Energy and Place Project
Essential Questions:
How does energy production and consumption impact place?
How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production and consumption?
Link to infographic:
https://magic.piktochart.com/output/5975120-energy-consumption-per-capita
Scientific paper:
Determining The Molar Heat of Combustion of Paraffin Wax Using a Calorimeter
Derek Pansze, Will Brako, Anish Wells
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research paper is to understand and discover the molar heat of combustion of paraffin. Being able to find molar heat is an important task because it tells you as the researcher how much energy is needed in order to melt each mole of a substance on hand, in this case each mole of paraffin wax. The first phase of this lab involved gathering materials that would be needed to complete the experiment, and build a calorimeter. After that, the first section of the experiment was conducted by suspending the calorimeter in the air and placing the paraffin wax candle underneath, this is in order to heat the water within the can. Data was then recorded. Three different containers were used in the making of the calorimeter in order to create different sets of data and find different energy densities. The results of the experiment were as expected, lower than the theoretical molar heat, our experimental value at 2,750.9 kJ/mol was not even close to the theoretical value at 7,860 kJ/mol as we expected due to flaws in our experiment. The percentage error of the results is 2.86%.
INTRODUCTION
Humans like heat, this is something that has almost always been true, and will almost always stay true. It is part of our brain's chemistry to feel heat and naturally be intrigued by it, and throughout our years of exploring this reaction we have found the specifics about it, and how we can use it to benefit us. One of the things that have been created to benefit us in this day and age are candles, these sources of heat and light are used in order to illuminate to a dark area, bring in new aromas, and naturally the fire gives off a little heat. Paraffin is a waxy, flammable substance that is created from distilled petroleum or shale. It is often used in cosmetics, sealing / waterproofing compounds, and mainly, candles. The experiment was conducted in order to find the molar heat of combustion for paraffin. This is an important task because it is used in order to find the most efficient energy density for different energy sources. (I.E gasoline v.s natural gas) It takes a particular type of reaction to release each type of energy and find energy density, these include nuclear, chemical, electrochemical, and electrical. The type of reaction that was used to find this energy density was chemical, because combustion is a chemical reaction. Energy density is the amount of recoverable energy in a certain space per unit volume or mass, the higher the energy density of the fuel, the more energy may be stored. A calorimeter is a tool used to measure the amount of heat in a chemical reaction. The anticipated outcome for this experiment is below the common estimated molar heat of paraffin. (7,860 kJ/mole) This would be due to basic flaws in our experiment such as; not filling our beaker completely to the 200 ml mark, removing the calorimeter before the container was fully heated, reading the thermometer in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius, etc.
METHODS
Finding the molar heat of paraffin first required the creation of a calorimeter. This involved using a can or jar filled with 200 ml of water and a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water. Then, the jar was suspended approximately an inch above the table using a retort stand. The temperature of the water was recorded in Celsius, the lit candle was placed under the calorimeter, and a paper shield was placed around the candle to prevent the candle from being extinguished. Once the thermometer read 30 degrees Celsius, the candle was immediately extinguished and the wax allowed to solidify before the mass was recorded. After the first trial, this process was repeated twice with calorimeters made of glass of varying thicknesses to ensure that the data collected was more accurate. This process was used because glass is a worse conductor compared to aluminum, and therefore the jars will lose less heat to the environment compared to the can, which makes the results more accurate. However, glass jars use much more material compared to thin aluminum cans, which means that more energy is needed to heat the calorimeter to the temperature of the water, which makes the results less accurate, because in the beginning, less heat is transferred to the water. To help remediate this problem, a thicker glass jar and a thin glass jar were used to show how the amount of material in the calorimeter effected the end results, and therefore give us a better understanding of the results.
HAZARDS
Caution was always used around open flames and the candle was allowed to cool before it was moved to prevent the spilling of hot wax. As always, adequate eye protection was used and the experiment was performed under a fume hood to prevent smoke from being inhaled.
RESULTS
Table 1 it shows that it took 1.59g of paraffin to heat the water 12 degrees celsius. Table 2 shows that it took 1.5g of paraffin to heat the water 14 degrees celsius. Table 3 shows that it took only 1.05g of paraffin to heat the water 12 degrees celsius. Equations 1, 2, and 3 show the calculated molar heat of combustion paraffin in kilojoules per mole based on our experiment. These calculations use the difference in temperature, amount of water, and the specific heat of water to find the molar heat of combustion for paraffin in kilojoules per mole. Figure 1 represents the temperature change per gram of paraffin wax burned.
