Gravity has been around as long as any other part of this universe and yet it was only discovered 3 centuries ago by Sir Issac Newton.  Who figured out the force that holds us to this earth is the same that makes the planets go around the sun and moons go around the planets.

What does gravity do?

Gravity gives weight to the objects with mass.  Weight is mass times gravity.

The other thing this powerful force does is it keeps us on Earth.  Without gravity everything on Earth would float around with no way of controlling it.

Newton’s Gravity

Newton published his Theory of Universal Gravitation.  His theory was mass of the objects strengthens the force of gravity while distance between the objects weakens the gravitational pull.

This proves the reason we stay on Earth. Earth has a huge mass and so it has a very strong gravitational pull.

Sources

http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/classes/cs255f03/cs255students/jedens/p4/factpg3.html

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy00/phy00007.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/question2321.htm

Newton’s Laws

1st Law

Newton’s first law is an object at rest will not be moved until acted upon by an outside force. Our project shows this because the machine will not start by itself, it must be started by Shelby or myself pushing over the dominoes.

3rd Law

Newton’s Third law is for every action there is an opposite but equal reaction.  This is showed when the duck knocks over the cup of coins because the reaction is to give as much force back to the duck to slow it down.

Gravity

Gravity is shown through out the expirement but one example is the pegboard because the pennies will continue to fall even though there are pegs to slow them down.

Energy

Potential

Potential energy is used in our project because the ball on the ramp is not yet moving but it has the energy too.

Kinetic

When the ball starts to roll once the wall is removed that is kinetic energy.

• How does gravity work?
• What are Newton’s laws?

  

  

  

  
  
  
• How objects move?
• What is Kinematics?
• How does Electricity work and move?
• What is Energy and how does it affect are lives?

Chemical Make Up

Chemical Formula: C11H15NO2

Effects of taking drug

The most common effects reported by users include:[70]

A general and subjective alteration in consciousness

A strong sense of inner peace and self-acceptance

Diminished aggression, hostility, and jealousy

Diminished fear, anxiety, and insecurity

Extreme mood lift with accompanying euphoria

Feelings of empathy, compassion, and forgiveness towards others

Feelings of intimacy and even love for others

Improved self-confidence

The ability to discuss normally anxiety-provoking topics with marked ease

An intensification of perception, particularly tactile sensation or touch, as well as hearing and vision

Substantial enhancement of the appreciation for or quality of music

Mild psychedelia, consisting of mental imagery and auditory and visual distortions

As well as:

Stimulation, arousal, and hyperactivity (e.g., many users get an “uncontrollable urge to dance” while under the influence)

Increased energy and endurance

Increased alertness, awareness, and wakefulness

Increased desire, drive, and motivation

Analgesia or decreased pain sensitivity

The top side effects reported were difficulty concentrating, jaw clenching, grinding of the teeth during sleep, lack of appetite, and dry mouth/thirst

Effects reported by users once the acute effects of MDMA have worn off include:

Psychological

Anxiety, even panic attacks

Depression

Irritability or aggression

Fatigue or malaise

Agitation or restlessness

Impaired attention, focus, and concentration, as well as drive and motivation

Paradoxal dysphoria through hypersensitivity, see set and setting

Residual feelings of empathy, emotional sensitivity, and a sense of closeness to others (afterglow)

Physiological

Dizziness, lightheadedness, or vertigo

Gastrointestinal disturbances, such as diarrhea or constipation

Headache or migraine

Insomnia

Aches and pains, from excessive physical activity (e.g., dancing)

Jaw soreness, from trismus or bruxism

Chemical Reaction on Body

MDMA exerts its primary effects in the brain on neurons that use the chemical (or neurotransmitter) serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin system plays an important role in regulating mood, aggression, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain. MDMA binds to the serotonin transporter, which is responsible for removing serotonin from the synapse (or space between adjacent neurons) to terminate the signal between neurons. MDMA also causes excessive release of serotonin from neurons containing the neurotransmitter, and it has similar but less potent effects on neurons that contain dopamine and norepinephrine.

