The book Chemistry on a Budget contains chemistry labs that are useful with inexpensive, easy to obtain materials.
During the summer vacation, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful. You can examine the labs and decide what you want to use next year.
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.
A 5-Star Customer Review of Chemistry on a Budget at amazon.com states:
“[S]traight forward, to the point, using household chemicals…this is the lab book for you.
I teach high school chemistry and this is exactly what [I] was looking for. Labs included simple household chemicals that could be easily found. Nice format, easy to follow along procedures, and touches on every topic of our chemistry curriculum.”
During the summer vacation, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful. You can examine the labs and decide what you want to use next year.
You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you -- Order Now. It’s a great resource!
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
“South Africa like other countries in the region is presently experiencing one of the worst droughts in 45 years, with the lowest ever rainfall since 1904. In 2015, South Africa received only an average of 403 mm, which is merely 66% of the annual average rainfall.
This situation led to severe strain on crop production with household food security being a major concern. With their advanced economy, the country has been able to withstand the drought.
Other countries in the region particularly Zimbabwe has had to depend on food aid from international organizations and other countries to be able to feed a section of citizens. Aside farm lands, animals have also been affected.”
http://www.africanews.com/2016/09/29/fighting-drought-with-orange-peels-s-african-girl-16-wins-google-award/
“South Africa's worst drought in recorded history has left eight of the country's nine provinces in a state of disaster, with thousands of communities and millions of households facing water shortages.
The agricultural union Agri SA has requested over $1 billion in government subsidies to help farmers through the crisis, but a cut-price solution could soon be available -- from an unlikely source.
Johannesburg schoolgirl Kiara Nirghin, 16, recently won the Google Science Fair's Community Impact Award for the Middle East and Africa with her submission ‘No More Thirsty Crops.’ ”
https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/africa/orange-drought-kiara-nirghin/index.html
“Kiara Nirghin beat students from around the world for a $50,000 (£38,000) scholarship with her ’fighting drought with fruit’ submission. …
Ms Nirghin, a student at the Anglican Church-founded St Martin's High School in the main city Johannesburg, said three experiments over 45 days resulted in her coming up with the ‘orange peel mixture’ as an alternative to expensive and non-biodegradable super-absorbent polymers (SAPs).
It was made out of waste products from the juice-manufacturing industry, she said.
These included molecules found in orange peels and naturally occurring oils in avocado skins.
The product is fully biodegradable, low-cost and has better water retaining properties than commercial SAPs. The only resources involved in the creation of the 'orange peel mixture' were electricity and time, no special equipment nor materials were required,’ Ms Nirghin added in her online submission.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37497682
“Kiara’s knack for science led her to her kitchen where she discovered that peels of oranges and avocados can transform into SAPs under UV radiation and heat. …The SAP can be created using only electricity and fruit peels and can hold up to 300 times of their weight in liquid.
By combining orange peels and avocado skins, Kiara created a super absorbent polymer (SAP) that can store reserves of water about 300 times its weight in liquid relative to its own mass, according to the teen’s project page. This allows it to form reservoirs that farmers can use to maintain their crops at a low cost. The mixture is also sustainable, as it is made of recycled and biodegradable waste products. The polymer has the added benefit of sustainability as it uses recycled and biodegradable waste products.
Typical SAPs are expensive, not biodegradable and are composed of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide and other chemicals. In addition to being more environmentally friendly, Kiara’s orange peel SAP can absorb 76.1 percent of water, which is a greater amount than the acrylic, starch and pectin SAPs, which all held 74 percent or less, according to her study. The teen’s mixture is also much more cost effective than chemical SAPs.”
http://www.konnectafrica.net/kiara-nirghin-south-african-drought/
“SAPs are widely used in arid areas to combat water scarcity and stave off the impacts of drought. The polymers can hold 300 times their weight in liquid. Often deployed as little gummy balls mixed into soil or a sticky slush that lays between plant lines, SAPs can retain rainfall and then slowly release it during dry spells. ”
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/drought-invention-16-year-old-south-africa/
“Typical SAPs are expensive, not biodegradable and are composed of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide and other chemicals. In addition to being more environmentally friendly, Nirghin’s orange peel SAP can absorb 76.1 percent of water, which is a greater amount than the acrylic, starch and pectin SAPs, which all held 74 percent or less, according to her study.”
https://weather.com/news/news/south-africa-drought-johannesburg-kiara-nirghin-teen-solution-super-absorbent-polymer-sap
“As farmers’ crops withered and died, many turned to superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) to retain water in soil. The powders hold large amounts of water relative to their mass and create a hydrogel ‘reservoir.’ However, SAPS are also very expensive and not biodegradable.
Nirghin wanted to find a natural solution that farmers could afford. She discovered orange peels could work as a biodegradable polymer but would still need to be chemically processed. Instead, she boiled the orange peels with oil from avocado peels then used the photo polymerization of sunlight to connect the polymers.
Over the course of 45 days, Nirghin watched as pots containing her mixture retained more water, kept soil moist and produced more flowers than those with commercial SAPs. Products on the market can cost up to $3,000 per metric ton, while she said her version would cost $30-60 per metric ton.”
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/16-year-old-wins-google-prize-for-orange-peel-innovation-1.3094184
Here is a 3-minute news article summarizing this development:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwUtDvcHPpQ
The drought in South Africa was discussed in two previous blog posts:
02/02/2018 Current Event - South Africa Drought
02/09/2018 Current Event - South Africa Drought Update
During the summer vacation, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful. You can examine the labs and decide what you want to use next year.
