Chemistry Connections

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Chemistry Connections

Episode Title: The Chemistry of Ice Hockey

Episode #11  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, our names are Lucy and Jack and we are your hosts for episode 11 called The Chemistry of Ice Hockey. 

Segment 1: Introduction to Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is one of the greatest sports to both play and watch. It features extremely fast-paced and physical gameplay because it's played on ice. Hockey originated in Canada during the early 1800s and comes from the French word “hocquet” meaning stick. The game involves one goalie and five other players who skate around trying to score goals. One of the greatest sporting achievements ever, The Miracle on Ice, was an Olympic ice hockey game when the underdog US men’s team beat the top seed USSR team. This illustrates the elusive nature of hockey and the unpredictability surrounding it drawing fans from all around the globe. 

Segment 2: Personal Connections

Both of us adore sports. Hockey has been a key aspect of my childhood and a way I have connected with my family. And I hope to become a professional sports commentator, so it was only natural for both of us to research the chemistry and science behind hockey. 

Segment 3: The Chemistry Behind Ice Hockey

Lets pause here to talk about some chemistry at work. We will be covering the most important aspect of hockey, the ice (but put a pin in that)! First, though,  we will discuss the pucks that slide across the ice. 

Pucks are made out of vulcanized rubber. Vulcanized rubber is used to create o-rings, tires, and much more. Its unique properties make it a useful tool in not just ice hockey. Before the process of vulcanization was developed rubber was susceptible to changes in temperature, too hot and the rubber would quickly melt, too cold and the rubber would become extremely brittle. This would be ineffective as an ice hockey puck because it is a sport played in the cold on ice, it would lose all of its strong yet elastic properties. Vulcanization is a process that involves heating rubber and combining it with sulfur to improve its elasticity and strength. 

Vulcanization works by forming chemical cross-links or covalent bonds (attractive force between nonmetal atoms) between long isoprene molecules (a natural rubber monomer aka a carbon chain) using sulfur. This when diagramed looks like long carbon chains parallel to each other, connected by perpendicular bonds with sulfur. This forms a net-like structure which contributes to the hockey puck’s key characteristics (resistance to extreme temperatures and strength). This allowed Alexander Riazantsev, from the KHL (Russian pro league) to hit a slap shot at 114.27 MPH. 

Maybe even more important to hockey than pucks is ice. What defines hockey from all other sports (making it cooler, better, and more fun) is that it is played on ice. This contributes to super-fast gameplay and cool skates.

Ice, as we all know, is made of water. The intermolecular forces (IMFs) are attractive forces between particles. The IMFs between water molecules are known as hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bonds form when hydrogen atoms in a molecule bond with nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine in another molecule. It is a very strong bond. The strongest, even. As a result, it requires a lot of energy to break these bonds. In our case, we mean melting the ice (solid to liquid). Hydrogen bonds aren’t the only IMFs between water molecules; London dispersion forces (LDFs) exist between all particles, but are much weaker and aren’t as strong as the hydrogen bonds between water molecules. 

The best part about ice (hockey) is the Zamboni. The Zamboni is a big machine that comes out in between periods during the intermission to clean and smooth the ice (and look cool). (I really, really, really, want to ride one). (You know you can ride them for your birthday when you go to a game)? Zambonis start by scraping away the top layer of the ice. However, there are still deep grooves in the ice from the skaters. In order to fix this, the Zamboni lays down a piping-hot layer of water. This water transfers heat into the top layer of the ice. This causes the hydrogen bonds between water molecules to break (because the water from the Zamboni is hot enough to break the super strong forces between the molecules). This melts the ice, and gets rid of the grooves. The Zamboni then has a broom which smooths the water behind it. Then, because the whole arena is cold and sitting on top of a larger ice sheet, the thin layer of water begins to cool again and refreeze. The ice is the defining feature of hockey, and knowing how it works (and how the Zamboni works) can enhance our love for an already cool sport. 

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Chemistry Connections

Chemistry of Radiation Poisoning

Episode #13

Welcome to Chemistry Connections. My name is Fox Ueng-McHale, and I am your host for episode #13, the Chemistry of Radiation Poisoning. Today, I will be discussing several chemical processes related to the effects of radiation exposure.

