Read & Learn

Alkali metals in water – Jen

Jen’s blog on the reactions of alkali metals in water is interesting. I always wondered how something could burn IN water. Now I know that the alkali metals burn because when they react, they emit a lot of heat as well as hydrogen gas. The heat released in the reaction combusts with the gas and that is how the metal burns in water. I also think that it is very interesting….and it makes sense…..that as you move down the table of alkali metals, the metals become more reactive. An exploding metal sounds dangerous, but very cool

Car engines – Rick

I think it is very interesting how scientists are trying to incorporate ethanol into gasoline. But, I thought I heard somewhere that gasoline infused with ethanol is more inefficient than normal gasoline, and it costs more to produce….Anyway, Rick’s blog on the internal combustion engine was also interesting. I didn’t know that the combustion process was called the “Otto cycle”. I wonder how it got that name. The internal combustion engines uses for steps to run: air and gasoline enter the engine, they are compressed, a spark ignites the gasoline, and this energy drives a piston which drives the engine.

Lactic Acid – Amanda

I never realized the process to form lactic acid…and lactate was so complex. It starts with glycolosis where pyruvic acid is formed form the breakdown of carbohydrates in our liver. I thought lactic acid was the thing that caused soreness in our muscles, but actually the hydrogen atoms are the culprit. The lactic acid and lactate actually get reabsorbed into our bodies and we use them for energy. The hydrogen atoms are what cause the acidity in our muscles to rise, and also what causes us pain.