What is Nuclear Fusion?

     What is Nuclear Fusion? Nuclear Fusion is when 2 atoms of an element, hydrogen, crash together and create a larger atom, which creates energy.
     Last night's homework was to read the article "A Star In A Bottle" by Raffi Khatchadourian. After reading the first part of the article, we had to summarize it; in about ten years, the most complex machine ever built, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), will be turned on. The machine will fuse two carbon isotopes (Deterium and Tritium) to create Helium. The Helium will have an extra neutron, which will be shot out from the element, and be used as energy.
      In class we watched a TED talk video about Nuclear Fusion. In the TED talk, physicist Stephen Crowley talks about the future of energy, fusion. He talks about how fusion is the only way to produce energy without releasing more carbon into the air. Five years from when the talk was presented (which was in 2009) we would be having energy problems, which we are. ITER's carbon-free energy is hoped to help with many of these problems, which is why Crowley says that the sooner ITER is running, the better. ITER is estimated to be up and running in the 2030's.

Nuclear Fusion: Is it the answer?

In the world our natural resources for energy are running out. Soon we won't have enough oil, or gas to create energy. So what we want to know is, "Is Nuclear Fusion the way to go?"
       After watching a TED talk in class and reading the article "A STAR IN A BOTTLE", we learned how fast our natural resources are going. And that one of the best ways to get 30,000,000 years of lasting energy is to use Nuclear Fusion. We, (Gwen and I) believe that Nuclear Fusion is the way to go. There is already a plan to create a very complex machine called ITER. ITER stands for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. ITER is planned to be switched on in about a decade. It would create energy that is Carbon free, pollution free, and have very little radioactive waste. Although the project is so expensive it needs its own currency, if it solved the worlds energy problems it would be worth it. So for us yes, we do believe that Nuclear Fusion is the way to go.

Example of ITER
 Example of ITER. Digital image. Iter. NA, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

Murder Lab

Who did it?

A forensics lab

Yesterday at 3 AM, at Mike's Awesome Bakery in Francestown, NH the baker arrived to find his assistant baker dead: lying in a pool of blood.  The victim's body was covered in a white powder.  

In an attempt to find the source of the white powder, investigators collect multiple samples from the bakery (baking soda, flour, baking powder, powdered milk, cornstarch).

Investigators are in the process of interviewing employees of the bakery to narrow their field of suspects.  They are also gathering clothing samples from employees to find a match for the white powder.

The investigators need your help.  They need you to write a lab procedure to help them identify the powder covering the body.

MATERIALS AT YOUR DISPOSAL

- baking soda

- baking powder

- flour

- cornstarch

- vinegar

- iodine solution

- universal indicator

- water

- lab materials (beakers, stirrers, pipettes, etc.)

-safety goggles

Objective: To find out which white powder was covering the body

Procedure: detailed step by step:

1. Put on safety goggles
2. Gather small amounts of each powder and liquid
3. Pour each powder into it’s column on the grid
4. Add a few drops of water to the first pile
5. Record the results
6. Add water to the rest of the powder in the row labeled water
7. Record results for each powder
8. Repeat steps 1-5 for each liquid
9. Take pictures and record results
10. Rinse grid

Analysis: (data)

Test Solutions	Baking Soda	Baking Powder	Flour	Cornstarch	Unknown
Water	Water stayed on top. Physical Change	Fizzy. Chemical Change	Nothing. Physical Change	Hard Goo. Physical Change	Fizzy. Chemical Change
Vinegar	Fizzed. Chemical Change	Lightly Fizzed. Chemical Change	Nothing. Physical Change	Absorbed Vinegar. Physical Change	Lightly Fizzed. Chemical Change
Iodine	Nothing. Physical Change	Turned purple and fizzed. Chemical Change	Repelled and turned grayish purple. Chemical Change	Turned Purple. Chemical Change	Turned purple and fizzed. Chemical Change
Indicator	Fizzed and turned green Chemical Change	Fizzed and turned orange/red/yellow Chemical change	Turned red Physical Change	Turned red Physical Change	Fizzed and turned orange/red/yellow Chemical change

Conclusion:

What powder should the investigators be looking for when they examine the suspects clothing.  How do you know?  How confident are you in your results and why?

The investigators should be looking for Baking Powder when they examine the suspects clothing. We know this because did a lab to see how certain powders (baking soda, baking powder, flour, cornstarch, and the unknown powder) reacted with other liquids (water, vinegar, iodine, and universal indicator). After the lab we concluded that the unknown powder is indeed baking powder. We are confident because none of the other powders reacted the same to the liquids like the baking powder and unknown powder did.

Lab Design Sheet: Gummy Bears in Soda

Question to be answered:      

If we put one gummy bear in coke and one in ginger ale, will the coke have a different affect on the gummy bears than the ginger ale?                                

Prior Knowledge:

The acid in coke eats away at  particles

Hypothesis:Prediction (If …we do X…then…Y will happen…)

If we put on gummy bear in coke and one in ginger ale, then the one in coke will deteriorate faster than the one in ginger ale

Hypothesis:Rationale (…because…)

Because of the acid in coke

Independent (Manipulated) variable/cause (what will you determine?):

Sodas

Dependent (Responding) variable / effect (what will you find out?):

Gummy Bears

Constants (what will you keep the same?):

Time, Cups, Gummy Bears

Equipment:

Cups, Coca-cola, Ginger Ale, Gummy Bears, Sharpie

Procedure:

1) Label both cups with the types of soda

2) Pour coke in one cup and ginger ale in the other (same amount in both)

3) Put one red gummy in each cup

4) Wait 4 days

5) Pour out soda and examine gummy bears

ANALYSIS: (Summarize what happened; staple graphs, etc. to this sheet)

  When we drained the soda out of the cups we found that both gummy bears had increased in size. But the one that was in coke, was originally red, was black and starting to deteriorate on the outside. The one that was in the ginger ale was slightly bigger in size and a slight peachy color on the outside while the middle was still red.

CONCLUSION: (What is the scientific explanation for these results?  Use relevant vocabulary terms.)

Our original question was “will coke deteriorate a gummy bear faster than ginger ale?” We then changed it around a bit to see if the different sodas would affect the gummy bears differently. Our hypothesis was If we put one gummy bear in coke and one in ginger ale, then the one in coke will deteriorate while the one in ginger ale enlarges. After the experiment we found that both gummy bears had increased in size, but the coke had turned the gummy bear black and started to deteriorate it. We believe this happened due to the fact that there is a certain acid used in coke that eats away other things such as rust, and even our insides if drinken alot. So in conclusion our hypothesis was correct, coke does eat away at a gummy bear faster than ginger ale.

Gummy Bears in Soda Experiment

When we put a gummy bear in coca-cola it deteriorated and turned black. When we put a gummy bear in ginger ale it increased in size and the color faded.

For our first experiment we put one gummy bear in coca-cola and one in ginger ale. Our hypothesis was that the gummy bear in coca-cola would disintegrate and the one in ginger ale would stay the same or enlarge.

We left the gummy bears in the sodas for five days (120 hours), then we poured the soda out. When we observed the gummy bears we found that our hypothesis was correct.

The gummy bear that was put in coca-cola was black and slightly deteriorated

The gummy bear that was put in ginger ale was peach colored and much larger than it’s original size.
The reaction of the gummy bear and coca-cola is due to the ingredient orthophosphoric acid. This acid after a certain period of time deteriorates whatever it comes in contact with. Thus the event of the gummy bear turning black and deteriorating.