Anyone 4 Science joins forces with Swiss International Boarding School 

L'Ecole Chantemerle, Blonay, Switzerland is an international boarding school in an idyllic location, nestled in the alps, overlooking lake Geneva. Established in the 1960s, Chantemerle offers education through French during the acedemic year. During the summer they offer language camps in both French and English.

  Chantemerle believe in teaching languages using a CLIL approach. CLIL (Content and Language integrated learning) is a two for the price of one approach where the students learn another subject through the new language.
Anyone 4 Science provides fun, hands-on science, engineering and maths activities that focus on inquiry learning and design. For 2013 Anyone 4 Science and Chantemerle have joined forces so students can learn science and a language - French or English, simultaneously.

So if you would like to put your summer to good use learning French and Science or if you would just like the experience of learning science through English in another country this camp has your name on it. The students are going to learn about microbiology, chemical synthesis, electricity, use their new knowledge to solve everyday problems and challenges.

To book Contact Yann or Anne at Chantemerle or Christine at Anyone 4 Science
www.chantemerle.ch
www.anyone4science.com

Congratulations to the winners of our Chemical Elements Competition


Scoil Mhuire, Ballyboden  
Scoil Mhuire Sandymount
St Damian's NS Walkinstown    
St Peter's NS, Phibsboro  
St Canice's GNS, Finglas 
St Marnock's NS, Portmarnock 


Below are the winning posters:

Win a science workshop for your class

2012 and Dublin is the City of Science

This means lots of scientists will gather in Dublin during July to discuss their research and other current topics of interest.


To encourage all the citizens of Dublin to participate in this great event Anyone 4 Science is sponsoring a science competition for primary schools.
This competition is open to the 5th classes of all primary schools in the Dublin City postal area - ie those schools who have a post code in their address - Dublin 6, Dublin 8, etc.


What they have to do is to find out which element has the same atomic number as their postcode and then find out all they can about that element. What type of material is it? Is it essential for life? does it join with other elements to make compounds? What is it used for? Are there factories or other businesses in their area that use it? maybe use it in an experiment. 


The class then has to put its findings together on an A3 poster and submit it with an entry form to Anyone 4 Science, Ballyduff, Ashford, Co. Wicklow. Closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm on March 30th 2012.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - TELLURIUM

Tellurium

This blog, being written for the International Year of Chemistry, taking one element each week has finally arrived at week 52 and element 52 Tellurium. 


Although I spent 4 years studying Chemistry and many more working in the field, when I started this blog last year I realised that I had never heard of the 52nd element -  Tellurium . How could that have happened I wondered.


During the year I realised that there were other elements with which I was not familiar. I learned a little more about some of them during the year.


I also came across other chemists who had had the same experience, one had even traveled the world to try to find out about the many rare and not generally studied elements.


So what of Tellurium? It appears in the same group as oxygen, sulphur and selenium and is a non metal, but Tellurium has some metal characteristics and is classified as a semi metal.


Tellurium is occasionally found as a free element but is usually found combined with Gold.


Tellurium and all its compounds are highly toxic.


In spite of its rarity and toxicity, it does have some uses in semiconductors and as alloys with other metals.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - ANTIMONY

Antimony 
The 51st element is called Antimony.  Its name comes from the Greek words anti and monos which mean "not alone" and its symbol Sb from its Latin name Stibium.


Metallic  Antimony  is an extremely brittle metal of a flaky, crystalline texture. It is bluish white and has a metallic lustre.


Antimony is sometimes found as a free element but more often as its sulphur compound Antimony Sulphide.


Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic so this limits its uses though it has in the past been used as coins. It isn't very suitable for use in coins as it wears away relatively easily.


Antimony is used in the electronics industry, in alloys with other metals and in batteries.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - TIN

Tin 
The 50th element is one that is very familiar to most people - Tin. Long before children learn the word science they learn about  Tin  - the container for storing biscuits and foods such as baked beans, fruit and pet food.

The scientific symbol for  Tin  is Sn. This name comes from Stannum the latin word for  Tin .

Known for thousands of years,  Tin  was mixed with copper to make bronze.Tin  is a silvery white metal.

The cans which we call tin cans are not made of pure  Tin  but are actually steel cans with a thin layer of  Tin  covering them.Tin  is also used in solders.
Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten  Tin . This is known as the Pilkington Process.


