Unit 4:Solutions

    Throughout unit 4 of our chemistry course, we expanded our knowledge in the world of solutions. As a class, we were able to learn about the concentrations of solutions and today we're going to discuss a real world application of bad concentrations of metals leaching into water. A solid solution of metals is also considered to be a specific type of alloy.

Throughout industrial activities such as mining, chemicals and contaminants get leached into groundwater systems which is increasingly becoming a major concern for Canada’s mining industry and federal Government because the water is directly shipped off to reserves and territories nearby. Some of these very toxic metals include: Arsenic,(As) Copper, (Cu) Nickel, (Ni) Aluminium, (Al) Zinc, (Zn) Cobalt, (Co). These metals can cause skin lesions, cancer, and poisonings, which cause organ failure,  leading to death. There are efforts to develop a sustainable ways for mining companies to clean up their hazardous messes. The processes include trying to find methods to ensure that the heavy metals liberated during the mining process are not allowed to contaminate the territory's water supply. 

There are many health risks that come with living near a mine. If you live near a mine, the water systems could potentially be filled with various  harmful metals listed above, which pose many health concerns including: cancer and organ failures, which can ultimately lead to death. It is no shock, seeing as many independent and government funded groups are desperately trying to place restrictions on different kinds of chemicals used and practices of mining. Based on the evidence presented, I don’t believe it is ethical for people to have to drink contaminated water because of unethical mining practices. Although it is hard to tell if unsafe practices are being used, I believe there should be a crew who tests the water quality on a daily basis, in areas near mines in order to ensure the water is safe to drink. 

Question:

Is there a water plant that can actually filter out all these toxic metals? If not why haven’t we been able to create such a device for communities bordering mines?

References:

Fashola, M., Ngole-Jeme, V., & Babalola, O. (2016). Heavy Metal Pollution from Gold Mines: Environmental Effects and Bacterial Strategies for Resistance. Retrieved 17 December 2018, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129257/

Unit 3: Stoichemotry

Throughout unit 3 of our chemistry course, we expanded our knowledge in the world of stoichiometry. As a class, we were able to learn about calculating moles, theoretical yield, and percent yield. Today we're going to discuss a real world application of stoichiometry (quantities in chemical reactions) and take a look at what would happen if the wrong quantities of baking powder were used while baking.

Baking powder is a chemical leavening agent that is used in mixtures to help them rise during the baking process. Baking powder consists of baking soda, acid salts,(cream of tartar and sodium aluminum sulfate) and cornstarch to absorb any moisture in order to ensure that a  reaction does not take place until a liquid is added to the batter.
The reaction that occurs once liquid is added to the batter looks like this:

NaHCO3 + KHC4H4O6 → KNaC4H4O6 + H2O + CO2
If the quantities aren’t right, too much baking powder would cause the batter to be bitter tasting. The batter can also rise rapidly and then collapse.The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break, which causes the batter to fall. If too little of a quantity of baking powder is added to the mixture, it would result in a rock solid cake that has poor volume.

Based on the evidence presented, I think having the proper quantities of baking powder is vital in any kind of mixture. Without the proper quantities we wouldn’t be able to bake the precious delicacy of cakes and other sweets. If too much is added there wouldn’t really be a cake at all as it would collapse leaving us with a blob of straight up batter. Too little would result in a nearly inedible dessert seeing as it would be rock solid.

Questions:

If too much baking soda were added, how bitter would the dessert be? Would it still be considered edible despite the wrong quantities of baking soda?

Reference page:

Jarowski, Stephanie. “Baking Powder and Baking Soda (Bicarbonate).” Cocoa Powder - Joyofbaking.com, 2018, www.joyofbaking.com/bakingsoda.html.