MDMA can produce confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, and severe anxiety. These problems can occur soon after taking the drug or, sometimes, even days or weeks after taking MDMA. In addition, chronic users of MDMA perform more poorly than nonusers on certain types of cognitive or memory tasks, although some of these effects may be due to the use of other drugs in combination with MDMA. Research in animals indicates that MDMA can be harmful to the brain—one study in nonhuman primates showed that exposure to MDMA for only 4 days caused damage to serotonin nerve terminals that was still evident 6 to 7 years later.1 Although similar neurotoxicity has not been shown definitively in humans, the wealth of animal research indicating MDMA’s damaging properties strongly suggests that MDMA is not a safe drug for human consumption. This is currently an area of active research.

Increases amount of nerotransmitter in the synapse. replaces many neurotransmitters which normally would have been recycled. can be transported into axon terminal cause even more neurotransmitter release.

Causes degenration of serotonio axons. by releasing serotonio it weakens the axon terminal. rusts and then release calcium in nuregons causing the serotonio to die off. this causes axons to not be able to communicate with other nerons therefore causing a fall in behavior, reaction time, memory, etc. over time.

MDMA exerts its primary effects in the brain on neurons that use the chemical (or neurotransmitter) serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin system plays an important role in regulating mood, aggression, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain. MDMA binds to the serotonin transporter, which is responsible for removing serotonin from the synapse (or space between adjacent neurons) to terminate the signal between neurons. MDMA also causes excessive release of serotonin from neurons containing the neurotransmitter, and it has similar but less potent effects on neurons that contain dopamine and norepinephrine.

Risks

Taking other drugs

dehydration

heart and kidney failure

other substances

Other chemicals can be added to it such as caffiene, dexotromethorphan, PCP, etc.

Legal

MDMA is legally controlled in most of the world under the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances and other international agreements, although exceptions exist for research. Generally, the unlicensed use, sale or manufacture of MDMA are all criminal offenses.

In the UK, MDMA is a Class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Schedule 1 under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001), making it illegal to sell, buy, or possess without a license. Penalties include a maximum of seven years and/or unlimited fine for possession; life and/or unlimited fine for production or trafficking.

In the U.S., MDMA was legal and unregulated until 31 May 1985

History

MDMA was first synthesized in 1912 by Merck chemist Anton Köllisch interested in developing substances that stopped abnormal bleeding

Alexander Shuligin passed it around his students and friends who thought it was like a “low calorie martine”

The original patent for MDMA was filed on Christmas Eve 1912 by the German pharmaceutical company Merck, after being first synthesized by the German chemist Anton Köllisch. Unfortunately, this expert died without any idea of the impact this synthesis would have. The original purpose of this drug has been a styptic effect – controlling bleeding from wounds. Half a century later, it became illegal in the United States. Before then, it was used both as a supplement to psychotherapy and as a recreational drug.

1912 MDMA first synthesized by Merck Pharmaceuticals.

1914 MDMA patented by Merck Pharmaceuticals.

1953 The Army Chemical Center studied MDMA toxicity by giving MDMA to guinea pigs, rats, mice, monkeys, and dogs.

1965 Alexander Shulgin synthesizes MDMA but does not yet try it.

c. 1967 The first small underground batches of MDMA are synthesized. Relatively few individuals have tried it at this point.

c. 1968 Alexander Shulgin begins working with MDMA personally and introducing others to it.

1976 The first scholarly article on MDMA is published.

c. 1977 MDMA begins to be available on the street as a recreational drug.

1977 MDMA, as an analogue of MDA, was listed as a class A drug in the UK in 1977 and placed into Schedule I of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1971. Equivalent to the FDA’s schedule I rating, MDMA is deemed to have no medicinal use and carries the same legal penalties as diacetylmorphine, cocaine and LSD. Possession may result in up to 7 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine, whilst trafficking can result in life imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

1977 – 1981 Only eight individuals seek emergency room treatment after the use of MDMA during this four year period according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN).

1981 – 1985 There are zero people who seek emergency room treatment after the use of MDMA during this four year period, according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN).

May 31, 1985 MDMA banned federally

How is it produceds

Safrole- Relatively small quantities of essential oil are required to make large numbers of MDMA pills. The essential oil of Ocotea cymbarum typically contains between 80 and 94% safrole. This would allow 500 ml of the oil, which retails at between $20 and $100, to be used to produce an estimated 1,300 to 2,800 tablets containing approximately 120 mg of MDMA eachMan made

MDMA is the result of a complex scientific process involving chemical reactions, distillation and crystallization. Once MDMA powder has been produced, it can be mixed with a binding agent, such as china clay, paper binding, sucrose or lactose, and put into a press to make ecstasy pills.

