Physical and Chemical Changes

Who knew so much could occur just by lighting
a candle? In class, we did a lab which taught my group about chemical and physical changes. First, we lit a birthday candle and the wax started to melt. The wax changed its appearance by absorbing the heat given off by the flame. This was an endothermic change, a change which absorbs energy. The wax was taking in the heat produced by the flame, therefore, it transformed into a liquid. The liquid’s molecules had more “space” than when it was in solid form.

Furthermore, a chemical change took place since smoke was present. The wax combined with the flame’s heat to emit smoke. A new substance formed with a different molecular makeup.

Did you know that an exothermic change occurred too? An exothermic change, energy that is released, was taking place when the flame was burning since it was giving off heat.

In order to keep something burning, oxygen must be present. My group combined vinegar and baking soda. This chemical reaction created a new substance called carbon dioxide. When we placed the carbon dioxide near the flame, it extinguished since oxygen was no longer present, therefore this process was combustion.

I did some further research on this subject and came across combustion. Combustion is the burning of a substance. In this case, my group burned the wick of a birthday candle.

As one can see, many things took place when my group did this lab. I thought this lab was very interesting. Now I have a better understanding of chemical and physical changes.




I got my information from here

Newton's Third Law of Motion

I was watiching Rocky IV when I noticed how the opponent who was being punched was thrown back as the immediate result of the punch. This got me thinking and I did some research to see what caused the opponent to be thrown back. This is when I came across Newton's Third Law of Motion. The Third Law of Motion is, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that the force will be equal of an actionand reaction to an object. This correlates to Rocky IV. The force of the fist that was punching was equal to the force of the persons falling. The action equals the reaction.

This goes to show that almost everything can relate to science. Science surrounds us in ways which sometimes people don't recognize, like the Rocky IV scenario. People just have to go one step further to recognize it.

Some other examples of Newton's Third Law of Motion is someone falling off a skateboard, a rocket taking off, etc.

I got my information from http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/law3.html

Sir William Osler Quote

Have you ever had a great idea, but never bothered to investigate your theory? Sir William Osler, a Canadian physician once stated, "In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurred." One who proves the world about their theory, gets the recognition for his or her idea.

Everyone knows Isaac Newton as the scientist who discovered gravity. Everyone knows Albert Einstein for proving the equation E=mc2. All the credit goes to them for convincing humans that these statements are true. Gravity keeps objects from floating in midair, and E=mc2 shows the relationship between mass and energy and how they are different forms of the same thing. This quote inspires me to perservere in science therefore receiving the acknowledgement.