Matter, Chemical Trends and Chemical Bonding

Topic 1: Lithium Properties

Lithium is an element that is often used to make batteries for materials like, digital cameras, cell phones, watches, laptops. Basically all kind of technological devices.  Lithium is also usually used to make batteries because it has some beneficial properties that make it useful for batteries. Firstly, lithium is a metal which is lighter than many of the other metals and it is a beneficial speciality because obviously small materials such as cell phones need light metals since they are also small. Secondly, lithium is highly reactive metal and that makes it easy to get current flowing through the battery. (Thagard P, 2018). Lithium batteries can provide very high energy densities and they have low self-discharge. Lastly, they have relatively low self-discharge. Self-discharge is less than half that of nickel-based batteries on lithium-ion batteries but other than those advantages, lithium also has some properties that make is dangerous. First of all, even though having high density is an advantaged speciality, lithium batteries can also cause hazards because of its high density. To demonstrate, when they are overheated they might be caught fire and it might produce dangerous toxic gases. Secondly, a short circuit could cause those kinds of hazards too. In conclusion, lithium batteries should always be isolated from other battery chemistries and metal objects for safety. Also, if the person wants to recycle a lithium battery, they should place tape over the ends of the battery before placing them in the battery recycling bins. Lithium batteries are a complementary part of everyday life for everyone. But, organizations and individuals should be aware of the dangerous hazards that these batteries could bring (Battery University, 2011).

Unit 2: Chemical Reactions

Topic 1: Antacids

Antacids, which are neutralizing agents (medicines) that are usually used to relieve the symptoms of heartburn and for an upset stomach.

Some common antacids are Alka-Seltzer, Milk of Magnesia, Alternagel, Amphojel, Gaviscon, Gelusil, Maalox, Mylanta, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol and Tums. Antacids contain ingredients such as, calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate or aluminium hydroxide that acts like bases to deactivate the stomach acid and make its pH more neutral (Fookes C, 2018). When the person takes an antacid, the base (alkali) reacts with hydrochloric acid that is present in the stomach and the antacid neutralizes the acid in the stomach. This neutralisation makes the stomach contents less corrosive in order not to damage the stomach and that helps the patient to relieve from the pain.

●        Mg(OH)2(s) + 2HCl(aq) → 2H2O(l) + MgCl2(aq)

This balanced chemical equation demonstrates the neutralization reaction between magnesium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid.

●        NaHCO3 + HCl → NaCl + H2O + CO2

Sodium hydrogen carbonate and hydrochloric acid reaction. (They both produce salt and water because it is a neutralization reaction.)

The ability of an antacid to neutralize acid is by determining the antacid’s neutralizing capacity, and because of that some of them are more effective than other antacids. The most effective antacids should have a high acid neutralization capacity and have better gastric acid neutralization qualities. Antacids such as sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate are the most effective ones (Gbemudu A, 2016).

Unit 3: Quantities in Chemical Reactions

Topic 1: Vitamin A

Vitamin A has several important functions for the body. It is important for immune functions, vision, cellular communication and it helps the skin to be healthy.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally in many foods and it is also called retinol because it has an important function on vision and it contains fat-soluble retinoids; (retinol, retinal, and retinyl esters). It produces the pigments in the retina on the eye (Mandal A, 2019). The most common form of vitamin A is retinol, C20H30O (s). Retinol is usually used for skin care products since they are beneficial for skin health.

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Canada recommends the daily intake of vitamin A for 19 year and older men to take 900 μg a day (0.0009 g C20H30O /  286.45 g C20H30O = 0.00000314 moles). For 19 year and older woman to take 700 μg a day (0.0007 g C20H30O / 286.45 g C20H30O = 0.00000244 moles). For pregnant people who are 19 year and older to take 770 μg a day (0.00077 g C20H30O / 286.45 g C20H30O = 0.00000269 moles) and for lactation (19 and older) to take 1300 μg  to take per day (0.0013 g C20H30O / 286.45 g C20H30O = 0.00000454 moles). Also, 3000 μg per day should not be exceeded for all the people (Dietitians of Canada, 2019). It is harder to remove vitamin A from the body than removing vitamins B and C because vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. Fat-soluble vitamins are soluble in fats while water-soluble vitamins are soluble in water and just because vitamin A is fat-soluble, it is stored in body tissue for using later.

Taking a high dose of vitamin A might increase the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture. Also, it can cause vertigo, blurry vision, nausea, bone thinning, liver damage and headache (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Getting more than 3000 μg of vitamin A per day would cause toxic in the body.

Unit 4: Structure & Properties of Matter

Topic 1: Radon

Radon is a gas which is radioactive and can be naturally found in the environment.

