REX'S EMAIL about CHEMISTRY |
In a message dated 3/5/98 00:58:10, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Hi, my name is megan mcdougal and i live in wisconsin. i have a question about science. right now my classmates and i are studying atoms in chemestry and i don't inderstand one thing- energy levels. how do you know how many energy levels an atom has and how many electrons are in the outer energy level? if you could explain this i would appretiate it. megan wisconsin >>
Hello Megan,
Hoot tells me that you need a book that has the electron shells of the atoms pictured to figure this one out. Even a good Periodic Table would do.
Check for any element. The atoms of elements 1 (hydrogen) and 2 (helium) only have one energy level. This is the one closest to the center of the atom or the NUCLEUS. This level can usually only have 2 electrons in it.
Elements numbered 3 to 10 have a second electron shell, and it may have up to 8 electrons in it. Can you name these elements?
The electron levels sort of determine what atoms a particular one can combine with. It has to do with how many spaces are left in a shell. When the outer or last shell of an element is completely filled by electrons, the element is called INERT, meaning that it can't usually combine or react with any other.
Hoot made all the Beanies draw what they thought were the atoms for the first 10 elements-- and they all got them correct! Can you do that?
REX
In a message dated 3/5/98 03:47:40, you wrote: <<Hey there Rex. I have a question, why does it seem like sugar dissapears when mixed with water? Signed, Jessica from Tx. :-) P.S. REX RULES!!!!>>
Hello Jessica,
Sugar "seems" to disappear because it is what scientists call soluble. That means it dissolves in water. It is still in the water, but you just can't see it.
Taste the water BEFORE you add sugar. Then taste it AFTER adding the sugar and you watched it disappear. See? You can't see it anymore, but you can taste it. The molecules of the water mixed with those of the sugar and made a sugar SOLUTION.
REX
In a message dated 2/5/98 01:41:16, you wrote: <<Hi, i'm Chelsea and i'm 11. I really need to know two things. First I really want to get princess and erin but I can't pay the 100 some dollars people ask for them. Are they going to be cheeper anytime soon???? Also if the Pilsbery Dough Boy® eats a cookie is it canabalisem??? Truly Yours, Chelsea ..Seattle, Washington>>
Hello Chelsea,
Princess and Erin are already much cheaper to adopt than they were a month ago, and when the new shipments appear they should be even less expensive.
NO, how could you think that about the Dough Boy!! He is only made of dough, and a cookie is made of cookie. They are two genetically different things!
In evolution, as the climate changed for whatever reason, new life forms adapted to the new conditions. In the same way, when dough is baked, the cookie evolved due to the higher temperature environment. At the same time the dough became extinct.
REX
In a message dated 10/4/98 02:31:55, you wrote:<<Dear Rex, I am in a science class where we are learning about ionic & covelant compounds. I know that one kind has its exponents put into simpelest form and one does not, but not which one. I also need to know how you can tell when a compound has been put in simplest form. I would really appreciate any help you could give me. Thank You, Kimberly W. from Milwaukee, Wisconsin>>
Hello Kimberly,
I had to ask Hoot, the symbol of wisdom, about this one!
She says that, although she is not a chemist, she thinks that the following is true: an "electrovalent" chemical bond, also called "ionic", has to do with a transfer of electrons from one atom to another, resulting in ions or electrostatically charged particles. An example would be the common substance salt or NaCl. It is composed of the Na+ ion and a Cl- ion.
A "covalent" bond would be a "sharing" of electrons between the atoms. It results in a stable, non-ionic compound. The gases htdrogen (H2) and Cl (Cl2) are examples.
BUT, as with most things, some substances may sort of be in between. Water, for example, is a slightly charged molecule which would class it as an ionic bond-- BUT its electron sharing is even stronger, so it is technically listed as having a covalent bond.
She said that the simplest form for any compound would be its "basic" formula, H2O, NaCl, H2SO4, etc.
REX
In a message dated 9/4/98 07:56:25, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, I am Tom in California. In science class we put a chicken bone in vinegar and it got realy soft and we could bend it. Also the vinegar disolved an egg shell in another experiment. if this is so, then how come people eat salad dressing with vinegar? My mom eats tons of salad - wouldn't all this vinegar be bad for her tummy? Signed Tom>>
Hello Tom,
Squealer tells me that vinegar is a weak acid. Acids dissolve different things. Bones and egg shells both have calcium in them, and are easily dissolved in acid.
NO, the stomach also contains acids stronger than vinegar, so it is not bad for you-- and it makes a salad more tasty! And salads are good for you!!
REX
In a message dated 6/3/98 23:16:15, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, My name is Jason, and I have a chemistry question for you. I am studying what volume is. My big brother won't tell me, and my parents don't know(they didn't take it in school). So I thought that I would ask you. Thanks Rex, I hope you can help me!! Jason Carpenter Fort Worth, Texas>>
Hello Jason,
Volume is the space something occupies. It is as simple as that.
Big brothers are supposed to help their younger ones out! Maybe if you gave him a Beanie he might help you?
Happy said that I should give you a couple examples. You have two boxes, one much larger than the other. Which one has the most volume? The bigger one because it takes up more space.
If you have a liter bottle of soda and a 2 liter bottle, the 2 liter bottle has more volume.
REX
In a message dated 5/3/98 23:49:50, you wrote: << DEAR REX, HOW COME SALT EATS UP THE ICE IF YOU SPRINKLE IT ON IT?
MY ADDRESS I S .WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA >>
Hi,
Salt does not really "eat" up the ice, it sort of melts is.
As the salt dissolves in the ice it forms salt water. Try this experiment and see if you can answer your own question.