Experiment of the week
To make a flat sheet of fat using molten ice.

You will need:
About 15 ice cubes
A plastic or metal tray
A saucepan or heat proof container
250g lard
Adult supervision

What to do:
Place the ice cubes in the tray and allow to melt. The melted ice should be a minimum of 1cm deep. Add more ice if necessary.
In the saucepan melt the lard.
Gently pour a thin layer of the molten lard onto the molten ice (water).
Allow to cool. Remove the sheet from the tray.
Make more sheets of lard as required.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - INDIUM

Indium 
The 49th element is indium, another metal with a silvery white appearance. Like Cadmium, indium  is a soft metal. It has a low melting point - 156°C and can be mixed with gallium to make an alloy which is liquid at room temperature

It is used for making some electronic components, as a replacement for silver in mirrors and as a solder.

The name  indium  comes from the word indigo. Indigo is a dark blue colourful often cited as being one of the rainbow colours.


Experiment of the week
Investigate the colour indigo

You will need:
a light source, the sun or a light bulb
A CD
Adult supervision

What to do:
shine the light on the back of the CD
You should see all the colours of the rainbow as the light is split into its constituent colours.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - CADMIUM

Cadmium 
The 48th element is  Cadmium  and is symbolised using the letters Cd.
Cadmium is a silver metal, but although it is next to silver on the periodic table it's colourful is the only similar trait the two elements have.
Cadmium  is a soft metal which can be easily cut with a knife. Another important thing to mow is that it is toxic and therefore it is unlikely that you will come across it in a school setting.

It's most common use is in Ni-Cd batteries - rechargeable batteries.


Experiment of the week
To compare Ni-Cd and NiMH (Nickel Metal hydride) batteries.

You will need
An AA Ni-Cd battery
a AA NiMH battery
2 2.5V light bulbs
2 bulb holders
2 AA battery holders with flying leads
4 crocodile clips
Timer
Adult supervision

What to do
Ensure the batteries are fully. Barged.
Make up 2 circuits with the bulbs in the bulb holders connected to the battery holders.
Insert the Ni-Cd battery into one circuit and the NiMH battery into the other circuit.both the lights should light.
Start the timer.
Measure how long both bulbs light for to measure which battery is the best.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - SILVER

Silver

Number 47 on the periodic table is silver, a well known metal which most of you will be familiar with. It has a characteristic "silver" colour. This metal is quite rare and therefore valuable. It is used in jewellery as it is malleable. The fact that it is very stable in air also increases it's suitability for use in jewellery and other decorative and useful items. Because it doesn't react with air it keeps it's nice shiny silvery appearance.


The chemical symbol for  silver  is Ag. This symbol comes from the Latin name for silver Argentum.

Silver is found as an ore so it can be mined in the same way as we mined the chocolate chips from cookies when we were investigating copper earlier in the year.

Silver has no known biological role and isn't found in the human body.

Silver doesn't support the growth of bacteria and is therefore often used for chalices where many people are going to drink from the same cup.


As well as being used in jewellery and silverware,  silver  is also used in photography, mirror production, for coins and dentistry. A compound of  silver , silver iodide is used to get rain clouds to rain.

Silver forms compounds with the halides, hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine. It also forms compounds with covalent elements such as oxygen, sulphur,
Selenium and tellurium.


Experiment of the week
To see if bread soda solution or washing soda make a better silver cleaner.

You will need:
2 Aluminium foil trays
Washing soda
Bread soda
Hot water
2 pieces of silver equally tarnished
A spoon
A timer
Adult supervision

What to do:
Put apiece of dirty or tarnished silver into each aluminium foil tray. Foil containers used by take away restaurants for rice are ideal.
Put a spoon of washing soda into one tray and a spoon of bread soda into the other one.
Pour equal amounts of hot water into each container.
Start the timer.
After 2 minutes remove both pieces of silver and compare. Which cleaning solution resulted in the cleanest silver?
Report your findings below.

