Candy Molecules

 During science today, we made molecules out of candy.  Different candies were used to represent different atoms. 


1.)  The first molecule we made was sodium chloride (NaCl).  As you can see, the gummy circle is sodium, and the big chocolate marshmallow is chlorine.  All the x's around the chlorine atom represent its seven electrons, and the little dot by the sodium atom represents its one electron.  They are sharing sodium's electron, because if chlorine gains one more electron, it becomes stable, which is what all molecules want to become. 


2.)  The second molecule we made was water, or H2O.  The pink candy represents the oxygen atom, and the two gummy circles represent the hydrogen atoms.  The x's are the hydrogen atoms' electrons, and the dots are the oxygen's electrons.  As you can see, both hydrogens are sharing their electrons with oxygen, so oxygen has the use of eight electrons.  Therefore, it is stable.  

3.)  The third molecule we made was carbon dioxide or  CO2.  The big chocolate marshmallow in the center of the molecule is a carbon atom, and the two gummy circles represent oxygen atoms.  As you can see, the carbon atom is sharing two of its electrons with each of the oxygen atoms, and each of the oxygen atoms are sharing two of their electrons with the big carbon atom.  This means that each atom has a total of eight electrons each.  They are all stable, and they are all "happy". 








4.)  The last molecule we made was CH4.  The picture doesn't show it, but there were really four gummy bears surrounding the Turkish Delight, not three.  Each gummy bear represented one hydrogen atom, and the Turkish Delight represented the carbon atom.  We drew the diagram incorrectly.  Correctly drawn, all the hydrogen atoms would have only one electron, which they would be sharing with the carbon atom.  That way, the carbon atom, which already has four electrons, will end up having eight - one more from each of the four electrons.  However, each hydrogen atom has five electrons, so just ignore that and pretend that they each only have one. 

Current Events: New Zealand Oil Spill

Dead Seabird - Killed by the Oil

        There has been a massive oil spill in the sea around New Zealand recently.  Over 50 tons of oil has been released into the sea, and so far, only 10 tons have been removed.  Over 300 Defense Force personnel are working on getting rid of the oil, as well as specialists from Australia, the Netherlands, and the UK.  This oil spill is a big threat to the local oceanic wildlife of New Zealand.  Birds that depend on water for food, like penguins, swim through the oil and get it all over their feathers.  When they preen, they could get the oil into their system, and there is also a large risk that they will contaminate their chicks with it.  Birds like petrels, which don't swim in the water, but dive down to catch fish, will also be affected.  When they get oil in their feathers, it makes it harder for them to fly.  Orca whales, bottlenose dolphins, baleen whales, and beaked whales are also threatened as oil spills into their migratory routes.  Some animals, which are already endangered, are in the most danger from this oil spill.  If too many of them are wiped out, they may become extinct.  There are several volunteer groups working very hard at protecting and cleaning the animals that are being affected by the oil, but they can only do so much.

For more information, go to:  Oil Spill

Making an Atom

          During class, I made a scale model of a sodium atom.  The scale was 250 picometers/cm.  The only things that were not modeled to scale were the electrons.  Electrons are supposed to be 2000 times smaller than a proton or neutron, but the electrons I made were probably only about 100 times smaller.  There is a picture of my atom to the right.  As you can see, the neutrons and protons are showed separately in different shades of green, and the electrons are laid out in levels like a Bohr model. 

Current Events: Gold May be a Bad Investment

          According to CNN, investing in gold may be a bad idea.  All over the world, people believe that gold will always have the same price, even if the cost of everything else collapses.  This is because of the value we have for it.  In the past decade, the price of gold has risen by 600%, even though the global demand for gold has gone down by 18% since 2004.  Many people consider gold as something to invest in, not something to actually use, which is why the price of it has gone up, but the demand for it has gone down.  Also, gold has become much more accessible.  You can now buy gold more easily than you can buy stocks and shares, and in some countries, you can actually obtain this metal from dispensers like ATMs.  According to the article, this is very strange, and the fact that everyone is using gold is more psychological rather than reasonable.  Everyone is so attracted to gold, and that is why it is so expensive.  Once gold goes out of fashion, the gold market will collapse.  So, contrary to what you might think, investing in gold may not be the brightest idea ever. 

For more information, go to:  Gold Investments