Teaching High School Chemistry
  • Introduction
  • Book
  • Blog
  • Topic List
  • Teaching Resources
  • Biography
  • Contact

the radium girls

12/22/2017

0 Comments

 
The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.
 
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.”
 
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 !
 
“In 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie, two of the most prominent pioneers in researching radioactivity, discovered the element radium. Radium was particularly intriguing because it glowed in the dark…
Soon enough, the radium craze was on. After it was observed that radium could treat cancer, many people mistakenly thought it could also be used to treat other diseases as well. Before long, radium was widely considered a ‘miracle’ substance, sold in pharmacies for all kinds of ailments. It was also widely believed that radium could prevent aging, and companies sold radium toothpaste, radium cosmetics, and even radium water.”
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/radium-girls
“…American inventor William J. Hammer went to Paris and obtained a sample of radium salt crystals from the Curies. Hammer discovered that by mixing the radium with glue and zinc sulfide, he could make glow-in-the-dark paint. His discovery would soon be used by the U.S. Radium Corporation to manufacture wristwatches with radium-painted dials. Advertisements for the product, which they called Undark, boasted of how it was all ‘made possible by the magic of radium!’ U.S. Radium would also receive government contracts during World War I to produce watches and airplane instruments for American soldiers.”
 
“The Waterbury Clock Company experienced an increased demand for watches after the First World War, and to turn a profit, they hired women at low wages to work seven days a week. The company called for women with ‘nimble fingers’ to paint the dials and numbers onto watches in assembly-line fashion.
https://connecticuthistory.org/waterburys-radium-girls/
 
“The women in each facility had been told the paint was harmless, and subsequently ingested deadly amounts of radium after being instructed to "point" their brushes on their lips in order to give them a fine point; some also painted their fingernails, face and teeth with the glowing substance. The women were instructed to point their brushes because using rags, or a water rinse, caused them to waste too much time and waste too much of the material made from powdered radium, gum arabic and water.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Girls
 
“In the 1920s, a young working-class woman could land a job working with the miracle substance. Radium wristwatches were manufactured right here in America, and the U.S. Radium Corp. was hiring dial people to paint the tiny numbers onto watch faces for about 5 cents a watch.
They became known as the radium girls…
In 1924, a woman named Mae Keane was hired at a factory in Waterbury, Conn. Her first day, she remembers, she didn't like the taste of the radium paint. It was gritty.

‘I wouldn't put the brush in my mouth,’ she recalled many years later.

After just a few days at the factory, the boss asked her if she'd like to quit, since she clearly didn't like the work. She gratefully agreed…

Other women weren't so lucky. By the mid-1920s, dial painters were falling ill by the dozens, afflicted with horrific diseases. The radium they had swallowed was eating their bones from the inside…

Dozens of women died. At a factory in New Jersey, the women sued the U.S. Radium Corp. for poisoning and won. Many of them ended up using the money to pay for their own funerals.
In all, by 1927, more than 50 women had died as a direct result of radium paint poisoning.”
https://www.npr.org/2014/12/28/373510029/saved-by-a-bad-taste-one-of-the-last-radium-girls-dies-at-107
 
“Vindication came too late for most of the radium girls. Many died young, usually in horrible pain and fear, while others lived many years with weakened bones, lost teeth, and various forms of cancer, which may or may not have been caused by their exposure to radium as teens.
After a typically protracted and ugly court battle, some of the girls were compensated, others weren’t, and life went on.”
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/radium-girls/6
 
There are a few books written about this series of events. 
These include:

“The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining  Women” by Kate Moore 

“Radium Girls” by D.W. Gregory 

“Radium Girls” by Amanda Gowin 

“Radium Girls: Women and Industrial HealthReform, 1910-1935” by Claudia Clark 

You may want to check your school library to see if they have any of these titles or if they can be requested from other libraries in your school system.
 
Some blog posts that may be useful include:
02/11/2015            Introduction to Nuclear Chemistry
02/18/2015            Nuclear Chemistry -- Part II
                                   (Fission, Fusion & Half-Life)
10/30/2015            Current Event -- Radioactive Waste
                                    from WWII
09/01/2017            Radon in Houses
 
Most of you are travelling during the Holiday Break.  There will not be a blog post next week on 12/29/17.  The next blog post will be next year on 01/05/18.

