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Questions Plant Managers should be prepared to answer What kind of chemicals do you have at your plant? What do you make at your facility? What is your emergency response plan? What are your air emissions? Describe the provisions you have in place for emergencies. What toxic materials do you use? Are you inspected by the EPA? What do you do here and am I safe talking to you this instant? What are the health concerns associated with your facility and your products? What are you doing to make sure I'm safe? What's going to happen in the long term in regard to health and the environment? How will I know about releases from your plant? What is the plant going to do to nearby property values? If you had a release, what would the short-term and long-term environmental effects be? What is your history of spills and releases? Do you live near the plant? If not, why not? What are you doing in regard to pollution prevention and protecting the environment? Do the chemicals you handle have an effect on children? What are the routes of exposure? What happens to the chemicals you don't use? Why should I believe you? Describe the safety performance of your employees. How many job-related illnesses or injuries do your employees experience? How long is your facility going to be operating in the area? Why is that wind sock up there? What is that smoke that I see coming out of your plant from time to time? What is that odor I smell sometimes? What do your sirens mean? Can residents have access to the facility to see what's happening? Are you planning to undergo construction or expansions? I see you are adding on to your plant. What does this mean in terms of safety? Are you going to store more chemicals? Highly Toxic Chemicals, handle with care What is chemistry? The scientific method What are controlled conditions? How are theories different from hypotheses? Do hypotheses become laws? Are natural laws ever violated? Are laws facts? Do natural laws apply everywhere? What good is a hypothesis? Measurement: Colligative properties * Why isn't 0°F the lowest possible temperature for a salt/ice/water mixture? Density What is a "degree Baumé"? How can density be found by water displacement? How can I estimate the density of a liquid mixture (e. g. liquid air?) Does ice weigh more or less than water? How much sand should Jones have used in Raiders of the Lost Ark? Can I get a solution density from the solute mass and solvent volume? What is specific gravity? How can the mass of air in a room be computed from the room's dimensions? How do I find water's density at different temperatures? Scientific notation How is a number converted to scientific notation? Significant figures Why should the rules for propagating significant digits not be applied to averages? Why does 1101 cm - 1091 cm = 10 cm with 2 significant figures? Are there simpler rules for counting significant digits? Unit conversion At what temperature are Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures equal? When is it wrong to build conversion factors from given information? How do I find grams of solute in a volume of solution, given parts per million? Units Is the SI the same as the metric system? Which is correct: decameter (dc) or dekameter (dk)? What are reciprocal units? Why is the difference between Celsius and Kelvin temperatures 273 units? Matter: Classification of matter Is distilled water a solution? Is fire matter? Compounds What is a compound? Who was the first to classify materials as "compounds"? Elements Where can I find information about elements on the Web? What is an element? Mixtures What's the difference between an alloy and an ore? What is a heterogeneous mixture? Properties of matter What are extensive and intensive properties? What is the difference between chemical and physical change? Separating mixtures How is caffeine separated from coffee? How can artist's pigments be separated by paper chromatography? How can NaCl be separated from other dissolved salts? How are mixtures analyzed for drugs of abuse, like THC? States of matter What are some examples of plasma? Atoms, elements, and ions: Ions What's the difference between Na+ and Na? Isotopes How can I estimate isotopic abundances? How does a mass spectrometer separate isotopes? What is an isotope? Subatomic particles What are alpha particles? Do movements of electrons and of nuclei affect each other? How do you find the number of neutrons in an atom? What is a "dalton"? Why is atomic number called "Z"? Why is mass number called "A"? The experimental basis of atomic theory How do I know that atoms really exist? How were atomic masses measured before mass spectrometry? How many excess electrons does an oil droplet contain, given its charge? Simple compounds: Classifying compounds Can a compound be classified as ionic or molecular from its formula alone? What properties distinguish ionic compounds from covalent compounds? What is a binary compound? What is a compound? Hydrates and addition compounds How can I find the formulas for common hydrates of an ionic compound? Why do some compounds absorb water from air? Molecules What holds atoms together in molecules? How