Hello and welcome to my blog! This post is all about chemistry! Chemistry is everywhere. Everything and everyone is made up of atoms. Atoms make up elements which are also everywhere. ♥
The first bit of our project was learning all about compounds and the periodic table. Our first task was to learn about Lewis diagrams and Bohr diagrams.
Bohr Diagram:
Think of it like a mini solar system. It shows all the electrons in an atom. Electrons are drawn in energy levels (or shells) around the nucleus (which has protons and neutrons). Each shell can only hold a certain number of electrons:
1st shell: 2 electrons
2nd shell: 8 electrons
3rd shell: 18 electrons (but often shown with 8 in basic diagrams)
Lewis Diagram (also called Lewis Dot Structure):
This one is wayyyy easier to understand. Only shows valence electrons (electrons in the outer shell). These electrons are important for bonding with other atoms. The symbol of the element is written, and dots are placed around it to show the valence electrons.
The next part of the journey was learning about ionic compounds and polyatomic ions. This part was pretty tricky for me because you have to do some math and converting of electrons. (I wont wright down how to do the conversions and all that because it’s pretty complicated to explain in words). After we became masters with all the elements, compounds and diagrams, we put all of our learning into a peace of art. First we chose an element: then we answered the driving question based on our element.
“What impact do elements and compounds have on modern day society?”
My element is bismuth. What is bismuth? On the periodic table bismuth is a post transition metal, meaning it is located on the far right side of the periodic table. But that’s not nearly interesting enough. Let’s talk about the uses and it’s significance. Bismuth has many medical uses like stopping infection, minimizing unwanted bacteria and fungus, and it’s most significant use in Pepto-Bismol. This ingredient is what gives the medicine its pink colour and its powerful stomach-soothing effects. When ingested, bismuth subsalicylate works in a few ways: it coats the stomach lining, it has mild anti-inflammatory properties (thanks to the salicylate part), and can reduce ulcers. Historically mistaken for lead or tin because of it’s appearance, bismuth gained recognition for its unique properties, especially its low toxicity compared to other heavy metals.
Now that you know about the impacts of bismuth in modern society, I’m going to tell you all about how we incorporated all those facts into a piece of art!
Cyanotype artwork:
For the final part of our project we made a piece of artwork with cyanotype. The artwork was related to which element we chose, in my case, bismuth. When we were finished with the artwork, we did a exhibition displaying all of our different artworks and a little bit about each element we chose. To create a cyanotype artwork you need: To coat a piece of fabric or paper in cyanotype, put cut out pieces of what you want your art to display and then let it rest in the sun, once it’s done you rinse it out and then let it dry and then boom you hear you have it, cyanotype art! Once we made our artwork, we were off to the art exhibition. It consisted of multiple different classes and multiple different grades.
Thanks for reading this post! I really liked this project because I learnt a lot about chemistry! I hadn’t known much about the subject until now. Anyways, stay tuned for more posts!