Directions For Today's Assignment

Today you will be completing molarity exercises as a review. You will answer a few questions on the blog, and then finish the rest of the questions from Ch#8 in the book.

Molarity vs. Moles:
Remember that "molarity" is a measurement of the concentration of a solution (the number of moles of solute per liter of solution). The number of moles of a substance is like a relative weight of the substance. It takes 6.02 x 10^23 atoms of carbon to equal the average atomic mass of 12 g. There are 6.02 x 10^23 molecules in 1 mole of anything.
When you are "counting" the number of molecules, atoms, or ions, that it will take to equal its formula mass, you will be using the 6.02 x 10^23, but when you are just figuring out the formula mass for a substance you will use moles. Remember to label moles using either "moles" or "mol"-it is different from concentration or molarity, where you will use just "M." Some of you have gotten this confused.

Read the following posting and respond today please.

Mercury in Fish Review- Question #1

After listening to the comments made by Dr. Gary Meyers concerning the trials that have been studied on mercury levels in fish, does it seem appropriate to conclude that eating a large amount of fish will lead to negative cognitive development (brain functions)? Support your answer with information provided from the Science Friday podcast.

Mercury in Fish Review- Question #2

Some of the mercury studies appear to be misleading- suggesting that there might actually be benefits in eating fish with higher mercury levels. Why might these results be occurring and what does this tell you about scientific experiments?

Mercury in Fish Review- Question #3

After listening to this podcast, what have you learned about the benefits of eating fish? Do you believe that the benefits outweigh the risks?

Mercury in Fish Review- Question #4

Where might large amounts of mercury poisoning take place and what role do you feel the government has in making sure that people are safe from this poisoning?

Mercury in Fish Review- Question #5

Overall, after listening about the toxicity of mercury, do you feel that this information has affected the way you would shop for or consume fish? What kind of precautions will you take to make sure that you and your family members are safe from toxic poisoning of mercury?

Podcast and Blog Reflection

What are your feelings surrounding the use of today's podcast and web blog in today's class and the unit surrounding toxins in chemistry?