can I estimate the volume of a molecule? Names and formulas Which member of a family of oxanions takes the -ate ending? Where can I look up the formula for a compound, given its name? Where can I find the structure of a compound from its name or formula? Why is the anion suffix -ide used to name molecular compounds? Where can I find the name for a specific compound, given only its molecular formula? What do you call a compound that contains a metal and an acid anion? Can you predict the formulas for binary covalent compounds? Polyatomic ions What is a carbonate, and what is it used for? What is thiosulfate ion, and what is it used for? Properties of compounds Where do I find compound properties on the Web? Chemical change: Acids and bases Why is H+ sometimes written as H3O+ in equations? Can you classify acids as strong or weak from their formulas alone? Chemical equations How can I tell if an equation is balanced correctly? What are some examples of reactions that involve catalysts? Combustion reactions How do I balance the equation for combustion of Si2H6? What is the balanced equation for combustion of octane? Is oxygen flammable? Double displacement reactions How do I complete and balance an equation for reaction of NaOH with HCl? How should the reaction between vinegar and baking soda be classified? How do I write a net ionic equation for an aqueous double displacement reaction? How do I predict products given only the formulas of the reactants? Electrolytes Are nonelectrolytes always nonpolar? Redox reactions How can I recognize redox reactions? Solubility rules What are everyday applications for the chloride solubility rule? The mole concept: Chemical formulas How many N atoms are in 2.05× 1022 N2O molecules? How many atoms or moles of an element are in one mole of compound? Gravimetry Why should AgCl be washed with dilute HNO3 in a gravimetric analysis? Molecular weight How can I find molecular weights for specific substances? Reaction stoichiometry How can I use the amount of fuel to predict amount of product in a combustion reaction? How can amount of product (KNO3) be predicted from amounts for two reactants (KCl, HNO3)? How do I calculate the "expected yield" for a reaction? How do I compute mass of product (O2) from mass of reactant (KClO3)? How much alum can be prepared from a given mass of aluminum? How do I compute yield for multistep synthesis (Cr(acac)3)? Solution stoichiometry How many grams of solute are in a certain volume of a solution of known molarity? What is the molarity of salt in seawater? The mole How can I construct a metaphor that shows how huge Avogadro's number is? How can I convert moles to milliliters? Moles confuse me- why are they used? Titrations How can I adjust the pH of an HNO3 solution by adding KOH? How can Ba(OH)2 concentrations be determined using H2SO4, HCl, and Na2SO4 solutions? How can I find the molecular weight of an organic acid? What is a "standard solution"? How do I find percentage iron in an ore, given KMnO4 titration data? Gases: Avogadro's Law and gas densities What volume of gas is produced by vaporizing a given volume of dry ice? How do I estimate gas densities at STP? How do I predict whether a gas is heavier or lighter than air? How many molecules are present in a given volume of gas at STP? Why is wet air less dense than dry air at the same temperature? Empirical gas laws What are some examples of the gas laws in action in everyday life? How does the volume of gas in a pop bottle change on opening the bottle? What volume of gas is needed to prepare a 20% NH3 solution? Mixtures of gases What is the final pressure when two gases at different pressure are mixed? Molecular weights of gases How can I find the molecular formula of a gas from experimental data? Reaction stoichiometry How much gas is produced when baking soda react with excess vinegar? What volume of gaseous reactant produces a given amount of product? Real gases Under what conditions do real gases behave ideally? Energy and chemical change: Calorimetry How do I calculate calorimeter heat capacities from experimental data? How do I calculate the amount of ice needed to cool water to a certain temperature? How can I calculate the energy required to cause a temperature rise? How can the heat capacity of air be estimated? How does the ice in coolers stay cool? Energy How can energy be changed from one form to another? Why do different types of change involve different amounts of energy? Enthalpy Why can we measure enthalpy changes, but not absolute enthalpies? How can enthalpy changes for a reaction be estimated from bond energies? What are some examples of exothermic and endothermic processes? What is Hess's Law? Thermochemistry Why does mixing a strong acid with water release so much heat? Why does dehydration of sugar by acid produce so much heat? How can I calculate the heat released from the dehydration of sugar by sulfuric acid? Where can I find thermochemical data for specific compounds? What are the properties of a good rocket fuel? Is heat absorbed or released when vinegar reacts with baking soda? Why are metal displacement reactions exothermic? The quantum theory: Particle in a box How does electron confinement