Many you have received gift cards, etc. for holiday gifts -- the book "Chemistry on a Budget" is available at amazon.com and lulu.com.  It's a great resource for your Chemistry classroom.  Buy yourself a copy!
 
*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.
 
Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Have a great holiday and safe travels!

0 Comments

Edible Coffee Cup

12/15/2017

6 Comments

 
The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.
 
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.”
 
 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 !
 
“By official data, the average daily consumption of hot drinks amounts to 2.5 billion cups, of which almost one third are sold in disposable cups and the tendency is for that share to increase due to the busier everyday life. Respectively that means generation of hundreds of tons of non-degradable refuse and clearing of millions of trees. “
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cupffee-the-edible-wafer-cup-for-your-coffee-innovation#/
“The [Cupffee] wafer cup is made mainly from natural grain products. It is nature [friendly, fantastically] delicious and crispy and is suitable not only for coffee but for all kinds of hot and cold drinks and for every other thing your imagination can create! “
 
“In concept, edible fast-food containers could appeal to consumers on several levels…
But this is mostly aimed at environmentally-minded Millennials, who want products and packaging to leave a smaller footprint. There's a huge market for new packaging technologies that are better for the environment.

Last year, Stonyfield, the environmentally conscious organic yogurt maker, took its first baby step towards ultimately eliminating the plastic yogurt container. It rolled out a product dubbed Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Pearls -- frozen yogurt sold inside edible, fruit-flavored packaging skins -- at a handful of Whole Foods stores in the Boston area.

One environmentalist group says it's a potential fan of edible packaging. The U.S. has an overall recycling rate of 34.5% and 51% rate of packaging recycling -- much lower than many other developed countries…”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/02/25/kfc-edible-coffee-cup-fast-food-restaurants/23994315/
 
A more expensive option has been a chocolate-dipped waffle cone:
“Alfred Coffee & Kitchen on Melrose Place in Los Angeles is selling a chocolate-dipped waffle cone coffee cup called the Alfred Cone. …It's a 4-ounce waffle cone dipped in milk chocolate (just the rim), used as a cup for either an espresso or macchiato. The cones are $5 in addition to whatever drink you buy with it.”
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-edible-chocolate-waffle-coffee-cups-alfred-kitchen-20140915-story.html
 
“For coffee lovers: What’s the only thing that would make your favorite cup of espresso or macchiato better? If that cup were an edible waffle cone triple-dipped in chocolate, of course.
Alfred Coffee & Kitchen in Los Angeles recently started selling these edible waffle cups off a secret menu – customers need to say they want the “Alfred cone” to get one. …
Lawson says they sell about 50 to 70 Alfred cones a day. An espresso costs $8 and a macchiato costs $9.”
http://time.com/3398838/this-exists-edible-coffee-cups/
 
An Extra Credit idea may be for your students to research Edible Food/Drink Containers, and to earn Bonus Points for finding an Edible Food/Drink Container your other students have not discovered!

​Other blog posts about Waste Issues include:
09/10/2015      Recycling
01/29/2016      Electronic Waste
​03/19/2016      Microplastic Polluting Our Oceans
05/29/2016      New Uses for Waste Glass
​02/17/2017      The Ocean Clean-up Project Revisited
​05/19/2017      Edible Water "Bottle"
​08/18/2017      Biodegradable Bags Made w/ Cassava
​09/29/2017      Sri Lanka Bans Plastic Bags
12/08/2017      Video: Oceans -- The Mystery of
​                                         the Missing Plastic

  ​
Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

*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!

6 Comments

Video: Oceans – The Mystery of the Missing Plastic

12/8/2017

3 Comments

 
The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.
 
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.”
 
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 !
 
A 2016 movie titled “Oceans – The Mystery of the Missing Plastic” is 52 minutes long and may be useful in substitute teacher plans.
 
From the dvd case:
“As most plastic never deteriorates, it simply breaks down into smaller and smaller particles that are invisible to the human eye, what happens to this missing ocean plastic is a mystery.  In this investigation, scientists embark in search of the micro-plastics.  Small, mostly invisible, toxic, they are home to a new ecosystem: the plastisphere.  But where are they?  Ingested by organisms?  Buried under the ocean floor?  Degraded by bacteria?  And what is the impact of them entering the food chain?”
 
The video is 52 minutes long, so you may want to show it in 2 shorter segments.
 