Table 1: Data of Metal Can
Table 2: Data of Large Glass Jar
Table 3: Data of Small Glass Jar
Figure 1: Temperature Change per Gram of Wax
Equation 1: Molar Heat of Experiment 1
Q=4.18 J/g x 200 g x 12° C x .0036 mol / 1000
Q=2,750.9 kJ/mol
Equation 2: Molar Heat of Experiment 2
Q=4.18 J/g x 200 g x 14° C x .0034 mol / 1000
Q=3,887.9 kJ/mol
Equation 3: Molar Heat of Experiment 3
Q=4.18 J/g x 200 g x 12° C x .0024 mol / 1000
Q= 4,165.7 kJ/mol
Discussion
This lab was different from the original Lab “Determining the Molar Heat of Combustion for Paraffin” in the fact that instead of just one container used there were three different containers of all different shapes, sizes and materials. This experiment was supposed to demonstrate the use of fossil fuels but now it is designed to research if different types of materials could conserve more energy and make a more efficient system. The three containers involved were a metal can as the lab previously used, a large glass mason jar, and a smaller glass jar. Each jar was filled with 200 ml or 200 g of water and were left alone in order to let the water reach a temperature that did not change. The metal can settled at 18°C, the large mason jar settled at 16°C, and the small glass jar settled at 18°C. After placed on over the candle the water inside of the containers was heated until 30°C and then the candle was removed and weighed to find the mass lost in the heating process. The weight lost of the candle was 1.59 g. This means that it took .13 g of paraffin to heat the water 1 degree Celsius. The large mason jar however had a difference of 14°C and it took 1.5 g of paraffin to get there this means that it took .1 g of paraffin to heat the water in the mason jar 1 degree Celsius. The small glass jar had a 12°C difference in temperature and it took 1.05 g of paraffin to achieve this. This means that the small jar heated the water faster because it took only .08 g of paraffin to increase the water's temperature by 1 degree Celsius. This means that the same amount of water in different containers takes varying amounts of paraffin to heat it. The hypothesis that different containers can be more energy efficient has been proven true. The small glass jar absorbed the most heat while using the least amount of paraffin. This is because the smaller glass jar is a better conductor than the aluminum can, so it loses less heat to the environment, and it had less material to heat up compared to the large jar and therefore started transferring the energy from the burning paraffin to the water more quickly. A flaw in the experiment was that it was not performed in a closed environment, and therefore some of the heat was not absorbed by the calorimeter. This experiment shows that different materials can improve efficiency, which can be used to reduce our energy impact as a society as a whole. Additionally, this experiment showed that paraffin is could not be used as a replacement for the current fossil fuels we use, such as coal and natural gas. Our calculations showed that paraffin has a molar combustion of 4,165.7 kj/mol, while coal has a molar combustion of approximately 32,000,000,000 kj/mol. This means that paraffin is not a viable option for our current energy needs. However, using similar methods to ours, different compounds, such as biofuels and bio diesels, could be tested to determine if they could replace the more finite and 'dirty' fuels that currently provide humans with power.
Post project reflection:
I have learned that science doesn't come easily, it exists because it all fits together like a puzzle, you can't have one thing without the other. The whole process of creating abstracts, discussions, and conclusions has shown me that I enjoy chemistry, and even though it may be hard sometimes it is a necessary key element to our survival as a human race, and that the scientists who do it for a living must have a huge dedication to their jobs.
One thing that I found very interesting throughout this project was nuclear energy, at the start I was completely opposed to it, thinking that it is super harmful to our environment and should not be used in any case, but by the end, I realized nuclear energy is actually one of the most efficient and cleanest if used correctly and I now believe that it should be further studied and used for multiple situations such as the rising energy consumption within the United States.
In writing my scientific paper, I learned much about how to find molar heat, calculating combustion heat and using new tools such as a Calorimeter. I learned and expanded my writing scientific papers skills by using them to write strenuously lengthy paragraphs on things I didn't understand at first, but had a firm understanding of by the end.
Within creating my infographic I learned much about energy consumption. I looked into the EIA or Energy Information Administration quite a bit just because I found them to be a good source with alot of valuable information regarding my topic.
