Who needs a brakes when you have a helmet

Shh.... don't tell anyone but we got the boys Strider Bikes. These bikes rule! Durable welded steel frame with puncture-proof all-terrain tires with sealed bearings and 5/16" steel axles. All this is in a British Racing Blue ( I made that last part up but it is blue). Most importantly they are fun and easy to ride. What is unique about the strider bike is that they have no pedals and no brakes! That's right who needs brakes when you have a helmet. Kai the "free sprit" Koa the "courageous one" hitting the open road, cruising! Life is not limited to old rusty joggers, and plastic strollers powered by mom and dad trying make meaning for their lives by going to point A to point B. The boys have bikes! They are mobile! Anytime anywhere! What's this? you laugh! you mock the boys! I know what you are thinking "REALLY anytime, anywhere? How about Black Mountian's Quaddriple Black Diamond Run next tuesday at 8:OO" I say "No worries the boys have helmets. They have rubber baby buggy bumpers for their brains, they're good to go. It's just like your chem homework. Your homework is like a bike helmet or a rubber baby buggy bumpers for your brains. If you miss a problem, no worries it is not going to hurt just get right back up and take another ride or rather problem.

For example what are the units for concentrations of acids and bases?

a) liters/mole

b) g/mole

c) moles/liters

d) mole/g

answer is ........moles/liters

Don't forget to check out my podcast

Tennessee is not just another state

Tennessee is not just another state. I came to this conclusion when making my test a many weeks ago. I was having one of those serendipitous moments. Could of happened to anyone. I was eating chips and salsa, watching Kai kick the soccer ball in the house, holding Koa in my lap and writing my test on my laptop. I had just finished question number ten when I said to Koa "what letter should the answer be A, B, C, or D". Koa responded "C". Kai then says "C? what is C daddy?" I then said "Ten is C." That is when it hit me, Tennessee is not just another state. So as a tradition I will always make the answer to number ten is C oh yeah don't tell anyone. To check out my podcast review click here

Naming compounds podcast

Click here for my podcast on naming compounds. You will need the following items

1. Naming Compounds Flow Chart
2. Polyatomic Ion Card
3. Paper and pencil

Frozen Yogurt Squeezers a lesson in Catalysts

Take one boy(my son) and add one vegetable, this is a chemical reaction that can be very dangerous. This is a Slow but Dangerous reaction. In fact the slower the reaction, the more dangerous it can be. Some reactions form a gas, some form water, and some form a precipitate this reactions does all three (have you ever changed a diaper)! All reactions either release energy or absorb energy. This reaction releases a lot of energy. Loud energy!

Now by themselves harmless. The boy is cute, fun, and joyful. The vegetable is calm nonreactive and is healthy. Put them together and watch out. Here is the funny thing thou, the faster these two react with each other the better. This reaction works best in under 3 minutes. 4 and 5 minute reactions may work, but anything after 5 and you had better have on your safety goggles on.

Using my vast knowledge of chemistry I have decided on a course of action. I know that a rate of a reaction can be influenced by temperature, surface area, concentration and a catalysts. Thus to speed up this reaction I could:

1. Increase the temperatures of the reactants
2. Increase the surface areas of the reactants (small particles react faster then larger particles)
3. Increase the concentration of the reactants
4. Add a catalyst

Lets start with:

#1 I don't recommend heating up the boy but the vegetable can be heated up. I have tried this many times and it really does not work.

#2 I tried cutting the vegetables in smaller pieces not the boy. I did notice an increase in the rate of reaction but I think I put more energy into it then I got out of it.

#3 Increasing the concentration of the vegetables didn't seem to work trust me.

#4 The catalysts. Let me explain how a catalysts works. Catalysts increase the reaction rate with out being in the reaction. For my experiment I chose a frozen Yogurt Squeezers also known as gogurts. Just the mention of a squeezer seems to excite my son. Once he saw the squeezer he really got excited. Now I simply placed the squeezer near the vegetables. The Vegetables were gone in under 3 minutes and the squeezer was still there still frozen.

Lesson learned Frozen Yogurt Squeezers make an excellent catalysts your class my family.

Synthesis Reactions?

Is it not annoying when you have a song stuck in your head. Here I am trying to change lives with chemistry and I have a song stuck in my head but I don't know the name of the song. I think of all the songs it could be......I get nothing. I go through my Ipod.........nothing. I start think about all songs in movies..........nothing. I even sing the song into shazam an Ipod Apps...........nothing! And then it hits me.

Now in chemistry we teach A + B -> AB, we call it a synthesis reaction. So naturally, logically I think A = Song and B= chemsitry so AB must be a cool chemistry song. like David Bowie and Queen's Under Pressure (gas laws) click here

Or perhaps the element song not as cool but it is a chemistry song click here

This make sense because A + B -> AB synthesis reaction.

Apparently I have flexed the laws chemistry, perhaps I have bent the law of conservation of mass/matter. I didn't come up with "AB" I got "C".

My song was: float flutter fly (the flying rock)

Click here and then click on the sample

Going For My Masters

The teacher has become the student literally. Do you have any idea what it means to have homework and a family? Papers, PowerPoint, and a Family. Due Dates, and Doo Doos!