                                               
                                                 BIG CHEM   
                                       Historical Introduction




NATURAL PHILOSOPHY--  Old name for Science (Greek for Love of 
                                         Knowledge).

THALES OF MILETUS (600 BC)-- First Natural Philosopher we know of 
       who hypothesized on the makeup of matter.
                 I. Water is the universal element
                         Evidences:  Heating substances ---> water.

             DEMOS: Heat the following in a test tube and 
                         see the water condense upon the glass:
                          Leaf  wood  paper  chalk  minerals (the water of
                              hydration). ( For paper use a piece of an
                              administrative bulletin... theres nothing dryer 
                          When the Heat s On-- You Sweat!

                II. The Water Cycle-- shows how water interacts
                                                  everywhere.
                       evaporation  condensation  precipitation  sublimation 
                            etc.
               III. Concluded:  Nature follows a pattern of laws.


DEMOCRITUS (400 BC)-- First  Atomic Hypothesis.

         Atomos:  Greek for  uncuttable .
              DEMO: Chop up a piece of chalk until you reach the atomos.
                     Use magnifiers knives  razors  and a lot of
                             showmanship.

         Democritus properties of atoms:
                  Indestructible.
                  Changeable  however  into different forms (solid  liquid  
                        gas  corrosion).
         An infinite number of kinds so there are an infinite number of
               elements.
         Hard substances have rough  prickly atoms that stick together.
         Liquids have round  smooth atoms that slide over one another.
         Smell is caused by atoms interacting with the nose-- rough 
               atoms hurt (stink)  etc.
         Sleep is caused by atoms escaping the brain.
         Death--  too many escaped or didnt return.
         The heart is the center of anger.
         The brain is the center of thought.
         The liver is the center of desire ( I love you with all my liver).

           Nothing exists but atoms and space  all else is opinion. 

EMPEDOCLESE (400 BC)--  The Four Element Hypothesis:

                   Primary Matter--      Fire  Water  Earth  Air.
                   The Four Qualities-- Wet  Dry  Warm  Cold.

       There is a diagram here to show how they are related:  
           It is a diamond with a square inside.  
           Place Fire at the top  Water at the bottom  Air at the left  and 
               Earth at the right.  Then  at the corners of the square  Dry 
                    goes between Fire and Earth   
                    Wet between Earth and Water  
                    Cold between Air and Water  and Hot between Fire and
                        Air.

       First ideas of chemical energy:
           The four elements are brought together by LOVE (exothermic)
                 and separated by HATE (endothermic).

        DEMO: Heat a piece of wood in a test tube fitted with a rubber 
                  stopper with a few cm of glass tubing protruding. 
                      At first the Water will condense  
                           then the Air (fumes) will come forth 
                           then ignite the fumes to get the Fire.
                           After cooling  the black Earth remains (charcoal).


             Sample formulas:
                  Human flesh the perfect substance) -- equal quantities 
                       of the Four Elements.
                  Bones-- 1/2 Fire  1/4 Earth  1/4 Water.
 
ARISTOTLE (300 BC)-- (student of Plato  teacher of Alexander The 
                                    Great and many others).

        Known as  The Master of Those Who Know  his influence was 
       so great that it was said that he held back science for 2000 
       years.
       In future generations one could prove an argument by using the 
            Latin statement   IPSE  DIXIT  (He himself said it). 
             (Kinda like kids proving an argument by saying 
               Mommy said so).

        ARISTOTLE S BIG ACTIONS:
            Established the world s greatest library (university) at 
                 Alexandria.  It lasted 700 years!
            Preserved much knowledge of the ancient world.
            Established the Science of Biology.
            Supported the Four Element Hypothesis.
                 This was one reason it lasted so long.

        ARISTOTLE S  FUNDAMENTAL  OBSERVATIONS  (that held back 
            science for so long):
                    Objects fall at accelerations proportional to their 
                        weights.
                     Air is levity (it rises).
                     Nature abhors a vacuum.
                     Spontaneous Generation of Life (dead meat changes
                         into living flies.  This was still being disputed
                         in the 19th century).
                     Even today Aristotle is frequently quoted!


FRIAR ROGER BACON (1200)-- The Crazy Monk of Oxford University.

          Said   Experimentation in Science is Necessary .
          Developed a formula for gunpowder and used it to stop 
               a student demonstration.

         DEMO:  Place a few grams of gunpowder (from local gun shop)
                    on a brick and with great student demonstration 
                    stopping flurry (and with lots of ancient Oxford 
                    Fee Fie Fo Fums set if off with a burner on a window 
                    opening stick  preferably in the dark of an Oxford night. 
               The students after having been told by the hooded 
                    Franciscan Friar Bacon  still standing on the gate 
                    towers immersed in smoke that they had Offended 
                    the Lord  went quietly back to their
                    books to master their symbols and valences. 

ALCHEMY (ancient-1600)--  The forerunner to Big Chem.

          Alchemists  objectives--

                  To make precious metals... cheaply.
                  To make gold out of base metals
                  To produce formulae for making gold and silver. 
                  To make elixirs (cure-alls)  love potions  and poisons. 
                      An alchemist produced the potion that made 
                      Romeos  Juliette appear dead for three days.
                  Sought the  PHILOSOPHER S  STONE  for power and 
                        great longevity.
                        It would certainly help in the making of gold!
                  Sought the UNIVERSAL SOLVENT  which would dissolve 
                        all. (That  too  should help to make gold). 
                        What would they have kept it in?
                  Worked in great mystery and sorcery.

