not - your - ordinary - kiddos: 2011

Radiation (Intro to Nuclear Chemistry)

4:37 AM |

When you hear the word radiation, I'm sure the first thing to come up in your minds is......

"This guy?"

Um, yeah? But that's not what I'm expecting from you. This is a radioactive alien guy from Ben 10. I was thinking something more like.....

.....this. Yes, this is an image of a victim of the Chernobyl disaster, once again, in Russia. It's because of a nuclear power plant accident which caused the Chernobyl residents to suffer from radiation poisoning. So now I guess you think that radiation and nuclear chemistry is something dangerous and complicated. Well not really, after all, this is just an introduction as the title states. So, what is nuclear chemistry?

Nuclear Chemistry is simply a branch of chemistry which deals with radioactivity, nuclear processes and nuclear properties. So it focuses on radiation itself.

Radiation is a process in which energetic particles or waves travel through a medium or space. There are two types of radiation: Ionizing and Non-ionizing but we'll just focus on Ionizing radiation.

Radiation with sufficiently high energy can ionize atoms. Most often, this occurs when an electron is stripped (or 'knocked out') from an electron shell, which leaves the atom with a net positive charge. Because cells are made of atoms, this ionization can result in cancer. An individual cell is made of trillions of atoms. The probability of ionizing radiation causing cancer is dependent upon the dose rate of the radiation and the sensitivity of the organism being irradiated. Ionizing radiation involves three processes: Alpha and Beta Decal, and Gamma Ray or Gamma Decay.

In Alpha Decay, an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle, and thereby transforms (or 'decays') into an atom with a mass number 4 less and atomic number 2 less. For example:

An alpha particle is the same as a helium-4 nucleus, and both mass number and atomic number are the same.

Now in Beta Decay, beta particle (an electron or a positron) is emitted. In the case of electron emission, it is referred to as beta minus (β−), while in the case of a positron emission as beta plus (β+).

In β− decay, the weak interaction converts a neutron into a proton while emitting an electron (e−)

while in β+ decay, energy is used to convert a proton into a neutron, a positron (e+).

Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays (denoted as γ), is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency (very short wavelength).

The image below is an example of radioactive decay involving alpha and beta decay in Uranium 238.

So how dangerous is radiation? Too much exposure in radiation could result to radiation poisoning. A dose of radiation from 6 sieverts (a unit for radiation) or more could be lethal. In fact, you're exposed to radiation even inside your own home but don't worry, the amount of radiation there is too little to cause any effects on your body.

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Types of Chemical Reactions

4:39 AM |

The picture shows Mr. Oil and Mr. Vinegar fighting and no one knows the reason. So, the kind-hearted Mr. Emulsifier (yeast) tries to stop them. And BAM! A chemical reaction had just occurred. *laughs out loud* The end.

HELLO THERE FRIENDS! There are five types of chemical reaction and here they are:

1) Combustion: A combustion reaction is when oxygen combines with another compound to form water and carbon dioxide. These reactions are exothermic, meaning they produce heat. An example of this kind of reaction is the burning of napthalene:

C₁₀H₈ + 12 O₂ ---> 10 CO₂ + 4 H₂O

Familiar isn't it? Yes, those our candies. Blah! I'm just kidding, those are NAPTHALENE BALLS. Look inside your drawers, you can see one! :D

2) Decomposition: A decomposition reaction is the opposite of a synthesis reaction - a complex molecule breaks down to make simpler ones. These reactions come in the general form:

AB ---> A + B

One example of a decomposition reaction is the electrolysis of water to make oxygen and hydrogen gas:

2 H2O ---> 2 H2 + O2

3) Single displacement: This is when one element trades places with another element in a compound. These reactions come in the general form of:

A + BC ---> AC + B

Example:

When magnesium replaces hydrogen in water to make magnesium hydroxide and hydrogen gas:

Mg + 2 H2O ---> Mg(OH)2 + H2

4) Double displacement: This is when the anions and cations of two different molecules switch places, forming two entirely different compounds. These reactions are in the general form:

AB + CD ---> AD + CB

Example:

Reaction of lead (II) nitrate with potassium iodide to form lead (II) iodide and potassium nitrate:

Pb(NO3)2 + 2 KI ---> PbI2 + 2 KNO3

5) Synthesis or Combination: A synthesis/combination reaction is when two or more simple compounds combine to form a more complicated one. These reactions come in the general form of:

A + B ---> AB

Different kinds of Combination/Synthesis Reaction

1) Combination of metals and oxygen to form metallic oxide. Metal oxides, sometimes called basic oxides, are usually ionic compounds.