in an ion or molecule affect its color? Radiation and matter What makes a compound optically active? How is photoelectron energy related to excitation wavelength? The uncertainty principle If electrons can't be confined to the nucleus, why does K-electron capture occur? Why don't electrons get stuck in the nucleus? Electrons in atoms: Atomic line spectra Which has a line spectrum most like that of hydrogen: Li, Li+, or Li2+? Why are streetlamps orange? How can you rank transitions in order of increasing wavelength? Atomic orbitals What are the shapes and designations of the f orbitals? Where can I find pictures of g, h, and higher orbitals? How do electrons cross nodes, if they can never be at the node? Why are the shells named K, L, M, ... instead of A, B, C...? What do the letters s, p, d, and f in the orbital names stand for? Electron configurations Why does the 4s subshell fill before the 3d subshell? How can I tell how many electrons can fit in a subshell? What do the arrows in an orbital filling diagram mean? The periodic table: Electronic structure and periodicity Why are first period elements unusual? Elements What elements are present in the human body? Where can I find information about elements on the Web? What elements are liquids at room temperature? Why is potassium necessary in the diet? What is the most abundant element? Why is mercury a liquid at STP? History What are some Web sites and paper references on the history of the periodic table? Who was Lothar Meyer? Can you give me some biographical tidbits about Mendeleev? Trends and properties Where can I find tables of ionization energies on the Web? Is there a trend in melting points on the periodic table? Why can anions with the same number of electrons have different radii? Which element has the largest atoms? Why do atomic radii go down across a period? Chemical bonds: Electronegativity Why are OH, NH, and FH bonds so polar? What is electronegativity? Lewis structures What do the terms 'mesomeric effect' and 'inductance effect' mean? How do I draw a Lewis structure for a molecule? How do I draw a Lewis structure for sucrose? What is the difference between valence, and number of valence electrons? Molecular orbital theory How does MO theory explain bond length trends for O2 and its ions? Why are free radicals so reactive? Valence bond theory Can the percent s and p character in a hybrid orbital be measured experimentally? How do I explain bonding in O2 using hybridization? What is hybridization? What is a valence bond? Solids: Crystal structure Where can I find recipes for growing pretty crystals? What are tetrahedral and octahedral sites in a crystal structure? Types of solids What properties distinguish molecular compounds from other materials? Liquids: Liquid properties What is the Antoine equation? What is the Clausius-Clapeyron equation? What are miscible, immiscible, and partially miscible liquids? What is a non-Newtonian fluid? Why does starch paste thicken when stirred? Liquids What are van der Waals forces? Phase transitions Do water molecules go from bent to linear on vaporization? Surface tension Why does adding oil to cooking water keep it from boiling over? What factors affect the size of fluid drops exiting a dropper or a burette? Solutions: Colligative properties What's wrong with this experiment for measuring boiling point elevation? How can I estimate the freezing point of a solution? What compounds are good for demonstrating molar mass determination by freezing point depression? Does salt water expand as much as fresh water does when it freezes? How can freezing point depression be explained in terms of free energies? Why can adding salt to ice water make the ice melt slower? Why does salt melt ice? Why isn't 0°F the lowest possible temperature for a salt/ice/water mixture? Equivalents and normality How many equivalents of sodium are in a given volume of saline solution? How can molarity be converted to normality? How do I make an NaOH solution of specified normality? Molality How is the molality for a solution computed from grams of solute and solvent? What is the difference between molarity and molality? Percent, ppt, and ppm concentrations How can ppm be converted to µg/m3? How do I prepare a solution with concentration in ppm from a solution with concentration in percent? How do I calculate g of solute in a given volume of solution using the percent concentration? How do I compute percent compound in a mixture, given mixture mass and element percents? How are percentages by volume calculated? What is the molarity of salt in seawater? Can I get a solution density from the solute mass and solvent volume? Solubility How can I predict whether a precipitate will form in a solution? How do nonpolar molecules like CO2 and O2 dissolve in water? Where can I find solubility data or Ksp values for a specific compound? How can I predict oxygen solubility in water? What effect does air pressure have on oxygen solubility? Why does the solubility of gases usually increase as temperature goes down? Acids and bases: Basic concepts and definitions Why are acids called proton donors? Why can't hydrogen ions exist by themselves? How is [H+] found from pH? Is a