August 16, 2009

Reflection on my last Chemistry Timed Assignment on Energetics.

Okay, the paper was so-so, and although I studied pretty hard for it, my memory was really as bad as it is. I mixed up some of the concepts again but managed to figure out the right from the wrong...And the price I have to pay to get the first few questions right? I don't have enough time to do the last question when I do know how to do...Sigh, back to time management once more.

I should focus on GP, E.Lit, Physics and Maths from now on. I'm ok with Chemistry, for now. As for my Chinese...I don't think I should bother anyway. Buck up my H2s first.

Speaking of which, the GP project is really making me mad...Man, I just hate to do group work, but I have to learn to work as a team in the workforce right? Sigh (again)......

Anyway, I've created a blog specially for the original fictions and fan-fictions that I wrote in my free time. Finally...a personal blog/story-blog of my own......The Holic of Stories.

As for the class forum...I've made some adjustments, and now it includes arcade games! Hope you guys visit the forum more~also updated 2 mind-maps on Mole Concept by Wen Jie and myself respectively for you guys to download.

by ツバサ at 9:10:00 PM
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August 15, 2009

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing with time, so we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving Hell. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions, and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can thus project that all souls go to Hell.

With the birth and death rates as they are, We can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.

Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This leaves two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until All Hell Breaks Loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls entering Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell Freezes Over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year, "...it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in sleeping with her, then the second option cannot be true, and thus I'm sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze.

(Got this essay during Physics lesson...I thought it's kinda interesting, so posted it up as a blog. It's written by some guy from some university as this is a question from their mid-year Chemistry exam paper.)

by ツバサ at 5:27:00 PM
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July 28, 2009

Today's practical: PC2.

There was something very very wrong about that experiment. Ah, the gas loss as I add the acid into the conical flask before capping it with the rubber bung, which was connected to the delivery tube. That is definitely one of the significant source of error or limitation in PC2, not to mention it is in the experimental procedure. The other one: the accuracy of the measuring cylinder. At least the upturning of the measuring cylinder (filled to the brim with water) into the beaker (with water also) is somewhat fun...though only the table is wet. Ha-ha.

The Design Experiment Assignment 2 is a lot harder than the first one in PC1...

*たすけて……*

by ツバサ at 8:17:00 PM
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July 24, 2009

It has been a long time and I thought I'm done with this, but apparently I'm not.

Okay, after a long, long break, time for nothing but Chemistry.

A few things to report:

One, the VA theory paper was very very difficult. And trying to visualize myself doing the experiment in order to do the calculation is even harder. Mr Tan's advice, anyway.

Two, the Gaseous State topic is easy if you are good at manipulating with the ideal gas equation. And the website provided on the cover page is useless (not to mention outdated). Try wikipedia (minus the mathematics proving how that equation can be true in certain conditions).

Three, I still a little clueless on how to do the PC1 planning. And I'm still trying now as I do this blog update at the same time.

Four, after looking through the lecture notes on the next topic Energetics, my eyes were like O_O. I think I'm going to have a tough time in the next lesson.

Five, I swore I saw the phrase "ideal gas equation" somewhere in my Physics lecture notes on Thermal Physics...

*End of report.*

I am starting to wonder if I should continue updating my Chemistry blog...I mean, nothing happened for like, three months? >_>

by ツバサ at 10:41:00 PM
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April 20, 2009

Geometrical shape of ethandioic acid.

My research report on ethandioic acid:

Ethandioic acid (also known as oxalic acid) is a chemical compound with the formula H2C2O4. This dicarboxylic acid is a relatively strong organic acid. This acid is widely used as an purifying agent in pharmaceutical industry.
(Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethandioic_acid)

However, ethandioic acid is very poisonous.

Oxalic acid is a strong poison. The toxic symptoms from ingestion include vomiting, diarrhea, and severe gastrointestinal disorder, renal damage, shock, convulsions, and coma. Death may result from cardiovascular collapse. Oxalic acid may be absorbed into the body through skin contact. It is corrosive to the skin and eyes, producing burns.
(Source - http://www3.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/chemistry/oxalic.html)

If the purpose of the practical work is merely to prepare a standard solution, then the use of toxic ethanedioic acid is not essential. If you really want to prepare a primary standard of an acid, potassium hydrogen phthalate (C8H5O4K) is much better than ethandioic acid. It is a monoprotic acid (HOOCC6H4COO- K+) with low toxicity. Potassium hydrogen phthalate is a good primary standard because of the following properties:

1. High purity
2. Stable in air
3. Easily soluble in water
4. High molar mass
5. Complete and rapid acid-base reaction

I can't find the exact procedure on how to use ethandioic acid to determine the concentration of an acid anywhere. Can someone enlighten me on that?

by ツバサ at 10:26:00 PM
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List of acid-base indicators.

While doing research for the SPA planning and the blog reflections that I owe (about ethandioic acid, how to find concentration, etc., etc.), I came across a lot of rubbish information. It is really, very painful to try to extract the pure substance from all the impurities. Okay, just forget about those Chemistry terms.

I don't know if this is useful, but here is a complete list of indicators used for acid-base reactions in most of the titration experiments conducted in school.

(Source - http://ifs.massey.ac.nz/resources/chemistry/dissociation/indicators.htm)

P.S. Since blogger is so inflexible, I have to spend quite some time to collate the table in dreamweaver so that it can be presented properly. Will update once it's done. :) For the time being just click on the link to see it yourself.

by ツバサ at 9:58:00 PM
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April 9, 2009

A friend of mine had asked me this question: how could she draw up a mind map without using Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Paint?

Well, I told her that she can use Microsoft Word, but I taught her to use Powerpoint instead as it is easier to manipulate compared to Word.

Also, after seeing Wen Jie's *ahem* "nice" mind map,I thought I would use the mole concept as an example to show her how to do it. Here's my finished work:
It's quite easy, actually. After you have finished, just go to Menu>File>Save As... and save your work as JPEG File Interchange Format and you are done! Simple?

If you want your mind map to be strictly neat, you can go to View>Grid and Guides>tick the box saying "display grid lines" and align your layout accordingly.

However, the downside of using this method is that the resolution is rather poor. If you want a better quality, then you have to use Adobe Photoshop. But it is simple and easy to do, compared to Photoshop, where you need prior knowledge on dealing with layers.

P.S. Thanks to Ms Jee who tells me to double-check my mind map for the error I made between mole, Mr and mass.

- - -

This is another image I did for fun using Photoshop (on the picture) and Powerpoint (on the words). Yeah, I know that it's Physics. =_=Actually, creating graphics using the computer is quite easy, and the feeling looking at your finished work is really great. Thanks to ocarina-sensei, anyway. She's truly my good mentor.

by ツバサ at 8:29:00 PM
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