The Disappearing Spoon Chapter 1
Summary:
First of all, this story revolves around a person that is talking about what he did and what he was like in the past. In the first paragraph, it starts off with showing that he is a very curious person that would always talk non-stop whether or not he was by himself. This habit that he has is also what led to the reason as to why he even became fascinated with the periodic table. He then later on starts talking about an experience that he had in the past with mercury and how he was dumbfounded wondering what exactly mercury was. He then finds out that mercury is an element and is considered to be unique compared to most other common elements because of how close together it is. Later, he goes looking for more information on this element and finds out that mercury is not as uncommon as he thought it was; for mercury is actually a material that is used in several ways and not only in just thermometers. Mercury is helpful in many ways and is also very dangerous in many ways. After entering college to study scientific studies, he then realizes that there were other people that were just like him...but better. He then admits that he got his real education not from the five years at college, but from the stories that he heard from his professors. After some time passes, he then learns that the periodic table is everything in life in both good and ugly ways.
After the part where the person talked about his involvement with the periodic table ended, it starts talking about the general information about the periodic table and what most people had to go through when first encountering the periodic table in school. First of all, it says how the periodic table is thought to be an organized and honed table shown to have been created to show its maximum utility in science. Then it starts saying the opposite like how at first glance it just looks like a bunch of words that and numbers that were loosely put together. The periodic table is then shown in a different perspective like how it looks like a castle that is made up many different materials as if the owner of the castle was on a budget or went to IKEA thinking it was a good idea. The story then starts giving actual information on the periodic table by explaining as to how and why some parts of the periodic table were named what they are. Helium is said to be the best example to use when conducting experiments among the rest of the elements and how it can actually defy gravity when cold enough. A reason is also given as to why the elements on the periodic table are those instead of much more complex ones; the reason to that would be because these elements are cannot be broken down into anything else without it destroying itself. More information is then given on what exactly atoms are and what they do. Information like how electrons, protons, and neutrons are somewhat like planets; also how only electrons matter. Finally, information on theories and scientists are also talked about and columns in the periodic table are shown to be relatable to the Japanese language in the direction they are read.
Reflection:
Overall, I must say that I enjoyed reading this from the very beginning and until the very end of the chapter. When I took my first look at the beginning of the chapter, I already knew I was going to enjoy reading it this. The chapter involved the story of a person from the very beginning of his childhood in school to when he went to college always being curious about just what elements were and how he could find out more about it. Being completely honest I don’t believe I have ever seen or heard about a story on how a person followed his or her curiosity in any type of science and what he or she did in life following it. I also enjoyed reading the second part of the chapter because I learned information that I haven’t learned before. I never thought about the reason as to why the periodic table had the names it had and now I read about why it did. I also learned more information helium, it made me think about the significance the columns and rows the periodic table has, and it even had jokes in it. I don’t even think that I disliked one part of the chapter; overall, reading this was great and I’d gladly like to learn more information about the periodic table.
Guiding Questions:
1. Pre-reading:How are helium and oxygen similar? How are they different? The author compares the periodic table to a map. Do you find this metaphor effective?
Oxygen has an atomic number of 8, an atomic mass of 16, has a melting point of 54 Kelvin, and is part of the Chalcogen family. On the other hand, helium has an atomic number of 2, an atomic mass of at least 4, has a melting point of 0 Kelvin, and is part of the Noble Gas family. The only major similarity that they both seem to have would be that they are both gases. Also, I can somewhat agree with the metaphor that the author uses with the periodic table being a map being because all of the elements on the periodic table are different in their own way like how they are all in different spots on the “Map”.
2. Helium is a member of the group called the Noble Gas family.
3. Which subatomic particle determines the reactivity of an element: proton, neutron, or electron?
It would be more specifically the valence electrons.
4. If you go up or down by 1 on the pH scale, you've changed by a factor of 10. This is similar to the Richter scale, which measures the strength of an earthquake. So an acid with a pH of 3 is 1000 times stronger than an acid with a pH of 6.
5. How did Gilbert Lewis change the definition of an acid?
He changed the definition of an acid by including Lewis acids in the definition.
6. Who was Maria Goeppert-Mayer? How did her work help explain why the elements helium, oxygen and calcium are all very common?
Maria Goeppert-Mayer was a German-born American theoretical physicist Nobel laureate in Physics for proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus (I couldn’t say this better).