In my infographic, I was trying to convey how much the average Texan uses energy vs how much the average Coloradan uses. I found this topic to be interesting because I am interested in how much energy each state uses personally, and if I had more time to make my infographic I would have instead of just using Texas vs Colorado, used all of the states. My perspective did not change, because I guessed that the average texan used more energy.
Link to sense of place poem:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lZL2dqK9cLf3UNA23gBjzIhaC-fikP_UW2GZMv8ltzs/edit
MAterials project unit
Chemistry is the main reason we live in the world we do, if we as humans didn't have chemistry, we would not have any of the basic necessity's. Here's an example, The spectroscopy lab we did earlier in the year. Humans have figured out a way to literally see light wavelengths (with chemistry) and how it works, this has been extremely helpful in the chemistry field for things such as determining what color certain lights are and how to put them in products (UV lights). Now take this for example, a while ago the world was concerned that we wouldn't have enough food to go around and feed the future generations. This was a problem that had to be solved in order for the human race to continue living on this planet. Scientists worked on it for a long time but had trouble finding an answer to the problem, then one day, a chemist who was not even working on the same project (he was making bombs for war) found that one of the chemicals in his bombs could be used in fertilizer in order to make it extremely produce-full. This chemical is now used in almost all fertilizers and solved one of the worlds big problems with chemistry. Every day new things are discovered, there is so much to be learned about the world and even outside of it. Science is the main reason that we can figure out new things, chemistry, physics, technology, these are all parts of a puzzle that solved things such as humans traveling to the moon, and even launching a mission to send humans to mars! Imagine what possibility's the human race can have if we continue with the great chemistry research we do.
A material can change its composition on the molecular level by having tighter - together molecules. When the molecules are tight / close to each other it makes them harder to separate, especially if their ions are balanced. Take a banana and a brick for example. You can grab the banana and tear it easily, its molecules are spread widely apart and therefor it is easy to separate it. Now the brick, you can grab it and try to break it, but with just your hands it will be extremely difficult. This is because the brick is dense and its molecules are tightly packed together. On the atomic level, a material can be changed by its atoms and how stable they are. If you take an ionic bond for example, it is a very stable bond betwixt atoms and therefor is hard to take apart, but a covalent bond is weaker, and will come apart easier.
Elevator Pitch
"In the history of human kind and animal kind too, those who have learned to collaborate and improvise have most effectively prevailed." -Charles Darwin
If you invest in my book you get a deeper understanding of the question "what is camouflage?". Camouflage is the ability to hide from enemy's. Imagine blending in with your surroundings, basically turning invisible and benefiting from everything turning invisible can be beneficial for. Now imagine there are animals that can do this at ease, and they reason they can is because they have a few different skin cells or organelles than us. now imagine making clothing that can change it's color. If you don't like the color of the shirt you are wearing that day, you would be able to just change it!
A material can change its composition on the molecular level by having tighter - together molecules. When the molecules are tight / close to each other it makes them harder to separate, especially if their ions are balanced. Take a banana and a brick for example. You can grab the banana and tear it easily, its molecules are spread widely apart and therefor it is easy to separate it. Now the brick, you can grab it and try to break it, but with just your hands it will be extremely difficult. This is because the brick is dense and its molecules are tightly packed together. On the atomic level, a material can be changed by its atoms and how stable they are. If you take an ionic bond for example, it is a very stable bond betwixt atoms and therefor is hard to take apart, but a covalent bond is weaker, and will come apart easier.
Elevator Pitch
"In the history of human kind and animal kind too, those who have learned to collaborate and improvise have most effectively prevailed." -Charles Darwin
If you invest in my book you get a deeper understanding of the question "what is camouflage?". Camouflage is the ability to hide from enemy's. Imagine blending in with your surroundings, basically turning invisible and benefiting from everything turning invisible can be beneficial for. Now imagine there are animals that can do this at ease, and they reason they can is because they have a few different skin cells or organelles than us. now imagine making clothing that can change it's color. If you don't like the color of the shirt you are wearing that day, you would be able to just change it!
Artical
How And Why Animals Change Color.
Anish Wells
In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.