negative pH possible? How can you tell if a compound is an acid? What is pH? Buffer solutions What is the buffer system in buffered aspirin? Which species in a NH4Cl/NH3 buffer reacts with acid? How do I prepare a phosphate buffer solution with a specific pH? Calculating pH How does hydrolysis enter into pH calculations? How do I calculate the pH for a strong acid solution after dilution? Equilibrium constants How is pKa related to pKb? Where can I find pKa's on the Web? Indicators What indicators change from clear to colored? What household substances can be used as acid/base indicators? What is methyl orange? How is it made? What are some natural acid/base indicators? What are some novel ways to use indicators (besides titrations)? What is a universal indicator? Are all acid/base indicators water-based? Neutralization reactions Which reacts more vigorously with limestone: glacial acetic acid or 5% acetic acid? How can copper sulfate be made by a neutralization reaction? What are the products of the reaction between limestone and acidic water? Is any toxic gas produced when acetic acid and limestone react? Strong and weak acids and bases Is ammonia a weak base? Which has the highest pH: 0.1 M NaC2H3O2, 0.1 M NaCl, or 0.1 M NaNO3? How can strong and weak acids be distinguished using indicators? Is the salt of a weak acid and a weak base considered a weak acid or a weak base? Can you classify acids as strong or weak from their formulas alone? Titrations How can I adjust the pH of an HNO3 solution by adding KOH? How can I compare the neutralizing capabilities of antacids? What is the pH at the equivalence point an HF/NaOH titration? How do I compute the pH at the equivalence point in the titration of acetic acid with NaOH? Can I determine the pKa's for oxalic acid from a titration curve? How is the the pKa of acetic acid found in this experiment? Why should temperature be specified when doing weak acid pH calculations? Can I determine the pKa's for oxalic acid from a titration curve? Redox reactions: Disproportionation If water can dissociate, why doesn't hydrogen gas dissociate? Electrochemistry How are battery reactions chosen? What factors affect electrode potentials? My measured cell voltages for a Cu/Zn cell don't seem consistent. Why? What is a voltage? Why does a voltage develop at an electrode surface? Electroplating and metal redox What is an activity series, and how is it used? What are some more advanced references about factors that affect copper deposition? What's the easiest way to get pure Ag from AgNO3? Why does displacing copper using zinc produce a black precipitate? What factors affect the amount of copper plated from a CuSO4 solution? What is electroless plating? Why won't iron dissolve as easily in HNO3 as it does in HCl? Half reactions Where can I find standard reduction potentials? Which half reaction is an oxidation and which is a reduction? Redox in everyday life How does iron rust? How can I make a battery out of a lemon? How can I rust or patina metals like brass and steel? Why is nitroglycerin explosive? How can I demonstrate the electrolysis of water safely? Why did the metal objects in the Titanic corrode very slowly? Redox reactions of hydrogen peroxide Are there any instrumental techniques for determining high H2O2 concentrations? What is the reaction when hydrogen peroxide, dish washing liquid and potassium iodide are mixed ? Will hydrogen peroxide blacken copper? How can peroxide remove hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide from wastes? What is the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and iodide? Titrations involving iodine How can the starch/iodine reaction help me in my future career? What is the difference between iodometry and iodimetry? How does starch indicate iodine? Titrations with permanganate ion How does permanganate cause stains- and also remove them? Reaction rates: First order reactions How can I compute the half-life of a first order reaction? Rate laws What is the rate law for reaction of solid Mg with HCl? Reaction mechanisms What is the mechanism of the reaction between iodide ion and hydrogen peroxide? Reactions in aqueous solution Why do hydrolysis reaction rates typically increase at higher pH? Stepwise reactions How is the rate law for for A+B = X -> C written? Temperature and reaction rate Where can we find the activation energy for catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide? What are everyday examples of temperature effects on reaction rate? Does a 10°C temperature rise double reaction rates? Chemistry of everyday life: Cosmetic chemistry What is hairspray made of? What is the chemical composition of lipstick? How do mood lipsticks work? Dry goods How do dry chemical heatpacks work? What is soap made of? How do stain removers work? What are triclocarban and triclosan (ingredients in some antiseptic soaps)? Environmental toxins What is lindane? Food chemistry What's the difference between baking soda and baking powder? What is the chemical structure of butter? How is coffee decaffeinated? How can the amount of iron in tea be determined? How can I find whether a material is FDA approved? What's Jello(TM) made of? Why does adding oil