It is located on the VIII A group of the periodic table so it is a noble gas. It is colourless and odourless. They are emitted from rocks, soil and other building materials that contain remainders of uranium.  (Lung Association, 2016)

 Uranium is a common element that is found everywhere on the earth and as a result of that radon gas can be found in almost all homes in Canada. In order to be careful from the risks of the radon, the radon levels in the homes should be decreased. If the radon test result is above for the Canadian guideline of 200 Bq/m3 the person should find a way to reduce the radon level in their home. A radon mitigation system can help most of the homes to reduce the radon level by more than 80% (Health Canada, 2019).

Also, there are some risks caused by the inhalation of the radon. Once it is inhaled it could cause lung cancer even for the non-smokers in the future just because its radiation damages the lung cells. Radon is one of the most important causes of lung cancer that comes after smoking. However, the risk of having lung cancer caused by the radon depends on the level of radon in the environment and how long a person inhaled it and stayed in an environment that contains the radon. The only way to know how much radon the homes is to measure it. Radon levels in the home can  differ a lot from day to day, so the most logical way to measure it would be measuring the radon levels in the home for at least 3 months. The person who decided to measure it has two options for testing: one is to purchase a do-it-yourself radon test kit and the other way is to hire a radon measurement professional.

Unit 5: Gases and Atmospheric Chemistry

Topic 1: SCUBA diving

Scuba diving is a kind of sport that is done underwater with special equipment for breathing. The equipment contains cylinders that have air which the person carries it on your their back and they are connected to the mouth by tubes.

However, it is forbidden to do scuba diving and travelling by plane in a day because it is dangerous and also can be fatal. Decompression Sickness, also known as the bends or barotrauma, usually occurs in scuba divers. It is caused by a build-up of nitrogen bubbles in the body. As the scuba divers dive deeper and deeper the pressure around their body would increase. Because of the high levels of bubbles that occur deep in the water, usually in the spinal cord or brain, there might some problems occur such as numbness, paralysis and disorders of higher brain functions. Some of the symptoms are fatigue, pain in joints, pain in the muscles of the arms and legs, dizziness and ringing in the ears (Thalmann, 2004).

Aircraft usually fly between 30,000 and 43,000 feet and at those altitudes, the atmosphere provides 4 or less psi of pressure. Normal air pressure on the Earth’s surface is 14.7 psi. Comparing to the pressure on Earth’s surface and the pressure in the aircraft cabin, it can be observed that there is a significant difference. It is a high ratio of the pressure and that is why a person can not do scuba diving and have a flight in one day (Ken, 2018).

The Divers Alert Network (DAN) recommends a maximum of 12 hours flight after scuba diving and longer flights might be risky.

Career Exploration

Chemical engineers observe the chemical structure of the chemicals, their energies and the physical shapes that they form and they have to understand how to produce new productions from raw materials. Basically, they are responsible for understanding the properties of materials. Genetic engineers can work in various industries such as energy, food and drink, plastics, gas and oil and water treatment and production of medicines.

Four-year of MEng (Master of engineering) in chemical engineering or a BEng (Bachelor of engineering) followed by the relevant Masters should be completed. Also, strong mathematical knowledge in calculus, trigonometry, geometry is required along with science topics like physics, chemistry and biology are needed in order to work in this field. Also, there are some skill requirements such as having the ability to solving problems, analytical thinking, communication skills, management skills and being familiar with current and developing technology (AGCAS editors, 2017).

The average salary for chemical engineers in Canada is approximately $66,405 per year. (PayScale, 2019)

Chemical engineers usually work full-time hours, in a lab in an office and they spend their times at the locations such as plant industries, refineries that they monitor or direct operations or solve problems. They work approximately 40 to 50 hours per week (Johnson, 2016).

References:

• (2017, April). Chemical Engineer. Retrieved from https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/chemical-engineer
• (2011, June 22). Is Lithium-ion the Ideal Battery? Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/archive/is_lithium_ion_the_ideal_battery
• Canada, H. (2019, March 05). Radon. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/radon.html#a3
• (2019, March 21). What You Need to Know About Vitamin A. Retrieved from https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Vitamins-and-Minerals/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Vitamin-A.aspx
• Fookes, C. (2018, April 30). List of Common Antacids Uses, Types & Side Effects. Retrieved April 18, 2019, from https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/antacids.html
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• Ken, H. (2018, October 30). Aircraft Pressurization Beginner’s Guide. Retrieved from https://aerosavvy.com/aircraft-pressurization/
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• Mandal, A. (2019, February 27). What is Vitamin A? Retrieved April 20, 2019, from https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Vitamin-A.aspx
• M. (2017, October 27). Vitamin A. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-a/art-20365945
• P. (2019). Average Chemical Engineer Salary. Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Chemical_Engineer/Salary
• Thagard, P. (2018, January 11). Why Is Lithium Good for Both Batteries and Bipolar Disorder? Retrieved April 11, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hot-thought/201801/why-is-lithium-good-both-batteries-and-bipolar-disorder
• Thalmann, D. (2004, April). Decompression Illness: What Is It and What Is The Treatment? Retrieved from https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/Decompression_Illness_What_Is_It_and_What_Is_The_Treatment