Unit Four, Solutions and Solubility: Fertilizer and The Environment. Is Nationwide Vegetarianism the Only Option?

  http://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/doc/lawnfert.htm

  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fertilizer-runoff-overwhelms-streams/

There are many different kinds of solutions, and many different factors that affect solubility such as temperature and energy. Whether or not chemicals are soluble in water can affect how they interact with their environment. This is especially important when discussing pollution; different types of chemicals can pollute the environment in different ways, such physical pollution or water contamination.

For example, the use of fertilizer for lawns and agriculture has a detrimental impact on waterways. Nitrogen, one of the components of fertilizer, is extremely soluble, so it can leach downwards through the soil and contaminate groundwater. When there is an excess of nitrogen in water, an excess of algae and other sea plants grow. When these plants die, the suck all the oxygen out of the water, and make it hard for fish and other organisms to survive. This results in “dead zones”— massive stretches of water that contain no life, and are getting increasingly larger as agriculture grows. Water with over 10 parts per million nitrate-nitrogen can cause a disorder that inhibits the ability to use oxygen as infants

The interesting part about this whole thing is that recently in the U.S government has begun to push for the increased production of ethanol fuel, made of corn, in an attempt to cut down on greenhouse gases. However, the increased number of corn crops could increase the nitrogen pollution in water by up to 34%. Scientists have said that the only way to both increase ethanol fuel production while reducing nitrogen pollution would be for Americans to stop eating meat.

This is a bold statement—But the damage caused by fertilizer is too obvious to ignore. So what’s the next step? Is there a middle ground between having nitrogen pollution and greenhouse gases? Though it may seem bizarre now, at what level of environmental damage would banning the consumption of meat be a realistic and reasonable measure? How far is far enough to force a whole country to make such a dramatic lifestyle change?

Unit Three, Quantities in Chemical Reactions: Levels of Antimony in Bottled Water Increase Over Time. What are the Consequences of Overseas Shipping?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/plastic-bottles-leach-chemicals-into-water-study-1.605134

Through stoichiometric calculations, we are able to determine the number of moles, mass, concentration and volume of an unknown product or reactant in a chemical reactions. Knowing how much of a substance is present within another substance is essential for industrial safety, workplace safety, and in the case of consumer products, our own personal safety.

It has recently been discovered that the water in plastic water bottles contains a higher concentration of Antimony (a chemical similar to lead) the longer they sit in the bottle. Even though the water bottles have a safe initial antimony concentration of 160 parts per trillion after six months of sitting in the plastic that concentration doubles. This level still meets the Health Canada standards for drinking water, and advocates for bottled water companies’ state that there is no adverse affect on human health.

Still, these findings have important implications for overseas shipping. New regulations may need to be installed for the testing of bottled water for periods of time longer than 6 months, such as intercontinental transport. Antimony can cause nausea, dizziness, depression and death. Given that 20% of Canadians drink bottled water, more detailed research about the concentration of other chemicals in water over time, the effects of these chemicals on children and the elderly, and the general impact of bottled water on human health may be the next frontier.

This poses an interesting question about how cautious we need to be about the chemicals we consume. Should we take the bottled water companies’ and Health Canada’s word for it, or is the increase in a dangerous chemical in a commonly consumed product worth further investigation? How much, and what kind of additional research should be done? If the levels of Antimony are found to be unsafe after sitting for more than six months, should bottled water companies be found criminally guilty of malpractice?

Unit Two, Chemical Reactions: Emotional Biochemistry, the Link Between Mind and Body, and How Mental Health Affects Physical Health

https://experiencelife.com/article/emotional-biochemistry/

This year, we studied many different kinds of chemical reactions such as displacement, single displacement etc., as well as how they affect the workplace, industry, and the natural world. However, chemical reactions influence us as individuals on a much more personal level than we realize. Recent scientific studies have brought to light that the biochemical reactions in the brain have a direct link with the function of the body. In short, emotions and the mind may be more intrinsically connected to the physical bodies than previously thought.