Take two equal sized baby food jars and in one put 3 tablespoons of salt. Fill both with water to the top. Make sure the salt dissolves in the jar with the salt in it.
Then put both jars in the freezer. Check every hour to see which one freezes first. Take notes on how long it takes to freeze the plain water and the salt water.
CLUE : Does the ocean freeze when a nearby swimming pool of fresh water is frozen?
REX
In a message dated 25/2/98 22:05:26, you wrote: <<Hi rex, my name is Cody M, I live in New mexico and go to secend grade, i am going to be 8 next month in March. I have one qaustion that my Daddy and me cant find out yet. Daddy is in collig and he takes cemystery class. He likes doing to xpeariments and stuff but I wanna know how come ice cubes can float in the water if they are both water? Daddy does not now for sure. I made ice cubes before in the freezer and they are made out of water, so how come they float? Hope you culd help us figure out this one. Thank you. Cody M. >>
Hello Cody,
Scientists find out new things by looking around and seeing stuff they have not noticed before. A lot of discoveries were made by "accident", like the guy who accidently mixed some liquid with something else and came back the next day to find the mixture hard as a rock-- he invented plastic!
Most materials shrink when they freeze. Water is an exception to this general rule, and it EXPANDS, meaning that the atoms move farther apart.
DENSITY is what makes something float on water. Pure water has a density of 1. A material that is more dense (DENSITY >1), like a penny, sinks in water. Anything with a DENSITY of <1 (= less than 1), such as a cork, floats on water.
Did you ever notice that ice cubes are always larger than the original water level you put in the ice cube tray? That means that when the water froze its density got smaller (= <1). That is why ice floats.
Waddle loves your question because she is always likes to be around ice.
Peace thinks it is great that you are helping your Dad because he always helps his Beanie friends with their homework too!
REX
In a message dated 9/2/98 04:51:34, you wrote: <<Hi, Rex. My Name is Laney, I'm 11 & in the 6th grade. This is the 3rd year that I've studied things like atoms & molecules in school. This is one thing in science that I don't understand! This may be a tough question, but How can there be tiny atoms in EVERY SINGLE THING in the world???? Love, Laney >>
Hi Laney,
YES, there are not only atoms in every thing in the "world" but also in the whole Universe! And they are ALL atoms of the same elements. Even on the other planets and stars and everything else in the Universe, including the air which we can't usually see.
Scientists know these atoms of the elements exist, even though they are too small for us to see. They can identify all of the elements in the pencil you write with, or the computer you used to write your email, and even the hair on your head. Stretch said they even know what elements are in his feathers!
As you study more science you will understand this idea more easily. Humans sometimes find it difficult to understand what they can not actually see.
Did you know that the elements and atoms in your body were once part of stars and of the Universe itself? And they are all older than even the oldest dinosaurs!! WOW, that makes you and even us Beanies "children of the stars"!!
REX
In a message dated 15/1/98 21:58:05, you wrote: <<Dear "Rex" I have an older brother in seventh grade who is studying the ph balance of some things. He says he can not explain it to me and I was wondering if you could. While you are at it, could you please tell me how the soecific gravity of a rock is measured. I am really curios and would like to know. thnk you- Steven>>
Hello Steven,
WOW, now you are getting complicated with this poor lil dinosaur! Seamore, who likes to balance things on his nose, said he would help me answer you.
The term "pH" comes from the French (pouvoir hydrogène) and means "Hydrogen power" - I bet even your science teacher didn't know that! Acids have hydrogen somewhere in the beginning of their formula, like HCl (1 hydrogen atom and 1 chlorine atom) or hydrochloric acid. Bases have what is called a hydroxyl radical, OH, at the end of their formula; take NaOH (1 sodium atom, 1 oxygen atom and 1 hydrogen atom) or sodium hydroxide for example. Another name for NaOH is caustic soda.
Scientists measure how "acidic" or "basic" (the opposite of an acid) something, usually a liquid, is. They use a scale of from 1 to 14. A pH of 1 means that the liquid is VERY acidic, and a reading of 14 tells you that it is VERY basic. Some liquids, like the water we drink, usually have a pH of around 7, which is neither acidic nor basic-- it is what is called "neutral" or balanced.
Splash always measures the pH of Sonny's pond water where he and Flash like to play when it is warm out. He uses an electronic pH meter that gives the pH value on a digital readout-- much easier than making all the calculations and using chemicals and all to figure it out!
Hey, Steven, I thought it was supposed to be one question!
OK, for specific gravity I had to ask Coral, who likes to play in that pond also. He is able to swim at the bottom or near the top of the water by changing his specific gravity. Do you know how?
Specific gravity means the comparison of an objects weight in air compared to its weight in water. Sounds simple all right, but how do you figure out how much your rock weighs under water? Quackers did a nice experiment in our Beanie lab last night to show us all how to do it. Well, she first weighed the rock (a granite from Maine) in air. Then she took a beaker filled to the very top with water, put it under a beam balance (that's what scientists use to measure the "mass" of something-- sort of like weight) and tied a string around the rock. Then she let the rock slowly drop into the water-filled beaker until it was completely covered by water. Then she looked at the pointers on the balance to check its weight or mass. It was less than the rocks weight in water.
To find its specific gravity she told us all to divide the weight in air by its weight in water. I was the first to find the answer! Water has a specific gravity of 1.0. The rock had a higher sg, that's why a normal rock sinks when you throw it into a river. What happens if an objects specific gravity is LESS than water?
Sometimes I am amazed at how much my Beanie friends know about all kinds of complicated stuff. That's because they study a lot!
REX