I cannot find the entire movie on the Internet for free – it can be rented or purchased online. 
 
At the beginning, there are interesting discussions of what questions to ask about the effects of ocean plastic, what is already known, what could be happening now?
 
Several scientists describe their observations, conclusions, and further questions.   It is a very interesting video; watch it to see if it's appropriate for your students as at times it can be very mature.
 
You might want to turn on the subtitles because of the several different accents of the speakers.  Also, be aware that several scientists speak in French and their information is presented very quickly.
 
To keep students on task, they can be required to report 10 facts from the video.

Past blog posts about this subject include:
06/09/2017        Plastic Roads
05/19/2017        Edible Water "Bottle"
​05/12/2017        Plastic-Eating Caterpillars
02/17/2017        The Ocean Clean-up Project Revisited
03/19/2016        Microplastic Polluting Our Oceans
06/25/2015        Ocean Clean-Up
 
This video may be useful to use during an Organic Chemistry unit – check out if your library has purchased it or if you can preview/recommend it for purchase.
 
Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Have a great weekend!
3 Comments

ocean wave power

12/1/2017

1 Comment

 

The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.

 
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.”
 
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 !
 
Your chemistry students are studying energy and the transformation from potential to kinetic forms. 
 
“The constantly churning oceans that cover most of the Earth offer an inexhaustible source of clean energy. The amount of recoverable energy embedded along the continental shelf of the United States, for example, amounts to almost a third of all the electricity the country uses in one year…”
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/02/140220-five-striking-wave-and-tidal-energy-concepts/
 
“Off the coast of Hawaii, a tall buoy bobs and sways in the water, using the rise and fall of the waves to generate electricity.

The current travels through an undersea cable for a mile to a military base, where it feeds into Oahu's power grid—the first wave-produced electricity to go online in the U.S.

By some estimates, the ocean's endless motion packs enough power to meet a quarter of America's energy needs and dramatically reduce the nation's reliance on oil, gas and coal. But wave energy technology lags well behind wind and solar power, with important technical hurdles still to be overcome.”
https://phys.org/news/2016-09-wave-produced-electricity-online-hawaii.html
 
“Harnessing wave power is more complex than the process of converting other renewable energy sources like wind or sun into electricity. Wave heights and frequencies can vary wildly over time and from one shoreline to another. Seawater is highly corrosive. And storms can turn reliable and predictable waves into machinery-destroying battering rams.

The energy market is an equally extreme environment. To survive it, commercial wave energy converters, which the Wave Carpet is on track to become, must produce electricity at a cost equal to, or lower than, that of fossil fuels or more established renewables like solar and wind.”
http://engineering.berkeley.edu/2016/03/making-waves-turning-ocean-power-electricity
 
Another project using the same basic idea is being pursued in Japan.

“Since 2013…researchers have been strategically placing specially-designed turbines along the shoreline to convert the kinetic energy of the north-flowing Kuroshio current off the Japanese coast into usable electricity.

The turbines are inspired by the ocean; their flexible blades bend like dolphin fins and turn at a speed that ensures creatures can escape if caught in their clutches.

The turbines’ support structure is modeled on the flexibility of flowers. Built to withstand extreme weather and move with the relentless waves, rather than stand rigidly against them, the turbines bend like the stem of a flower bends back with the wind... They are anchored to the sea floor with mooring cables.

For ideal wave conditions, the turbines are planted among coral reefs and by tetrapods, which are pyramid-shaped cement structures built along coasts to break waves and prevent coastal erosion. The axis is attached to a generator, which converts wave energy into usable electricity that is then delivered by cables to land. A ceramic mechanical seal protects electrical components inside the turbine from saltwater and corrosion for up to 10 years.”
https://qz.com/1086430/wave-energy-can-be-harnessed-by-underwater-turbines-designed-in-japan/
 
Here is another area of energy generation that your students can read about as a Homework or Extra Credit assignment.
 
Past blog posts that may be useful include:

03/05/2014       Heat and Energy
10/03/2014       Heating/Cooling Curves Revisited
03/04/2015       Calorimetry
08/07/2016       Debate about Nuclear Power
 
Let me know the various discoveries you make as you investigate this subject.
 
*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.
 
Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Have a great weekend!

1 Comment

    Author

    Marjorie R. Heesemann is a chemistry teacher with 15 years of experience who is now working to develop resources for the Chemistry classroom.

    Archives

    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.