to cooking water keep it from boiling over? Why is papain an effective meat tenderizer? Why can't you put pineapple chunks in Jello? What is a quick test for sucrose? Questions about table salt... Why does starch paste thicken when stirred? Why are BHT and BHA added to foods? What makes Alka Seltzer tablets fizz? Fuels and explosives Why is nitroglycerin explosive? Medicines How can I find compound names from trade names? Natural products What is beeswax? What are candles made of? What are egg shells made of? What is cellulose? Pesticides and poisons Where can I find information about a substance's toxicity? Photography and light How do light sticks work? How does photographer's hypo work? What common substances glow when placed under a black light? Soda pop chemistry Antinausea syrup and soda pop have many of the same ingredients- what's the difference? How is Coca Cola(TM) made? Why do Mentos mints foam when you drop them into soda pop? Can I simulate soda's effect on the stomach by pouring soda on bacon? What are soda cans made of? Why is phosphoric acid in soda pop? Water treatment Is adding fluorine to water supplies ethical? Environmental chemistry: Atmospheric pollution and climate change Where can I find information on control and reduction of atmospheric CO2? Is there a safe chemical way to remove CO2 from air? Environmental toxins Can copper sulfate be a health hazard? Where can I find information about a substance's toxicity? What is lindane? Waste materials and recycling How is SO2 waste recycled to make wallboard? What are soda cans made of? What environmental problems do they cause? How does the environment degrade soft gelatin capsules? Introduction to organic chemistry: Alkanes How can I list all the isomers of an alkane? What is an alkyl group? Common organic compounds How is Cr(acac)3 synthesized? What is glacial ethanoic acid? Organic chemicals in industry What is butyl acetate, and what is it used for? Properties of organic compounds Why don't melting point trends follow trends in polarity? Tests for organic compounds What is a spot test for alcohol? What is a simple test for the presence of amino acids? What kinds of nitrogen are turned into ammonium in a Kjeldahl digestion? Introduction to inorganic chemistry: Alkali metals Questions about table salt Why is the reaction between sodium and water so spectacular? Who discovered potassium and sodium? Is there a simple test for K+ ions? Alkaline earth metals How can I prepare a luminescent alkaline earth sulfide? Carbon and inorganic carbon compounds What happens when sodium bicarbonate is heated? What is a carbonate, and what is it used for? How can CO2 gas be detected? How do underwater rebreathers scrub CO2 from air supplies? Who discovered carbon? How does H2CO3 form when CO2 dissolves in water? Is there an easy way to produce pure carbon in the classroom? What is the reaction of limestone with water? Why are some carbon compounds classified as inorganic? Elements Why is potassium necessary in the diet? Hydrogen and oxygen How can pure hydrogen gas be prepared and detected? Metalloids Is silicon flammable? Is silicon expensive? Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur What is a quick way to detect H2S? What is laughing gas? What are the products of the reaction between phosphorus pentoxide and water? How is SO2 waste recycled to make wallboard? Nontransition metals Why can't I find information about certain mercurous compounds in any texts? Why is mercury a liquid at STP? Transition metals What is blue vitriol? Can copper sulfate be a health hazard? How does iron rust? How can CuO be synthesized from CuSO4 and KOH? What are some common reactions of iron and its compounds? How does permanganate cause stains- and also remove them? Why does ZnO turn yellow when heated? Laboratory operations: Chemicals What is the difference between "technical grade" and "commercial grade" chemicals? Glassware How should general purpose glassware be cleaned? Safety Why is acid always added to water, and not the reverse? Why shouldn't boileezers be added to hot liquids? What is a safe replacement for CCl4? History of chemistry: Architects of the periodic table How did Lavoisier classify elements known in his time? What are some Web sites and paper references on the history of the periodic table? Where I can find information on Julius Lother Meyer? Can you give me some biographical tidbits about Mendeleev? Chemistry's birth as a science Where can I find out more about Antoine Lavoisier's experimental philosophy? Elemental discoveries When did Antoine Lavoisier discover oxygen? Who discovered potassium and sodium? Evolution of atomic theory What year should I cite for the origin of Dalton's atomic theory? Origins of chemical names and symbols Why are the shells named K, L, M, ... instead of A, B, C...? Why is atomic number called "Z"? Why is mass number called "A"? What do the letters s, p, d, and f in the orbital names stand for? Miscellaneous: Why does gold darken some women's skin? What colors do gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria stain? Do you have a question? Would you like to add anything? Can you make me wiser? How? Can you make us wiser? How? |