-Charles Darwin
Imagine being chased. You are running, running so fast and with so much effort. You have to get away. You refuse to be dinner tonight! But its gaining, it is much bigger than you and covering a lot more distance. What are you going to do? The running isn’t working and turning to fight isn't an option. Eventually, the predator catches up to you and you are eaten up like turkey on Thanksgiving. Many creatures on this planet have faced this situation before, they have been eaten or killed because they were not fast or clever enough to get away. But some creatures have figured out a way to avoid this. Take a cuttlefish for example, these brilliant creatures have and can manipulate their chromatophores to change their overall skin color, making them able to communicate by color change or camouflage with their surroundings. Chromatophores are organelles in the cells of certain creatures that can reflect or contain light.
This is all because of the cuttlefish’s skin cells on its body. Animals that have fur or feathers are not able to change their color composition because fur and feathers are just like human hair and fingernails, dead tissue. The skin and fur are attached to the animal, but since they are not alive, the animal can do nothing to change its composition. A bird would have to get a whole new set of feathers in order for it to change color.
Not surprisingly, most creatures that can change their color have one thing in common, they are ectotherms.(Animals that cannot produce their own body heat in the same way as mammals or birds) This is not surprising because ectotherms don’t have things like fur or feathers, basically meaning their entire bodies have skin showing, allowing them to completely change color.
Take a chameleon, their skin on the closest to the surface layer is transparent. Underneath that layer are more layers of skin that contain chromatophores. At the center of each chromatophore is an elastic sac full of pigment, (kind of like a water balloon filled with food coloring) that can be colored yellow, orange, red, brown or black. If you squeeze a water balloon full of food coloring, all of the dye would go towards the top, which would stretch the surface and make the color appear brighter. This Is exactly how chromatophores work, except instead of squeezing the water chromatophores with a hand, each chromatophore has a ring of muscle around it that can contract and expand when needed.
Like stated before, some types of cuttlefish can manipulate their chromatophores to change their overall skin color. Having this feature is an incredible ability because it allows the cuttlefish to generate a wide range of colors and even detailed patterns to confuse their attacker or to show off to the females of their species. Another convenient skill that specific types of cuttlefish have is perceiving the color of the backdrop so that they can camouflage with their surroundings.
The pigments (molecules) in the chromatophores normally work by absorbing specific wavelengths of light, while reflecting and scattering others. The molecules will first absorb the wavelengths, then emit them. Note: This is the reason why the human eye can see the wide array of colors on animals. The electrons in the molecules have specific energy levels, (normally the lowest possible energy level) but if the correct amount of energy is received by them they will absorb it and move to a higher energy level. Eventually that energy level will reduce back to a stable one and emit the light that it absorbed. If a certain light has too little or too much energy it will be reflected not absorbed.
Animals that can change color are amazing, they can use this ability for so many different tasks, but there are even more extraordinary creatures out there. Take a mimic octopus, or Thaumoctopus Mimicus (latin name) for example, these creatures are not only color changers, but they can also change their shape! These octopi will change their shape and color to mimic (hence the name) other sea creatures such as a poisonous sea snake or a poisonous lion fish. At around a two foot long creature, these octopi have a body that is normally covered in brown and white stripes (or dots). They have chromatophores so that they can change color but also have the power to contract or expand their muscles, therefore changing their overall shape and size.
Animals that evolved in order to adapt to their situation and literally blend in with their surroundings have changed their own futures, and could change the future of human camouflage and technology with research of chromatophores.
Bibliography:
"Mimic Octopus." DiveTheWorld. N.p., 3 Dec. 2014. Web.
Harris, Tom. "How Animal Camouflage Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., 6 Oct. 2001. Web.
Stuart, Devi. "How Do Chameleons and Other Creatures Change Colour?"How Do Chameleons and Other Creatures Change Colour? N.p., 3 May 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2014
"Chromatophore." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Meyer, Fox. "How Octopuses and Squids Change Color." Smithsonian Ocean Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
"UCSB Science Line Sqtest." UCSB Science Line Sqtest. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Bates, Mary. "How Do Chameleons Change Colors? | WIRED." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 09 Apr. 0014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"Squid and Zebrafish Cells Inspire Camouflaging Smart Materials." Squid and Zebrafish Cells Inspire Camouflaging Smart Materials. N.p., 2 May 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
"Photosynthesis Pigments." Photosynthesis Pigments. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Anish Wells
In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.
