With Ethan Cadaoas, Maddie Cinelli, and Jake Hobson
Intro
To begin our year of chemistry, we started with a very broad scope. Hence the subject of cosmic chemistry, the chemistry of the universe. We studied how the universe began, how elements are created and transformed, and the life cycle of stars. During the unit, we also did several mini projects to supplement our final project. We did a model of the universe, two models of a star, a lab focusing on the concept of an atom's half life, and a lab about the different colors of flames with different elements.
Our project
For our final project, we were given the task of creating a model to illustrate one of the learning targets for this unit. The focus point we chose was the death of stars. We created a video about the many different ways stars can die. The video also showed how different stars die in very different ways depending on size. The video explains what happens in supernovas, black holes, and planetary nebulas, and how stars can transform into dwarfs or neutron stars.
Vocabulary
Subatomic Particles- Particles that are even smaller than atoms. For example, atoms are made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
Fission- Splitting a nucleus into two smaller nuclei. The process is started by bombarding the nucleus of an atom with neutrons. When the neutrons strike the nucleus it causes the nucleus to split and produce two smaller nuclei, as well as releasing energy.
Fusion- Combing two nuclei and releasing large amounts of energy. Fusion requires extremely high temperatures and pressures, which makes it a very difficult source of energy to produce.
Radioactive Decay- Unstable nuclei have too many neutrons so they decay by emitting beta particles. Some have to undergo more than one nuclear transformation to become stable.
Half-Life- Amount of time it takes for half of a sample of a certain particle to decay. It can be used to determine how old a sample is by comparing the half-life to the amount of the particle that is left.
Nuclear Transmutation- Conversion of one element into another through fission or fusion. This can be induced by humans using a particle accelerator, or occur naturally in stars.
Radiation- Released when unstable particles decay. There are different types of radiation, the most harmful being gamma rays. They cause significant damage to skin, and even penetrate through it to cause internal damage. Other types include alpha and beta radiation.
Nucleosynthesis- The process of a new element being created by combing two elements. Nucleosynthesis occurs in the core of stars.
Alpha Particle- The same as a He-4 nucleus, with two protons and two neutrons. Alpha particles are released during alpha decay.
Beta Particle- High speed electron emitted by the nucleus during beta decay.
Gamma Rays- High energy radiation that is emitted during the loss of a nuclear particle.
Fission- Splitting a nucleus into two smaller nuclei. The process is started by bombarding the nucleus of an atom with neutrons. When the neutrons strike the nucleus it causes the nucleus to split and produce two smaller nuclei, as well as releasing energy.
Fusion- Combing two nuclei and releasing large amounts of energy. Fusion requires extremely high temperatures and pressures, which makes it a very difficult source of energy to produce.
Radioactive Decay- Unstable nuclei have too many neutrons so they decay by emitting beta particles. Some have to undergo more than one nuclear transformation to become stable.
Half-Life- Amount of time it takes for half of a sample of a certain particle to decay. It can be used to determine how old a sample is by comparing the half-life to the amount of the particle that is left.
Nuclear Transmutation- Conversion of one element into another through fission or fusion. This can be induced by humans using a particle accelerator, or occur naturally in stars.
Radiation- Released when unstable particles decay. There are different types of radiation, the most harmful being gamma rays. They cause significant damage to skin, and even penetrate through it to cause internal damage. Other types include alpha and beta radiation.
Nucleosynthesis- The process of a new element being created by combing two elements. Nucleosynthesis occurs in the core of stars.
Alpha Particle- The same as a He-4 nucleus, with two protons and two neutrons. Alpha particles are released during alpha decay.
Beta Particle- High speed electron emitted by the nucleus during beta decay.
Gamma Rays- High energy radiation that is emitted during the loss of a nuclear particle.
Reflection
I had a lot of fun with this project. Being very interested in astronomy, I approached this unit with a lot of enthusiasm. Learning about the universe from a new perspective was fascinating.
One aspect of my performance on this project that I am particularly proud of was my responsibility. I was able to do my part efficiently and stay on task. Another thing I believe I did well was contributing ideas to the group. I came up with a lot of ideas pertaining to the project, many of which making it into our video.
There were areas that I could improve, despite how enjoyable this project was. One thing I could have done better was organize the group in a way that everybody was working on something to maximize efficiency. What happened again and again was that one or two people would be filming one part of the video while the other two people just sort of watched. We could have divided up the video into two parts to make the filming much quicker. Another thing I could have done better was listen to my team mates' ideas. Because of my enthusiasm for this specific subject, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do and I tended not to hear what my teammates had to say about some of the things we did.
Overall I believe I did well on this project and that we, as a team, worked quite well together.
One aspect of my performance on this project that I am particularly proud of was my responsibility. I was able to do my part efficiently and stay on task. Another thing I believe I did well was contributing ideas to the group. I came up with a lot of ideas pertaining to the project, many of which making it into our video.
There were areas that I could improve, despite how enjoyable this project was. One thing I could have done better was organize the group in a way that everybody was working on something to maximize efficiency. What happened again and again was that one or two people would be filming one part of the video while the other two people just sort of watched. We could have divided up the video into two parts to make the filming much quicker. Another thing I could have done better was listen to my team mates' ideas. Because of my enthusiasm for this specific subject, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do and I tended not to hear what my teammates had to say about some of the things we did.
Overall I believe I did well on this project and that we, as a team, worked quite well together.