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Showing posts from May, 2017

Article Blog: Vaping Can Lead To Teen Smoking 5/21/17

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Science News for Students Summary: With the rates of young people using e-cigarettes climbing, people are beginning to discuss the downs of vaping. Some say that e-cigarettes may be the healthy alternative compared to a regular cigarette because they do not contain tobacco, but an e-cigarette can be just as harmful. E-cigarettes contains nicotine, found in regular cigarettes, which creates the habit of regular smoking. In addition to this, nicotine is harmful to developing brains which is why no young people should be using e-cigarettes. Along with nicotine, there are other harmful components that go into making an e-cigarette. The flavorings of e-cigarettes may sound kid friendly, but they release chemicals that can irritate your lungs. Citation: Rosen, Meghan, and Janet Raloff. "Vaping Can Lead to Teen Smoking, New Study Finds."Science News for Students. N.p., 12 July 2016. Web. 19 May 2017. <https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/vaping-can-lead-teen-s

Acids and Bases 5/14/17

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Image: JoeWoodOnline.com Summary:  The pH scale tests how acidic or basic a substance is. Acids have a pH ranging from 0 to 6.9. The lower the pH, the stronger the acid. An acid that has a pH of 6 is weak while an acid that has a pH of 1 is strong. Bases have a pH ranging from 7.1 to 14. The lower the pH, the weaker the base.  A base that has a pH of 8 is weak while one that has a pH of 13 is strong. Neutral substances have a pH of 7. One example of a neutral substance is water. Acids have a sour taste, while bases have a slippery feel. Acids turn a litmus paper red and bases turn litmus paper blue. A litmus paper tests a pH of a substance. Fun fact, even though it is better to drink an acid rather than a base cough syrup is a base (it stabilizes the acids in your stomach). S&EP: Even though we didn't do anything big this week, like an experiment, my group and I carried out a mini investigation of our own. As we have been doing lately, we play the legends of learnin

What does cabbage juice have to do with science? 5/7/17

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Image: Science & Biology Summary: A solution is a liquid that contains a solid that is so spread out that it is no longer visible to the naked eye. A base is high on the pH scale because creates a lot of hydroxide ions when mixed with water. Bases are extremely bitter and a common example of a base would be soap. On the other hand an acid creates a ton of hydrogen ions and is lower on the pH scale. The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a solution is, 14 being the most basic and 1 being the most acidic. Water is neutral meaning it is smack dab in the middle of the pH scale. If you have two beakers containing clear liquids, but one is an acidic and the other is a base how would you tell the difference. We would use a simple piece of litmus paper. Litmus dye is taken from lichen and put on paper. Adding acid to the mix would have red litmus that would be for testing bases and vise versa for testing acids. S&EP- Conducting Investigations: To start off the week we co