-Charles Darwin
Imagine being chased. You are running, running so fast and with so much effort. You have to get away. You refuse to be dinner tonight! But its gaining, it is much bigger than you and covering a lot more distance. What are you going to do? The running isn’t working and turning to fight isn't an option. Eventually, the predator catches up to you and you are eaten up like turkey on Thanksgiving. Many creatures on this planet have faced this situation before, they have been eaten or killed because they were not fast or clever enough to get away. But some creatures have figured out a way to avoid this. Take a cuttlefish for example, these brilliant creatures have and can manipulate their chromatophores to change their overall skin color, making them able to communicate by color change or camouflage with their surroundings. Chromatophores are organelles in the cells of certain creatures that can reflect or contain light.
This is all because of the cuttlefish’s skin cells on its body. Animals that have fur or feathers are not able to change their color composition because fur and feathers are just like human hair and fingernails, dead tissue. The skin and fur are attached to the animal, but since they are not alive, the animal can do nothing to change its composition. A bird would have to get a whole new set of feathers in order for it to change color.
Not surprisingly, most creatures that can change their color have one thing in common, they are ectotherms.(Animals that cannot produce their own body heat in the same way as mammals or birds) This is not surprising because ectotherms don’t have things like fur or feathers, basically meaning their entire bodies have skin showing, allowing them to completely change color.
Take a chameleon, their skin on the closest to the surface layer is transparent. Underneath that layer are more layers of skin that contain chromatophores. At the center of each chromatophore is an elastic sac full of pigment, (kind of like a water balloon filled with food coloring) that can be colored yellow, orange, red, brown or black. If you squeeze a water balloon full of food coloring, all of the dye would go towards the top, which would stretch the surface and make the color appear brighter. This Is exactly how chromatophores work, except instead of squeezing the water chromatophores with a hand, each chromatophore has a ring of muscle around it that can contract and expand when needed.
Like stated before, some types of cuttlefish can manipulate their chromatophores to change their overall skin color. Having this feature is an incredible ability because it allows the cuttlefish to generate a wide range of colors and even detailed patterns to confuse their attacker or to show off to the females of their species. Another convenient skill that specific types of cuttlefish have is perceiving the color of the backdrop so that they can camouflage with their surroundings.
The pigments (molecules) in the chromatophores normally work by absorbing specific wavelengths of light, while reflecting and scattering others. The molecules will first absorb the wavelengths, then emit them. Note: This is the reason why the human eye can see the wide array of colors on animals. The electrons in the molecules have specific energy levels, (normally the lowest possible energy level) but if the correct amount of energy is received by them they will absorb it and move to a higher energy level. Eventually that energy level will reduce back to a stable one and emit the light that it absorbed. If a certain light has too little or too much energy it will be reflected not absorbed.
Animals that can change color are amazing, they can use this ability for so many different tasks, but there are even more extraordinary creatures out there. Take a mimic octopus, or Thaumoctopus Mimicus (latin name) for example, these creatures are not only color changers, but they can also change their shape! These octopi will change their shape and color to mimic (hence the name) other sea creatures such as a poisonous sea snake or a poisonous lion fish. At around a two foot long creature, these octopi have a body that is normally covered in brown and white stripes (or dots). They have chromatophores so that they can change color but also have the power to contract or expand their muscles, therefore changing their overall shape and size.
Animals that evolved in order to adapt to their situation and literally blend in with their surroundings have changed their own futures, and could change the future of human camouflage and technology with research of chromatophores.
Bibliography:
"Mimic Octopus." DiveTheWorld. N.p., 3 Dec. 2014. Web.
Harris, Tom. "How Animal Camouflage Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., 6 Oct. 2001. Web.
Stuart, Devi. "How Do Chameleons and Other Creatures Change Colour?"How Do Chameleons and Other Creatures Change Colour? N.p., 3 May 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2014
"Chromatophore." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Meyer, Fox. "How Octopuses and Squids Change Color." Smithsonian Ocean Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
"UCSB Science Line Sqtest." UCSB Science Line Sqtest. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Bates, Mary. "How Do Chameleons Change Colors? | WIRED." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 09 Apr. 0014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"Squid and Zebrafish Cells Inspire Camouflaging Smart Materials." Squid and Zebrafish Cells Inspire Camouflaging Smart Materials. N.p., 2 May 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
"Photosynthesis Pigments." Photosynthesis Pigments. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.