By Heather Sanders.
Why is Milk White?: & 200 Other Curious Chemistry Questions is based on the queries of an 11-year-old author Alexa Coelho, and answers from her neighbor, chemist and author, Simon Quellen Field.
The easy-to-read book answers 200 basic, but fascinating, chemistry questions that any child might ask. Field’s responses, while remaining clear and concise, continue to respect the intelligence of the curious child.
Young Coelho’s questions are organized into the following ten chapters/topics: (1) People and Animals, (2) Plants, (3) Household Chemistry, (4) Health and Safety, (5) Things That Catch Fire or Go Bang, (6) Things That Stink, (7) Color, (8) Chemistry in the World, (9) Chemists, and (10) Food.
The book covers the basic chemistry of products we use on a daily basis, including the chemistry of people, animals and plants.
For instance, the little crevices on the surface of the tongue breed anaerobes, bacteria that grow best without air. This is why everyone wakes up with “morning breath.”
“As the bacteria digest food particles and dead skin cells on the tongue, they create waste products that include the hydrogen sulfide that gives rotten eggs their odor, the methyl mercaptan that is present in skunk scent, and other sulfur-containing small, volatile molecules that result from the breakdown of sulfur-containing proteins.” (Page 121)
Chapter 8: Chemistry of the World, covers the question, “Why do people put salt on icy roads?”
Salt water does not freeze until it reaches almost -6 degrees Fahrenheit (-21 degrees Celsius), so if salt is added to the water at the surface of the ice, the ice will continue to melt. It is not until the salt water around the ice looses heat and reaches -6 degrees F that the water will begin freezing onto the ice again (Page 170).
I was particularly interested in the question, “Can you change lead into gold?
While this was a goal of early alchemists, it is not actually a Chemistry problem. Chemistry deals with combinations of atoms, but not changing one element into another (Page 178-179).
This process, called “Transmutation”, occurs naturally in the stars.
IN THE STARS???
In other words, all one needs to create gold from mercury (or vice versa), is the ability to bombard the mercury with gamma rays.
No problem.
Personally, I found several topics of interest in the food section, like “Why do onions make you cry?”, “Does bottled water go bad?”, and How do you make rock candy?
Hint: Very slowly (Page 226).
Why is Milk White?: & 200 Other Curious Chemistry Questions is just the book to inspire the budding chemist, or simply entertain, while teaching, the rest of us.
The additional twelve projects it includes allows kids to experience and “see” Chemistry, so they can fully grasp the concepts they might otherwise skim over.
Textbook Chemistry is typically rather boring and can be a challenge for many students, but when introduced with an activity that can make their hands smoke (Page 4), a student’s curiosity is naturally piqued.
Book Information
Why is Milk White?: & 200 Other Curious Chemistry Questions | Also available as an e-book.
Reading Level: Ages 9 and up
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Chicago Review Press (January 1, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1613744528
ISBN-13: 978-1613744529
OMSH/Heather L. Sanders is “Momma” to three kids, Emelie, Meredith and Kenny. When not homeschooling, or writing about homeschooling, Heather is busy designing websites or going on dates with her husband Jeff, the love of her life.
Thinking of Home Schooling? Read mine and 24 other homeschooling families’ stories shared in the new book, You Can Do It Too!