HAPPY MOLE DAY!

October 23 (from 6:02 am to 6:02pm) is MOLE DAY!! 

All week we have been working on the relationships between the things we can measure about substances (mass & volume) and the things we can't see & count (# of individual atoms). The key to all of these relationships is the ever-present MOLE. 

We should be experts now in how to convert between grams, moles, liters, and particles. (If not, here's a great tutorial: http://misterguch.brinkster.net/molecalculations.html)

So let's just celebrate mole day with ... drumroll please ... moles of mole jokes!! =D

Q: Why is it bad to tell mole jokes? A: It's mole-itically incorrect 

Q: What is a mole's favorite movie? A: The Green Mole 

Q: What did Avogadro get when he mixed ice cream, chocolate syrup, and milk together? A: A chocolate Moledt 

Q: What did Avogadro teach his students in math class? A: Moletiplication 

Q: What kind of fruit did Avogadro eat in the summer? A: Watermolens 

Q: How many guacs are in a bowl of guacamole? A: Avocados number! 

Q: What does Avogadro put in his hot chocolate? A: Marsh-mole-ows! 

Q: How does Avogadro write to his friends? A: By e-mole! 

Q: Why is Avogadro so rich? A: He's a multi-mole-ionare! 

Q: Why was there only one Avogadro? A: When they made him, they broke the Moled 

Q: What kept Avogadro in bed for two months? A: Moleonucleosis 

Q: What do you get when you have a bunch of moles acting like idiots? A: A bunch of Moleasses 

Q: Why did Avogadro stop going to a chiropractor on October 24th? A: He was only tense to the 23rd! 
source: http://www.jokes4us.com/animaljokes/molejokes.html

Who doesn't love setting things on fire?

This unit we are studying atomic structure - and discovering that most people's ideas about what an atom looks like are stuck at about a 1950's understanding:

To understand modern atomic theory, we have been traveling down the rabbit-hole that is quantum mechanics. And a large part of that is understanding the behavior of light as well as the behavior of electrons. The most fun way to do that is by setting things on fire!

Flame tests show us what happens when we add extra energy to electrons. They absorb that energy, putting them in an excited state. This causes them to jump up to higher energy levels - moving further from the nucleus. This is not particularly stable, so they fall back down to their ground state (original energy level), and give off that excess energy in the form of light. Since each element has a unique arrangement of electrons, each element has a different set of energies those electrons can give off. This translates to each element giving off a unique color of light. TL:DR... PRETTY COLORS!! 

Next up - back to the nucleus to look at mass, isotopes, and radioactivity!