To understand this concept, a few key biochemical terms must be defined. Firstly, peptides, which are discussed in the article, are long strings of amino acids, which later become protein. Peptides send signals that ‘instruct’ the cells in the body how to function. Secondly, a receptor is a protein molecule on the surface of a cell that receives chemical signals.

For a long time, there has been a vague understanding that intense stress may be bad for us, because stress induces the release of chemicals such as adrenaline, which throws the body off balance, and may cause depression in the long-term. But recently, strong evidence has come forth that indicates that there is a strong link between emotions and peptides.

Emotions cause a wave of peptides throughout the body that carry various types of information that affect cellular function. When cellular receptors receive these messages, it changes cellular functions such as cell division, adding or subtraction energetic chemical groups, opening or closing ion canals, or making new proteins. All of these things have a drastic impact on your body, from your immune system, to your metabolism. This phenomenon can also apply to emotionally charged memories or experiences. In short, your emotions impact how much and what kind of peptides you have in the cellular receptors in your body, which plays an important role in your body function.

Additionally, researchers at the University of Massachusetts have discovered that bodily systems such as the digestive, endocrine nervous and immune system are all capable of receiving the same peptides as the brain. This discovery indicates that the biochemical changes caused by emotions affect virtually every system in the body; not just the mind.

This information has interesting implications for the way mental health is viewed in society. In the school system and the work place, competitive and ‘sink or swim’ environments are fostered, where students are under immense pressure to work as hard as they can to meet expectation, often at the expense of their peace of mind. However, physically health is held to a higher value, and is considered to take priority over schoolwork. Given this new evidence that emotional wellbeing and physical wellbeing may be unavoidably interconnected, is forcing students to deal with enormous amounts of stress ethical or responsible?

What do you think? Should the school system (and thus, the workplace) prioritize emotional wellbeing over productivity? If so, to what degree would that be realistic in the bigger picture?

Unit One, Matter and Bonding: Should "Vibrational Bonds", A New Third Type of Chemical Bond, Be Added to the High School Curriculum?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chemists-confirm-the-existence-of-new-type-of-bond/

Chemical bonding, which is defined by the electrostatic attracted between two or more atoms of opposite charged, which allows for the creation of chemical compounds, is a concept that is a key building block in our understanding of matter. It has been commonly accepted that there are two types of chemical bonding. Ionic bonding, in which electrons are given by a metal to a non metal to create an ionic bonding, and Covalent bonding, in which electrons are shared between two non metals. Many aspects of the identification of matter—such as solubility, malleability, polarity, conductivity, boiling and melting point etc.— are dependent on the type of bond that is present. As such, is important that chemists understand and are able to make reasonable assumptions based on their knowledge of chemical bonding.

However, recently a new type of chemical bond known as a “vibrational bond” has been discovered, shaking the foundation of what had been long accepted as true within the scientific community. This type of bond is a temporary, millisecond long reaction, in which a lightweight atom will rapidly bounce between two heavier atoms. This bond, which was hypothesized, to exist in the 1980’s, before the technology needed to monitor the millisecond in which in occurred was developed. The interesting part about this reaction is how, unlike covalent and ionic bonds, the rate of reaction decreases with increased temperature.  This is because the vibrations of the oscillating atom temporarily hold the two heavier atoms together, which decreases the overall energy and speed of the reaction.

So, how does this relate to society? Well, as with all new scientific discoveries, the practical applications are still in the works. However, the team who conducted the experiment has stated that vibrational bonds should be taught as a type of chemical reaction. This development in such a major area of chemistry has the potential to change the curriculum and workplace expectations, as well as redefining our current understanding of the properties of matter.

What do you think? Do you think that this millisecond long reaction should be incorporated into the High-school curriculum? And given what we have learned about chemical bonds, what kinds of qualities should these chemical interactions be tested for?