stretched farther. Since Gum A and Gum B are manufactured from different companies, the way it was produced may affect how well it broke down in the chewer’s mouth. If one were not good at blowing bubbles, then most likely the bubbles will not be a large size. Where the gum was pulled is also a variable because if a large area was grabbed, then there would be more material to be stretched and it would stretch farther. The amount of time that passed since the gum had last been chewed is important since its temperature would slowly decrease, making it less stretchy.