          Accomplishments:
                Discovered many new substances (elements and
                   compounds).
                Invented laboratory equipment:
                    Test tubes
                    Distilleries
                    Reaction furnaces
                    The Retort-- neat symbol of Chemistry!
                    Developed many lab techniques for experimenting  
                         assaying  metallurgy.

         Not all alchemists were bad  but their general reputation 
             was extremely sinister.  It was not safe to be an 
              alchemist as he might be burned for sorcery or 
              hanged for the general good of the public.

          To call a chemist an alchemist is an insult. 
              (Like calling a doctor a quack).


ROBERT BOYLE (1661)--

        Defined ELEMENT  in modern terms-- a form of matter that 
             cannot be further simplified.

        Wrote the Skyptical Chymist in which he  Shot down the 
            Four Element Hypothesis showing that there are many 
            elements  (92 found in nature).

           DEMO:  Show some elements.

            Changed Alchemy  to Chemistry.  BIG CHEM RULES!


SIR FRANCIS BACON (1600)-- The Father of Science.

        Wrote the NOVUM  ORGANUM   in which he presents 
           THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD : 
                 1.  Collect Reliable Data (No Ipse  Dixit).
                 2.  Classify the Data.
                 3.  Generalize and experiment.
                 4.  Make Hypothesis or Theory
                 5. Try to prove it by further experimentation.

JOHN DALTON (1800)--  Father of Modern Chemistry.

         The  MODERN  ATOMIC  THEORY    (compare to Democritus).

                1.  Elements are composed of atoms.
                2.  Atoms are indestructible (chemically correct).
                3.  All atoms of an element are identical 
                     (chemically correct).
                4. In orderly fashion the atoms combine to form
                         molecules.  (Daltons Law).
                5.  The atoms are not changed in the process of forming 
                      molecules.

LAVOISIER (1800)--

         Discovered the true nature of burning:
             It was not the liberation of a mysterious negative weight 
             substance called caloric  but the chemical addition of 
             oxygen to the fuel.  He burned a diamond in oxygen and
             obtained only carbon dioxide as a product  thus proving 
             that burning is rapid oxidation and that a diamond is 
             pure carbon.

         Introduced quantitative measurements into chemical 
             experimentation  and for accurate  consistent results
             he helped invent the super simple  Metric  System.

        At an early age  Lavoisier was guillotined during the 
             French Revolution because he was a nobleman and 
             tax collector for the king.  
    His short chemical career had already gained him greatness in the 
    scientific world. The French call him   The Father of Modern 
    Chemistry. 
        (After he was beheaded  his wife married Dupont and came to
        America to establish an American chemical company to 
        manufacture gunpowder to beat the British in the War of 1812.) 
        Trivia is neat.


MENDELEEV (l869)--

         Invented the first Periodic Table for classifying elements.
         Found that the Elements could be classified by their 
            re-occurring chemical  properties.
         Used his Periodic Table to predict the existence of 
              undiscovered elements and to determine their 
              properties.  As result  many new elements were quickly
              found.  His predictions had been correct!


MODERN CHEMISTRY-- A multitude of people doing new things 
           rapidly!  We shall meet many of them this year.

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Here s a plug for the Boom s shareware program  
           CHEMICAL FORMULA GAME  which you may down-load.


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Formula Game & Formula Game Editor Descriptions:

The Chemical Formulas game is an interactive program for 
practicing chemical symbols and formulas with teacher-edited ions 
and comments on student responses.  The computer displays ions or 
formulas based on the teacher-edited list.  The student types his 
answer and receives immediate 
feedback on his answers  including the correct response if his 
answer is incorrect.  The correct answer must be typed before 
proceeding to the next.  Each game consists of ten questions.

The Chemical Formulas Game Editor is the program used by the 
teacher to add  delete  or change the comments or ions used by 
the Chemical Formulas Game.  School or class in-joke comments 
make the game more fun!
The Apple II Chemical Formulas Game must be separately down-
loaded.
The Macintosh version has the Editor on the same disk.

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The Boom would appreciate your input and additional contributions 
that you might care to make online or by US Mule.

Preston  The Boom  Boomer
60 Verde Drive
Santa Cruz  CA 95060
408 426-2617
(35th year of roaring in Big Chem!)

********************************************

Heres a plug for 

Shareware from Boomeria Softworks for both Mac & Apple II--


                             ** QUICK SEAT/ QUICK CALL**
                                            for Apple II

                    ** MAC SEATING CHARTS AND MAC DRILL **
                                           for Macintosh
 
SEATING CHARTS  
quickly imports your class rosters right out of your Gradebook Plus 
files (or Grade Machine Files)  (or can be used as a stand alone) and 
adds the students names to your class rooms.
You can arrange your rooms in any format you like.  
The room arrangements and seating charts can be edited by 
dragging with the mouse.  Kids can be exchanged added or deleted.  
Spaces for attendance/tardies may be included. Its fun to use! You 
may have a maximum of 100 seats. 

MAC DRILL or QUICK CALL also reads your class rosters from the 
Gradebook Plus or Grade Machine Files.  It randomly displays in 
large font the students names onto your computer screen.  
This can be used for calling on kids for drills or any other activities 
where fun hi-tech impartial calling is needed. The kids dont argue 
with Lord Apple.
You can also create lists of vocabulary words or short questions that 
can be called upon the screen for the kids to answer as their names 
are called up.

These programs may be downloaded or abtained from or by the Boom.

                                                   HAVE FUN!