The presses often stamp logos like Mitsubishis, doves or cartoon characters onto the pills to help users identify what they are buying. In reality, these designs bear no relation to what is inside the tablet, as production is not regulated.

The strength of each ecstasy tablet is determined purely by how much MDMA is added to the mixture at the time of the pill’s creation. According to the Serious Organised Crime Agency [SOCA], the average MDMA content of ecstasy pills in the UK has fallen by 50% since 2000, with many being cut with caffeine, amphetamines, ketamine and piperazine, and some containing no MDMA at all. This has led to a two-tier system, with ecstasy pills averaging £3 per tablet and ‘pure’ MDMA powder selling for an average of £38 per gram.

Although MDMA can be produced anywhere, the large amount of chemicals required mean that commercial production of ecstasy tablets takes place in illegal laboratories. In 2007, there were 72 known ecstasy laboratories around the world, spread across eight different countries: Australia, Indonesia, Canada, USA, Holland, France, Mexico and Spain.

Other Intresting Facts

The most common names for MDMA are ecstasy, Adam, and XTC. (Please see the below for additional names.)

Street Terms for MDMA

B-bombs

Clarity

Cristal

Decadence

Disco biscuit

E

Essence

Eve

Go

Hug drug

Iboga

Love drug

Morning shot

Pollutants

Scooby snacks

Speed for lovers

Sweeties

Wheels

X

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA#Health_concerns

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_xtc1.php

http://www.3dchem.com/moremolecules.asp?ID=60&othername=MDMA

http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs3/3494/index.htm#risks

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/ecstasy.html

http://www.steadyhealth.com/software/vitamin_test/articles/What_ecstasy_does_to_your_mind_and_body_a531.html

http://www.cbn-atl.org/downloads/mdma.pdf

http://www.ecstasyaddiction.com/ecstasy_timeline.html

http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/ecstasy.html

http://www.thesite.org/drinkanddrugs/drugculture/drugorigins/ecstasy

Everything you see is made up of tiny elements all jumbled together.  Even you are!  Are they different?  Are some related?  Is there anyway you can put them all together in a way that makes sense?  These are the questions chemist were asking in the middle of the 1800′s.  During that time there was only around 50 elements known to man.  Now there are over a 100! How can you organize all that?  With the periodic table!

What You Need To Know About The Modern Table

The modern table is made up of 118 elements.  It looks like this:

Each element is in a box that looks like this:

The table is split into columns and row or families and periods. The families (columns) tend to have the same chemical properties and the periods (rows) change slowly as you go across the table.

That is not the only way the periodic table.  Look at the two pictures above. The atomic number (which is the number of protons the element has) is in order all the way across the table. The last groups at the bottom go in there but if they were actually put in there the periodic table would no longer be practical.

This picture shows the dividing line between the medals and non-medals on the periodic table. (It’s an older picture so it does not have all the elements but you can see how it could continue.)

So how did it become to be?

A Russian Chemist named Dmitri Mendeleev first started making the periodic table in 1869.  He found the patterns and based his periodic table on known elements of his time.  If an element didn’t fit the pattern he would leave a space on the table for it when it was discovered.  He used the idea of valance electrons in the same column and made sure all of his groups shared a similar quality.

Here is Mendeleev’s first periodic table

Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsey greatly enhanced the periodic table with the discovery of the “Nobel or inert gases”.  They first discovered argon in 1895 and the remainder were discovered soon after. It was not until over 50 years later that the first Nobel gas compound was found.

The finishing touches were added to the modern periodic table from the work done by Gleen Seaborg.  Other elements are still being added today but that is how and why we have this modern day periodic table

Sources

http://www.scienceclarified.com/Oi-Ph/Periodic-Table.html

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/periodic_table/index.html

http://web.fccj.org/~ethall/period/period.htm

November 7 1867- July 4 1934

 

Marie Curie conducting an expirement

Marie Curie was one of the first to go into the field of radioactivity.  She was joined by her husband and after his death she took on the job of head of laboratory.

Curie decided to look into uranium waves for her research for her thesis.  In her own unique way she went about her work.  Using a electormeter her and her husband had made she discovered uranium rays made the air conduct electricity around a sample. Her research in this area is very important because she proved that radition must come from the atom itself and not an outside force.

Marie quoted in  her paper “The fact is very remarkable, and leads to the belief that these minerals may contain an element which is much more active than uranium.” which later was a much greater discovery then others who were starting to notice the same thing.

