Reading Assignment #1
pgs.198-209
1) What is meant by the term "phlogiston?"
The ancients used it as an explanation to the question, 'where, when you burn a log, does the bulk of the substance go?' It was the substance, though invisible, that emerged throughout the course of burning.
2) Using what you have read, describe how the description of alchemy as being "part hokum, part wishful thinking, and part serious science" is fitting.
Well, a lot of what the ancients scientists did do, or theorize what they could do was 'hokum' or nonsense. For instance their belief that everything on earth was made by earth, water, fire, and air. The wishful thinking part I would tie into the dream of turning lead into gold, and finding the elix of life. The part serious science would be the discoveries they made while trying out these 'hokum' experiments, Isaac Newton is a perfect example of this.
3) How can acid be distinguished from a base?
A pH scale is a wonderful thing to use to distinguish acids from bases, but I have a feeling you want more than that, so here we go.
If you add a substance to water (which is neutral), some H2O molecules change. If the substance is an acid, it creates a lot of hydrogen ions-positively charged ions. If the substance is a base, you end up instead with lots of negatively charged oxygen-hydrogen pairs, or hydroxide ions. And a neutral substance has balanced ions.
4) What were the original nine elements known to the ancients?
They were gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, lead, mercury, carbon, and sulfur.
5) Which two elements are the first to be attributed to a discoverer?
The first was Arsenic, attributed to Albertus Magnus, a German priest, in 1250.
The second was Phosphorus, who we can attribute to a specific discoverer.
pgs.198-209
1) What is meant by the term "phlogiston?"
The ancients used it as an explanation to the question, 'where, when you burn a log, does the bulk of the substance go?' It was the substance, though invisible, that emerged throughout the course of burning.
2) Using what you have read, describe how the description of alchemy as being "part hokum, part wishful thinking, and part serious science" is fitting.
Well, a lot of what the ancients scientists did do, or theorize what they could do was 'hokum' or nonsense. For instance their belief that everything on earth was made by earth, water, fire, and air. The wishful thinking part I would tie into the dream of turning lead into gold, and finding the elix of life. The part serious science would be the discoveries they made while trying out these 'hokum' experiments, Isaac Newton is a perfect example of this.
3) How can acid be distinguished from a base?
A pH scale is a wonderful thing to use to distinguish acids from bases, but I have a feeling you want more than that, so here we go.
If you add a substance to water (which is neutral), some H2O molecules change. If the substance is an acid, it creates a lot of hydrogen ions-positively charged ions. If the substance is a base, you end up instead with lots of negatively charged oxygen-hydrogen pairs, or hydroxide ions. And a neutral substance has balanced ions.
4) What were the original nine elements known to the ancients?
They were gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, lead, mercury, carbon, and sulfur.
5) Which two elements are the first to be attributed to a discoverer?
The first was Arsenic, attributed to Albertus Magnus, a German priest, in 1250.
The second was Phosphorus, who we can attribute to a specific discoverer.
posted by Kelly M. at 11:46 AM
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