*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
Have a great weekend!
During the summer vacation, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful. You can examine the labs and decide what you want to use next year.
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.
A 5-Star Customer Review of Chemistry on a Budget at amazon.com states:
“[S]traight forward, to the point, using household chemicals…this is the lab book for you.
I teach high school chemistry and this is exactly what [I] was looking for. Labs included simple household chemicals that could be easily found. Nice format, easy to follow along procedures, and touches on every topic of our chemistry curriculum.”
During the summer vacation, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful. You can examine the labs and decide what you want to use next year.
You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you -- Order Now. It’s a great resource!
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
“South Africa like other countries in the region is presently experiencing one of the worst droughts in 45 years, with the lowest ever rainfall since 1904. In 2015, South Africa received only an average of 403 mm, which is merely 66% of the annual average rainfall.
This situation led to severe strain on crop production with household food security being a major concern. With their advanced economy, the country has been able to withstand the drought.
Other countries in the region particularly Zimbabwe has had to depend on food aid from international organizations and other countries to be able to feed a section of citizens. Aside farm lands, animals have also been affected.”
http://www.africanews.com/2016/09/29/fighting-drought-with-orange-peels-s-african-girl-16-wins-google-award/
“South Africa's worst drought in recorded history has left eight of the country's nine provinces in a state of disaster, with thousands of communities and millions of households facing water shortages.
The agricultural union Agri SA has requested over $1 billion in government subsidies to help farmers through the crisis, but a cut-price solution could soon be available -- from an unlikely source.
Johannesburg schoolgirl Kiara Nirghin, 16, recently won the Google Science Fair's Community Impact Award for the Middle East and Africa with her submission ‘No More Thirsty Crops.’ ”
https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/africa/orange-drought-kiara-nirghin/index.html
“Kiara Nirghin beat students from around the world for a $50,000 (£38,000) scholarship with her ’fighting drought with fruit’ submission. …
Ms Nirghin, a student at the Anglican Church-founded St Martin's High School in the main city Johannesburg, said three experiments over 45 days resulted in her coming up with the ‘orange peel mixture’ as an alternative to expensive and non-biodegradable super-absorbent polymers (SAPs).
It was made out of waste products from the juice-manufacturing industry, she said.
These included molecules found in orange peels and naturally occurring oils in avocado skins.
The product is fully biodegradable, low-cost and has better water retaining properties than commercial SAPs. The only resources involved in the creation of the 'orange peel mixture' were electricity and time, no special equipment nor materials were required,’ Ms Nirghin added in her online submission.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37497682
“Kiara’s knack for science led her to her kitchen where she discovered that peels of oranges and avocados can transform into SAPs under UV radiation and heat. …The SAP can be created using only electricity and fruit peels and can hold up to 300 times of their weight in liquid.
By combining orange peels and avocado skins, Kiara created a super absorbent polymer (SAP) that can store reserves of water about 300 times its weight in liquid relative to its own mass, according to the teen’s project page. This allows it to form reservoirs that farmers can use to maintain their crops at a low cost. The mixture is also sustainable, as it is made of recycled and biodegradable waste products. The polymer has the added benefit of sustainability as it uses recycled and biodegradable waste products.
Typical SAPs are expensive, not biodegradable and are composed of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide and other chemicals. In addition to being more environmentally friendly, Kiara’s orange peel SAP can absorb 76.1 percent of water, which is a greater amount than the acrylic, starch and pectin SAPs, which all held 74 percent or less, according to her study. The teen’s mixture is also much more cost effective than chemical SAPs.”
http://www.konnectafrica.net/kiara-nirghin-south-african-drought/
“SAPs are widely used in arid areas to combat water scarcity and stave off the impacts of drought. The polymers can hold 300 times their weight in liquid. Often deployed as little gummy balls mixed into soil or a sticky slush that lays between plant lines, SAPs can retain rainfall and then slowly release it during dry spells. ”
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/drought-invention-16-year-old-south-africa/
“Typical SAPs are expensive, not biodegradable and are composed of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide and other chemicals. In addition to being more environmentally friendly, Nirghin’s orange peel SAP can absorb 76.1 percent of water, which is a greater amount than the acrylic, starch and pectin SAPs, which all held 74 percent or less, according to her study.”
https://weather.com/news/news/south-africa-drought-johannesburg-kiara-nirghin-teen-solution-super-absorbent-polymer-sap
“As farmers’ crops withered and died, many turned to superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) to retain water in soil. The powders hold large amounts of water relative to their mass and create a hydrogel ‘reservoir.’ However, SAPS are also very expensive and not biodegradable.
Nirghin wanted to find a natural solution that farmers could afford. She discovered orange peels could work as a biodegradable polymer but would still need to be chemically processed. Instead, she boiled the orange peels with oil from avocado peels then used the photo polymerization of sunlight to connect the polymers.
Over the course of 45 days, Nirghin watched as pots containing her mixture retained more water, kept soil moist and produced more flowers than those with commercial SAPs. Products on the market can cost up to $3,000 per metric ton, while she said her version would cost $30-60 per metric ton.”
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/16-year-old-wins-google-prize-for-orange-peel-innovation-1.3094184
Here is a 3-minute news article summarizing this development:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwUtDvcHPpQ
The drought in South Africa was discussed in two previous blog posts:
02/02/2018 Current Event - South Africa Drought
02/09/2018 Current Event - South Africa Drought Update
During the summer vacation, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful. You can examine the labs and decide what you want to use next year.
*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
Have a great weekend!
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