Segment 1: Introduction to Radiation Poisoning

Since the advent of the hydrogen bomb during the Second World War, radiation has quickly captured public attention. From medical uses to paint forgery detection, in one form or another radiation can be found in almost every industry. But uncontrolled, radiation can kill. And it’s this destructive potential that has dominated the public’s perception of radiation.

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Radiation Poisoning

But what is radiation? In chemistry, radioactivity is the spontaneous breakdown of an atom's nucleus, emitting particles or waves. This is caused by chemical reactions. Here, atoms become more stable by participating in a transfer of electrons or by sharing electrons with other atoms. In nuclear reactions, it is the nucleus of the atom that gains stability by undergoing a change of some kind.

This occurs as unstable isotopes shed. This radioactive decay is a reaction where a nucleus spontaneously disintegrates into a slightly lighter nucleus, emitting particles, energy, or both. One of the most important ways of measuring radioactive decay is the half life. This is the interval of time required for one-half of the atomic nuclei of a radioactive sample to decay, calculated with the half-life formula. Shedding particles include alpha and beta radiation, as well as shedding protons or neutrons.

The effects of radiation are horrifying, but surprisingly straightforward from a chemical perspective. Radiation poisoning comes in two classes: particulate and electromagnetic. Particulate ionizing radiation include alpha particles, beta particles, neutrons, and positrons; gamma rays and X rays are forms of electromagnetic ionizing radiation.

Ionization is the cause of the toxic effects of ionizing radiation. Ionization of tissues creates highly reactive compounds. Radiation generates H2O+ and H2O- ions. In turn, these create H and OH radicals. Hydrogen and hydroxide ions are extremely reactive, causing massive biological damage, targeting DNA and proteins. Especially, ionizing radiation quickly kills rapidly dividing cells, targeting immature blood cells in bone marrow, cells lining the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, and cells in the lower layers of the epidermis and in hair follicles. Ionizing radiation is the most harmful because it can ionize molecules or break chemical bonds, which damage the molecule and causes malfunctions in cell processes. It can also create reactive hydroxyl radicals that damage biological molecules and disrupt physiological processes.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Moving into the future, it will be increasingly important to know how to combat radiation poisoning, especially as more nuclear power plants are commissioned in the future. In the event of a large-scale meltdown, having information about the effects of radiation will be crucial to planning a response. 

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Chemistry Connections

The Chemistry of Chipotle 

Episode #2  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Maxxe Rice and I am your host for episode #2 called The Chemistry of Chipotle Today I will be discussing the best food known to man, Chipotle.

Segment 1: Introduction to Chipotle 

For the first segment I will be discussing an introduction to what Chipotle is. For those who don't know, Chipotle is the best fast food restaurant chain that serves Mexican inspired cuisine. They are infamous for their delicious burritos, bowls, quesadillas, chips and guacamole. The restaurant is set up when you are ordering in an assembly line style in which you customize your burrito, bowl, or whatever you are choosing to get as you go down the line with workers scooping the ingredients for you. They go by their motto at chipotle that, “Real is better. Better for You, Better for People, Better for Our Planet.” They make their food fresh every day because of their motto and they use no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, no freezers, can openers, or shortcuts… I know I wouldn't want to work there either, it seems like a lot of work. But really that's what makes them so good they are committed to their amazing food and they only use 53 real ingredients. There is also an extreme debate about how to pronounce Chipotle especially with my grandparents and I. My grandma calls it Chi-poat-lee, my other grandma calls it Chi-pot-te but all of those are wrong. The correct way to say chipotle is Chih-poat-lay. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Chipotle

Now you know what chipotle is, let's dive into some of the science behind this outstanding food. 

