Period+3

Greg Battaglia Greg Blecker Mr. Roberts 7 January 2009

The goal of this research was to find out how fireworks work and what they are made of. The first part of the firework, in a multi-break firework, is called the break. Within the break, stars are contained. These stars are separated by cardboard compartments, each having its own bursting charge. This charge ignites the stars into the sky. The more the compartment can retain pressure, the bigger the display will be. This part is also where sound charges can be contained. To create a sound charge, mixtures of perchlorate are used. This is just a different kind of explosive chemical. The next part to the firework is a time-delayed fuse. This fuse ignites the first of three chambers a little before the firework reaches its peak altitude, igniting the black powder. When the firework goes up as high as it can go, the second chamber is ignited. Then, the third chamber is ignited a little after the second. Most of the time, the firework ignites in this order, unless there was a mistake in making the firework. The stars are the objects that make the brilliant color, which explode when the time-delayed fuse ignites the powder. In the firework, all they look like is a little black round piece of dough that is roughly the size of a jawbreaker. Black powder is what makes the stars go off. It usually contains seventy-five percent potassium nitrate, fifteen percent charcoal, and ten percent sulfur. Here are some colors... lithium carbonate, Li2CO3 = red strontium carbonate, SrCO3 = bright red ** calcium chloride, CaCl2 ** yellow ** sodium chloride, NaCl ** barium chloride, BaCl2 ** copper(I) chloride, CuCl ** mixture of strontium (red) and copper (blue) compounds** **420-460 **
 * Color Compound ** **Wavelength (nm)** ** red **
 * strontium salts, lithium salts
 * 652 **   
 * orange**
 * calcium salts
 * 668 ** ** 
 * sodium salts
 * 610-621 **  
 * green**
 * barium compounds + chlorine producer
 * 589 **
 * blue**
 * copper compounds + chlorine producer
 * 505-535 **  
 * purple
 * silver ** **burning aluminum, titanium, or magnesium**

Jacque Reed Elizabeth Alocci Mr. Roberts 7 January 2009

What Makes Peppers Hot? Research shows that the reason chili peppers are hot is due to a chemical called capsaicin. Chili peppers in nature are vulnerable to a fungus called Fusarium. This fungus infects the peppers and kills off the seeds, but the chemical Capsaicin can fight it off. The chemical make-up of Capsaicin fights off the Fusarium and keeps the seeds of the pepper alive, making it able to reproduce. Other than keeping the chili pepper plant safe, Capsaicin is also the reason that chili peppers are spicy.

Ian Kelly Mr. Roberts 7 January 2009

If blood is red, why are veins blue? My researched subject was on why veins appear to be blue. There are three factors of why veins look blue. First off, when blood is oxygenated it is a bright red color. It gets the red color from a pigment called hemoglobin. When it is stripped of oxygen it turns a dark red or maroon color at best. Therefore your blood is never blue. Second, when a vein is deep down you can hardly see it. However, when a vein is prominent you can see it and the color very well and it is clearly blue or purple. Good examples of this are varicose veins. Third, to see veins at all light must go through your skin and reflect off of blood. Blood absorbs certain colors of light and reflects others back. The color that is being reflected back is blue which has a higher energy than the other colors. So in conclusion, veins look blue because of the dark color of the blood, the prominence of the vein, and the light reflecting off of it. <- it's not my hand

Amanda Tosh 8 January 2009

When someone suffers an asthma attack, the muscles in the bronchial tube becomes constricted and thus makes it difficult for the person to breath. To fix this problem a person may use an inhaler. An inhaler is a little canister, and when you push down the button on the top a white comes out. The white mist contains albuteral or lavalbuterol, which quickly helps to open the airways during an asthma attack.



Krista Matsko 7 January 2009 The reason this research was done was to find the out what asthma attacks are and how to treat one. An asthma attack occurs when one begins to experience coughing, weezing, and shortness of breath. Asthma attacks are commonly caused by allergens, chemicals, and exercise. Below (left) is what happens to the Bronchial tubes before and after an asthma attack. To treat an asthma attack, quick-release inhalers are used (pictured above to the right). Inhalers work in the way that releases the medicine and chemicals needed to treat the attack, quickly and directly to the cause of the problem. The quick release medication used is known as albuterol. Albuteral inhalers, however, are being redeisgned in order to omit the use of chloroflouralcarbons which destory the Earth's atmospher.