Additional experiment - Compare your home made cleaning solution to a commercially available one.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - Palladium

Palladium , Pd is the 46th element. Like the elements I wrote about for the last couple of weeks, palladium is also in the platinum metals group. It's uses are similar to those of rhodium - a catalyst in catalytic converters, electrical connections and jewellery.Palladium has no known biological role and is not present in the human body.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - Rhodium

Rhodium Rh at number 45 is another slivery white transition metal. It is also in the platinum group.My research tells me that it is used in alloys, jewellery, In electrical applications and as a catalyst. Rhodium is extracted from ore by industry. It is not present in the human body and though the metal itself is not toxic many rhodium compounds are toxic amdalso cause cancer.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - RUTHENIUM

Ruthenium


Calendar week 44 in this the International Year of Chemistry means element number 44 and that is Ruthenium with the chemical symbol Ru.. This transition metal has 44 electrons and therefore is in 44th position. This white metal is often grouped with rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum to make up the Platinum group metals.

Ruthenium doesn't react with air at normal temperatures and because of this it doesn't tarnish.
It was first discovered in Russia in the mid 1800s and was named after the latin name for Russia - Ruthenia. Ruthenium is sometimes found as a free metal, often along with other platinum group metals.
Ruthenium is very rare so people are unlikely to come across any ruthenium compounds in normal day to day activities however they these chemicals are considered toxic to humans.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - TECHNETIUM

Technetium

The 43rd element is Technetium. It has the atomic symbol Tc. My knowledge of this element is very limited. In my research for this blog I discovered it it radioactive - a bye product of the radioactive decay of uranium. It has no biological role and is not found in nature. Apparently it was the first element to be synthesized. It was made by bombarding molybdenum with deuterium.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - MOLYBDENUM

Molybdenum


At position 42 is another transition metal - Molybdenum. It sits in the middle of the transition metals with Chromium above it and Tungsten below it. Molybdenum is known by the chemical symbol Mo. It has 4 electrons in its outer orbital and forms compounds with many other elements including hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur.

Molybdenum doesn't exist as elemental metal in nature but it can be isolated from its oxide. The isolated metal is a silvery white colour.


Small traces of Molybdenum are necessary for life in all species.


Because it doesn't expand or soften when heated to very high temperatures Molybdenum is used in applications that have to withstand very high temperatures. It is added to steel to increase the strength.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - Niobium

Niobium


Next in the series is Niobium - number 41. Scientists use the letters Nb for short. Another metal in the transition metals group, Niobium is a silvery, white, ductile metal with a bluish tinge.. Like many other metals, Niobium does not exist on its own in nature and although scientists found it in the early 1800s it wasn't until it was first extracted from minerals.


Chemically Niobium is very similar to Tantalum, the element that is beneath it in the periodic table. They are so similar that it is difficult to tell them apart.
Most of the Niobium we use today is produced in Brazil.


It is used mixed with other metals, particularly in steel to make it stronger. It is also used with other metals in super conducting magnets. Sometimes it is used in special commemorative coins.


It doesn't have a known biological role in humans, but as it isn't toxic it is sometimes used in jewellery and might be suitable for replacement body parts.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - ZIRCONIUM

Zirconium


Using the chemical symbol Zr, Zirconium is the 40th element. It is found in the second position of the second row of transition metals, below Titanium and above Hafnium. The reason scientists are interested in what lies above and below an element is because those elements that are above and below, although they have less or more electron shells, they all have the same number of electrons in their outer shells and it is this electron arrangement that contributes to the chemical behaviour. Hence elements in the same column have similar chemistry.It is not surprising therefore that Zirconium is a gray-white metal that looks like Titanium.

Interesting things about Zirconium are:

It is not found in its elemental state in nature - this means that you don't find lumps of Zirconium metal in the ground.

If you grind it up to make a powder and heat it up, it will burn spontaneously.

Though it has no known biological role, it is not thought to be poison.

It is found in some stars, lunar rock and some terrestrial rocks.

Some Zirconium containing minerals are used in jewellery.

Like titanium, Zirconium is sometimes used by doctors to replace worn out joints.

Yttrium

Yttrium


The 39th element in the series is Yttrium. Yttrium is a transition metal. The transition metals sit in a block in the centre of the table. Yttrium appears in the first position of the second row. This tells us that it has 1 electron in its outer d-orbital.