Specifically starting with: a common ingredient in chipotles renowned known guacamole, tomato red chili salsa, fresh tomato salsa, roasted chili corn salsa, honey vinaigrette, tomatillo green chili salsa, and so many other foods that chipotle has that if I said all of them I would be talking for almost 5 minutes. One ingredient that all of these foods have in common is some type of pepper. These peppers also have something in common as well… SPICEEEEEEE. This is where the chemistry comes in…. Because well the spicy flavor that you taste with some of chipotle's food is due to a spice molecule named capsaicin…. I know what you may be thinking capsa what?! Yes you heard it right, capsaicin. Capsaicin is my cool friend that basically has active chemical superpowers. Capsaicin, the molecular formula of C18H27NO3,  is an organic molecule which is made up of a benzene ring with a long hydrophobic carbon tail and a polar amide group. Now let's take a further look into the actual structure of the molecule because that sounds really confusing. A benzene ring is a ring formation of six carbon atoms which are bonded together and have alternating single and double bonds between them. The long hydrophobic carbon tail means essentially a chain of carbon atoms bonded together with surrounding hydrogen atoms around them bonded to each carbon on the chain. The polar amide group is the part of the molecule where there is a nitrogen atom and a double bonded oxygen atom. We can break this molecule up into two different polar regions and 1 nonpolar region. Something is polar if there is asymmetry in the molecule and if there is a difference in electronegativity between the atoms within the molecule. Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to attract shared electrons when forming a chemical bond. With larger molecules we don't tend to just get one solidly polar or nonpolar molecule but a molecule with different regions of polarity. The hydrocarbon tail contains a difference in electronegativity because of the difference in electronegativity between the hydrogen and carbon molecules however it is not polar due to the symmetry of carbon and hydrogen atoms that make up these chains, therefore this part of the molecule is nonpolar. On the other hand the part of the molecule that contains the amide group and benzene ring with the OH attached to it is an example of a polar section of the molecule. This is a polar section because of the asymmetry of the different atoms and the difference in electronegativity between the different atoms as well. Ok now more about what it does in the actual pepper… Capsaicin is an organic molecule that is contained within the membrane of peppers. This membrane that capsaicin is in holds the seeds in chili peppers, which fun fact, contrary to what most people think and what I found interesting… I always thought it was the seeds that were the specifically spicy part of peppers but that's not actually the case. When you eat something with Capsaicin you feel the burning sensation of something being spicy. This happens because the molecules have an unique shape and size which allows it to react with the TRPV1 Receptor which is a special receptor on your tongue that creates a chemical response in your body. Specifically, the calcium ions go to the receptor and trigger neurons to be released. Neurons are cells that can essentially talk and communicate with your brain and tell them that there is a burning and spicy sensation in your mouth when you eat foods containing Capsaicin. 

In addition to there being chemistry behind the spice in their foods, there is also chemistry behind how Chipotle keeps their incredible food warm. In order to ensure that the food is getting to our plates the freshest that it can, Chipotle uses a water bath heating system in order to keep all of the warm food warm at all times. The food is held in separate metal containers, each ingredient in a different metal container. These containers are slid into a big metal bin like structure which has some water in the bottom but not enough to physically touch the separate metal containers that are slid into the top of the bin. Underneath the big metal bin that's installed into the counter there are burners. Let's follow the heat transfer from the burners underneath the bins all the way to the best food ever. First the burners underneath the bin are fueled by propane. Propane is a burning fuel that's used for light and heat. It is stored under pressure inside a tank and it is an odorless colorless liquid. When the burner is turned on, pressure is released from the propane tank and the liquid propane vaporizes, turning into a gas that is used in the combustion reaction in order to create heat and light. A combustion reaction is a reaction in which a substance reacts with oxygen gas and releases energy in the form of light and heat. Specifically, the reaction that propane undergoes is written as C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4 H2O + Heat . This reaction means that propane and oxygen react together in order to create carbon dioxide, water, and heat as products. This combustion reaction of propane is an exothermic reaction which means that the reaction releases heat and light in the form of creating a flame. This reaction being an exothermic reaction also means that there is more energy released when product bonds are formed and less energy absorbed when reactant bonds are broken. The heat from the exothermic combustion reaction is then released to the stainless steel metal bin on top of the burners. Chipotle uses stainless steel metal for the material of their containers because metals are amazing conductors of heat. Stainless steel specifically is made up of the metals iron, and chromium. Iron and Chromium atoms form metallic bonds between their atoms. Metallic bonding refers to chemical bonding that takes place between metal atoms in which electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom are shared by all the atoms in the metal created. This bond creates what they call a sea of electrons. In order for something to be conductive the substance must have charged particles that are able to flow. Because of the sea of electrons that iron contains due to its metallic bonds, iron has free flowing electrons which are charged particles that can flow in the sea of electrons. Therefore iron is a great conductor and great at transferring energy. Iron conducts heat from the burners beneath to the water that is present in the bin. When the water bath gets heated the water molecules move faster and gain more energy, eventually leading to the intermolecular forces (hydrogen bonds) between the water molecules breaking and water molecules changing phases from liquid to a vapor. The water vapor molecules move very fast and have a lot of energy in which the water molecules then collide with the smaller stainless steel containers which are slid on top of the big metal bin. The collisions from the water vapor particles with the small metal bins creates another energy transfer and the metal bins to be heated. The stainless steel is then able to heat up and conduct the heat energy to the food that the bins contain, resulting in the food staying warm.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Chemistry Connections

Chemistry of Cookies

Episode #6  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Zoe Reznik and I am your host for episode #6 called Chemistry of Cookies. Today I will be discussing the science behind your perfect chocolate chip cookie.