Abby Kern Mr. Roberts Chemistry, L2 7 January 2008 The research involved, such as, the internet, encyclopedias, etc. was for the purpose of finding out how emotions work. Neurotransmitters are the main influence over emotions. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit thought from one cell to the next allowing brain cells to communicate with one another. Other relevant information is the fact that two known theories are the James-Lange Theory and the Two-Factor Theory of Emotion which deal with the body reacting with the emotions. However, this information cannot be the one answer to my question. There are many emotions out there besides angry, happy, and sad as well as too many things that occur when our emotions rule us. Hence, the relevant information stated above as well as my input is now my project’s conclusion.  <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">

Selena Obelinas Airbags Airbags are installed in automobiles to save lives and reduce injury if a crash or accident should occur. The airbag must inflate fast enough and deflate at the right time to limit the number of injuries for the passenger. The sensing device of an airbag is preset to open a valve and release compressed air/gas that inflate the bag in less than one tenth of a second. The folded, undeployed airbag contains sodium azide (<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">NaN3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">, a potent metabolic poison, and potassium nitrate (KNO<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">3) and silicon dioxide (SiO2<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">) as secondary reactants. The secondary reactants converts <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">NaN3 to a harmless gas. The gas fills the nylon airbag at a rate of 150-250 mph, but the body should not hit the bag while it is still inflating or fully inflated or it would be as hard as stone. That is why the airbag must also deflate. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">NaN3 can decompose at 300<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">°C to produce sodium metal (Na) and nitrogen gas (N<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">2). The nitrogen gas converts the highly explosive sodium metal into silicate glass - a harmless and stable material.

Denis Loboda

Why are chili peppers are hot? The chili peppers are hot of a thing called capsaicin. Capsaicin is a chemical that protects the chili peppers from a fungus and its called fusarium.The fungus is the number one killer of the chili peppers seeds. It invades the fruits through the wounds which are made by insects. Then it destroys the seeds before they can be eaten and spread around by animals like foxes and squirrels. And thats why it produces lots of burning sensations when you eat the peppers. It’s the reason why it makes people’s eyes water and gives them a runny nose.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/types-of-chili-peppers.jpg http://www.lesliebeck.com/images/featured_foods/chili3.jpg

Melissa Raub What makes things glow in the dark? The research to answer this question involved mainly internet sources. The sources stated that when a glow in the dark material is hit with rays of light, the electrons get excited and jump to a higher level, releasing photons, or light. Glow in the dark materials contain phosphors which are made out of many chemicals such as Zinc Sulfide and Strontium Aluminate. Both chemicals are non toxic and non radioactive. These chemicals cause the electrons to get stuck in the highest energy level causing the electrons to emit light for a longer period of time and therefore, glow. There are many glow in the dark products today. From decorations to clothing, everyone has seen something that glows in the dark. The items are so common that it is not a worry if a glow item is harmful, because they have all been tested and are safe for any age.

Ross Danzig: Nothern Lights Everybody is aware of the beautiful light show that takes place in northern latitudes called the Aurora Borealis. This research was to find the cause of these majestic lights. An aurora is attributed to solar wind, which is a continuous flow of electrons and protons from the sun. These high-energy particles become trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field, and they penetrate to the ionosphere. There the particles collided with oxygen and nitrogen molecules and transfer energy to them. The energy causes electrons in these atoms to jump to higher energy levels. When the electrons return to lower energy levels, they release the absorbed energy as light. In conclusion, it is the result of highly charged particles losing their energy that result in the brilliant display of illumination in the night sky.

Richard Bates Chemical Affects of LSD There have been many questions on how LSD affects the brain or exactly where. Not all is clear yet but what is clear is that hellucinogenic drugs, such as LSD, have chemicals that are similar to the chemical serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical found in neurons in the brain stem. It helps regulate the bodys activity and signals traveled through the spine. It is theorized that because these hellucinogenic chemicals are similar to serotonin, they are designed to target the neurons that contain it. The serotonin in the brain stem is raised due to the inducement of LSD. When the serotonin levels are high, the activity through the spine is low. Taking a small dose of LSD does not make someone see illusions or hellucinate, it will just change their behavior and allow them to feel relaxed. Large doses of LSD will slow the bodies activity down and send a chain reaction through the neurons in the brain until it reaches the brains central processing center. When the LSD reaches there, hellucinations and illusions occur.