Elements found by Marie:

• Polonium
• Radium

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie#Tributes
• http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1903/marie-curie-bio.html
• http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blMarieCurie.htm

All over the country,  rural area folk are arguing about the farms’ use of nitrates.  Nitrates are dangerous to human life and the amounts the farms are using is having an effect on the people around them. One of those places is right here in our own Yakima Valley! For this reason I decided to do an experiment to figure out how nitrates effect plant growth and if too much nitrates can harm plants or at least effect their growth negatively. I’m pretty sure the farmers and those fighting them would be pretty interested as to my findings.  Of course more research should be done but my findings suggest that without fertilizer the plants in the first few weeks at least grow the best and the plants also need to not be over fertilized which is one of the problems with health issues

What I learned about Chemistry

During my experiment I learned about mainly the chemistry of the fertilizer. I learned that certain plants need different nutrients to grow and the main three elements are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium which are all elements. They also have lesser elements that are there too but for the most part it is those 3. I learned about how Nitrogen or nitrates help plant growth. This element is needed to help with growth and getting energy.

What I learned about Designing and Following Through with an Experiment

The experiment was one of my first completely self designed experiments.  I learned that you need to control all variables and look at a lotof options for these variables before starting.  Also you need to figure out what you are going to measure by and unless your scientific question is very specific (like how high do they grow) you should have many different ways to measure its successfulness.  Research is very important and it can make your experiment more successful so you should try to get as much of your research done as possible before starting. Also you can learn from others who have tried similar experiments mistakes.

What I learned about Myself

I learned that sometimes I focus too much on one specific item at a time which can cause me to overlook things I should focus on too.  On the bright side, I learned I can get what I need to get done in a certain amount of time and that things don’t need to take forever to look professional.  I learned that I can come up with a successful experiment and I can learn from mistakes I might have made during it.

What I would do Differently

Would I do it over if I could? Yes, I would because I made a couple of mistakes.  For one I would take as much data I could and I would also monitor my variables more carefully.  Also I would do it for a longer period of time and fertilize the plants more.  In another experiment I would also use different plant seeds instead of the fast plants, so that it would be more reliable for gardeners and farmers.

Recent Studies Show That The Water You Drink Everyday May Not Be As Safe As You Think

Recently in class we’ve been studying the water from our homes and local streams and rivers.  The news articals in Yakima Hearld about Dirty Waters, Hidden Wells made our class take a look at our water.

MY HOME WATER

The first water I tested was from my home water.  Normally my family doesn’t drink the water because it has a sort of rusty taste to it but we use it for cooking and drinks such as lemonade or hot coco, and also to bathe and brush our teeth with for example. Therefore it is still very important to me that my water is safe for my family. My House Water

My family also uses well water for our water outside our house.  We use it to water the yard and vegetables. When we were little we would run through sprinklers and sometimes even drink the water.  The pool we have in our yard is filled with that water and therefore it is important to me that this water is also safe for me and my family My Well Water

Acceptable levels of Water from Water Quality of Drinking Water

This is from the lab worksheet we got in Chemistry class that let us know if our water that we drink is safe.  According to this table and the ones above both my well and city water was safe. Here is the defenition of each given by the Wate Quality of Drinking Water paper Conductivity (Total Dissolved Solids):  High concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) may cause adverse taste effects. Highly mineralized water may also deteriorate domestic plumbing and appliances.  This is measured with a conductivity probe. pH:  Drinking water with a pH between 6.5 and 8.5 is generally considered satisfactory. Acidic waters tend to be corrosive to plumbing and faucets, particularly if the pH is below 6. Alkaline waters are less corrosive. Waters with a pH above 8.5 may have a bitter or soda like taste. Ammonia: Ammonia has a toxic effect on healthy humans only if the intake becomes higher than the body’s ability to detoxify. At a dose of more than 100 mg/kg of body weight per day, ammonium influences metabolism by shifting the acid–base equilibrium, disturbing the glucose tolerance, and reducing the tissue sensitivity to insulin.  In other words, it can cause diabetes-like symptoms. Nitrates:Nitrates and nitrites are nitrogen-oxygen chemical units which combines with various organic and inorganic compounds. Once taken into the body, nitrates are converted into nitrites. The greatest use of nitrates is as a fertilizer.

