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Glen Seaborg is credited with the discovery of the “transuranium” elements. The transuranium elements are elements in the periodic table after uranium. 

Learn more about Seaborg, the “transuranium” elements, Plutonium, and the Bomb”.

Seaborg was lead discover for plutonium, americium, curium, and berkelium; he was co-discoverer of californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, nobelium, and seaborgium. Having seaborgium named after him made him the only person to have an element named after them while they were still alive until oganesson was named after Yuri Oganessian in 2016. Seaborg jointly won a Nobel Prize in 1951 for his work.

Nuclear fission of uranium produces a fission product, neptunium (element 93).

Nuclear fission occurs when uranium is bombarded with neutrons.  The neutrons in Seaborg’s lab were produced from deuterons using the small cyclotron at Berkeley.

Learn more about the history of how some of the elements on the Periodic Table were discovered.

Time to take chemical reactions into outer space:

Although limited in scope, emerging research shows that the mere presence of a smart phone can limit your thinking skills (AKA cognitive abilities) learn more

“These authors found that higher media-multitasking among a large adolescent sample was associated with poorer performance on one laboratory measure of executive function, the n-back working memory task, and also with lower scores on a standardized test of academic achievement in the classroom. Taken together, this body of work suggests that the degree to which one can exert executive control over behavior and maintain goal-related representations (in working memory) may explain individual differences in vulnerability to the “real life” consequences of mobile device habits.”

Questions about the role that micro plastics are playing in marine ecosystems – learn more by reading, thinking and questioning. 

Scientists have measured the amount of micro plastic in the marine environment to be 3500 pieces per cubic metre.

Micro plastics are so small that they cannot be simply sieved out of the water.

Microplastics are not dissolved in ocean water.  Micro plastics are micrometer sized pieces of plastic debris from fabric, plastic overwrap and manufacturing processes.

“Aside from clogging up the digestive tracts of marine life, plastic also has a potentially more sinister side: it tends to adsorb pollutants like PCBs from the water column, thus acting as a potential vector to move pollutants from the water column into the food chain. Aside from potentially devastating effects on marine life, human health may also be compromised. For example, one study found that European consumers could be ingesting approximately 11,000 microplastic particles annually through shellfish consumption, with unknown impacts on human health. Tiny plastics are a huge problem because (1) their high surface-area-to-volume ratio and chemical makeup increases the likelihood of pollutant adsorption, (2) they are ubiquitous and creatures that eat particles in that size fraction tend not to be the brightest on the planet (thus lacking strong discriminatory powers), and (3) there is no known way to clean them up.”

“The small particle size of microplastics means that they can’t just be sieved out of the water without also sieving out all of the marine life (like the above planktonic snail or juvenile mussel) or other natural particles (like the above bit of pumice, on which marine life may be living). In addition, while many plastics float, many other plastic particles are neutrally or negatively buoyant and are found within the water column or on the ocean bottom.”

Learn more about the environmental threat to marine ecosystems.

In the System International method of measurement there are 7 base units that are used to measure natural phenomena.  Introducing the 7 base units – your new best friends.

SI base units

The above base quantities have SI base units. They include:

• kilogram for mass
• meter for length
• second for time
• Kelvin for temperature
• Ampere for current
• mole for amount of substance
• candela for luminous intensity

Remember to stay curious in 2018 –

Does Santa exist?

Does Santa Like Rich-Kids Better?

All excellent questions; however, not sciency enough.  You might not yet believe but you can track the big guys progress.  

Install the app and enjoy the Winter Vacation.  There is no formal Science 10 vacation homework other than to stay curious and ask questions.

How are the International Space Station and Santa’s Sleigh the same?

Explore the North Pole while you wait for the Big Day

Science starts with seeing – start doing science!

Simple science hacks to make your own solar eclipse viewer

A pasta strainer (colander) will do in a pinch. Remember – never stare directly at the sun.

The ability to ask a question is what makes people special.  

The top science Google search for 2017 highlight some of the amazing science related themes of 2017.

2017 is the year people asked Google how

Hurricane Irman

The Solar eclipse

Stay Curious Pilgrims.

How to make slime

Chemyland Slime – the worlds top science grade slime

Time for Slime – America Chemical Society

Learn more about Ballard Power Systems and Hydrogen Fuel Cells;

Hydrogen Vs Electric – Which is the more energy efficient choice?

Learn more about the chemistry of phthalates