2) Molecular compounds, this is created when nonmetals react with oxygen or another nonmetals.

3) Salts, combination of metals and nonmetals.

4) Compounds also undergo combination reactions. Metal oxides react with water to form metallic hydroxides called bases.

5) Nonmetal oxides or acidic oxides react with water to form acids. Example of this reaction is the formation of acid rain.

So, this is all we have and all we can give to you for now dudes! When there's an update we'll give you the update, no more and no less also, still fresh! So long dear ones! Ciao! :D

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Mole

4:34 AM |

There are terms that are used to indicate certain numbers such as decade, dozen, case etc. etc. Well in chemistry, particles are counted by mole.

Oh yeah. That kind of mole, good job. Way to go. Jerk!

Anyway, mole is a unit consisted o 6.02*10^23 species which is called Avogadro's number, after the Italian physicist Amedeo Avogadro. This is used to indicate very small species like molecules, atoms, or ions. How did Avogaro get that number you ask? Well, even I don't know and it's a question that i wouldn't dare to find the answer.

Fun Fact: Mole Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated among chemists in North America in honor of the unit on October 23 from 6:02am to 6:02 pm making the date 6:02 10/23 which is derived from the Avogadro's number.

So what's the use of moles? It helps you to easily determine the number of atoms in a compund.

Example: Antacid or Al(OH)3

In one mole of antacid, there's one mole of Al and three moles of OH.

Well that's all we've got about moles. If you got any comments or suggestions, don't hesitate to put in the comment box. Till then.

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The Periodic table of Elements

5:06 AM |

Okay. Since this is a new chemistry blog, let's first start with the basics. Of course you can't survive in the world of chemistry without knowing the Periodic Table of Elements. We can say that this is the map of the chemistry world for all the most basic information are here.

The image on the left is an artist's depiction of what the world of chemistry looks like from outer space. It was made by an unknown artist in the renaissance. Just kidding, I just made it up.

Let's go back to the subject. The Periodic Table, as you see it, is a tabular display of chemical elements and provides a very easy and useful framework of classifying, systematizing, arranging and comparing the chemical elements. Nowadays, it is very useful not only in chemistry but also in biology, physics and chemical engineering. The inventor of the very first periodic table is the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (Well in Soviet Russia, periodic table invents you.).

I know. This is not Mendeleev.

This is Mendeleev.

But since we're not really chemistry teachers, we can't discuss everything about the periodic table after all, this is just a blog so we'll just tell you......

"How to use the periodic table?"

Yeah. That's what I was going to say.

First you have to know the most basic parts of the periodic table. Lets take an element from the table itself.

This is what you call a cell. The cell is a block where you can find the name, symbol, atomic number, atomic mass etc. etc. of an element. Well in this case, only the atomic number is shown.

The name of the element can be derived from the name of its discoverer, the place where it was discovered, it's appearance or in some cases, the discoverer just gives it the name he/she wants.

The symbol is one or two (sometimes three) letters that is used to represent the element. Usually, it is the first two letters of the element's name or it's Latin name.

The atomic number is the number of protons of the element. It also describes the elements behavior.

The periodic table has more parts other than these but I hope this blog helps you to get started. We'll post more topics soon. Thanks for reading! =D

FAST FACTS!!!

The ONLY letter from the English alphabet that does not appear anywhere on the periodic table is the letter "J".

The last element on the periodic table, UNUNOCTIUM ~~wasn't created~~ until 2006. It has a half-life of 0.00089 seconds, meaning that half of it decays into another element in that period of time. It is not known which state ununoctium appears in at room temperature, but it is believed to be a gas. The instability of higher elements means that there is a limit to the number of elements that can exist.

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Radiation (Intro to Nuclear Chemistry)

Types of Chemical Reactions

Mole

The Periodic table of Elements