Segment 1: Introduction to Chemistry of Cookies

Introduce the episode topic

Include definitions, vocabulary, interesting background information and context

• Every chocolate chip cookie has a different set of chemical properties and reactions that give them their unique textures. Whether your idea of the perfect cookie means it being chewy, crispy, or soft, there is a specific set of ingredients that give your cookie that wow factor.
•  To start, every cookie has the same base ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. What you add to that list of ingredients really makes the cookie what it is. In this episode, I’ll be diving into the types of rising agents you can use and the different types of sugar.

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Cookies

Have a natural transition into an example… no need to say “segment 2”

Provide detailed explanations of the chemistry that is related to your topic.

Remember that you must have a minimum of 2 topics from ap chem that you can explain here as related to your episode

• To begin our investigation of the cookie, we’ll talk about the types of rising agents you use in your cookies, specifically baking soda and baking powder. 
• “soda spread and powder puffs” - baking soda helps your cookie dough spread out in the oven and baking powder helps the cookie rise. 
• Adding more baking soda will create a denser cookie, that’s flatter and not as soft. Adding more baking powder will result in a cookie that is taller and more doughy (more cake-like texture). 
• baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, decomposes into water and carbon dioxide when heated, with a leftover salt. 
• These products are gas -> warmer gas molecules will have particles that move faster, so they collide with other molecules in the cookie more, causing the cookie to expand in the oven. 
• However, the salt slows down the process of the bubbles creating air pockets within the cookie, meaning the cookie will fall flat instead of rising like it should. This is where the baking powder comes in. Baking powder combines that sodium bicarbonate with an acid that helps the cookies rise. 
• This combination is a mixture of an acid and a base, as the acid used in the baking powder will donate an H+ to the sodium bicarbonate from the baking soda, neutralizing the effect of the excess salt. That’s a little Bronsted-Lowry chemistry for you there. So, basically depending on how fluffy or dense you want your cookie, you should adjust your baking soda to baking powder ratio accordingly. 

The next part of our baking adventure is the type of sugar used in chocolate chip cookies: regular white granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and dark brown sugar. 

• The Maillard process: a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars in the cookie that allow the cookie to caramalize (get that brown coloring) and give out an intense, rich flavor. 
• Reducing sugars are created from the breaking of bonds within sucrose to form fructose and glucose during heating. 
• Sucrose and fructose are highly polar, so they can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules in the cookies, allowing for a greater water retention in the cookie, or less evaporation of the water when baking the cookie. Hydrogen bonds are a type of intermolecular forces between two very polar molecules, in this case it’s sugar and water. They are very strong and hard to break, so when the sugar forms one with water, it creates a strong enough bond that won’t break when it undergoes heating, allowing the water to stay within the cookie.
• greater the water concentration in the cookie = more moist and fluffy cookie
• White granulated sugar will not undergo a strong Maillard reaction because it doesn’t contain as much reducing sugars, so a cookie with white granulated sugar will be a crispier cookie 
• Dark brown sugar undergoes a much stronger Maillard reaction and will produce a softer, chewier cookie because of all the reducing sugars it has 
• Light brown sugar is somewhere in the middle. 
• Basic rundown: to make a lighter, chewier cookie, you want less water to evaporate during the baking process. To get this to happen, you want more reducing sugars in your cookie that will form hydrogen bonds to the water molecules and keep them in the cookie. To get a higher concentration of reducing sugars, you want a darker sugar, like dark brown sugar. Lighter sugar = crispy cookie, darker sugar = chewier cookie. 

Segment 3: Personal Connections

What interested you in this topic?  Why is it important?  Anything else you’d like to share.

