Applied Chemistry Update

We are having a lot of fun in Applied Chemistry. Every day there is chemistry in action: either in the form of a demo or a lab performed. The other day we observed the Mystery of the Disappearing Water. Students watched me pour water into a plastic cup, then transfer it to two other cups, one at a time. Then after a magician-like switcheroo, I tipped all three cups upside down-- no water! The culprit was a substance called sodium polyacrylate, which can absorb 800x its mass in water. One of the cups actually had some sodium polyacrylate in it, and when I poured in the water, it was absorbed. This substance is used in baby diapers because of of its super-absorbancy.

In addition to fun demos, we learned how to use glass pipets, calibrated thermometers, found our mass, and created a chemical reaction between aluminum foil and Copper II chloride ("rusty" copper was formed!) We are continuing to study experimental design and the question What is Science? in chapter 1 of our textbooks. Stay tuned for any updates!

Watch a video of sodium polyacrylate in action: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vais8pL0w8U&feature=related