Chemistry

1-We have now completed our exploration of the LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLISM of chemistry. Refer to the FOCUS for Exp 5 and Exp 6 (in lab manual)and write a summary of
What you have learned about this aspect of chemistry, and
The kind of effort needed to understand the chemistry ideas or words in a meaningful way.

Upon knowing of the need for appropriate language and symbols even in the field of chemistry, I realized and learned that a mastery of such is necessary in order to completely comprehend and utilize chemistry and its concepts in a meaningful and productive manner. To further explain, even though the presence of unique languages and symbols may prevent the general population from understanding chemical processes and equations, those knowledgeable in the field do not use and develop such means of communication to brag or to distinguish themselves from others. Specifically, the application of the aforesaid means of communication in chemistry is of vital significance if the progress and development of chemistry, especially in terms of research and industrial applications, would be maintained at an efficient pace. While terms and chemical symbols may certainly be a challenge to master and comprehend at first, it is undeniable that the use of such is in a fact a means of simplifying the highly complex language of chemistry.

2-research one chemistry topic of your choice and report what you find. Many of you are nursing major, a suggestion the chemical composition of antacids and chemistry of how they work. Please feel free to choose your own topic.

I want information on the CHEMISTRY of your topic, use no undefined terms (or define any terms used) and discuss the chemistry of the topic in details and terms that the man on the street could find meaningful
Paracetamol, one of the most commonly used medications for headache and fever, is in fact a result of advances in chemistry. In this sense, it would be appropriate to assume that paracetamol is chemically produced with a specific chemical composition. To explain, the main parts or components of paracetamol incorporate three main characteristics specifically, a benzene ring, a hydroxyl group, and an additional nitrogen atom  are the main features of the paracetamols chemical structure. While such details may be important, it would be most ideal to further expound upon the manner in which the aforesaid medication functions. Given that the paracetamol is mainly used for the treatment of fever and headaches, its chemical action targets one of the most common the sources of such problems. Specifically, one of the enzymes within the body, which are mainly biological means of internal control, when activated due to certain conditions results in the development of the previously mentioned symptoms. In the presence of paracetamol, the actions of the enzyme that initiates the occurrence of headaches and fever are prevented from occurring in other words, the paracetamol blocks the enzyme from accomplishing its task or main function. Hence, while the composition and action of paracetamol may be rather simplistic in concept, it is true that the discovery and development of such a medication is without doubt a chemical marvel.      

C100 L EXPERIMENT  5
THE LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLISM OF CHEMISTRY

Every discipline develops its own language and symbols for communication.  Those symbols often become the gateway for learning and those who will not learn them will never be able to venture very far into the knowledge base of that discipline.  You cannot learn to read until you master your ABCs.   Mathematicians communicate in the symbols of    and    and  H  and  d  and    and  , and mathematics cannot be learned until meaning is associated with those symbols.   Medical professionals speak in a language of abbreviations  ACL, BP, CBC, ECG, ICCU, and the layperson has to learn some of this language to even follow the doctor programs on TV.

In chemistry the symbols for the elements is the alphabet and the language is the means by which we string those symbols together to express meaning.  If the following symbolism,
2H2 (g)       O2 (g)         2H2O (l)
does not prompt you to say (at least)  hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen gas to produce water, you are effectively locked out of any hope of understanding chemistry.   The symbols actually expressed much more information, but we will be satisfied with the above interpretation.

In this exercise we will research the names and chemical formulas for our 17 solids.  We will then compare some of these names and symbols with the properties we documented in Experiment 2.  This work will prepare us to attach the symbolism to some of the chemical reactions we observed in Experiment 2.

Every discipline has its own language and symbolism which must be learned.  In chemistry, the symbols are used to define the substances and any changes that take place.

We have the time to look at only a very small subset of the type of chemicals and chemical reactions that can occur.  We will focus only on the chemicals that we characterized in Experiment 2.  The names we have been using for the solid chemicals are archaic andor common names, to begin to unravel the system of symbols and the language of chemistry we will need to find the official names and symbols for these chemicals as established by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).  This is the group that has been given the authority to establish the language and symbolism that chemists speak.

There are essentially two components to this exercise

1. We have to access the shared records that have been accumulated, verified, and organized by chemists over the centuries.  We are going to use the internet to do this, but anyone can submit information to the internet, so we have to make sure that we are accessing valid and reliable information.  We need to establish the criteria that will allow us be confident that the information we are accessing is consistent with the reliable, professional record.

2. We need to explore what the symbol is telling us about that chemical using both our collected information and the official record.  Exploring this information will lead us into the language used in chemistry and allow us to develop some level of understanding of that language.

C100 L EXPERIMENT 6
CLASSIFYING SUBSTANCES
You ask what is the use of classification, arrangement, systemization
I answer you order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject-

There are millions of individual chemicals.  If each one had to be understood individually, there would be an overwhelming amount of chemical information to deal with.  However, if we can find similarities or common sets of properties that allow us to group chemicals into categories, accessing that chemical information to solve new problems or create new products becomes manageable.  Finding common characteristics and placing chemicals into groups has been a valuable tool in chemistry.  Out of this work has come an incredibly useful set of classifications  acid, base, oxidizing agent, carbohydrate, protein, vitamin, and many more  the list of classifications itself is almost overwhelming.

As we experienced in Experiment 4, separation procedures can be used to isolate pure compounds.   Once pure, these compounds can be studied to determine their properties as we did in Experiment 2   Chemists collect, record, and organize this information so it can be shared and used, just as we did in Experiment 2.  In the last exercise we discovered ways to access this record and began to learn the symbols and language that chemists speak in.  

What we will explore in this exercise is accessing the records professional chemists have compiled on our 17 chemicals and then look for the similar properties that allow these chemicals to be put into groups  groups that will have their own language.

Pure compounds can be characterized by their properties and those properties can be used to group chemicals together and label them in specific ways.  Discovering the language that groups these chemicals is important in understanding how chemists organize chemical information.

Generally when a group of items or a group of people is recognized as having a common set of properties, a word is created to label that group.  Two examples are the group of plants with similar properties labeled vegetable, and the group of people with similar political beliefs labeled Republican.  If you dont know what the similar properties are, however, the label conveys no meaning.  Chemistry is full of this type of labeling terminology and it is our job to wade through some it in this exercise in order to develop a deeper understanding of our 17 chemicals

What we did in EX6
THE LANQUAGE AND SYMBOLISM OF CHEMISTRY
and CLASSIFYING  SUBSTANCES
EXPERIENCE SUMMARY

1.  Write the chemical equation for all the reactions identified from Exp. 2 Table 2.

Table Salt NaCl -Pb2NO3-NaNO3PbCl2

Washing Soda  NaCO32-Pb2NO3-NaNO3PbCO3

Epsom Salt  Mg2SO4-Pb2 NO3-Mg(NO3)2PbSO

Flores Martis  Fe3Cl-Pb2NO3-Fe(NO3)3Pb(Cl)2
           Fe3Cl-NH4OH-Fe(OH)3NH4Cl

Blue Vitrol  Cu2SO42-Pb2NO3-Cu(NO3)2PbSO4

Retgersite Ni2SO42-Ca2NO3Ni(NO3)2CaSO4
     Ni2SO42-NH4OH-Ni(OH)22NH4SO4