• My sister has been baking for years, and I admired her baked goods as a little kid
• I started baking on my own in high school and chocolate chip cookies are my favorite baked good
• Looking for the perfect recipe
• This podcast is a great excuse for me to bakes a ton of cookies and eat them to see which one is best
• The best cookie is with: (enter here)

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Chemistry Connections

Chemistry of fishing

Episode #10  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Ryan  Foret and I am your host for episode #10 called  Chemistry of Fishing Today I will be discussing the different examples of chemistry in various aspects of fishing.

Segment 1: Introduction to Fishing

The thrill of reeling in a fish and fighting against it is one of the most exhilarating things that humans can do for fun. What makes the sport even better is that almost anyone can do it with minimal equipment and cost. That being said, there is a variety of high-end and complex gear that experienced fishermen use. And I bet if you talk to any long time fisherman they will complain about why a bendy stick is over 500 dollars. But beginner fishermen don’t really need to worry about that.

Fishing can be very simple or very complicated depending on how deep you want to dive into the different types of gear and techniques that can be used. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Fishing

Today, we are going to dive deeper than any fisherman usually does in their lifetime and look at fishing on the molecular level. And that is what today’s episode is all about: the chemistry behind fishing. 

Let’s start with diving deeper into the most dreaded thing that people think about when they hear “fish”; the smell. A certain chemical compound is the culprit of the fishy smell of fish. Trimethylamine (TMA) is what gives fish its odor. It’s derived from Trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) which protects saltwater fish from their salty environment. TMAO has nitrogen as its central atom with 3 CH3 groups and and an oxygen bonded to it. The oxygen atom breaks off of the compound and TMAO turns into TMA as the fish dies. This explains why old fish smells very bad and fresh fish shouldn’t have a foul odor.

Next, I want to talk about the chemistry behind the gear used to catch fish. Starting with fishing rods.  Fishing rods are made from graphite and carbon fiber. Graphite is a covalent network solid made from carbon atoms that is very strong. Covalent network solids are solids made from nonmetals covalently bonded to each other that create lattice structures. Some examples of other covalent network solids are Diamond and silicon dioxide.

 Many people think of graphite as very weak and brittle because of the number 2 pencils made from graphite they use in school every day. But graphite is quite strong due to the hexagonal honeycomb lattice of the material’s molecular structure. In fact, the only thing separating graphite from diamond which is one of the hardest materials on earth is one carbon atom. 

The graphite in fishing rods is made into sheets made of graphite fibers that can bend and form around a center of material called the mandrel which is usually steel. The sheets of carbon are very strong and don’t break when stretched, but they can break under compression. This is why rods break on the underside where the material is compressed.

One of the most important pieces of fishing equipment is the hook. Fishing hooks need to be very sharp and thin but also extremely strong. This is why Fishing hooks are made from alloys such as Vanadium steel. Let’s step away from talking about fishing for a minute to talk about alloys. Alloys are metals that are mixed with other atoms to create a new, stronger metal that has different properties. There are two types of alloys; Interstitial and substitutional. Today we are going to focus on interstitial alloys. The most popular interstitial alloy is steel. Steel is made from iron with carbon atoms in between. The alloy is stronger than pure metals because the atoms are different sizes and are positioned between each other which makes it harder for sheets of atoms to slide past each other. Vanadium steel is an interstitial alloy made from .5% carbon, .8% manganese, .3% silicon , 1% chromium , and .18% vanadium . The rest is iron atoms

When fishing in saltwater, however, fishermen have to deal with the corrosive environment of the salt. This is why saltwater hooks are usually made from stainless steel, which isn’t as strong as carbon steel like Vanadium steel but it is corrosion resistant and doesn’t rust easily. Stainless steel is a steel alloy that contains a minimum chromium content of 10.5%. The chromium reacts with the oxygen in the air and forms a protective layer that makes stainless steel highly resistant to corrosion and rust. 

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Ok so that wraps up the chemistry portion of this podcast. Now I’m going to give you some insight on why im so passionate about this topic to wrap up the episode. 

I’ve been fishing for as long as I can remember because my dad introduced me to it at a very young age. I fell in love with the thrill of the sport and the memories I have made with my dad on fishing trips are unforgettable. I have become a very experienced fisherman over the years and I always want to know more about the sport. That is why I made this podcast to learn about fishing on a deeper level and I hope you learned as much as I did.