Chem is Cool Vaccines and Decongestants

Not so long ago, most children did not make it to adulthood. Interested in how well vaccines work? Check out this graphic of death rates prior to vaccination versus recent cases.

Check out this TedEd on how germs spread!

Check out this TedEd on how vaccines work!

Chem is Cool - Body Odor and Garlic

This TED talk is about why we pass gass!  Most humans pass gas 10-20 times a day!

Chem is Cool - Tide Pods and Cigarette Smoke

Click on the pictures to go to the website where you will find more information

For question #8, here is the video 

"Why People Keep Eating Tide Pods"

Chemistry of Insect Venom and Sting Pain Index

Listen to an interview with Schmidt who developed the pain scale (it is the first ten minutes) on a RadioLab podcast 

What's the difference between poison and venom? Watch this TedEd Talk!

How does your brain respond to pain? Watch this TedEd Talk!

Chem is Cool: Lethal Doses and Natural vs. ManMade Chemicals

This week's topic is about lethal doses and LD50.

The second portion is about the difference in toxicity of natural vs. manmade chemicals. Most people wrongly assume that if a chemical is natural that is good and that if a chemical is manmade then it is bad. Both can be good and both can be bad!

"Chem is Cool" Organic Formulas

Each week you will need to complete a "Chem is Cool" assignment based on infographics pertaining to real life chemistry. Here is the first assignment...It includes information that will be helpful for decoding chemistry for the rest of the semester. 

Click on the image to make it larger.

You received a sheet in class to fill out with questions about this infographic that is due on Friday 8/17. 

Chem is Cool Glow Sticks and Hydrogen Peroxide

Chem is Cool - Red Lipstick and Chocolate

 It's not exactly chocolate, but check out this TedTalk on baking cookies 

Mrs. Woodward's favorite is peppermint chocolate bark :)

Chemistry of Beets and Asparagus

Here's the Truth about Asparagus and your PEE!

This is a very informative, powerful TEDtalk about human waste and why sanitation is important. 

Chem is Cool - Sparklers and Fireworks

This TedEd video relates all of this the Chemistry Dudes like DeBroglie!

Chem is Cool: Xylitol Gum and Candy

For more information about how sugar is making its way into many of the foods you eat (and some that you least expect) check out this video!

Some fun facts about candy from the American Chemical Society are

• Hard candy is technically a glass — so much so that it is sometimes used to make the “bottle” that gets broken over someone’s head in a fight scene.

• The same chemical that makes grapefruit taste sour — citric acid — is in sour-tasting candy.

• Peppermint oil comes from a plant, and some research shows that candies flavored with it can help people concentrate better.

• Ever wonder how they get liquefied cherries into a chocolate-covered cherry without leaving an injection hole? The candy actually starts with a hard cherry center that slowly softens after the chocolate is applied, thanks to a chemical called invertase that’s added to the recipe.

• Cotton candy is almost pure sugar that has been melted and then spun. 

• Gummies contain flavor, sugar and a seaweed chemical called carrageenan, which makes them chewy.

• Licorice contains a smelly compound that’s found in a spice called anise.

Mrs. Woodward's favorite non-crystalline candy is the cow tale.  Tell me what your favorite candy is in the comments!

If you'd like to submit your Chem is Cool assignment online, you can do so by clicking on the following link: Chem is Cool: Xylitol Gum and Candy.

Chem is Cool Salicylic acid and Aluminum Chlorhydrate

How does Deodorant work?

The Chemistry of Gunpowder and Matches

Here is a neat video of a match burning in super slow motion

Here's a TedTalk on the accidental Chinese invention of gunpowder