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four new elements

1/7/2016

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Congratulations on completing the first week of 2014!
 

You might have received an amazon.com gift card or other monies for the holidays – you can use some of it to get the lab book Chemistry on a Budget.
 
This book contains inexpensive chemistry labs to expand your repertoire.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com.
 

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
 
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. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
The Periodic Table is an essential tool for the study of Chemistry.  Past blog posts include:
02/23/2014      The Periodic Table
04/01/2015      NOVA video "Hunting the Elements" (2012)
12/03/2015      Periodic Table Trend Activities
12/11/2015      Video: "The Mystery of Matter" (2015)
 
A very exciting development in science this week is that
“[c]hemistry textbooks as we know it are officially out of date, as four new elements will soon be added to the periodic table.”

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/04/world/periodic-table-new-elements/index.html
 
“Now, that doesn’t mean that these four elements were all discovered last week. In order to get a coveted spot on the periodic table, a newly-discovered element has to be double-checked by researchers at the IUPAC [International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]. However, superheavy elements like these (so-called because of the high number of protons each atoms contains) are highly unstable and only exist in labs for a fraction of a second at a time, making them difficult to verify,
Rachel Feltman reports for the Washington Post.”
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/four-new-elements-are-added-periodic-table-180957705/?utm_source=facebook.com&no-ist
 
This is a nice opportunity to discuss the history of The Periodic Table -- check out my post on 12/11/2015 presenting the video "The Mystery of Matter" (2015).
 
Your students may have questions about why we even try to find new elements if the half-lives are so short (fractions of seconds at times).  One point is that we may discover an element that may have an important use that we can’t even anticipate.
 
Other articles that may be useful class assignments include the following:
 
1) Here is a very brief summary:

https://www.rt.com/news/327875-four-new-elements-periodic/
 
2) This is a brief article describing the new elements 113, 115, 117 and 118.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/01/new-elements-periodic-table-seventh-row-iupac
“Researchers are hopeful that an ‘island of stability’ may exist beyond element 118, allowing production of further superheavy elements, although exactly where this island can be found or whether it exists at all is still a matter of debate.”
 
3) This article provides a brief history of the development/ discovery of artificial elements, and provides another reason for the development of new elements related to the birth of stars:

http://phys.org/news/2016-01-elements-periodic-table-blast.html
 
This current discovery is quite unique and is a very exciting topic to discuss in your class.
 

My blog post next week will discuss the current news coverage about the methane gas leak in California.   Stay tuned!

*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can 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.
 

You might have received an amazon.com gift card or other monies for the holidays – you can use some of it to purchase the lab book Chemistry on a Budget which is very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.


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

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