OUR CLASS DRINKING WATER DATA

Our Class Average for the water testing was

These are all safe water levels for drinking but that is not so around other communities near us.  Diary farm that our near our area have caused children and adults to become very sick and it is unsafe to expose people to the nitrates in the water. There is information on it at http://www.yakima-herald.com/dirtywater if you are intrested in learning  more about the nitrates that infest our water in the Lower Valley. Our communites water levels our safe for now according to the class’s data. All of our water is within safe drinking levels.

From the document Stream Quality Field Testing here is the limits for healthy stream water

From our Field Trip on November 2,2009 this is the data the class collected

If you wanted a genrelization of the water quality in our area and of the Toppenish Creek and Yakima River then you could see that on average the streams are healthy. However, some of the the location have unsafe levels of a certain item. Such as Mud Lake has a pH of 9.2 but the rest of it seemed it acceptable there are also flaws in the dissolved oxygen of Granger Pond it is 1.1 ppm higher then acceptable.  Our class data says these ponds might not be safe but more research is required.

Human Influence

Mud Lake stood out as being the most influenced by humans because it was a canal and had irrigation pipes. Also, the water did not appear to move and it was growing over with algae. There was trash in some places, too.

Zillah Boat Launch also had some human influence as it had concrete and that the trees we’re having trouble regrowing. There were paths going into the forests but it looked very well taken care of.

Granger Pond is part of park and it has a water processing thing right next to it so even though it seems as if it’s trying to be cleaned. It is cleaner water but it also has lots of human influnce.

Signal Peak Road had a bit trash in the water and it looked like it may have been a spot where hunter’s had dumped dead animal parts because we saw a deer leg.  Also the creek was surrounded by a fence and there was even a stop sign in the water.

Satus Wildlife Refuge was the least tampered by human’s it seemed except for maybe in the past there were old worn down buildings there but apart from that it seemed very natural.

My classes collusions on the health of the water system i am pretty confident in accuracy of data even if we didn’t get the exact figures because we don’t have state of the art equipment, I’m sure we were close.  However, I think we also need to find out the other compounds that could make our streams unhealthy because I know nitrates are a big scare for home water around here and so I think it is also probably in our streams.

Questions for another expirment

• What is the nitrate level for our streams?
• How does our water compare to other waters?
• Can the new water treatment plants make our streams healthier then before?

This is Dogs Creek Waterfall just south of Vancouver, Washington. We need to help protect water quality so we can still have beautiful waterfalls like this.

There are two main issues in Washington considering water quality; the health of public drinking water and the health of the water ecosystem.  In eastern Washington, agriculture has a huge effect on the water health.  Also Hanford has raised conceren on effecting the water quality.

In order to have a healthier water system we first need to understand:

• How the contamients are getting into our system
• Where they come from
• How they effect the water
• How to prevent more from entering the water system

The USGS is studying the effects of organic compounds in water that is infected with these contaminents at army bases.

There is still much that needs to be done to keep our water safe and research is underway!

Yakima Salmon and Temperature of Stream

In Naches and Yakima rivers, salmon spawing is usually limited by the temperature of the stream.  The Buera of Reclemation is trying to produce a computer simulation to help them to see how to save the salmon

More Information at:

• Water ecosystem health: http://wa.water.usgs.gov/water_issues/qual.htm
• Salmon: http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/yakimatemp/
• Waterfall:http://www.oregonwaterfalls.net/dogcreek.htm

When Vanadium was first discovered by Del Rio in 1801, a French scientist said it was impure chromium and Del Rio accepted it as true. It was later discovered in 1830 by Sefstrom who named it after the Scandinavian goddess, Vanadis because of how beautiful it is.

Vanadium first large scale use as a steel was for Ford Model T. Today it’s mainly used to produce rust restiant and high speed medal tools.

Vanadium’s Properties:

• Melting Point: 1910 °C
• Boiling Point: 3407 °C
• Electrical Conductivity [Ar]3d³4s² 
•  Primary State: solid

At 95% purity Vanadium is worth about $20/lb. but at 99.9% purity it cost $100/oz.!

While Vanadium can be found in 65 different minerals, it is never found free by itself in nature.

Some researchers are looking into the fact that vanadium may prevent cholesterol from forming in blood vessels.

Cited Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium
• http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/23.html
• http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelements/pages/data/vanadium_data.html
• http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/ksms/PeriodicTable/vanadium.htm