Although it is never found in nature as a free element, when isolated it is a slivery metal. The surface layer reacts with oxygen giving a passivating layer so Yttrium is stable in air.
It has no role in biology and is thought to cause lung problems in humans.
It was discovered in the late 1700s near Yetterby in Sweeden hence the name -Yttrium.


Yttrium has some interesting uses. As it is very hard, a Yttrium aluminium compound is used to simulate diamond gemstones. Yttrium is also used to start the reaction in which ethene is polymerised to make polythene. When something is used to start a reaction but not used up in the reaction itself scientists call this material a catalyst so we would say that Yttrium catalyses the ethene polymerisation. 

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - Strontium

Strontium 


Strontium is number 38 and has the chemical symbol Sr. In the same group as Magnesium and Calcium, Strontium is one of the Alkali Earth Metals. Strontium is very reactive with both water and air and therefore doesn't exist naturally in its elemental form. When isolated the metal is a silvery grey colour, however it reacts in air to give a yellowish coloured compound.


It was discovered in Scotland and it is named after the village - Strontian where it was discovered.


Students come across Strontium in their studies because when burned its salts give a characteristic red colour. This characteristic or trait also mean that it is commonly used in fireworks to give a red colour.


Below are links to a couple of video clips showing strontium salts burning with their characteristic red flame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vltFchuGi0Y


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGd-bCpLDvE&feature=related

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - Rubidium

Rubidium


For the 37th element, we jump back to the left hand side of the periodic table. Rubidium, with the chemical symbol Rb, is an Alkali Metal in the same group as Hydrogen, Lithium, Sodium and Potassium. What you. Should remember about these elements is that each of them have only one electron in their outer shell making them very reactive. In fact, rubidium is the most reactive we have met so far. The increase in reactivity is due to the distance of the outer electrons from the nucleus - the further away the electron is from the nucleus the less tightly the atom can hold onto the electron. Rubidium is very reactive in air and burns spontaneously in water.


Rubidium is a metal, solid at room temperature, but with a melting point of 40 degrees centigrade.


Rubidium is the 23rd most common element in the earth's crust. It is also present dissolved in sea water.

From Hydrogen to Tellurium - KRYPTON

Krypton 


Krypton is the chemical element with the atomic number 36 and the chemical symbol Kr. In the periodic table it is positioned at the end or right hand side of the fourth row, underneath Helium, Neon and Argon. This tells us that it has the right amount of electrons to fill its outer electron shell. We have already learned that elements with full outer electron shells are not reactive and Krypton is no exception. It is the next member of the inert gas family.

Maybe you knew Krypton was an element, maybe you didn't. It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas. It is found in very small amounts in the atmosphere. Neon and Argon are well knows for their ability to produce coloured light, red and blue respectively when an electrical current is passed through them. Krypton also has this property or trait but the light it produces is very bright white light.


Interestingly, Krypton has been used in defining the length of a meter. According to www.surveyhistory.org The French originated the meter in the 1790s as one/ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole along a meridian through Paris.  It is realistically represented by the distance between two marks on an iron bar kept in Paris.  The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, created in 1875, upgraded the bar to one made of 90 percent platinum/10 percent iridium alloy.

In 1960 the meter was redefined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of orange-red light, in a vacuum, produced by burning the element krypton (Kr-86).  More recently (1984), the Geneva Conference on Weights and Measures has defined the meter as the distance light travels, in a vacuum, in 1/299,792,458 seconds with time measured by a cesium-133 atomic clock which emits pulses of radiation at very rapid, regular intervals.

None of the definitions changed the length of the meter, but merely allowed this length to be duplicated more precisely.

Fans of Superman will know that Krypton is a fictional planet, the native home of Superman. The story goes that the planet exploded, everyone was killed, except Superman, who was shot out from the exploding planet and ended up on earth.

Experiment of the week

Super strong paper

Given that Superman is so strong, it seems fitting to investigate the strength of paper this week.

You will need:

3 A4 sheets of 80g/m2 paper

3 empty spreadable butter containers or similar

a ruler

sand or small weights to load weight onto your bridge

a spoon

adult supervision

What to do

Position 2 of the butter containers 15 cm apart

Use the 3 sheets of paper to bridge the gap

Put the third empty container onto your bridge and slowly fill it with sand.

How much sand can you load onto the bridge before it collapses?

Who can make the strongest bridge?

Post your results and photos below